"Sandy Parr" landed on this planet in a little town called Neptune, NJ. (chart here)
Her family moved to Hollywood when
she was two, and then to its sister-city, Burbank
(yes, that "beautiful downtown" one from the `60s), two years later. It was very much a
"Father Knows Best" kind of life. Everybody I knew was white, middle-class, Christian, sober, married, honest, peaceful, intelligent and careful. This was the fifties, you must realize!
- - if you don't know what that means, it is time to see the movie Pleasantville. - -
My first clue that my life was not going to be "like that" came when I was seven years old.
I was in a discussion with a little girlfriend about God. Her family was Catholic, and she was
trying her utmost to explain to me the way it was. She finally brought her mother into
the argument, to "set me straight," about Heaven and Hell, and all. When I said that
I thought God was "everywhere, and even in that rock over there," she slapped me
across the face and told me never to "blaspheme" like that again! (astrologer's note:
this was the first Chiron square to itself, in the 12th house) That was Grade 3, the
very same year I got kicked out of Sunday School for asking too many questions!
I also found myself astral-travelling up to the back corner of the schoolroom
during class when I got bored. Luckily, I didn't talk about that.
Being an Aquarian means "marching to a different drummer," and I
had begun my march.
All my chatter about "past-lives" and reincarnation (also at age 7)
made my mother nervous,
and when I wanted to study Yoga at 12, and then
bought my first book on Zen at 13, she really
began to wonder. Growing up with Mouseketeers, "keeping your seams straight," and sweeping
the dirt under the carpet, seemed to make the household collection of dictionaries and
encyclopedias that much more attractive to me. I surrounded myself with good friends,
who shared my quest to know what life was really all about, and many of the people in my
life have enriched it and me beyond measure. I am forever grateful to them all.
My favourite childhood things were codes, mysteries, word games, and puzzles.
(My Dad had Mercury in Capricorn too, and made me a Secret Code Book when I was ten.)
They are still my favourite things, but I've traded-in my crossword puzzle books,
for astrology charts and web-pages, both of which are all about people.
My university education got sidelined by a summer of making money, and since numbers
came easily to me, I worked in accounting jobs until I became a mother. That's another
whole story, but I stayed home for those few years, and actually got my basic training
in web-page design without realizing it, by studying fashion design and becoming a
custom seamstress. Meanwhile, my fantasies about 'My Life's Work' went from being a
teacher, in elementary school, to a translator of ancient manuscripts in my teens, to being a
deprogrammer in the `70s (re cults, Viet Nam & acid trips); then I stumbled onto Astrology,
where I could do all three. At about the same time I gave myself a huge gift and surely an
extended life of vitality and health by becoming a vegetarian. As my energy soared,
Lady Destiny kicked-in, and I found myself leaving some great friends and a
most fun job at Frederick's of Hollywood to head north to Vancouver, BC.
The offices of Frederick's are entered by going underground, very near Hollywood & Vine,
which always made for some fabulous people-watching opportunities,
to say the least, especially around the Full Moon each month.
In the spring of 1977, the year Chiron was discovered, I finally found what was then
called Mystic Arts Bookstore, where I ended up studying metaphysics, working, and teaching
for 19 years. The I Ching became my constant guide and companion through all those years,
and shared with me its immense profundity, along with its delightful sense of humour.
Laughter really is the Best Medicine ~ for anything. Fortunately for me, children
and animals have played a large role in my life, keeping me laughing, even while
the cosmic masks of Comedy and Tragedy continued their perpetual Dance.
My eternal search for the "ultimate code" has found its home in the stars,
and I am now addicted to the Net as a vehicle for sharing those insights.
Jungian thought sheds some brilliant light on the dance of the opposites,
and it provided me with a reasonable container for all the multiplicities of holism.
Carl Jung's term synchronicity (meaningful
coincidence) practically became my middle name.
I began to realize that the Universe uses synchronicity to shine its Truth into our eyes, if only
we can learn how to truly see. Translating the ever-present symbols of Life has become
my Work, 24 hours-a-day, with or without an astrology chart in my hands.
Joseph Campbell (who coined: "Follow Your Bliss") was a huge mentor for my inquisitive mind,
as his teachings continually exposed the similarities in ALL the World's Religions, throughout
history, and in the essence of humanity, regardless of cultural imprinting. Early paganism
and all "Nature Religions" reflect the "natural" ebbs and flows of Life, as do many of the
Eastern teachings, and all the aboriginal philosophies, from the Dreamtime of Uluru (Ayers Rock), to
the North American totem poles. An expression from the `70s, "My Karma ran over my Dogma,"
expresses my sentiments, exactly. Once we remove all the 'trappings' of organized religion,
which usually keep us locked into old, fearful, helpless patterns (guilt, shame, sin, etc.),
we begin to 'see the Light' in an entirely new way. We are re-empowered, our
life-energy is renewed, purpose redeemed' and suddenly we are ready to
set our sails ahead' with honour, integrity and humility.
The human superiority and patriarchal hubris of our predecessors left us sadly lacking in the
holism department. Becoming vegetarian afforded me the opportunity to really 'hear' my body
sharing its wisdom with me, guiding me, coaching me, every step of the way. I was astounded
and delighted that it 'knew' so much, and shocked that nobody had ever told me about this aspect
of education. Of course, this type of feminine wisdom was part of what was lost when natural spirituality became organized religion. I later came to understand more fully how much my eating of mainstream flesh foods and other consciousness inhibitors, had clogged-up my receivers, just like hanging onto resentments or other negative emotional 'baggage' can do, ~ or allowing our minds to aimlessly ramble around on those old, worn-out hamster wheels of extinct thought, ~ or believing that God was 'up there, somewhere' on 'His' throne, randomly choosing to bless or curse us.
Understanding the Goddess, the Inner Nature of God, or Native Spirituality and its inherent
holism, can help us all to reclaim our innate Divinity, without the patriarchal assumption of
ego-based power. The compassion for all beings, invoked like claps of thunder around the
world by the deaths of Lady Diana and Mother Teresa, will return, once we return to honouring
and respecting Mother Nature and all Her gifts. Our bodies are like tuning forks, and register
every vibrational frequency within our reach. Learning how to listen has been my lifetime dharma.
We are fully equipped to 'listen' with every cell of our bodies, minds and souls; it is part
of the hardware. However, in spite of everyone's 'good intentions' over the last few thousand
years, we have still landed here in this mucky soup of thick denial and obstinate resistance.
We have so pitifully lost touch with our natural abilities, that we cry to God for mercy, or run to
the doctor to tell us "what is wrong" with our bodies, or phone every psychic in town to seek the
answers to our Life's most burning questions - instead of seeking the answers within. Most forms of cancer, hormone replacements, PMS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Epstein-Barr, Lupus, so many more, and yes, even AIDS, are ALL cultural symptoms of our collective denial of self-knowledge, self-government and ultimate responsibility. Starhawk's first novel, set 50 years into the future, Fifth Sacred Thing, nicely illuminates some brilliant possibilities, and provides a jumping-off
place for our stunted perspectives, as we zoom forward toward that Future. The four Elements
of Astrology: Fire, Earth, Air and Water, combined with the "fifth element," Spirit, provide all
the information, understanding and wisdom that we may ever need in our sojourn on Earth.
My parents met & married back in the `40s, while working in the Pentagon, in Washington, DC.
You can imagine my amazement when I discovered in the `70s, the profound meaning
of the Pentagram, a symbol of the five sacred elements in Life.
Finding the Balance is the Key, and the Balance is the Dance,
like Siddhartha's eternal River, always in motion, yet always the same.
Every inch of space: above, below, within and without, is chockful of sign-posts,
messages and insight. My lifetime dream is that the People walking the face of this
planet will begin to awaken to the cosmic awareness that is our birthright!
Once we remember the undeniable Oneness of All Living Things,
the inevitable connections between us all, perhaps we will
begin to change our ways, and treat each other and
ourselves with honesty, compassion and respect.
Gaia's Garden is full of every flower and weed,
of every possible colour and description, and
without ALL of it, it would not be holistic!
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Imagine ~ All You Need is Love ~ Give Peace a Chance 
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