Huge thanks to Mike for posting that clip of Mahalia Jackson (hereinafter: Mahalia) singing “I’ve Been ‘Buked and I’ve Been Scorned” at the March on Washington in 1963. I set out to post a video of her singing “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”, and ended up with much more than I expected:

It’s been said that the tropics are the locus for religions based on spirit possession, and New Orleans, Mahalia’s home town (and my own), is certainly tropical – indeed, often called the northernmost city of the Caribbean.  So it’s hardly surprising that her improvisatory riffing and expansions based on this ancient spiritual at least approach a state of possession – they are certainly inspired.

(And in fact, the one time I was lucky enough to see and hear Mahalia in a full concert setting, several of the African-American Holy Women there that night became possessed by the Spirit and had to be fanned and generally tended to, but that’s another story…)

But all this was actually part of a larger tribute to Louis Armstrong (hereinafter: Pops), who soon joins Mahalia onstage, and, trickster as always, introduces a certain jocularity into what has up ’til then been a rather solemn performance.

The music then segues with utter smoothness into a rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In” (hereinafter: “The Saints”), an African-American Spiritual about the end of the World, and something of a national anthem for us New Orleanians.  Enter also the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and George Wein to take over the piano bench.  The mood is thoroughly upbeat, rejoicing.

Now, in New Orleans, the playing of “The Saints” generally signifies the end of something, but then the music, led by Pops in an even more tricksterish move, segues again: this time into an uptempo swinging rendition of “Mack the Knife”, a charming little ditty about a cold-blooded killer, pulled in turn from The Threepenny Opera, by the German-Jewish composer Kurt Weil with lyrics by Berthold Brecht , in which the killer/gangster Mackie Messer ends up being “elevated” into the Nobility.

So we go from a prayer for closeness with the Divine, to a celebration of the fact that this world is less than permanent, to a rather blunt reminder of exactly how corrupt this world really is.

If you want to see what your body will look like tomorrow, look at your thoughts today.
—Navajo proverb

Wendy Cicchetti

The New Moon in airy, mutable Gemini plants a seed for change, and highlights the power of our thoughts and words to shape reality. As the dark Moon invites us inward for reflection, we can consider which areas of our life are calling for renewal. This New Moon reminds us that the first step to shifting our circumstances is to view them from a new angle, and we can draw on the Gemini gift of seeing any situation from multiple perspectives. If we find ourselves stuck in an old, limiting mental tape about what’s possible, this New Moon offers us a chance to rewrite that story and up-level our circumstances.

Mercury, ruler of Gemini, is in watery Cancer, the Moon’s home sign. This mutual reception between Mercury and the Moon calls us into our emotional intelligence — the deeper level of heart-knowing beneath the surface of the analytical mind. We’re encouraged to listen to the subtle voice of our intuition and to the feeling tone behind the words people are saying, more than the content of the words themselves. Communicating with sensitivity and compassion is key, as people may be more likely than usual to take things personally and react defensively.

Increasing the potential for reactivity, Mercury tightlysquares Chiron at 2° Aries and opposes Saturn at 6° Capricorn, forming a stressful t-square. Challenging communications are possible, and we want to be conscious of — and take responsibility for — the power of our words to harm or to heal. Deep-seated pain could stir up the wounds of our inner child. Rather than retreating into our shells or striking out, we’re advised to keep our hearts open to the opportunity to resolve old issues. If we have the courage to move toward the pain, we can reclaim our authority from a past event, when we were in the role of victim.

Mercury’s opposition to Saturn (exact on June 15) suggests that we may need to make an important decision or take committed action. With Mercury in Cancer, these decisions could be related to family or other close relationships, home or real estate. While Mercury–Saturn can help us to think realistically about circumstances, there’s also a potential for negative or overly critical thinking, cynicism, or judgment. We may become aware of how the voices in our head can undermine rather than support us — and we have an opportunity to shift our thinking in a more productive direction.

Mercury is out of bounds (June 6–24), traveling beyond its normal range of orbit. Out-of-bounds Mercury can support us to stretch our minds beyond the limits of our usual perception and open up to unconventional views and ideas. New insights can help us to expand beyond old places of stuck-ness and stagnation. And out-of-bounds Mercury could also bring in a “wild card” kind of energy — unexpected or over-the-top communications and connections. Further encouraging our ability to think outside the box and access creative solutions, Mercury forms a stimulating sextile to revolutionary Uranus at 1° Taurus. The cooperation between Mercury and its higher octave, Uranus, is likely to spark enlivening and expansive conversations, especially when we’re willing to speak the truth of our unconventional ideas, with love and sensitivity.

New Moons typically support initiating new projects or life directions, but a strong emphasis on retrogradeplanets at this lunation indicates otherwise. Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto are all retrograde, soon to be joined by Neptune on June 18, followed by Mars on June 26. This New Moon seems to be more about discerning what’s true and real in our lives, healing from the past, and shifting our perceptions and stories so we can more easily move forward when the timing is right.

This article is from the Mountain Astrologer, written by Emily Trinkaus

PLAN YOUR OWN NEW MOON CEREMONY. Give yourself some quiet time in meditation to see where you need to seed new ways of becoming. List these areas within your life you want to change. What areas do you want to break free from the norm and become more productive and discerning? The NEW MOON is the time to manifest the personal attributes you want to cultivate as well as the tangible things you want to bring to you. Possible phrasing: I now manifest ____ into my life. I am now _______ . Remember, think, envision and feel with as much emotion as possible, as though you already have what you want. Thoughts are things and the brain manifests exactly what you show it in the form of thoughts, visuals and emotions. The Buddha said, and I am paraphrasing, “We are the sum total of our thoughts up to today. ” If we want to be different then we must change our thoughts. “If you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” CONSCIOUS CHANGE is the key.

After explaining that one of the most important faculties of the human mind is the ability to imagine possible scenarios in order to see how they might play out, either in success or failure, Peterson adds that: 

“The utility of fiction is that it allows you to experience a plethora of simulated worlds and to embody the consequences in abstraction without having to go through the trouble of doing that for yourself.”

(from Personality and Its Transformations (2017 version), Part 18, 40:03)

ICE at Dartmouth
Published on Feb 16, 2017

Alan Wallace, a world-renowned author and Buddhist scholar trained by the Dalai Lama, and Sean Carroll, a world-renowned theoretical physicist and best-selling author, discuss the nature of reality from spiritual and scientific viewpoints. Their dialogue is mediated by theoretical physicist and author Marcelo Gleiser, director of Dartmouth’s Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Engagement.

Recorded February 9, 2017
Nourse Theater – San Francisco, CA

By Parul Sehgal

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