The legend of Jimbo

Tapping into your inner genius

In her What’s In A Name? post Safiya asked, Do you like your given name?

I don’t ever remember liking mine.

My given first name, Daryl, means ‘beloved’ according to the name dictionaries. That’s beautiful, and I am beloved. I like the way my given name looks in print, with its fairly unusual spelling (vs Darrell or Darryl). But it never seemed to fit me.

Maybe it’s because my dad gave it to me. My dad and I have a good relationship now, but things were so rocky between him and my mom, he was gone by the time I turned three years old. Obviously I don’t remember a lot of that time, but I didn’t have many fond associations with him when I was growing up.

Whatever the reasons, I was already trying to change my name by the time I was five or six years old. I had narrowed down my career options to detective, explorer, fighter pilot, or cowboy by then. I was always trying to get my mom to call me Pete or Bob, which I thought were good cowboy names. Continue reading

What’s In A Name?

Exploring yOur (inherited) identity

by Safiya

hello my name is?

Years ago, a girl who worked in my office announced one day that from now on she wanted to be known by a new name. I thought, how strange! It was very confusing and I never quite got used to it. Then a few years later I was given a new name.

The one thing that identifies us most specifically in this world is probably the thing we think the least about: our name.

What’s in a name, anyway?  Continue reading

Claim Your Greatness

Beyond the Ego – This Is No Time for Playing Small

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why it’s important for those of us who are on the leading edge of human social evolution to claim our greatness. I think so many of us who are healers and artists have been outcasts from mainstream society for so long that we’ve developed some bad habits.

New webinar starts March 25!

Even as kids, many of us sensed that the others didn’t quite understand us. We often faced outright rejection and abuse from parents, peers, and partners because of our unwillingness (or inability) to be like the others – to be who we were supposed to be.

“When are you going to stop (playing your guitar, drawing, writing stories, doing yoga, talking about that woo-woo shit)?” They’d ask, in a tone that made sure you knew that your passion was not only not going to make you enough money to live, but was also inherently shameful and embarrassing.

“Why do you have to be so weird?” Continue reading

Emotional Pressure Gauge: Aquarius Solar Eclipse February 15 2018

Aquarius Eclpse Extra: How Social Roles and Expectations Impact Emotional Health

En cas d'urgence, inversez la parapluie.

En cas d’urgence, inversez la parapluie.

(This was originally sent out to my email subscribers on February 15 – sign up form in the right sidebar.)

I’ve heard from so many empaths and sensitives who are just feeling battered by the energy leading up to today’s eclipse. Make no mistake about it: the parasitic forces in the world are engaging us in full-on psychological warfare.

Although those of us who carefully limit our media consumption (exposure to programming) possess higher immunity than the media-addicted masses, we are not immune to this assault. The mental viruses of hopelessness, despair, shame, and overwhelm are also being passed on by our unwitting friends, family, and coworkers.

In my new podcast, I explain how the ongoing demoralization of the American people is accelerating the emergence of new social paradigms and will threatening the longterm relevance of current social networks such as Facebook – unless they align with more people-centered values.

Thoughts and Emotions

But why all the heavy emotionality? Isn’t Aquarius a mental sign? Yes, but… Continue reading

Makemake-ing A New Reality

Aquarian SynchronicitY

The

Self-portrait, 2017. Quote is from the Gospel of Thomas.

This is always a weird time of year for me. Traditionally, the month when the Sun is transiting your 12th House is a time of retreat from the world. It’s a time to meditate, review the past, dream into the future, and generally slow down and reflect. (I’m a Pisces Sun sign, so Aquarius is the 12th House in my solar chart.)

Maybe it’s because of the eclipses, but this year’s 12th House transit has felt even more draggy than usual. I have been engaging in some (mostly unstructured and spontaneous) review, though.

Last night I was looking for a folder to put some music notes in. When I was finally able to move into my new home office space in 2017, after the sewage flood had been remediated, I dug out some folders I’d used to store lyrics and sheet music in and put them on my bookshelf, thinking I’d eventually repurpose them.

I hadn’t opened them since, but last night I pulled them off the shelf and started looking through them.

The first notebook contained lyrics I’d written in the late 1990s and early oughts. Some of them made me cringe — but some of the songs contained interesting ideas. I found a few hand-written lyrics \that had turned into ‘real’ songs and ended up on one of my first two albums. That was kinda cool. Continue reading

Up-Level Time: Capricorn New Moon

Let’s pull it together – together

Dragon blowing bubbles - found in the bathroom at Kennesaw Pediatric clinic, Kennesaw Georgia

“From the darkness there must come out the light” – Bob Marley

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro” – Hunter S. Thompson

It’s cold out there. Wildfires. Mudslides. Flu epidemics. Record cold temps. Contraction: emotional, physical, economic, spiritual. At last night’s Capricorn New Moon I had the thought, “I should be tuning in to what I want to let go of and thinking about my intentions.” But I felt so beat down and sad, I couldn’t find anything that felt even remotely possible to focus my intention on.

I feel better today, thank goodness. But it has been a rough start to the year. Low energy, my kid has been suffering from the flu for a solid week now. He has barely eaten in days, he has been coughing more frequently and for longer than I can ever remember another human coughing. I feel sorry for him – and yet, we are obviously better off than (fill in the blank) percent of humans in the world at this moment. We have a house to live in, food in the fridge, access to medical care (well, at least he does) and heat to withstand the bitter cold.

I keep getting the message that the dark beginning to this year – much like the relentless beat of bad news and hateful politics – is designed to push us to our breaking point. That place inside where we finally snap and say, “Enough! No more will I buy into the parasitic stories of my powerlessness and unworthiness. No more will I accept that this is all I deserve in Life (or all I’m capable of getting). No more will I accept that it is our destiny to watch our children be poisoned and our world polluted by fearful fanatics, political power-mongers and others who are so full of pain they only want to destroy what is beautiful!”


“Maybe all this is happening to back us into a corner where the only way out is up. What if this is the chance to make the quantum leap we’ve been asking for?”
– DK Brainard


I believe that the astrology of 2018 wants to activate our inner resources so we can expand beyond our comfort zones and leap into a new level of life. I’m doing my part as an artist and my intention (now that I’ve survived the new moon!) is to bring even more beauty into the world this year.

To do that, I need to expand my own resources. One way I can do that is by sharing my gifts with you. Here are some suggestions for how we can help each other go beyond our previous limits and expand into greater service and more joy in 2018. (And if you have other ideas, I’m open to suggestion.)

1. Save up to $100 – all of my transformational coaching packages are on sale now.

2. Broke-Ass Artist Special – $50 off personal evolution astrology reading/coaching sessions for 10 conscious creators in January.

3. Rewrite your personal story – map out the bad juju that was placed on you in childhood and free yourself from the black magic spells that limit your potential and drain your energy. The Book of Spells – Micro Stories webinar is available as a self-guided program you can stream and download at your own pace. Get six hours of lively, engaging video instruction, step-by-step exercises, two-minute movement practices you can use to restore your energy and return to center, and a lot more – on sale in January for the intro price of $129.

(Use offer code: january to trigger the discount.)


Image credit: ?? I haven’t been able to find the name of the artist who painted the mural in the bathroom at Kennesaw Pediactrics. It’s mind-blowingly cool, though. And it was a good reminder that Beauty is always near, if we are open to her.

Live performance of planetary mantra to Mercury

Mercury Stations Direct Conjunct the Great Attractor – December 22, 2017

Watch me create a live performance of planetary mantra to Mercury starting at the moment he stations direct. Also, the down-low on how to work with the Trickster/messenger as he sweeps back over the Great Attractor and Galactic Center between now and Jan. 13. Plus Venus conjunct the Galactic Center and more.

Update 12/24/2017: If you’d like to listen to a higher-fidelity version of the song without the squeaks and pops in the video, I edited the original audio file in Ableton Live and uploaded it to Sound Cloud. (If you enjoy it, please click on theLike buttonbutton!)

Beyond the Pain Body, Into Light

How Seeing the Truth Can Set Us Free

dancer light streaming in

Mercury and the Sun are transmitting a powerful stream of cosmic light and love information to help us see the truth.

I was blown away by John Sandbach’s degree symbols for the Sun in Sagittarius today. Especially the symbols for 22 Sagittarius (see below) — which encapsulate the work we’ve been doing to rewrite our life stories in the Book of Spells group.

We are operating from the premise that most (if not all) of the self-sabotaging, destructive, and shame-based patterns we find within ourselves are not ours. They were implanted in us (as part of the trip of being born on Earth at this time) by the parasitic forces that have enslaved humanity for centuries in order to feed themselves on our pain and negative emotions.

The more we fully realize that our pain and our problems are caused by our belief in and adherence to a narrative that is not true, the more quickly we can reclaim our inner authority and create the life we desire. Continue reading

Saturn Review/Preview: Maximize Your Inner Authority

What Saturn Really Wants

Saturn Capricorn mastery

Saturn’s tough love is designed to help us achieve mastery and success.

Understanding what Saturn wants when he enters a new sign can make the difference between three years of misery and three years of mastery and success. And it’s even bigger than that. Since Saturn governs the structures that support our steady growth over a 30-year period, how well you master your Saturn lessons now will have a major impact on how good your life looks and feels 15-20 years from now!

Saturn’s return to his rulership sign of Capricorn on December 19 will bring each of us new challenges and opportunities. Saturn may also leave a nice big gift at the door as he exits Sagittarius, if you’ve been a diligent student of the Teacher Planet’s “Aligning with Your Soul’s Purpose” curriculum since 2015.

Fortunately, the current Mercury retrograde began with Mercury conjunct Saturn in alignment with the Galactic Center – the source beacon of cosmic intelligence in our quadrant of space. Meaning: even if you fell asleep during Saturn’s (admittedly repetitive and monotone) lectures while he was in Sagittarius, you still have time to discover what you missed and take meaningful action to catch up.

My December special offer sold out, but you can still kick off 2018 in radical alignment with your inner authority. Book a Personal Evolution Astrology reading now (January is filling up fast) and we’ll cover the key Saturn Review/Preview points in your natal horoscope, plus look at opportunities for you to shine in the coming year.

Book your 60-minute Personal Evolution Astrology reading here

How to Maximize Your Inner Authority as Saturn Moves from Sagittarius to Capricorn

Here are some astrological keys to working with Saturn’s sign change from the enthusiastic, outspoken, “zero limits” energy of fire sign Sagittarius to the pragmatic, systems-oriented, “just the facts, ma’am” energy of earth sign Capricorn:

1. Take inventory.

Saturn wants you to do a thorough review of the progress you’ve made in the houses where Sagittarius lives in your natal and solar charts.

  • Note where you’ve improved. If Sagittarius is in your 6th House, Saturn wants you to list the new habits or process improvements you’ve implemented to deal more efficiently with your daily work and your health/fitness.
  • Be honest about where you’ve fallen short. Remember that Saturn prizes objectivity over feelings. If Saturn has been in your 4th House since 2015 and you still haven’t fixed that plumbing leak, it’s time to face your fears. The 4th House symbolizes home, but also shows your relationship to your family of origin. Could that slow, constant leak symbolize a drain on your emotions from failing to deal with your father issues? Taking an honest inventory activates your Saturn inner authority energy so you can improve going forward.

2. Honor your victories. 

  • It’s important to celebrate your successes. Saturn’s fearsome reputation is well-earned. Honoring the fact that you buckled down and did the hard work to get better – and even better understanding what enabled you to commit to success – gives you leverage for the growth opportunities Saturn in Capricorn is bringing you.
  • If you went back to school to get a degree or new certification while Saturn was in your 9th House (Aries and Aries Rising), you can repurpose the systems you developed to balance your obligations to school, work and family and use them to grow your career between now and 2021.

3. Identify the life areas symbolized by Capricorn in both your natal and solar chart and strategize for success.

Scorpio and Scorpio Rising natives will be learning how to think more pragmatically as Saturn transits their 3rd House.  They will be learning strategies for communicating their thoughts in practical, grounded language so that their wisdom can be received by others. These folks may also be learning how to tame their emotions and structure their time so they can finally write that book that’s inside of them.

  • In the life areas symbolized by the houses Capricorn inhabits, take an honest look at what needs to improve. You can count on Saturn testing you on these things.
  • Identify specific strategies for improvement – including the fear, shame or low self-esteem that has kept you from improving here in the past.
  • Commit to facing your fears and doing your best over the next three years. Activating your inner authority can be as simple as deciding that, whether you succeed or fail, you will definitely persevere. Saturn rewards perseverance and determination.

Mercury Retrograde, Saturn Enters Capricorn, and Deep Space Astrology in December 2017

Fermi Giant Bubble Galactic Center

Fermi Telescope Finds Giant Structure in Our Galaxy, NASA.

Seeing the Big Picture

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – Jesus, voicing the core energetic of Sagittarius

December brings a rare confluence of astrological alignments that can liberate us from the false narratives that have entrapped us, and empower us to author the life stories we deserve to live.

In this post, I’ll look at Saturn’s shift out of Sagittarius and into his home sign of Capricorn¹. I’ll explain why this Mercury Retrograde is one you don’t want to ignore. And I’ll look at how the Galactic Center and Great Attractor – two supermassive black holes / gamma ray transmitters located in alignment with Sagittarius – are conspiring with the planets to liberate us this month.

Mercury Retrograde Conjunct Saturn and the Galactic Center

Mercury is the archetype of the mind. Mercury retrograde periods always introduce mental discontinuity. By disrupting our habitual thought processes, the Trickster forces us to see things from a different vantage point. This is frustrating and sometimes painful, but it gives us the opportunity to correct faulty habits of mind that have taken hold in the area of life symbolized by the signs and houses activated by the Mercury retrograde.

Because the December 2017 Mercury retrograde began with Mercury in a tight conjunction with Saturn, this retrograde will carry a Saturnian vibe. Positively, this can help us review the progress we’ve made while Saturn was in Sagittarius and mentally prepare ourselves to meet the challenges and opportunities of Saturn in Capricorn from 2018-2020. Continue reading