by Safiya
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
[podcast]
What the Virgo Full Moon opposition Neptune and Jupiter Retrograde have to say about your ego. Which isn’t what you thought it was. Plus – the USA’s natal chart: more secrets revealed, and why it’s so important not to play small now.
Here’s the excerpt from my newsletter about claiming your greatness.
Here’s a video of us writing a song based on audience suggestions in the middle of Red House (public post on my Patreon blog).
Me and Lupo playing my award-winning song “the blue line” on acoustic guitars under the Full Moon on March 1. (Thanks to Natalie Lupo for the great iPhone video!)
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
DK Brainard and Jeff Lupo (Stand & Deliver) playing “the blue line” on acoustic guitars – March 1, 2018.
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
Sensory Rain. Detail from colored pencil sketch by DK.
The Aquarius solar eclipse falls in the same degree as the USA’s natal Moon. In this podcast, I explain how the ongoing demoralization of the American people will lead to new social paradigms and threaten the relevance of current social networks such as Facebook. Plus, this ‘super’ eclipse makes a friendly aspect to Aquarius’ ruling planet, Uranus, suggesting the potential for radical innovation as well as sudden upheavals.
And I look at systems theory, the Leo-Aquarius shadow polarities, and read from Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet.
[podcast]
In my article on the Aquarius solar eclipse as emotional pressure gauge, I look at some of the degree symbols for the eclipse chart and explore how your emotional state can enable you to break free of conditioned social roles and underperforming relationships.
The Naked Songwriter podcast currently happens twice a month, timed to the new and full moons. I’m listener-supported, just like public radio, so if you enjoy my unique blend of astrology, music, cultural commentary and inspiration for all of us who are creating rather than consuming, please show your love. Share the pod, support me on Patreon — let’s connect and conquer!
Support DK Brainard on Patreon
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
The January 31 Leo Super Lunar Eclipse is conjunct President Trump’s progressed Moon and natal Pluto.
The super blood moon total lunar eclipse in Leo happening overnight makes an almost exact conjunction with dwarf planet Ceres – an archetype that astrology has not really assimilated yet. In the podcast, I look at how this eclipse reflects and brings into manifestation the themes of the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. A major theme of this eclipse is sacrificing our stories about limitation and stepping into our inner divinity. And, the lunar eclipse in the chart of President Trump.
Note: I mentioned two dates I was going to give you and forgot to give you the second date. So here it is: There was an eclipse in the same degree of Leo on January 31, 1999. If you can remember what was happening in your life at that time, you may get some clues about the startling realizations or liberating energies coming into your life now.
[podcast]
The Venus Cycle…Cosmic Intelligence Agency – has a useful chart showing the phases of the Venus’ synodic cycle
Venus Exterior Conjunction – great astrology writing covering key astrological events in January 2018; also, good explication of the Venus cycle
John Sandbach’s blog – creator of the Omega and Chandra symbols referenced on the pod
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Support DK Brainard on Patreon
Hey, check it out. I was rockin’ last night!
If you want to skip to the song proper, it starts around 3:38. But I think the intro is fuckin’ cool, too, so I would just dedicate 13 minutes of your life at some point to watching the whole thing and letting the music wash over you like a warm waterfall of ionized water in a tropical paradise.
Here’s the idea:
1. I’m improvising a soundscape (“Ignition”) while workshop participants are drawing a mandala or designing their heroine/shadow masks or getting comfy on their yoga mats after a break…and then we go into the song.
2. So if you can watch it as if you’re not actually sitting on a chair in a row with other people sitting on chairs, but you’re already in a tranced-out, temporary autonomous zone environment, getting in touch with your inner transformational genius through various cool and fun activities, you’ll get the flavor.
3. I actually did this live Saturday night as a Facebook Live stream. Privacy turned out to be set to ‘Only Me’…I’m still working out the technical details to get the volume levels right, etc. But I wasn’t sure if it was “live” live or private until I finished. So I was playing my ass off, just in case!
4. I’m excited about how good most of it sounds. And a little bummed the vocals managed to be both too low in the mix and distorting at the same time. I think that’s a combination of suboptimal monitoring conditions (using earbuds and not being able to crank my monitors cuz I’m doing it at night while my little boy is asleep upstairs) and having to sing quietly.
But I’ll get that figured out.
Slowly but surely, in a very Saturn-like way, I’m putting it all together!
Thanks a million to my Patrons for supporting me and giving me feedback as I work out the kinks in the hose.
I believe that, as souls, before we incarnate we set up certain checkpoints in the timeline or story arc of the life we are going to have on Earth. We know that once we get born and fall back into the gravity and density of the Earth Experience*, we’re going to forget why we came and lose sight of what we intended to experience.
So we choose our time and place of birth in order to have a certain natal chart. The chart gives us the reassurance of knowing that if we miss a key turning point at age 30, for example, we’ll have another chance to get on the path we want at age 37, and then again at age 45.
These built-in checkpoints are often devastatingly direct. They can always be seen (at least in retrospect) in the form of outer planet transits to the natal chart.
Especially if we’ve managed to sleep through a couple of previous alarms on the same life theme, these outer planet transits can show up in the form of a seriously hard-core knock you on your ass, drop you to your knees wake-up call!
Continue reading