“Lucy Harmer’s knowledge, intuition, and wisdom have a way of being very accurate, extremely helpful, and arriving at just the right time. If you are looking at this book, it probably means that it is exactly the right time for you to become acquainted with your own spirit animal traits.” —Dorna Wilson Revie, founder and director of the International Sophrology Training Centre
Welcome to Lucy Harmer’s Shamanic Astrology monthly forecast for the Northern Hemisphere! Each month Lucy shares inspiration and ideas for the coming weeks from her book Shamanic Astrology: Understanding Your Spirit Animal Sign.
Shamanic Astrology is based on the study of the movement of the sun and the moon during the different seasons of the year. There are twelve astrological “signs” which are represented by twelve different spirit animals. To find out your own personal spirit animal sign (the sign you were born under), please check the table of spirit animals at the end of this article. Shamanic Astrology teaches us that inner power derives from knowing the properties, characteristics, and qualities of each spirit animal (known as their “medicine”), and applying this in our own lives.
Each month I will focus on the spirit animal for that month, and describe the “energy” of the month itself and also the influence of the moon. I will also indicate which other spirit animal signs will find this month to be particularly beneficial, and why.
August 23 – September 22:
BROWN BEAR
Month of the harvest
Spirit Animal Sign of the Month:
Brown Bear is the spirit animal which corresponds to August 23 – September 22 (in the northern hemisphere). If you were born at this time, your spirit animal sign is Brown Bear and you share Brown Bear’s strengths of being hardworking, intelligent, efficient, practical, straightforward, meticulous, discreet and imaginative. You may also share some of Brown Bear’s weaknesses and can have a tendency to be overcritical, antisocial, fussy, perfectionistic and anxious.
Medicine: Brown Bear’s medicine is the ability to be determined and tenacious. To be used in difficult situations where confidence and strength are needed.
Element: Earth
Stone: Amethyst
Color: Purple
Plant: Violet
Energy of the season:
Brown Bear’s month is the time of the harvest. The summer is at an end and nature’s gifts are ready to be gathered and stored. The days shorten imperceptibly, birds take off for warmer climes and the sun loses its power. This is the time to enjoy the fruits of our labors from the preceding seasons and to prepare for winter. It is a favorable period for taking stock of our potential, for giving thanks for what we have received and for the consolidation of what we have acquired. It is a time for reflection and discovering our inner qualities. Everything undertaken this month will be logical, practical and useful.
Energy of the moon:
Brown Bear’s new moon started on August 10 and the full moon is on August 24. This means that the Brown Bear month starts in its full moon period. There will be an experience of being “thrown into things” – without having had the time to prepare or plan things through properly. After the full moon – from August 25 until September 7 – time is best used for sorting out whatever you have been thrown into in the first half of the month! Luckily, the influence of Brown Bear brings organizational skills to the fore, with the emphasis on practical and methodical structures. However, there will still be a tendency to be thrown off course this month, and you may experience a desperate need to control events. September 8 brings the new moon in Raven – which will grow and increase in energy until September 22. This is a good time for focusing inwards and developing inner resources. It is an especially good time for carefully evaluating situations before making any big decisions.
This month is particularly favorable for the following signs:
Brown Bear:
If your sign is Brown Bear the energy of this month is very favorable because it corresponds to the month and the moon of your birth. A new cycle is about to start in your life and this is the best time to start planting seeds. Use the sun’s energy to take stock and head off in a new direction.
Beaver/Snow Goose:
If your sign is Beaver or Snow Goose this is a very lucky month for you, with lots of harmony because you are in your own earth element. A multitude of opportunities will open up for you in this period and this is the best time to give destiny a helping hand!
Woodpecker/Snake:
For Snake and Wolf people, this is a very dynamic month, full of energy which favors the conception and birth of new projects. You will feel new motivation and a renewal of your energy at this time.
Table of Spirit Animal Signs:
To find your spirit animal sign, just locate your birthday from the dates below, according to your place of birth. If you were born north of the equator (e.g., USA, Canada, Europe), then look for your date of birth in the column headed “Northern Hemisphere.” If you were born south of the equator (e.g., Australia, New Zealand, South Africa), then look for your date of birth in the column headed “Southern Hemisphere.”
© Copyright 2010 Lucy Harmer
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Thanks for describing it. I am a grateful viewer of the celestial bodies and participant in the rhythms they impose on earthly life.