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Brown Bear Herbs' Blog

Guerrilla Puffs

Guerrilla Puffs

I made this smoking blend when Trump was first elected. There was a lot of panic happening. A couple of my friends moved out of the country. We were all worried what would happen. I started to see people slip into political apathy. This would not do! 

I wanted to make a smoking blend that would help people stay engaged politically and not get overwhelmed. I had an image in my mind's eye about activists plotting in a room filled with tobacco smoke. I was thinging of all the herbs that would love to make the world a better place! Hello, climate change is real and plants don't have voting rights (nettles?) or arms to throw bricks (dandelion!?).  

So I started researching plants to help with the impacts of mass hysteria and the ability stay action-oriented. To test the herbs my team would watch the news before smoking. We landed on this beautiful balance of organic and/or wildcrafted red clover, mullein leaf and flower, calendula, lemon balm, and holy basil (tulsi).  Click here to watch my video with more information.

I hope that you will take Angela Davis' messages and these plants to heart and get up and fight for the rights of our people. Who are our people? The inhabitants of this planet. We all need access to healthcare, housing, food and body sovereignty. Currently, the rights of women and children are under siege, globally and very much so in the US.

Everyone in sympathy is needed to bring us to a fair, responsible future. 

We cannot advance as a global culture while simultaneously undermining over half of our population. 

Lots of love,

Arati

from our March 15, 2023 newsletter

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The Eclipse and the Battle for Abortion Rights

The Eclipse and the Battle for Abortion Rights

Total Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio

The moon is at its fullest and is totally eclipsed on May 15th at 9:14 pm PST, 12:14 am ET on May 16th, at 25 degrees of Scorpio. Scroll down for the astrological chart from astro.com.

This is a fascinating eclipse. The tension is extremely high, it is not just a full moon, it is a super moon. It is not just an eclipse, it is a total eclipse. The polarity between the moon in Scorpio and the sun in Taurus is squared by Saturn in Aquarius. The Scorpio/Taurus axis is the axis of possession. In a T-square, the squaring planet (Saturn in this case) offers guidance and insight as to how the tension will likely be managed. Eclipses happen along the nodal axis. This means the collective desires (symbolized by the north and south nodes) are further amplified. The potential reversal of Roe v. Wade epitomizes this eclipse. I shall explain and you can see if similar dynamics of control and wounding/undermining women are happening in the microcosm of your life. 

The Scorpio Eclipse and the nodes in Scorpio and Taurus deal with possession. The dark side of Taurus is relating to the aesthetically pleasing and the physical world through ownership without honoring. Think of Nazi Germany, stealing art and human labor.  The dark side of Scorpio often relates to sexual control, manipulation, and power struggles. Think of the many stories of sexual abuse by people in power coming into the media. It is not pretty. The rulers of the sun and moon during an eclipse are important. In this case, these planets are Venus (ruler of Taurus) and Mars and Pluto (night and day rulers of Scorpio respectively). I will look at all three as they play significant roles at this potentially pivotal time. 

At the time of this eclipse, Venus and Chiron are closely conjunct in Aries.  Chiron represents a wound but, also the healing that we are better at offering others than ourselves. Venus represents the feminine and refining. Removing a woman's right to choose injures (Chiron) the woman and also forces her life to be more about her ability to birth (Aries) and, ideally, nurture, (also Chiron, having one's life wounded but supporting another's). It also hinders her ability to refine --choosing what is best to grow at what time. Chiron in Aries brings up issues around self-worth. When abortion rights are restricted, women are legally considered worth less as individuals (Chiron in Aries) than as baby-producing units. 

Pluto in Capricorn is in harmonious aspect to the eclipse. I see Pluto in this as represented by SCOTUS and generally the politicians who are working to overturn Roe v. Wade against the wishes of the majority of the US citizens. Pluto in Capricorn shows us corruption in the government and it is working harmoniously with the themes of possessing (Scorpio/Taurus nodes and eclipse) and the wounded woman (Chiron Venus conjunction in Aries).

Mars is in conjunction with Neptune in Pisces. Mars is not at home in Pisces and the addition of Neptune makes for a bit of a wild card. Mars represents the male, assertive energy and Pisces is a very passive sign. Together with Neptune in Pisces this could lead to a sense of romanticism (feeling the desire to rescue women) in men collectively or swing to an extreme of paranoia (feeling the need to save the 'baby'). At best Mars in Pisces and Neptune is extremely compassionate and loves unconditionally. The insistently (Mars) compassionate (Neptune and Pisces) male (Mars) voice is very much needed in this battle about the rights of women over their bodies. This conjunction is also working harmoniously with the eclipse. This can be supportive of women's rights in this astrological interpretation. The Mars/Neptune angle can speak to the various concerns with compassion towards the ugliness that is being brought up by the Scorpio South Node transit. The higher vibration can also teach how to support and nurture (positive qualities of Taurus) the feminine. 

With Saturn in Aquarius, squaring the eclipse, we can expect a very strong effort to restructure things around this issue in a progressive way, which would maintain or expand abortion rights. Saturn in Aquarius relates to the government (Saturn) being the people (Aquarius)--as a democracy the people have the power in this situation. Make your voice heard. IT IS ESSENTIAL that men raise their voices too. There will not be the interpretation of a majority without your strong presence. The call is clear: the people of the US, the actual majority, must seize their power. Now one will do it for us. Not even our elected officials. We must show them that we intend to enforce the intent behind our democracy and not allow manipulation of the law for the benefit of the minority. 

Jupiter just moved into Aries (the sign of the warrior) from Pisces. The energy is here now to fight. If this issue is not managed now I believe it will erupt when Pluto finally exits Capricorn to enter Aquarius briefly in March 2023. Around this time, Jupiter visits the exact placement of Venus and Chiron at the current eclipse. Additionally, the sun, Mercury and Neptune will be at approximately the same point where Mars and Neptune are this weekend.  It seems likely that the law at this time will either support or magnify this wound. It is up to us, and especially the voice of compassionate males, to push this in the direction we desire. The direction of autonomy for women (Venus in Aries). 

The impact of an eclipse is typically felt up to a month beforehand and up to siz months after. Observe how these events are playing out over this time period. 

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