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April 3 through April 9, 2023

We'll need to keep our egos in check as the week kicks off under an idealistic Virgo Moon. We'll tend to think our ideas are the best, and perhaps they are, but striving for teamwork and considering the needs of others will also play into the mix this week. Moving with balance will be easier when the Moon moves into Libra on Tuesday, where it remains until it waxes full on Thursday. Taking things in stride, biding our time, and holding fast to the ultimate goal will help us maneuver the ups and downs of the week. The full Moon may also ask us to let go of our ideas entirely once it peaks when a new and better dream emerges under Friday and Saturday's Scorpio Moon. Watch for more assertive energy to fill the air on Sunday, as the Sagittarius Moon combines forces with the Aries Sun and tends to bring out our aggressive or stubborn side. The best advice I can give you to get through this week is to choose your battles wisely, OR, to sit on the sidelines and let everyone else duke it out!

3 Common Nightmares & What They Mean, by Clare R. Johnson

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Scary dreams have so much energy! Even the most terrifying nightmares carry creative, healing, and spiritual gifts. When we unwrap our disturbing dreams and nightmares, we understand how these gifts can empower us in our waking life.

Many people report anxiety dreams or dreams with distressing content. Nightmares have been on the rise since the outbreak of the pandemic, but the most common themes remain the same as always: that we are trapped, chased or attacked by shadowy men or aggressive animals, or we find ourselves in the midst of an apocalyptic disaster.

Let's have a look at why such nightmares come, and how we can work with them to discover any personal meaning they may have for ourselves and our life situation. Only the dreamer can know for sure what their own dream or nightmare signifies for them personally, and the best way to find out is by doing dreamwork to unwrap the deeper meaning.

Disaster Nightmares
"An earthquake rips the ground open and people are screaming and falling into the chasm."

Have you ever had distressing dreams of fires, tsunamis, hurricanes, or other natural disasters?

During the pandemic, many people report dreams of giant bugs taking over the planet. Other common disaster nightmares are scenes of warzones or other man-made disasters such as shipwrecks or plane crashes.

Some natural disaster dreams may reflect our relationship to our planet, our reaction to current news events, and our fears about the future, but more often this type of nightmare flags up emotional upheaval, helplessness, and terror in the face of unwanted changes. When such dreams arise, it can mean that we are feeling overwhelmed during an extremely challenging time. Drowning in dreams often seems linked to feeling overwhelmed by emotions or a life situation.

If you have this kind of nightmare, see if you can build a bridge between the core emotion in the dream and something you are currently dealing with in your life. Ask yourself: "When did I last experience that sense of 'I'll never make it!' in my life?" Or: "When did I last feel so desperate?" Often it will be possible to connect this feeling to something in our life: "Oh, right—I've been feeling like I'll never make the deadline for this project and it's making me feel totally panicked and desperate."

One woman had recurring nightmares about earthquakes while she was going through a divorce. Although she felt she was coping with her situation, when she worked with her nightmares, she was able to connect her feelings of terror and instability to her suppressed fears of what would happen to her once the divorce was finalised. She realised she needed to create a life-saving plan of action for her post-divorce life.

Dreams are mirrors. They show us how we are really feeling, and remind us to act to change our lives for the better, by enlisting help, creating a plan, or changing unhelpful behaviours so that we can move forward with joy instead of fear.

Scary Animals and Frightening Beasts
"I'm standing on a high pinnacle of rock. A huge, fire-breathing dragon swoops towards me aggressively and I'm terrified that he'll either attack me or cause me to fall to my death."

Have you ever had nightmares involving animals who bite or chase you, or mythological beasts whose power paralyses you with fear?

When dream animals want to get our attention, they might attack us, pin us down, roar in our faces, scratch, bite, or pursue us. They might even rip us to pieces and kill us. But this doesn't mean that they are negative energies—in fact, dream animals are fascinating to work with. Their instinctive, wild energy can reveal our conflicts and the shadowy aspects of ourselves or other people in our lives. They may also have a shamanic significance, linking us to the spirit world.

A nightmarish animal or beast is trying to wake us up to something that needs addressing within us, or in our life. Nightmares come to propel us towards psychological wholeness. We can get to the heart of an animal nightmare and discover any message it may have for us by asking some key questions: "Which qualities does this animal embody for me?" "How does it feel to go through life in this animal's skin?"

Vividly imagine yourself as that animal, seeing the world through its eyes, feeling its energy move through you, speaking with its voice. What does it want or need? What is it afraid of? What wisdom does it offer?

This kind of imaginative dreamwork is based on Gestalt therapy, developed by Fritz Perls in the early 1950s. It's a wonderful way of connecting deeply with the energy of a nightmare figure, and can be done alone if it feels right, or with a friend or therapist present if there is a lot of fear or difficult emotions such as disgust or guilt. Some nightmares should not be worked on alone, so do check in with yourself before you engage on these deeper levels with threatening nightmare figures.

A woman who dreamed a dragon was swooping at her while she stood alone on a high pinnacle realised the dragon symbolised her husband, an aggressive and domineering man who was also having an affair. She understood how unsafe he made her feel on every level, and how threatening this situation was to her wellbeing. The nightmare showed her a vivid picture of how alone and threatened she felt, and helped her to understand that something had to change fast.

Being Trapped
"I'm in a dark room with no doors or windows. A malicious presence is there with me, and I can't escape."

Have you had terrifying dreams of being trapped in a burning building, or in a crashing airplane? People often report nightmares of being stuck in terrible situations, screaming for help but nobody comes to their rescue.

Such nightmares are often linked to feelings of helplessness, a lack of emotional support, and a belief in one's inability to change a situation.

If you have a nightmare like this, ask yourself: "Where in my life do I feel trapped and powerless, as if there's no way out?" Or ask: "Where do I need to take action in my life?" And, crucially: "Who can I turn to for help in my life?"

One woman had recurring nightmares of being trapped in a doorless, windowless room. She easily linked the feelings of helplessness and panic to her current psychological crisis. During a therapy session, she mentally re-entered the nightmare feeling safe and supported. She was able to imagine herself finding a window, through which she escaped into a beautiful flowering courtyard.

This felt symbolic to her. She realised that she did have choices in her life and could seek a more nourishing, hopeful space for herself. Once she had resolved the dream story in this way, the nightmares didn't return.

When we do empowering imaginative work with a nightmare, equipping our dreaming self with resources such as a sense of safety, a strong ally, or magical powers, we can often break the cycle of bad dreams.

Our dreaming mind wants us to be whole and healthy. All dreams come to help us—if they can't get our attention in any other way, they create shocking scenarios to make us sit up and listen to what's going on within us.

We need to listen to our dreams and nightmares, because they speak to us right from our own heart and soul and have wonderful gifts of insight and wisdom to share with us.

My new book, The Art of Transforming Nightmares, aims to empower dreamers by giving them practical tools to resolve nightmares and other disturbing sleep experiences in healing ways.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021. All rights reserved.

How can my spirit guides help me handle my grief and depression over the loss of my son? My son's first birthday would have been a few days ago. I thought I was handling his death fairly well, but now I seem to be slipping into a very dark period and I'm not sure how to help myself. I know my spirit guides can help me, but I don't know how.

Angel

Susyn:

Few things are more challenging than living with the loss of a child. You have my heartfelt condolences. To cope with your grief, I believe it would be most helpful for to you to gain understanding of why his time on earth was so brief.

A few years ago, I attended a seminar held by an author who had penned a version of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. He relayed a fascinating story about a couple who took a trip to India accompanied by their two-year-old son. While visiting a temple there, the toddler suddenly collapsed and died on the steps. In their grief, the parents sought out the priest of this temple. To explain to them what had happened, the priest told them that in a past life, their son had fulfilled all his wishes save one: to visit this particular temple. Once he was in the temple, his mission was complete, so his spirit left his body at that exact time and place.

It is helpful to remember that there is a higher plan at work and that we enter each incarnation for specific purposes. Even though his life was a short one, I am certain there were many joys and lessons your son brought to you while he was here, and that you continue to learn valuable things about him, yourself and Spirit as a result of his passing.

You can take comfort in the fact that he chose you to be his mother, for he knew that you would be the perfect person to nurture and protect him and then allow him to pass when the time was right. When these moments of sadness overtake you, try to view them as further gifts from him, for these strong emotions are designed to expand your awareness and understanding of the plan Spirit has for each of us.

If you'd like to know more about what his specific purpose was and why he had to leave so soon, I recommend you contact a psychic who specializes in channeling. I believe that our loved ones send us signs from the spirit world, and that the more open we are to receiving these signs, the more will appear. When your grief feels like too much to bear, remember that your son is trying to comfort you from beyond, and ask for signs from him. Unlike your spirit guides, he is your own special angel. He is at peace now and wants the same for you, so he will try to bring you comfort and lead you to understanding.

Though this may not make sense to those of us here in the physical, it's possible that he felt he could better serve you in spirit form. The good news is that your son lives on in your heart and memories. Since your spiritual bond is eternal, you are sure to be reunited one day.

*****

Oceania:

I'm so very sorry for your loss, and I'm glad you reached out to us for support. That means you're already on the path of healing. Please know that it's normal that your son's birthday stirred up your grief again, for holidays and milestones tend to do that.

You're right: your spirit guides can and will help you. As for how, those three letters - H-O-W - suggest the answer: by being Humble, Open and Willing. Your guides may have inspired you to reach out and write to us, and I'm sure they will lead you to other forms of support. For starters, it would be extremely helpful for you to participate in a support group for bereaved parents, for we often receive messages from Spirit and our guides through the words of other people.

There are also things that you can do to feel better and move through your grief with greater ease. Be extra gentle with yourself. Nurture and pamper yourself during this vulnerable time. Welcome your feelings; don't judge, minimize or try to get rid of them. Embrace and sit with them for as long as you need to. Take your time.

When we try to escape painful feelings, we interrupt our natural healing process. We become depressed and shut down because it takes a tremendous amount of energy to hold back feelings. Our thoughts darken, we feel fatigued, and nothing seems enjoyable. This is because we have shut down our feeling system. Instead, give yourself permission to sob, wail, scream, pound the bed with your fists, tear up a phone book, grunt, shake and tremble, curl up in a ball and hide in the corner. These are ways of experiencing and expressing your feelings. Anything goes as long as you do not harm yourself, others, or property you might later regret destroying.

I'm certain your baby is one of your angels. You had a precious visit with him for a while. Now, talk directly to him and say how you feel. Trust that he and your other guides hear your pleas, and are already responding. Open your heart to receiving their signs, nudges and cosmic hugs.

Shakespeare's most beloved plays include silly comedies and gut-wrenching tragedies. Audiences do not favor one above the other, for both are needed to reflect the full spectrum of human experience. Be in your dark period because that's what is authentic and real today, and rest assured that you won't get stuck there. Grief comes in waves that over time become less frequent, less intense, and shorter in duration. Life will carry you as you spiral through her many cycles: winter and summer, night and day, grief and joy, goodbye and hello.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.