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March 20 through March 26, 2023

Happy Astrological New Year! The Sun will move into Aries on Monday and revive us on every level. As we cast off the watery vibes of Pisces, we'll be entering a cycle of creativity, inspiration, and assertive action. The next four weeks will prove fruitful and exciting as we enter a new season and year and prepare for new beginnings. To add to the fun, the Aries new Moon on Tuesday kicks off another round of potential and fresh starts. The second big event of the week is Pluto's entry into Aquarius on Thursday. The last time Pluto changed signs was in 2008, so this shift is introducing a profound karmic cycle that puts us on a path to a new paradigm! We'll begin to see new inventions and global events taking shape that lead us forward. Based on the fact that a major stellium occurs on this same day (Venus, the Moon, Jupiter, Mercury, the Sun, and Neptune all in close proximity of each other), this could be the most profound astrological event of the year, if not the decade! So fasten your seat belts! The third major shift of the week occurs when Mars moves into Cancer on Saturday. Cancer can tone down the assertive energy of Mars, as it promotes family, home, and fertility. So the focus of the next two months will have us looking within and at our immediate surroundings and relationships.

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.

On three separate occasions, I have heard my name yelled out by a disembodied voice while I was sleeping. The first time this happened, I heard my departed mother yell Yolanda! and it woke me up. The second time, I heard my dad yell my name in his Spanish accent, but no one was home but me. This also startled me and woke me up. The third time, I heard my boyfriend yell my name and a door slam shut. I awoke to again find I was home alone. Do you know what this could be? It scares me because the voices sound so real, and I feel crazy because there is no one home and no reasonable explanation for this.

Yolanda

Susyn:

Based on the details in your question, I assume that your mother resides in the spirit world while your father and boyfriend are still living. Spirits will often speak to us through our dreams or awaken us from deep sleep. That is not unusual. To hear your boyfriend and father do the same suggests that they were either astral projecting to you in their sleep, or that different spirits or guides mimicked their voices to get your attention.

I am of the belief that when you hear something three times from different sources, there is an important message trying to get through to you. To have your mother, father and boyfriend awaken you by calling your name in the middle of the night, only to discover no one there, tells me that someone is trying to get your attention for a very specific reason.

You hear nothing but your name, which is just enough to get your attention. When this sort of phenomenon occurs, we don't know what to make of it, which sends us on a quest to figure out what is happening and why. This kind of wake-up call can be particularly disconcerting because we have to figure out what someone is trying to say to us on our own. That these are the three people you are closest to suggests that the message someone is trying to get through to you is very important.

In my experience, there is always a reason behind the phenomenon you describe, especially when it keeps recurring. I recommend you stop and ask yourself if there is anything you are doing or not doing that might cause your loved ones concern or worry. You can ask your father and boyfriend directly if this is the case, though I wouldn't assume that they would remember coming to you in spirit form or speaking your name.

Whether you are facing a life-changing situation, have gotten off track somehow, or need to be alerted to an impending problem, the messages will continue until you determine what they mean, after which these voices should stop. Sometimes the reason is obvious, while at other times, no matter how hard we try, we just can't seem to get the message.

While it's most likely that you're being alerted to important guidance, it's possible that your loved ones are just thinking of you and checking in with you. If you can't determine why this keeps happening on your own, you may want to meet with a psychic who can speak to your mother directly and ask your spirit guides what you're supposed to be getting from all of this so you can quickly clarify the message involved and start taking action on it.

*****

Oceania:

While it's possible that your mother's spirit and the higher selves of your father and boyfriend were calling your name to get your attention, it's also possible that these calls originated from your unconscious mind during a dream state. It's easy to wake up from a dream because our brains are nearly awake at that point in the sleep cycle.

As the three most significant people in your life are calling you to wake up, I think you are wise to pay attention. You might be picking up cues from them when you're awake that you're overlooking because you're busy, and only realize that they have something important to tell you when you're quietly resting.

To receive guidance from your inner wisdom or your loved ones, you must schedule time in your daily or weekly routine to be present in the moment and fully aware of your body, thoughts and feelings. Activities that support introspection include meditation, yoga stretches, journaling and artwork. Begin right now. Stop reading and take three slow, deep, relaxing breaths. Next, close your eyes and picture yourself in a safe and peaceful place. Envision your ideal self standing before you. What qualities does she have? Identify three baby steps that would move you closer to becoming her.

Another helpful exercise is to imagine that you ARE your mom, dad and boyfriend, one at a time. Imagine you are your mother and that you are sitting in a chair across from yourself. As your mother, what would you like to tell yourself? Don't think about it; just speak whatever comes to you as it comes. Of course, it is also possible that you have unresolved issues with these three individuals. Think back to when your mother was alive. What did you need most from her? What do you need most from your father and boyfriend? Share something genuine and heartfelt with each of these three.

It is also possible that these sleep intruders represent parts of YOU, each trying to deliver a message to your conscious mind. The Mother part of you is the nurturer, self-protector, and boundary-setter. Name one thing you could do to better preserve and nurture your authentic self. The Father part is your encourager, empowerer, and inner coach. In what way could you go for it, take a risk, exercise courage and discipline? The Partner part is your companion, ally and advocate. Is there a situation in your life where you need to stand up for yourself and be more assertive?

Please don't be afraid when you receive these wake-up calls, for they are opportunities to stretch, learn and grow!

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.