Tag: 10 Billion Beats

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10 Billion Beats 2012

The 10 Billion Beats global drumming event of 2012 is this year taking place plumb on the September Equinox – as we move deeper into this time of great transition there could not be a more opportune moment for bringing a powerful wave of peace and goodwill to our home planet. As 2012 comes to completion through the last quarter of the year the calling is in ‘bringing the highest and finest qualities of these momentous times into manifestation’, and this years 10 Billion Beats is an energetic gateway to the harmonious and timely realisation of this call.

We should be under no illusions about the potential of this global drumming event. For a start the timing of this year’s event ties it into the solar cycle aligning the wave with the annular creative cycle of Earth. This gives our drumming an extended reach and potential in time that will accompany us all the way through to the much anticipated 2012 December solstice, and beyond. How far beyond depends on how we work with the energy raised, the quality of consciousness brought to it now, and this includes any intent we bring to the drumming. The timing also brings out 10 Billion Beats syncretic qualities, unifying our diversity and placing the event within the ‘bigger picture’, connecting our drumming with the archetypal qualities of our times…….as the drums call around our Earth, Sun culminates in Virgo and enters Libra, and we celebrate the ripened harvest in the north and the flowering earth in the south. The energies of this time are rich in possibilities.

The Virgo/Libra cusp perfectly expresses a significant station in the human life cycle as well – the transition made by the individual ripened through experience into the sharing of the fruits of wisdom within community. There is a correspondence here between the energies within the earth cycle and the calling that is being asked of us collectively to manifest. This is very much about our transit into maturity as a species and it is in essence perfectly in keeping with the ‘elder’ time, the time of year in which our connections with the cosmos deepen. Within the bigger picture ‘community’ here means both those collectives formed through harmonic resonance and the larger community that extends across time, space and dimensions.

Through alignment with the solar cycle 10 Billion Beats 2012 gives us an opportunity to collectively entrain our inner vibrations with those of the planet, the solar system and the Sun in harmony with the greater cosmic processes at work now. This is about working with energy that generates momentum…….

And, talking of momentum…..last years event attracted approaching a quarter of a million participants and, with numbers increasing year on year, in 10 Billion Beats we could well be seeing the beginnings of an important global healing practice emerging. It has been said that it takes only 8,000 people working together energetically with a shared intent of this nature to manifest the most significant change in the world, change that affects the entire planet, that can have lasting effect for the greater good – last years event saw 25 times that number taking part, with over 200,000 people drumming globally. We should expect this number to increase again this year, and, with this the unity and continuity of the wave increases as well.  It may well be too early to say, however, what is emerging in a new form is already a part of a tradition with roots as deep as humanity. We are seeing the emergence, in Martin Prechtel’s words, of ‘new sap in the old tree’. And here, intent is everything…..

IMHO I feel that Carlisle Bergquist and the organisers of 10BB have pitched it just right; there is a global invitation to drum made in the spirit of ‘peace and goodwill’ and the invitation is left open – we bring to it what we each choose……take some time to think on this and the message in the poster. The event offers an opportunity to go far beyond this……

When a group of drummers get together the pulse they create carries a dialogue that speaks the language of the soul. In drumming together we recall an innate gift, as old as humanity, that allows our souls to speak freely with each other within the energetic matrix of Life. Drumming is, in this sense, re-membering. Music motivates at this level, but, when allied with ‘sacred intent’ or when held within the spacial contours of ceremony rhythm and pulse also provides an energetic drive that activates meaning and carries us beyond the physical boundaries we normally experience – when we remember in this context our connectivity carries a restorative as well as a generative ‘soul-making’ dynamic. This itself is a dynamic intrinsic to the Virgo/Libra cusp. At its highest level it is an energy point, like the descendant in the natal chart, of activation within communion.

In the transit from Virgo into Libra we find the culmination of the inner path of individuation transiting into the outer, the initiates path entering into the adepts and our highest levels of achievement becoming shared. These can become naturally nucleated within the collective and this finds symbolic representation in the ‘harvest’. One of the keys to understanding this transition is provided by the Sabian symbols for the degrees that form the cusp, the thirtieth degree of Virgo and the first degree of Libra.

The Sabian for 30 Virgo speaks of the quality of complete focus and it is this that brings about this ‘culmination’, which is akin to the decisive step taken by the initiate at the entrance to the holy ground. Decision of this kind, once made, becomes the backbone of intent. We face these moments of decision at all the major crossroads of our lives, but, if we are to live consciously and with intent, as does the adept, these moments fill our lives. Humanity is at that crucial point and we are being called upon to make the decisive step into adept-hood and maturity. Can we once more recognise our home planet as holy ground……

The Sabian for 1 Libra speaks of the quality of ‘making’ sacred – when living with intent the divine is not simply a given, it is a collaboration and partnership, or better, an affiliation and friendship. How would it be if we rcognised our ‘beloved’ in Nature….perhaps a rhetorical question for this event? The heart is the natural center within our physical frame that regulates the manifestation of this dynamic of connectivity. And, every heart beat echoes this dynamic, literally embodies it – the mutual symbolism of drum and heart beat is a potent reminder to us. Even more so through the evolved part of our beings that we express – there is a richness in the rhythmic cadence of our stride as we ‘walk our talk’ and in the steps of our personal ‘dance of power’ as we mature and let go into the greater rhythms of Life. It is a dance and dialogue built upon experience that can be perfected through pure mindfullness and love, and its realisation is every individual souls gift back to life. If the coming solstice marks a point of transformation it will be realised through our ability to give of this gift, personally within the collective – but, it is also crucial to us building a community capable of transcending and evolving beyond our own limitations.

The planetary affiliations of sign and ruling planet are revealing here too. We normally associate Venus with earth and Mercury with air, yet Mercury is the traditional ruler of Virgo and Venus ruler of Libra – the mutual receptivity of their rulership within the elements mirrors and is expressive of this energy of affiliation and is unique to this particular cusp.

……..as we approach the solstice, following the Sun’s journey from Virgo through Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius, the energy raised now follows a path of awareness, piercing the veil of the physical, deepening as it creates new connections –  permeating the intelligence of the emotional body awareness becomes a power, bringing the opportunity to mature beyond the physical, before entering the spiritual realms of pure intellect and re-birthing from ‘the heart of the world’, the center of all manifestation, into the generative physical realms of Capricorn. The next 13 weeks give us the opportunity to align fully with this process and through the drums affirm an intent that will help us to do so. But, there are yet deeper levels available to work with here.

With the opening of the drumming we find the Moon, corresponding to ‘the People’, conjunct the Great Attractor in mid-Sagittarius. The GA’s influence gives us the view beyond the horizon, the future we dream of in our innermost selves. The seed dreams embedded in the energy of every participant are connected down the line over the 24 hours of the drumming. At close of drumming the Moon conjuncts the Galactic Center and grounds this influx of dreaming through the energies of the cosmic womb. This may be very subtle and esoteric by nature and appeal only to a few, but, even a small percentage of all those drumming can make the difference and it is the power of the essence carried within the dreaming, its qualities rather than quantity that matter most.

Before drumming this year, since it is ‘this’ year, take some time to consider an intent that arises naturally from the cornucopia of your own innate gifts, that arises most strongly in your heart, and that you can give through your drumming, as a gift to the world…..and give it your all…..

here is the link to the 10BB website

see you there!

In Peace, R

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HOWLING MOON : the Gateway Opens

With impeccable timing our friend Carlisle Bergquist at 10 Billion Beats has once again put out the call for a Global Wave of drumming right on this Eclipsed Full Moon – this one will be a howler so lets look at the energies we will be riding….

The eclipsed Moon will auger a field change for the coming year arriving just fifteen hours before the Solstice on 21st December (Winter for the northern hemisphere, Summer for the southern) and prepares the ground for the New Moon Solar eclipse that follows just two weeks later on January 4th – it is essential that we take this opportunity (eclipse) to make the karmic window (Lunar Eclipse) count as the world is poised to come alive with deeply sourced cosmic intelligence and inspiration streaming in from the Galactic Center. The eclipse is just 3 degrees from the GCenter, but, Mercury will be exact conjunct with it at 26 Sagittarius – Mercury is retrograde until the 30th Dec so this inward streaming is a download of immense potential for evolution and reclamation of our collective and individual power…..only, this will be like nothing we have ever known before – we are EVOLVING from within, and with the power of the collective drumming through 10 billion drums creating the great wave, we will have the power to see that change become manifest. So, whats at stake!!??

We are no longer seperated by distance – not that we ever were, however, the unfolding power of connectivity that our technologies have brought us means that we are increasingly tapping into the unified consciousness of our Humanity – we can move as one and, as Barbara Hand Clow suggests, are able to work with the same kind of integral intelligence as the great flocks of birds – we are constantly becoming conscious of the great web of life again through our collective movements, flowing with tidal force and energy – with the Galactic Center alignment on this eclipse this conciousness will become seeded with new potential and all we need is to be awake! There are in the world forces that would have it otherwise……

We do not have to look far to see how those forces are resisting change……the previous New Moon revealed deception at the heart of the Global powerbase – and you cannot remove such realisations once they are out in the open, but, those same ‘powers’ will try everything to alter our minds and fool us into wrong thinking and illusion – with Pluto still hovering near the North Node in early Capricorn this eclipse will bring the objectives of such maneuvering into sharp contrast with our inner knowing – while the politic says one thing the people know another – and this spells the possibility of conflict. Nobody in their right mind wants this…and, on another level, this is also the uterine moment, the hiatus before the birth – a moment in which we can transit from one state to another, and begin to nurture our renewed selves.

Mars squares Saturn from mid Capricorn – the image is one of containment vying with force – Saturn’s Libran energy for re-structuring in partnership is being pushed by the vested interests of those who currently hold the power of political leadership to maintain the status quo. Venus has something to say about this – on exactly the same point of her previous meeting with Mars, the exact same degree of the November New Moon (Moth Moon), the balance of male and female energies is once again being highlighted by Venus’ sextile to Mars – and, to push the parameters,  the Mars square to Saturn is also waxing towards exact on 29th December, just as Mercury goes direct once again. The power of women will be charged and there will be no place for patriarchal suppressors and abusers to hide. This is crucial and will prepare the field for the upcoming Solar Eclipse in two weeks time. To initiate our preparations, before the January eclipse, the 10 Billion Beats crew have put out the call – our singing drums will call out to the Galactic Center – “we are ready”….

Just for a moment take a step back and listen with your heart – this Moon on 29.21 Gemini has a message – it is the sound of our own higher knowing that is telling us from the critical degree that change is about to come. As this eclipse is taking place just before the Solstice we need to remember what the solstice point around 0 degrees Cancer brings in the yearly cycle. It is a point at which the masculine Solar power gives way to the feminine Earth and Lunar power as the latter reaches its peak – we are reminded of this with the Sabian symbol for this degree and its message is uncanny:
……in the run up to the solstice “The dominant Yang force allows the Yin force to begin its six-month long rise to power. The “collective” will gradually overcomes the “individual”…NOW, HOWEVER, the individual person enjoys her/his most glorious hour; s/he exults in the ability to make a “free decision”- i.e. to act as an individual who selects their life goal and their allegiance.”
This truly is our time for formulating our clear intent and setting the energy of this on an outward spiral of evolving karmic release – we can drum up the courage we will need with this eclipse…..and take this towards the Solar eclipse on Jan 4th as we move collectively towards the balance point of the equinox. Cancerian energy is nesting, mothering and protective…..

Once the solstice hour arrives the Moon will have moved forward to oppose Mars from 8 Cancer. We will be searching for the justice that Saturn demands in the face of martial blindness. With Cancerian desires for nurturing and allegiance at work amongst ‘the people’, no longer will the howling sound of our suffering at the hands of the ‘elite’ be suppressed – and the breakdown of barriers and restoration of our ability to heal ourselves, aid each other in the process and bring a new pathway for realising our future here on our Earth will be lit up with Neptune conjunct Chiron’s Aquarian vision – Chiron is now preparing to move into the zodiacal field of Piscean spirituality – this vision is streaming in to this solstice by the constant flowing energy of their trine to the Moon and their awakening sextile to the Sun.

And the stars are with us – during Howling Moon the Sun is conjunct Polaris, the ‘Pole Star’ – she is the great steadying influence, helping us to navigate our new path, as she has many a traveller over the millenia. She has innate knowing of the highest kind to give us in the moment of Lunar darkness and she will ramp up the contrast with the Moon that is conjunct Betelguese.

This star is a massive collapsing red supergiant in the Orion constellation – its time is fading and it will implode under its own gravity – being conjunct the Moon in late Gemini this failing influence spells the end for the high minded political idealism that has driven us to the brink of destruction – nothing can reverse this and this karmic moment is ours for the taking – once the North Node enters Sagittarius our common goals and spiritual aspirations will once more become the driving force for our collective evolution as we release from the grip of the old body politic. But, we need to be awake as this happens….Polaris will help us, finding our way in the dark, elevated high in the northern sky

…..the sting is with Arachne, the spider-woman and original weaver of the web, whose name is carried by the asteroid opposing Venus – which brings us back to the ancient story of Sleeping Beauty…..  

In very ancient versions of this story Beauty was a lunar goddess/daughter whose cycles were unwittingly usurped by the Solar King’s 12 fold division of time – the 13th fairy, the ‘evil’ one who subverted Beauty’s coming of age by cursing her to eternal sleep, was the shadow power that arose, projected from the Sun King’s own unconscious – he forgot to invite her to the blessing, the celebration of menarch. Had he done so the marraige of lunar and solar time would have been complete and our world would be a different place. It cannot now be complete without the integration of shadow. And this is the underlying theme of this Moon.

Arachne herself was overshadowed by the power of the gods when Minerva (Athene) changed her to a spider following a weaving contest between herself and the great weaver – Arachne chose in the contest to portray the loves and transgressions of the gods, which she did with winning skill that outshone the Goddess’ own self aggrandising effort – the myth has it that Arachne had been unwilling to accept that her abilities were entirely  ‘god-given’ – Athene, motherless daughter of Zeus, had been unable to accept the weaver’s apparent egocentricity and hubris – once again the ‘powers that be’ had to have their way, only the result was that Arachne became forever stripped of her humanity and was condemed to hang, hairless and naked, from a single thread, weaving her web for survival. This exile from her humanity is an underlying theme for our times…but, it is not without resolution

The resonances with the story of Sleeping beauty are strong, the more so for the subversion of women’s power and the attempted elimination of Lunar wisdom from the world – across time the Sleeping Beauty story took shape through the ongoing eclipsing of the old matriarchal ways by the male Solar lineages of power – just as organised religion re-wrote the history books and set new calendars the once common wisdom contained in the old stories of the medicine people were relegated to myth and pushed out of the exacting light of consciousness into the liminal realms. The time has come for the old wisdom to re-awaken, renewed. Sleeping Beauty represents this re-awakening, as does her sister story, Snow White, which we will come to in upcoming posts…….

And yet, the sting is in the moment – we are becoming aware of the cycle of sleep ending and the poisons, of seperation from our inner partners, are wearing off…..with the Mars sextile Venus aspect we also have Juno in late Virgo opposite Jupiter conjunct Uranus in late Pisces. Our transformation awaits us and will expand into renewed unity that will take us there. The exquistely poised beauty of this moment should give us cause for celebration and the 10 Billion Beats of our human hearts resounding with the Galactic Wisdom coming in will awaken us to the new world that is our home within the Cosmos. As ever, the future is ours for the taking….

These energies are not imaginary, and this is no fairytale….look at the world around you and it is plain how everything is becoming charged, enfolded by a powerful movement within change – we can make this count through purposeful engagement and consciousness changes everything – our actions following make it so

So, where-ever you are in the world, take up the heartbeat of the drum on this Eclipse and raise a great wave of empowered and knowing energy that will carry us into wholeness and true creative freedom!

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