Hello everyone! I haven't done what I thought I would with this channel, and as much as I hate to risk losing the name, I'm cancelling my subscription to Skool. If you want to sign up for my emails (which I haven't sent very frequently, either), please do so here: https://marnischmid.com/. It's hard to say what the future brings, but I do know that with Jupiter just having moved into Cancer, something nourishing and abundant is brewing. Ironically, Cancer is in my 11th House of community and groups and here I am closing a chapter on this group. That's the funny thing about astrology, there are themes and archetypes but there are no absolutes (partly because the other planets are having their own impacts in other areas of my chart that are entirely different than at any other time in my life). And really, it's not so funny because Saturn is in a square with Jupiter (think four-way stop) so while I'm focusing on what I want more of in my life (Jupiter), there are earthly boundaries with which I have to work (Saturn). I'm going to avoid the Full Moon in Sag impact here, otherwise I will go down a rabbit hole. As I write this it's becoming clear that closing this group is in tune with Saturn in my 8th house (of transformation and rebirth), I just didn't see it until now (so, thank you for being here for my musings). For all of us, this Jupiter movement marks the start of another 12-year cycle (consider what was happening in your life 12 years ago to see if there's a theme around nourishing abundance). We have a year to feel into and figure out this energy (but these first three months will feel a little constrictive). I say all of this knowing that many of us are experiencing hits to our systems that result in a fight/flight/freeze response - it's important to allow that energy to move through your system, engaging in activities that feel nourishing to you, and allowing assistance from others will be very helpful. Sending my best.

Today is the 13th anniversary of my hometown (and my home, critters, and me) getting hit by a tornado, and, of course, we're under a wind advisory all day. 🤦‍♀️ I typically don't even notice the anniversary anymore, but given everything going on in the world and the skies, it is hitting my system pretty hard today (it makes everything scary and uncontrollable feel like it's actually hitting my body). Venus starting her retrograde on Wednesday while the Sun was on Saturn, the eclipse in Virgo on Thursday/Friday (depending on your time zone), and Mercury retrograding today are all asking us to look back before moving forward and to release that which no longer serves us so that we can more easily go with the flow (of our emotions, intuition, circumstances, and world events). It's all just a lot. Because of where this all hits my natal chart, it hits my body and identity. I'm not sure how you're feeling about or navigating whatever and everything present in your life so I want to offer this as something that may help. First, some of the pressure/tension/pain you're feeling now is present to facilitate you changing whatever no longer works for you. Take a minute to breathe and look at your life as though you're an outside observer (or because Virgo, an outside auditor) and ask yourself these questions: -- What do you see? -- Where are your routines and habits creating speedbumps and trip hazards? -- In what ways are you prioritizing logic and/or perfectionism over your true knowing (emotion/intuition...)? -- What purpose do those routines and habits serve? -- Is that your purpose or a false purpose? -- What can you do differently to dissolve those speedbumps and trip hazards? -- What can you declutter and/or organize so that it better supports your purpose? -- What would you prefer to observe? -- What can you do to create this life? -- With this new perspective (or even purpose) for this area of your life, what new habits and routines do you need to implement to level up more closely to the real you?

Hello, lovely souls 💗 I've been getting lots of reminders the last few weeks to breathe (okay, obviously, I'm breathing, but honestly, not very effectively, just the bare minimum to survive). I need reminders as much as anyone, so I thought I'd offer this tool I started using on Monday. I use Insight Timer for many things, but it is now my reminder app. I set a timer for 16 hours (so that I don't have to keep restarting it throughout the day) with intervals of 20 minutes. So, every 20 minutes, I hear a lovely Kalimba tone (that's the one I'm using right now; it'll change when I want something different or am in a habit where I don't need the reminder) that reminds me to breathe. I check my posture, power, and breath, and I ask myself what I prefer to experience (thank you, Brian D. Ridgway). Because every time that dang reminder goes off my body is fixed firmly in position (with no expansion on the inhale and nowhere to contract on the exhale), I know I really, really needed that reminder. So I close my mouth and inhale through my nose, then I open my mouth and exhale audibly through my mouth. I do this for several breaths so that I give my system time to unlock the sarcophagus that is holding me "together" and allow everything I'm holding in some time to move and integrate into my energy field so that I can really see what I prefer to experience in this moment. Yes, difficult stuff comes up, but by staying with the breath, I allow it to move and process, and it becomes a whole lot less difficult to be with. I'm curious about your relationship to breathing and how this reminder lands for you.

Hello, Friends - I feel like I've been absent these last few weeks, and I want to check in. While the last couple of weeks have been filled with an overwhelming amount of chaos and some scary emergencies (wildland-urban interface fires in California, EOs that affect our personal and work lives at many levels, and plane crashes, to name a few), I have also been working on some big project work for a contract that I am loving. It feels hypocritical to try to live my day-to-day with as much normality as possible while also staying informed and while using my brain to get work done. It helps a lot to remind myself that I can't advocate for anyone or get any work done if I'm spinning and not taking care of myself. So I'm trying to prioritize sleep and rest and, except for some slipups (playing a stupid game on my phone until 3 am Friday night/Saturday morning last weekend (still paying for that, by the way)), I'm doing a fine job. So, how are you doing? What are you doing that feels supportive and helpful for you as you navigate life and work?

I know it often feels like there isn't time to rest or play, but in reality, there isn't time NOT to rest and play if you really and truly want to get shit done. Hear me out. It is so easy to get into the cycle of caving to the energetic pressure of making a show of working by focusing on checking things off the list or spending time on low-value tasks that may be important or urgent but that are not both important and urgent; they don't support your main goals and desires in life. That pressure can make it feel impossible and not valuable to step back and rest or do something fun. Our nervous systems need a break from the constant sensation of fight/flight/freeze. And, let's be honest, that's typically what looking at a to-do list puts us into. We need to do things that shift the energy if we're going to be as productive as we know we can be. This is especially true for me because of my astrological nature. I'm built to be unkind to myself, to give to exhaustion or disease, and to get bogged down in details. I'm also built to see the big picture, to design systems (routines) that work efficiently, and to focus on healthy habits. So I am definitely capable of finding the balance. So, while I know all of this about rest and play logically, I got to experience it once again (sometimes I'm a remedial learner) over the holidays. I got sick, and I did not have the energy to stay stuck in f/f/f. I had to take naps. And nap, I did. By the third day, a really cool thing happened. My energy shifted, and while I was still coughing, sneezing, and running through loads of tissues, I started to have visions of what I wanted my office to feel like, and I actually had the energy to take action to create that space. So, next time you feel like you're being squished into something smaller and smaller, do something to shift your energy. Ask yourself what you need and do that thing. I needed rest. Often, I need to walk my dogs or play with my dogs or cats (or all of it 'cause, you know, pets). Regardless of what it is I need to do, when I do that thing, my head is clearer, I'm more efficient, and I get shit done. And then I get to celebrate all the shit getting done.