A new episode of The Mystical Underground is live! “Trish MacGregor: Star Power For May 2023”:
Join Trish for the May 2023 astrological forecast!
Carl Jung treated patients who heard voices. One of the most interesting cases, which he talks about in his autobiography, was that of a schizophrenic older woman who heard voices “distributed throughout her entire body, and a voice in the middle of the thorax was ’God’s voice,’” Jung writes.
He told her that was the voice they should rely on, because this particular voice made sensible remarks and enabled him to manage this patient. One time the voice in the thorax, God’s voice, told the woman to allow Jung to test her on the Bible. So for the next seven years, once every two weeks, Jung assigned her a chapter in the Bible to read and then tested her on it. “In this way,” Jung wrote, “her attention was kept alert, so that she did not sink deeper into the disintegrating dream.” After six years, the result of Jung’s technique was that the voices that had once been everywhere throughout her body were now just on the left side. The right side was totally free of them. He concluded that she was cured, but only halfway.
Through his work with patients like this woman, he realized that paranoid ideas and hallucinations hold a kernel of meaning. “A personality, a life history, a pattern of hopes and desires lie behind the psychosis….At the bottom we discover nothing new and unknown in the mentally ill; rather, we encounter the substratum of our own natures.”
It would be interesting if psychiatrists or psychologists conducted a study of mediums in the spiritualist town of Cassadaga, Florida, where most of the residents hear voices, communicate with the dead, and constantly are honing their skills. In Cassadaga, this is considered normal. Business as usual.
This is Bootsie, a male cat who is unbearably sweet and friendly – and hungry. He stops by our house at least once a day for a bie to eat, some pets, some loving words. I don’t know who he belongs to, but he’s so comfortable around people that I’m sure he was once a pet. Or perhaps still is, but if that’s the case, his owners don’t deserve him. He’s out in the rain, in the heat, at night, and he’s thin.
Our cats have been outside with him during the day, but no squabbles break out. They just kind of sit around as if waiting for someone to make a move.
Recently, we went to Georgia to visit my sister and her family and I hired a woman to come in once a day and feed our cats and love on them, if she could find them. Roxane came over for meet and greet before we left but she never saw our cats. I sent her pictures of Beo and Nala.
On the 3rd day of our trip, I was monitoring our indoor security camera and saw a black cat hanging out in the living room. At first, I thought it was our black cat, Nala.
But she has a short tail and this cat’s tail was long. She doesn’t have white paws, but this cat does. I realized it was Bootsie, who had somehow gotten into the house. I called Roxane, but didn’t reach her, so I called our neighbor Annette and asked her to go over to the house to check. She thought I was nuts, but was kind of enough to go over to the house. Sure enough, she found Bootsie on Nigel’s bed in our bedroom. She took him outside.
Roxane called me a while later. Her cell had died after she’d left our house that day. A black cat she thought was ours was on the front porch, meowing for food, to be let inside. She thought it was our cat and didn’t have any idea how Nala had gotten out but he followed her into the house so she fed him and left him in the house.
I posted his photo on the Next Door app and got several responses from neighbors who also feed him. No one seems to know who owns him. One neighbor suggested that I catch him and take him to the vet to see if he’s microchipped. Great suggestion except that he often shows up late at night. My suspicion is that Bootsie owner’s may have lived in the neighborhood and left him behind when they moved. The worst kind of pet owner.
I suspect Bootsie may join the MacGregor clan at some point. But first, that microchip. I’m hoping he shows up during the day, when the vet’s office is open, so I can at least find out if he has a microchip. And if he does, I can get the owner’s name and address. If there’s no microchip, then I’ll get him fixed and adopt him.
In researching the impact of Jupiter in the various signs, I discovered that Galileo’s natal Jupiter was in Cancer. Ultimately, his natal Jupiter had his back.
In 1609, the intrepid Italian astronomer Galileo began a serious observation and study of the giant planet. In January 1610, he discovered the four largest moons that orbit Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
His discovery proved to be a critical curve ball for the geocentric scientific theories at the time that said all planets orbited Earth. It laid the foundation for the heliocentric model of the solar system – i.e., all planets orbit the sun. Ultimately, Galileo’s discovery also proved to be his nemesis. The Catholic Church contended that scripture was absolute about the sun moving around the Earth, that Earth was, in fact, the center of the universe. They deemed Galileo’s beliefs as heretical.
In 1616, Galileo was brought before the chief inquisitor and forbidden from holding or defending his beliefs. Seventeen years later, in 1633, he was brought before another chief inquisitor, Father Vincenzo Maculano de Firenzuola, and was tried for his belief that the Earth revolved around the Sun.
Galileo was 69 at the time, frail and in poor health. His arguments – the fact that he talked about this issue as “discussion” rather than belief” – didn’t convince anyone. On June 22, 1633, the church issued its verdict:
“We pronounce, judge, and declare, that you, the said Galileo… have rendered yourself vehemently suspected by this Holy Office of heresy, that is, of having believed and held the doctrine (which is false and contrary to the Holy and Divine Scriptures) that the sun is the center of the world, and that it does not move from east to west, and that the earth does move, and is not the center of the world.”
His penalty was that his book, Dialogues of Galileo, would be prohibited, that he would go to prison, and that once a week for three years he had to recite the Seven Penitential Psalms. Galileo was forced to recant his own scientific discoveries as “cursed.” It caused him profound anguish but saved him from being burned at the stake.
He spent the rest of his life under house arrest.
The really appalling part of this story is that it took the Catholic Church 350 years to admit that Galileo was right. On Halloween 1992, the New York Times published an article about it.
“More than 350 years after the Roman Catholic Church condemned Galileo, Pope John Paul II is poised to rectify one of the Church’s most infamous wrongs — the persecution of the Italian astronomer and physicist for proving the Earth moves around the Sun.
“With a formal statement at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Saturday, Vatican officials said the Pope will formally close a 13-year investigation into the Church’s condemnation of Galileo in 1633. The condemnation, which forced the astronomer and physicist to recant his discoveries, led to Galileo’s house arrest for eight years before his death in 1642 at the age of 77.”
If this sort of thing had happened in the twenty-first century, every media outlet in the world would be there. Journalists would be tweeting their latest opinions on the inquisition. Foes and fans would be videotaping the whole thing on social media. Galileo would have a Facebook page. He would be a hero to some, a despicable traitor to others.
From an astrological point of view, the conflict in belief systems between a single individual with mass appeal and the tyrannical power of the Catholic Church at the time is seen in Galileo’s natal Jupiter. It’s in Cancer, which has a collective appeal. His Jupiter falls in the twelfth house – that area of a natal chart that represents, among other things, institutions like hospitals and prisons. This area of the chart also represents our deepest beliefs, those that often rise unbidden from some dark closet in our psyches and leave us in turmoil, scratching our heads and thinking, Huh?
Even though Galileo spent his last years in confinement, Jupiter really did have his back. His theories, his name, his story have persevered for more than 400 years. Without Google, who can name the man who was pope then? Or the name of the inquisitor? But most elementary school kids recognize the name Galileo. They may not have any idea why he’s famous, they just know that he is. There’s a trickster quality in that.
Every three months or so, Mercury – the planet that rules communication – turns retrograde. That means it appears to be moving backward relative to Earth. Every planet except for the sun and moon turn retrograde. But because Mercury rules communication, its retrograde impacts us in ways that are usually quite personal.
This one begins on April 21 at 4:35 AM EDT and 1:35 AM Pacific, and runs until May 14. It’s in Taurus. My recommendations for navigating this period more smoothly are fairly simple:
Don’t submit anything new. Instead, follow the rule of the 3 Rs – review, reconsider, revise.
Communicate clearly and concisely. Take nothing for granted.
Don’t buy a new car or computer unless you don’t mind returning it at some point. Mercury rules things with moving parts.
If you travel during a Mercury retro, your schedule is likely to be disrupted. But, it’s said that your destination during a Mercury retro is a place you’re likely to visit again. Mercury also rules travel.
Mercury rules contracts, too, so don’t sign any contract during this period.
It’s best not to have surgery during a retrograde. Even though Mars rules surgery, the Mercury retro element can mess things up. A friend, for instance, scheduled his dog for a surgery for a torn ligament the day before Mercury turned retro. The next day – when the retro began – the vet called and said he’d operated on the wrong leg, so the surgery was free.
Since this one is in Taurus, note where Taurus appears in your natal chart. If you don’t have a copy of your chart, you can get one here. The house in which the retro appears is where the snafus are likely to occur.
The houses:
1st: SELF, PERSONALITY
2nd FINANCES, VALUES
3rd COMMUNICATION, SIBLINGS
4th: HOME & FAMILY
5th: CREATIVITY & FUN, CHILDREN, ROMANCE
6th: DAILY WORK
7th: BUSINESS & PERSONAL PARTNERSHIPS, MARRIAGE
8th: OTHER PEOPLE’S RESOURCES, THE PARANORMAL
9th: WORLDVIEW, SPIRITUALITY
10th: CAREER, PUBLIC FACE
11th: WISHES & DREAMS, NETWORKS
12th: PERSONAL UNCONSCIOUS, WHAT’S HIDDEN
Happy navigating!
Personally, I think it would be interesting to live at the junction of these 2 streets!
The town of Cassadaga is unique to Florida. This Spiritualist community was established in 1894 by George Colby. Just about everyone who lives here is a psychic or a medium. Most of them communicate with the dead.
We’ve been there many times over the years and experienced a haunting there when our daughter, Megan, was just a baby. We’ve also had many synchronicities there and some terrific psychic readings.
Last year, Estelle Morrow and I started talking about taking a trip to Cassadaga, a ladies trip. Estelle, Arlene, and I and whoever else might be interested. I contacted Kathy Adams, a psychic and psychometrist we’ve visited numerous time and asked if she would be available for readings. My daughter Megan and her friend Loretta would drive up from Orlando and have readings too. Our friend Lindy joined us, but our friend Paula had to work.
So on Tuesday, March 28, the four of us left South Florida and headed to central Florida, Cassadaga is about 30 miles north of Orlando. Once you leave the Orlando area, the area turns pretty rural. We were hungry when we arrived and headed into the hotel’s restaurant – Sinatra’s – for lunch. Megan and Loretta joined us and when Kathy texted me she was ready, Estelle went over to her building first. It’s right across the street from the hotel.
The rest of us finished lunch and walked around, waiting for our turn with Kathy.
When Estelle returned, everyone grilled her – how was it? What’d she say? Did it resonate? Arlene went next and while she was gone, Estelle explained Kathy’s hits – about her husband’s breathing problem, that one of her daughters would be going through a tornado of events in changing jobs, stuff that was too personal to be random guesswork.
When Arlene returned, we also grilled her – but she reported not much of anything. Yet, a day later when she handed me the typewritten version of the recording of her reading, I pointed out several hits – her husband Neil’s love of cars, the way she took on her friends’ problems – and some glaring errors. Arlene is the last person I would expect to head out to South America on a travel adventure.
Meg went next because she had to get back to her dogs, then Lindy, then me. For Meg and me, our readings were pure Kathy – she hit the high points exactly. Lindy is well versed in metaphysics, has had some amazingly accurate psychic readings, and said her reading was pretty good. Kathy hit some salient points and missed on others.
But the whole thing with readings by psychics is that they aren’t gods. Their timing is often skewed. They are able to read us only if we’re open to the prospect.
That evening at dinner a woman came over to our table and asked if we were interested in mini readings – 15 minutes for $15. We all said sure so Anya Love drew cards for each of us and did numerology readings. Her readings were interesting. I did her natal chart and she told me her story- that she’d been traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Europe, nomadic, doing readings. Then she decided she wanted to settle down and found a job opening at the Sinatra, doing readings, and now she lives at the hotel. I think we’ll have her on the podcast.
Then there were moments like this which reminded me where we were – inside a haunted hotel. Looks like a hallway from The Shining, doesn’t it?
But this time, the ghosts were quiet.
A new episode of The Mystical Underground is live! “Anuradha Dayal-Gulati: Heal Your Ancestral Roots”:
Join Trish and Rob for a conversation with…
Anuradha Dayal-Gulati is an energy practitioner and transformational coach with a Ph.D. in economics. After fifteen years in finance and academia, she began a new path of helping people release the past and reclaim their power. Anu’s book is called Heal Your Ancestral Roots. It’s a practical guide to releasing the burden of transgenerational legacies and reclaiming your power to create the life you want. Anu explains the many ways your ancestral field can support you and how it can hold you captive.
Article V of the constitution may be how the republican party ultimately forces this country to live according to its edicts and beliefs.
That article says: that Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
In other words, it takes 34 states to call for the convention and 38 states to ratify any amendments that are proposed. I think this is the ultimate Republican goal. They can’t win by popular election. Without gerrymandering districts, they might not even win the electoral votes. They’re losers and they know it and hate it. So Article V could be their ticket to banning abortion nationwide (if the ruling of the Texas judge doesn’t do that) banning books and movies deemed politically offensive, banning freedom of speech and the integration of schools, neighborhoods, politics. They would love to take us back to the 1950s when women didn’t work, when Blacks weren’t allowed to vote, when McCarthyism was the political chess game of the day.
Imagine who would be running the country: Kevin McCarthy (channeling Joe McCarthy) loudmouth idiot Marjorie Taylor Greene, book banner and his anti-woke agenda, wannabe dictator Ron DeSantis, narcissist orange man trump, liar Tucker Carlson, nutcase Jim Jordan, failed candidate for Arizona governor, Keri Lake, who is as much of a crazy as Green. Oh then there’s the NRA, in attendance at a secret meeting with DeSantis when he signed his new gun law. Anyone over the age of 18 now can carry a concealed weapon in Florida without a permit, without training, with no criteria at all. You get the idea. We’d be living in The Handmaid’s Tale on steroids with 1984 and The Twilight Zone mixed in.
One thing trump certainly did for the country – he riled up every right wing lunatic from the darkest shadows of the human psyche. He told them it was just fine to come forward, out of those shadows and to fight fight fight for a country that would be great again only when he was president – again.
A new episode of The Mystical Underground is live! “Whitley Strieber: THEM”:
Join Trish and Rob for a conversation with Whitley Strieber!
Whitley Strieber’s life changed forever when he published COMMUNION in 1987, describing his encounters with the Visitors, as he calls them. Not only that book and its astonishing story, but also the illustration of the face of a being on the cover, has impacted millions of people worldwide, and many since then have come forward with their own stories of encounters. Some of these stories are now featured in Whitley’s new book, called THEM, which was just released about a week ago.
Nika & Nigel at Cedar Key
Two days after Nika’s death, I was driving home from an acupuncture appointment and thinking about how much I missed her. Traffic was fairly heavy and as I switched into the middle lane, I saw that I was behind an old station wagon with a huge banner in the rear window. It was an advertisement for Big Dog Rescue Ranch, the place where Megan and I first saw Nika.
It was like she was saying hi. But there may be another message in this too. Perhaps she was suggesting that if and when we get another dog, we should look at Big Dog Ranch. My hope, of course, is that part of that message is that when she returns, we’ll find her there.
