Today I had the pleasure of listening to Linea Van Horn, from the San Francisco Astrological Society, talk about the “Galactic Embrace.” Linea was an enthusiastic speaker, and very knowledgeable on the ending of the Mayan Calendar and the astronomy of our movements around the sun, and our place within our galaxy. I always love it when astrologers combine their know-how with astronomy, and the knowledge of the ancients.

Linea’s emphasis in this talk was that even though we are in the dark and dense part of the spiritual 26,000 year cycle, we are also near the end of it, but NOT the end of time. NOT the end of planet Earth. On the contrary, this period we are in is a time to embrace optimism, and the time to plant the seeds of our spiritual discovery. When the light comes in the near future our seeds will sprout and flourish. Spiritual awareness will enlighten the masses.

I was particularly taken by her analogy of the winter solstice, a time that is the darkest and longest night of the year, but a time that holds all of the promise of the coming of light. It was particularly interesting to me how she talked about the many areas of spirituality that used to be taught in secrecy or only to special groups, but now that knowledge is being shared openly. Yet, at the same time, while interest in this information is increasing, we are still hitting blocks and negativity. People are feeling overwhelmed and jaded by corrupt governments, pollution, and misinformation. Yet, more and more are turning to their spiritual sides for solace.

Linea warns us not to get drawn into the negativity, not to allow these barriers from discouraging us, and to continuing doing our work with optimism and enthusiasm so we can plant those seeds and manifest our spiritual awakening in the future.

I especially liked how she debunked the myth that’s going around that the end of the Mayan calendar portends the final end. On the contrary, she pointed out, that the Mayans looked to this time when the galactic center aligns with the solstice as a special time indeed, a time of light and awareness, a new beginning. Linea also pointed out that this 26,000 year cycle has occurred many times throughout human history, and we obviously survived. That’s not to say the time creeping up to that alignment is going to be easy, but it is worth paving the way with optimism and spiritual knowledge.

Linea’s astronomical knowledge was really helpful in understanding why we have this 26,000 year cycle, and her astrological know-how put that in context for where it stands in relation to sidereal and tropical charts.

It’s a fascinating topic, and Linea has me interested in learning more about it.

~Dana Nourie