SENSATIONS
by Bob Romero

I’ve become aware of different sensations that I’ve experienced during spiritual practices. Scents, warm hands, seeing purple, tingling sensations, hearing high pitched frequencies, and the feeling of a soft touch are a few that come to mind. Some are very subtle yet noticeable if you’re observant enough. While there may be physical explanations for this, there are definitely spiritual explanations as well.  

I wrote an article on clairalience, a psychically linked sense of smell. Western medicine may say that it is phantosmia which is the medical name for a smell hallucination. But that is a disorder that occurs randomly. My experiences however, happened during either healing sessions or meditation, and it was the pleasant smell of eucalyptus or jasmine, and not the foul smells associated with phantosmia.

Warm hands will also bring a similar response of a medical condition that needs to be dealt with. There is no medical condition if you are using them to bring long distance healing energy. Even if you have not had the attunements of Reiki, your hands will warm up if you send energy to someone. Placing your hand on someone as well, will cause them to warm up as devine energy flows through you and into the person. My hands got warm during a guided meditation that dealt with healing. Another person in the class experienced the same thing.

Science uses phosphene to describe seeing purple spots. Spirituality explains that seeing purple during mediation is associated with our higher consciousness. I first saw purple during Reiki and then during guided mediations. Lately I have been seeing purple during meditation.

Feeling a hand on your shoulder or on your back produces a calmness that is everything is going to be okay. Sometimes I fell as though someone has their hands very gently on the back of my head. It could be an angel, a spirit guide, or a loved one saying that they are here for you and that you are not alone.

After chanting or meditating, I hear high pitched frequencies. The doctor will say that it’s tinnitus, which is a ringing in the ears. Doing these spiritual practices raises your vibration and so it could be a spiritual awakening. One possibility is that it can also be a signal from spirit guides and they’re trying to communicate with you.

When I meditate, my left eye feels numb, and it feels like I have a cap on my head. Then the top of my head feels like someone is twirling a comb in my hair. I have been told that it’s my crown chakra opening. Lastly the middle of my forehead starts to tingle. If you tell a doctor that you have a tingling sensation in the middle of your forehead, he or she may want to prescribe a drug. But when you mention that it only happens during meditation, they have no answer. A spiritual teacher will tell you that it is the opening of your third eye.

While these phenomena may seem insignificant individually, the collection of all of them show positive indications of spiritual progress.  However, it is also important not to get distracted by these observations but to focus on the original intent of the spiritual practice.

Bob Romero has been a diligent student of esoteric spiritual subjects and metaphysics for many years, with a life-long quest for answers. He has submitted new and original articles that focus on life lessons and experiences he wishes to share with our readers and the world.

OCTOBER 2021 ASTROLOGY UPDATE
by Roy Neal

We begin the month of October with six planets retrograde. I hope you are not in a big hurry to move forward right away because we will need more time for reflection and re-evaluation.

On Wednesday, October 6 the retrograde tide begins to turn as Pluto goes direct after the New Moon in Libra. Because Pluto is in Capricorn we may have completed some part of the transformation necessary to start moving forward with our business goals and objectives.

Decisions that involve our personal and professional relationships will still be in process while Mercury remains retrograde until it turns direct along with Jupiter on Monday, October 18.

Prior to this date, however, Venus enters Sagittarius on Thursday, October 7. This ingress is likely to support a more positive attitude in our relationships with others. The key will be to maintain a sense of humor and openness to new possibilities and potentials.  

Quality sharing experiences with others are favored with the Sun, Mercury and Mars in Libra for the first three quarters of the month.

Saturn goes direct in Aquarius on Sunday, October 10. This will also be an indication of positive change with respect to the accomplishment of our business and career related goals.

A First Quarter Phase Moon in Capricorn on Tuesday, October 12 suggests the benefits of continuing to plan and persevere towards our personal and professional goals. Creative problem solving and our willingness to overcome challenges will ultimately bring tangible rewards.

A Full Moon occurs in Aries on Wednesday, October 20. This signals a time to take the initiative.  We benefit by honoring our truth and strengthening our resolve to manifest what we truly want and value.

The Sun enters Scorpio on Saturday, October 23. The spotlight is now on the wise use of power and control. Good managers become skilled in how to relate with others in ways that encourage the most productive experiences of shared value.

A Last Quarter Phase Moon occurs in the sign of Leo on Thursday, October 28. Allowing yourself to truly enjoy your work, service and relationships with others will contribute to a healthier and more fulfilling experience of life. Mars enters the sign of Scorpio on Saturday, October 30. We may be getting ready to let go of old ways of doing things as we celebrate the “Day of the Dead” on All Hallows Eve.

Roy Neal is a professional astrologer with a private practice in the Denver area. If you would like to know more about how this month impacts you personally, call Roy at 720-962-4633 and schedule an update of your individual birth chart.

POSITIVE PENTAGRAM CHARACTERISTICS
by Bruce Johnson

The pentagram or five-pointed star is based on the number five, the union of the odd number three and the even number two. Pentagrams are blended symbols that unify solar spirit and  lunar matter in harmony. Among its many meanings, the pentagram is symbolic of the individual human, who is also a microcosm of the universe. The five-pointed “star of illumination” signifies persons who are evolving into perfection out of the animal nature through the unfoldment of the mind, and the higher octaves of the five physical senses.

Five-pointed stars, also called “flaming stars” and ”blazing stars”, were integral to the Mysteries, and could be combined with numbers, letters or symbols. The ancients recognized an esoteric link between the positive pentagram and the planet Venus. Regular pentagrams, known as Golden Pentagrams, are positive pentagrams. Solitary positive pentagrams always have the apex pointing upward, indicating unity dominating duality, the greater ruling the lesser, and alignment with the forces of good. Multiple five-pointed stars can be combined into symbols that display varied patterns of beauty, symmetry, light and order.

The negative five-pointed star is the inverse or negative reflection of the positive five-pointed star. Here the star’s apex is pointing downwards, with the two triangle points opposite to it being uppermost. Materialism, disorder and evil are emphasized over spirituality, light and goodness with the inverted five-pointed star. Irregular, distorted or imbalanced pentagrams with the apex pointed upward are also considered negative.

The first design of The Great Seal of the United States in 1782 had 13 six-pointed stars patterned as a six-pointed star, placed over the head of an eagle. In the 1841 version of The Great Seal of the United States, the 13 six-pointed stars were changed to five-pointed stars that all pointed upward, still shaped as a larger six-pointed star. Our Great Seal saw its final evolution in 1904 when the radiants around the positive pentagrams were changed in the artwork to 25 radiants and 55 dots. The Great Seal of the United States is an enlightened example of positive pentagram symbolism.

One example of a positive pentagram is the following. Viewing an upward-pointing pentagram, see the highest point or apex as point 1 of the star. This point corresponds to the ether element, the soul plane, the sense of sound, the dodecahedron and is dual in polarity. The upper left-hand point is point 2 of the pentagram and denotes the fire element, the intuitional plane, the sense of touch, the tetrahedron and is positively charged. The lower left-hand point is point 3 and correlates to the air element, the mental plane, the sense of sight, the octahedron and is positively charged.

The upper right-hand point is the number 4 point of our positive pentagram. It represents the water element, the astral plane, the sense of taste, the icosahedron and is negatively charged.  The lower right-hand point is point 5 of the positive five-pointed star. It describes the earth element, the physical plane, the sense of smell, the cube and is negatively charged. The polarity of the above-mentioned positive pentagram shows the left-hand side to be positive, the right-hand side negative, with the central apex point both positive and negative. Like the energy-based triangle, the left side of the figure is positively charged in relation to the right side.

Bruce Johnson has over 30 years of study in the fields of Ancient Wisdom and occultism. He has taught classes on a wide range of topics, from Atlantis to mediums to Zoroaster. He is also a spiritualist minister, with a background in spiritual astrology. He lives in Colorado with his wife and their cat.