All Posts

Hello everyone, We are between eclipses, and we are about to move into Virgo season. We learned something while we were moving through Leo. Now we have to decide what we’re going to do with it. The Leo Solar Eclipse on August 12 opened a new cycle, but eclipse energy does not finish its work in a day. What began around that eclipse will continue developing as we move toward the Aquarius Solar Eclipse on February 6, 2027, and then the Leo Solar Eclipse on August 2, 2027. So if

Don’t Look Behind the Curtain Little Girl Audio narration coming soon to YouTube. My mother tells me I’s six months old when I uttered my first word, already talkin’ before most babies could sit up straight. “It was on a Sunday,” she said. “I remember ‘cause we were leavin’ for church, an’ there was gonna be a picnic afterward to celebrate the church’s 100th anniversary. This was a big day for our congregation, but you topped ‘em all when you pointed to the top of my blouse,

Tell a lie big enough an’ long enough an’ people will believe it. Audio narration coming soon to YouTube. My parents landed in Florida durin’ the Eisenhower Era. Of course, it didn’t get that name ‘til we were well into the 60s, when black folks, women, homosexuals an’ others like ‘em started makin’ a fuss about bein’ left out of the good-time party our 34th president had directed. By that time, the country had fallen headfirst into the age of protests, sit-ins, an’ walkouts.

Welcome, everyone. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about the Hammock. July invited us to make room within the fast-paced astrological energy to slow down, catch our breath, and spend some time in the Hammock reflecting before rushing into the next thing. As we enter August, the atmosphere begins to change. It feels as though we’re standing in a doorway. One season is coming to a close, and another is beginning. We may not see the whole path ahead, but we can sense

As I’ve continued posting blogs each week, I’ve been thinking about what I know to be a matter of record, how the memories of family members have informed my understanding of the past, and how I’ve had to fill in the blanks between them. This author’s note helps explain that. This memoir is based on my own memories, family stories told to me throughout my life, historical research, and documents I have found through genealogical and public records. Some facts in this story ar

Tell a lie big enough an’ long enough, an’ people will believe it Audio narration coming soon to YouTube Adjacent to the City of Milton you’ll find the Village of Bagdad. This tiny dot on Florida’s map had been wrapped in briars, mosquitoes, thorns, an’ snakes for a million years. But before they measured off their boundaries to make a respectable showin’ as real communities, it was all called Hell-Town. Sometimes, Hard Scrabble. That’s always been my favorite. There’s someth

Hello everyone, Several important planetary shifts begin this week, and although they each have their own unique influence, they’re all inviting us to become more conscious of the way we think, communicate, and respond to the world around us. On July 26, Saturn stations retrograde in Aries. Whenever Saturn appears to stand still in the sky, we tend to feel his presence more strongly. In the Ask the Spirit Guides community chart, Saturn is moving through our 3rd house of commu

How the Fundamental Evangelical Christian Church taught me to create a life of anxiety. Audio narration coming soon to YouTube. I don’t think Mama an’ Daddy thought much about how this next move would affect the rest of us. Weariness an’ trauma were their motivators, plain an’ simple. Pile on their need to put a lot more distance between them an’ the family drama still goin’ on in Iowa, add Daddy’s determination to leave winter behind, an’ you got a perfect recipe for movin’

A fire, a funeral, an’ a place to call home. Audio narration on YouTube coming soon. Two months had passed since Granny had the flu, an’ this year's typical spring trip to Iowa would have to wait. Mama’s headaches were comin’ more often an’ here she was with another one. Not feelin’ like herself a’tall. Somethin’ wasn’t right. In just a few weeks, it would all make sense when she discovered she was expecting a baby, something she never anticipated would happen to her again. I

Have you ever climbed into a hammock on a warm summer afternoon? The world is still moving around you, but for a little while, you aren’t rushing anywhere. Your body settles. Your breathing slows. You remember that peace is something you choose. That image came to me as I looked at last week’s astrology. Astrologers call this rare planetary pattern between Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Jupiter, a cradle or basket. I’m going to call it a hammock. A cradle holds a child who canno

Hello everyone, Have you ever noticed that sometimes life seems to change all at once? One conversation shifts everything. A new realization changes the way you see a relationship. A decision opens a door you hadn’t noticed before. This week feels like that. On July 12, Mercury reaches Cazimi, which means he passes directly through the heart of the Sun while still retrograde in Cancer. During a Mercury retrograde, we may revisit old conversations, memories, and patterns. A Ca

Hello Everyone, First, this post arrives a week late. I'm sorry for the delay. This week begins with one of the more unpredictable astrological combinations we’ve seen in a while. Yesterday, on July 4, Mars and Uranus came together in Gemini, bringing fast-moving, surprising, and sometimes disruptive energy. Mars is heat and action. Uranus is change, breakthroughs, and the unexpected. Together, they can bring everything from sudden weather events and technological glitches to

A fire, a funeral, an’ a place to call home Listen to the audio narration on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/okgcmmjVSTY It wasn’t long after my first real heart break in 1971 that Mama brought these family skeletons out of the closet. I’s barely 14 an’ my world had come to an end a few months earlier when I’s forced to break up with the first boy I ever loved. I’d been tryin’ to right myself, without much success. Most nights, still cryin’ myself to sleep. It felt like I’d lost

In the blink of an eye Listen to the audio narration on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/rayhMZHKG5w In the four months she’d lived there, my Mama did what she could to comfort this sad little boy, but Leland never let her get too close. She’d never been around a five-year-old like him. Always so quiet, he was the one she had to go lookin’ for. All she had to do with the others was listen an’ follow the noise. At breakfast that mornin’ he’d been even quieter than usual. When ever

Hello Everyone, This week’s astrology has a very different rhythm than what we’ll experience as July gets underway. On June 29, we have a Capricorn Full Moon, and just a few hours later Mercury stations retrograde in Cancer. Together, these two events encourage us to slow down, even if life doesn’t. Many of us still have jobs, families, appointments, and responsibilities that require our attention. The astrology isn’t suggesting those things disappear. It’s encouraging us t

In the Blink of an Eye Audio narration on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/GP3p-mgQDAY Maggie went into labor on November 28, 1950. Twenty-four long hours later, Leland’s promised baby brother arrived at 5:30 a.m., just before sunrise. It had been a long, hard night. But Maggie couldn’t be happier with the beautiful little golden-haired boy she held in her arms. An hour later, as the sun peeked over the horizon, she an’ Walter celebrated their ten-year weddin’ anniversary as he s

Nobody Saw it Comin’ Listen to the audio narration on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/W_ZOsx0rGAI On January 8, 1950, after chores were done, Walter took Maggie an’ Leland to stay with her parents in Greenfield, twelve miles north. They were much closer to the doctor who was treatin’ her ongoin’ flu symptoms. Livin’ this far out in the country like they did, in this kind of weather, she was lucky to see him once a month. Now, his house calls could be made several times a week. H

Hello Everyone, This week, I’m focusing on a single transit: Venus Enters Leo On June 13, Venus moved into Leo, bringing warmth, creativity, and heart-centered expression. In the SGs community chart, she enters the 8th house of transformation, healing, shared resources, and the places where we grow by letting go. This isn’t a quiet Venus. Leo wants to love generously, create boldly, and be seen for who it truly is. As Venus moves through this part of our community chart, she

Nobody Saw it Comin’ Listen to the audio narration on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/SBay0rKTkxI Walter Phillips was a hard-workin’ man who thought through things an’ always had a plan. He’d learned from experience to prepare for the worst. It was bound to show up someday. It always did. Walter went to work as a farm hand in 1935, right about the time Germany was beginning to believe they could take over the world. He was twenty-one years old. He’d worked on his family’s farm i

Read this week's Becoming Faye blog post at: https://www.thehealingriver.net/post/part-2-mama-and-gene ​ Hello Everyone, This week asks us to be gentle with ourselves. I needed to hear that, and I’ll be following that advice. Chiron, the Wounded Healer, is sitting at 29° Aries, the final degree of the sign. In our community chart, this happens in the 4th house of home, family, roots, and the private parts of life that most people never see. For nearly seven years, Chiron has