Friday 13 July 2018

As Far As My Eyes Can See... A Metaphysical Blog By Shawn M. Cohen


Today, as I write this latest entry, it is Friday the 13th of July, 2018. The first of 3 major Eclipses are about to come upon us...today we had the Partial Solar Eclipse, 20 degrees in Cancer and exactly opposite to Lord of the Underworld, Pluto,  who himself is exactly 20 degrees Capricorn. 
These crossed my own personal 1st house (the body) to my 7th house (others= commitment relationships and business partners). I know I have some health issues right now. I have been working on them for decades and now as some get better, others come up, but will they finally transform to healing? These next 2 Eclipses should show the way or that perhaps, will not happen. I know the next Eclipse is 4 degrees in Aquarius,on July 27th, 2018, once again hitting my first house in my Natal Astrology Chart (the body) and my Chiron (the wounded healer and wounds that do not heal but on the path of seeking the healing, you learn how to heal others) and this conjunction would be like salt on the wounds of that! Finally, (as if what doesn't kill me makes me stronger!) the last of Eclipse trilogy, will be 18 Leo on August 11th, 2018 which is in my 7th house (others) and will oppose my personal Moon (emotions) in Aquarius exactly 18 degrees again in my first house (the body!) I am being hit by all sides here and it is not pretty! 
I always tell my clients, my students, that no one, not even the best Psychic or Astrologer or Tarot Reader can predict death! Not even Doctors can truly predict death because it is a pact between you and God, always. You made the plan of when you would be done with your life (as in done with your "Mission") and that would be you coming "Home" to Heaven, where we all go. The Death Card in the Tarot, which is number 13 is why "13" is a "heebeegeebee" number for many! It really only means Transformation. Changes and Inner World (which Pluto also rules and Pluto is the Ruler of Scorpio, which is also the Astrological connection of the Death Card!) 
We only go "Home" when it is our time, and yes, there can be accidents but for the most part, we are here for the time alloted. I look at my own Astrology Chart with Pluto and then Saturn transiting/connecting with my Mars in my first house (the body) and I know I may very well be in for the fight of my life. However, it could play out in another way, like transforming my body through strict dicipline (Saturn) and Transformation (Pluto). I am working on the latter. But who knows? I see my Uncle, my father's older brother, a very Virgonian man who really delt with his diet well,  turning 107 years old on September 15th, 2018! My own Mother is 94, on November 21st, is a Scorpio and the last degree of it and smoked like a trouper but quit in her 60's and was a dancer with a senior dance toupe in her 80's.  Jupiter is now direct in Scorpio and right on my Midheaven at 11 degrees so...Jupiter is the great Liberator like Death. When you are Old and Wise and sitting in an old age home with an adult diaper, where you no longer know your own name and your adult children visit you and you have no idea who they are, like my mother is going through, I have to say I pray for her liberation. She never wanted that to happen to her. I miss her, her laughter, the way I could call her up in Florida from London and we could just gab for hours, laugh and how much my daughter too, loves and misses her Grandma. Death is the great liberator too and we forget that. I think about my life, my life's work and how I am trying to get all my books written now, no more wasting time. Jupiter is pushing me, Saturn is saying get yourself organized and I am. Black Moon Lilth in also transiting this Capricorn first house and men are running scared of me! I have to laugh.All my life they ran after me, chasing me, wanting me, competing for me as perhaps they saw me as some pretty prize but now as I am older and my looks are not exactly like they were, shall we say... I guess I am a bolder, stronger woman and I don't play games or take crap from any man! Lilth is so sexy, so even at 62, my Lilith energy is too much for some! There are some compensations for being Old and Wise!   Though tell that to the masses of oil rig workers and military men who ask to befriend me on Facebook! (It is vile!)
Have you thought about your legacy? I have...and like the beautiful words below of this song, I do wonder if my work will go on. Will all the clients I helped/served/read over 4 decades,  all the students I taught again over 4 decades, will they remember me, will they smile when they think of me? And what of the books I have written...and my poetry and my artwork, will it be when I am gone, will it still be sold? Will someone even read this blog? I know my daughter will think of me,love me and miss me...the hardest part is leaving your children behind, even if they are all grown up. But last week, my neighbor died. She was an Aries like me and a year younger, she had motor neuron disease and went downhill fast. She was the very first person to greet us when we moved in here and my daughter was friends with her grandson.I have to say, for all I know about death, dying and healing from my Nursing career, it still upset me.  More people leaving the planet in my life these past couple of years, my dear friend Mike who was like a brother to me. As many of you know, who know me, know I have two beloveds in spirit who watch over me like two Guardian Angels. My two previous boyfriends...Glen and Art. It really is the true joy of death to reconnect with those we lost who went before us. I do look forward to that! One day...when my pact with God comes good, when my work here is done, (will it ever be?) ...till then, I want to be Old and Wise. At 62, I am not that far from that point. Years fly by...one day I will be 70, and all those Rock Icons I grew up with and love and honor here on my blog with their gorgeous songs, are older then me!Perhaps some of them will have taken their final bow too. Needless to say, we do the best we can and we live life one day at a time, insuring our legacy exists through loved ones, friends, family and all who knew us and for me, that my work in healing people, educating students will go on even within them. I do hope for that. So I keep a smile on my face and I keep going. I take care of myself as best I can and I consult my own Stars, Planets and Tarot too and I pray...oh yes, I pray. Death takes us all one day: 
But you see by the card: The Bishop pleads and the woman turns her head away not able to face Death but the innocent child looks at him head on, with no fear. The Chinese junk on the river symbolises the way bodies were sent out to sea, or a Viking Burial. The  King whose crown is thrown off and he lays under the horse symbolises even Royalty, or any priveledged position can not stop death. The river is the river of life, yellow is optimism, blue is healing, the white horse is purity, as the Sun sets between the two pillars and it is closing the day, the end of life.
Since Pluto brings up issues of birth, death and eventually transformation,and was powerfully connected with this Cancer Eclipse on Friday the 13th, the Number of the Death Card in the Tarot, this song from the Alan Parson's Project, with the hauntingly beautiful voice of The Zombie's lead singer, Colin Blunstone, lamenting his life, (or our life) as he sings of his coming passing or his demise or his death to come. We all come to this, evenutally. Here are the profound lyrics written by Alan Parsons. 
Old and Wise 


Old and Wise


"As far as my eyes can see
There are Shadows approaching me
And to those I left behind
I wanted you to Know
You've always shared my deepest thoughts
You follow where I go
And oh when I'm old and wise
Bitter words mean little to me
Autumn Winds will blow right through me
And someday in the mist of time
When they asked me if I knew you
I'd smile and say you were a friend of mine
And the sadness would be Lifted from my eyes
Oh when I'm old and wise
As far as my eyes can see
There are shadows surrounding me
And to those I leave behind
I want you all to know
You've always shared my darkest hours
I'll miss you when I go
And oh, when I'm old and wise
Heavy words that tossed and blew me
Like Autumn winds that will blow right through me
And someday in the mist of time
When they ask you if you knew me
Remember that You were a friend of mine
As the final curtain falls before my eyes
Oh when I'm Old and wise.
As far as my eyes can see"
Songwriters: Alan Parsons / Eric Woolfson 
Old and Wise lyrics © Universal Music Publishing
  
  If you would like a Tarot Reading or an Astrological Consultation with me, please email me at: psychicshawncohen@gmail.com  (c) 7/13/18 to Shawn M. Cohen, except video, & Old & Wise lyrics.

(c) "As Far As My Eyes Can See"  July 13, 2018 by Shawn Cohen, entry into "Shelter From The Storm" Alan Parson's song, "Old and Wise" (c) Universal Music and Alan Parsons/Eric Woolfson no copyright infringement meant for the above video as well.  

Friday 6 July 2018

And It Makes Me Wonder.... a Metaphysical Blog By Shawn M. Cohen

Did you ever wonder
really wonder ,what happens to us all when we die? I mean, it is the ultimate question, right? How many can actually say they know...? Perhaps Planty was trying to sing about this in "Stairway to Heaven"...or does anybody remember laughter? As he so rightly asks!
When I was a teenager, in the early 1970's, this song came pouring out of every 8 track, vinyl LP, cassette tape and FM radio station, not to mention blasting over the FM car radio! You could hear it in quad stereo if you had one! Fantastic, taking all of Jimmy's riffs in one speaker, Robert's dulcet tones in another, JPJone's pounding bass, and Bonzo's banging drums in the last one, with yourself in the middle, what's not to love?? It was an "experience"!  Mental, fantastic, your mind just wrapped around the music and it went through your soul!
We listened, we rocked our heads to the beat but did we question the lyrics? Probably not, too high on pot! But man, it all sounded so cool, and Robert's soulful voice with Jimmy's smooth licks, Bonzo's beat. JPJ's bassline,  how could we not just melt away in bliss listening! 

But here they are, those lyrics which many have tried to interpret: read them, see just how deep they are, and what Robert is really singing about, what is he really wailing about, with his SOUL here? 

Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin
There's a Lady who's sure,
All that glitters is gold,
And she's buying a stairway to heaven,
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Oh oh oh oh and she's buying a stairway to heaven.
There's a sign on the wall,
But she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook,
There's a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiving.
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder
There's a feeling I get
When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who standing looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it really makes me wonder
And it's whispered that soon, If we all call the tune
Then the Piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May Queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.
And it makes me wonder
Your head is humming and it won't go
In case you don't know
The Piper's calling you to join him
Dear Lady, can you hear the wind blow
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying the stairway to heaven
Songwriters: Jimmy Page / Robert Plant
Stairway to Heaven lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music

 I write about the spiritual journey...that is my gig. I am and have been on this "Path" with all its myriad of twists and turns, Insightful teachers and also some phoney baloney Gurus and "wanna bes" for 4 decades now..so pardon me while I don't go into a dissertation on how this song is about drug abuse only and particularly cocaine.  

Nope no dope here! But it is about losing one's soul, maybe... I think it is this clearly channeled poem, lyrics, verse, about the road we all face in this life. 
Do we chose (niavely) the "All that Glitters is Gold" road as so many of us do, especially the young ones. Get that money! Get that Kim Kardasian look (plastic) and do not forget to buy every designer do wha diddy to make yourself look so important and "special"! The EGO has its field day with young people like this and they pay, pay or get someone else to pay through the nose for it and sometimes the sex and drugs & booze also go with it and then here comes the addictions....while we are addicted to anything, anything at all, we are basically "slaves", nothing more, nothing less. "She knows where to go if the stores are all closed, with a word she can get what she came for."   Nothing stops the addict, no shops closed, no lack of money, no lie told is too big to "get what she came for".   And so she gets it, good for another hour, day, night, week, till next payday, and onwards she goes, the Lady who's sure... but wait: suddenly there is a "Sign on the wall but she wants to be sure...cause you know  sometimes words have two meanings... "    Now comes doubt...at long last, she is beginning to wonder..."Oh and it makes me wonder..."  The moment of God comes through, or her Higher Self" that part of us that never leaves Heaven and we are watched over by...and that Higher Part is beginning to question this madness, this journey, this endless cycle of addiction...or shopping or mindless, souless friends, or this need to be wanted and endless, mindless sex, or people who use and abuse you or the millions of excuses she makes for just not doing the right but maybe harder thing, the finishing school, the working for a living the endless available books in any library she never reads or classes to improve herself she forgets to go to, and so on and so forth because those designer shoes are so much more important! And breathe! Finally, doubt, blessed doubt comes in and asks, "what am I doing?"  And finally, the other shoe (designer for sure!) drops and she is one small step out of the addiction cycle...and on the Path...ONE tiny weenie step. 
"There's a songbird who sings, sometimes all our thoughts are misgiving".   The songbird is her Soul, and it is asking her to "think about what you are doing, sometimes your thoughts are not the right way or the correct answer...think again." 
  And yes, it made her wonder...
Now this is the saddest line in this song, if you ask me, and the true spiritual seeker has been here so many times, right Lady? (There's a Lady... Me!)   If you got to go to Los Angeles in the 1970's or 1960's, you were blessed! It was one special place and here is exactly what Robert forlornly with a soft tone of sorrow in his voice, just achingly sings..."There's a feeling I get when I look to the West and my Spirit is crying for leaving..."  In A.A./N.A. or any 12 step program,  they call this the "so called Geographical cure"! You know, the addict thinks it will get better if they move to another location. Of course, they take  their damaged self with them so....how can it? The Pathwork is always Internal. 
 This is the Spirit crying out for help in this line... the West is traditionally, in Metaphysics,  ruled by Archangel Michael. Michael is the Divine Protector and he will fight for you, and is a Lightshower and Defender of your Soul against Evil. Crying OUT... we have free will so no angel can interfere unless we ASK for Help. 
Here lies the beginning of redemption: the SOUL, her SPIRIT CRIES OUT, "I want to GO, I want to LEAVE and get to that place I LONG TO BE...HEAVEN." 
 " In my thoughts I have seen, rings of smoke through the trees and the voices of those who stand looking." 
She is smoking, is it pot, is it heroin, is it just cigarettes, who knows but they who stand looking see the self abuse. We witness your demise, we see how you think it is so cool to hurt yourself but Lady, you are actually just hurting yourself and that is NOT cool! And we all say, they say, your Guides and visiting spirit who are trying to help you and even the Angels. " And the voices of those who stand looking...."
We are often the ones who see it first, the family, friends, lovers, parents and children and "Oh, it makes me wonder, Oh it really makes me wonder"   What happened to them? They look dreadful! No more the pretty little girl or boy they once were...the Soul is still in that body but the spirit is crying for leaving...and of course , "She is buying a stairway to Heaven"! We worry alot about them,  we speak to them, we ask politely, then we cajole or infer or out and out blast them to China and Back: "STOP!"
"And it whispered that soon, if we all call the tune, then the Piper will lead us to reason..."
Collectively, we all need to speak the truth. If we lie and disassociate with the addict or the souless or who is doing what to whom, without consciousness, without compassion and actually offer the Help...like a 12 step program or a way out or a bloody good shrink, then we too are complicite in their continual self harm. This is why Robert wrote these lines, it takes a Village to raise a healthy child and it takes community and our tribe to come in and help us, not co-dependency but help us to stand UP again for ourself. "If we ALL call the TUNE" and he means if we ALL speak the TRUTH.  "The Piper will lead us to reason..."   The Piper is any sane person not doing the drugs, or sold their soul for money.... he/she is a Wise sage, a Doctor, a Healer, a Psychotherapist, the Leader of a 12 step program, any Lightworker or Diviner, Astrologer, Tarot Reader who can and does use his/her wisdom to heal others and his/her wise words are "music" to the addict's ears... 
"And a New Day Will Dawn for those who stand long and the forests will echo with laughter..." 
YES! A breakthrough at last! The Dark Night of the Soul is over, the person is finally realizing they no longer need be a slave, that THEY are responsible for their lives, their happiness and their health! And this is a New Day that Dawns when the SOUL reunites with the original Plan of that Soul in this lifetime! No longer blowing which ever way the wind blows, but anchored in truth and light and self worth again. Let us laugh, let us rejoice! 
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now...it's just a spring clean for the May Queen."  
You will always discover weird things along the Spiritual Path. Various people and places and things, can distract you but "don't be alarmed."  Robert is giving us/her some good solid advice  here and never let a "bustle" or sex or a flirtation get the better of you either, stay on the Path!  And he warns: "Yes, there are two paths you can go by But in the long run...there's still time to change the road you're on...Oh, it makes me wonder..."
The eternal battle between good and evil. Between our soul and our ego. Between our Path and slacking off...
"Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know...the Piper's calling you to join him"    Listen to the call, it may just save your life or soul! We already said who the "Piper" was...or could be. The soul calls out, the Clarion Call of help and need, and who answers that call? Like attracts like and opposites also attract... so you can be attracting someone just like yourself at any given moment or the opposite one who came through it all and is cured or On The Path and firmly on it and so we have the "two roads" again...The Stairway to Heaven is laced with choices both good and bad, both hard and soft, what will this "Dear Lady, can you hear the wind blow and did you know....your stairway lies on the whispering wind." 
 Thoughts carry, messages from God, Angels, our Guides, our Higher Self, our Ancestors, all carry on the wind, whispering again and again to us, to listen, to watch, to be aware...we are here, we are helping you, tune into us, listen to us, we will see you right but you do have Free Will and we can not interfere with your own Free Will, therefore, you must ask us for help and listen.

"And as we wind on down the road, our shadows taller then our soul...there walks a Lady we all know who shines WHITE LIGHT and wants to show..."
So, she is cured, she is healed and down the road we get to see this. Our Shadow is taller than our Soul, no longer hiding the pain, the negative but embracing it, owning it, it no longer controls her and she is free. She shines WHITE LIGHT which is the light of Christ Consciousness, the Metaphysician, Healer, Psychic's tool for protecting the Aura, to keep it clean and free from nasty and negative energy which you can pick up with drug and drink abuse or any addiction.
"How everything still turns to Gold, and if you listen very hard, the tune will come to you at last, " 
She heard the call, she went through the Dark Night of the Soul and as Carl Jung said and Joseph Campbell, that our Shadow contains our GOLD, the soul's treasures, so we must face our demons and find our true bravery and healing Gold. And she did, she is cured, she is shining that White Light and saying what the Piper called her to do, if you listen very hard, it can happen to you too, you can hear it on the wind...your soul's crying out to God...and God responds:"I"If you listen very hard the tune will come to you at last, when ALL ARE ONE AND ONE IS ALL"f And if you listen very ha ALL are ONE and ONE is ALL..."   Because that is the only truth....when you clear away all the illusions, all the lies, all the spin, all the designer clothes, the drugs and the sex and the needs and the wants and the my, me, mine of the Ego............! There is only yourself, and we are all ONE!
And finally, security, sanity and safety is now hers/ours:
 "To be a rock and not to roll...and she's buying a stairway to Heaven."
Her soul is saved from the slavery of lies, where she would be worshipping at for decades or lifetimes if she had not heard that Clarion Call from the Piper, whomever he/she /it is for her. "To be a rock", stable and solid!

Have you heard your own Clarion Call? Did you leave the addictions at the doorstep of sanity and safety and reason? Good for you... if not...what are you waiting for? After all, we all want a "Stairway to Heaven" when our soul's learning and our soul's mission here is done.
Love while you can but love yourself in a healthy way first, with respect and honoring the very temple you have chosen to use in this lifetime, your body. Nurtured wisely, it will carry you home too.

If you need to know how to get here, my mission is all about helping the soul and it's journey towards enlightenment and its mission on Earth. Please get in touch via my website and see all the various ways and services I can help you grow, heal, develop.
My website is: http://www.tarotbyshawncohen.weebly.com

I want to thank Robert Plant and Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin for the most magnificent song. All copyright goes to (c) Robert Plant and Jimmy Page and Warner/Chappell Music, inc. No copyright infringement meant and same for the video.

 And Finally, one day in London in 1988, I was working at the Primrose Hill Healing Center in NW1 London, as a Tarot Reader and Teacher of Metaphysics. This Pittsburgh Girl moved over here to London in 1985. Ken was the owner and we were dating at the time. He was an Acupuncturist and we had been dating about 8 months. After work he said, ", Shawn, do you want to go get a drink at the corner pub?" I think we were both tired from a full on day of healing people so a quick "yes" came out of my mouth. We walked into the pub and no one was there save two men at the bar. I could see their backsides , as they were leaning on the bar, not their faces and one had long blonde curly hair.  His face was turned to his friend speaking. I looked over at Ken who went to the table and chairs and so I said , "I'll get the drinks" and as I approached the bar, it struck me like lightening I had seen that long blonde hair before, then as if a raging flood poured into my 33 year old mind, my mouth just opened up wide, jaw dropped! It was Robert Plant! As if he knew and read my mind... and he never turned around, he took his beer with his friend and just ran upstairs to the next level. I was frozen and could not move. It was like a dream! Last time I saw him I was a teenager at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa with all my best friends and we were singing along with him in his sexy jeans, bare top with a girl's shirt just gracing over his bare chest! Long curly hair flying around his head! Singing and wailing with his soulful cries!!
 But back to this pub...and Mr. Plant...
so here I am, what should I do? "Yes, there are two paths you can go on...".  I felt every ounce of my being wanting to run up those stairs (This current Stairway to Heaven?)  after him and just see if I could look him in the face...ask for an autograph...tell him how much we all adored Led Zep in the day? Or I could stop being a teenager at 33 and look at my lovely and nice and caring boyfriend who was exhausted from his day of working and buy him his beer..., with a *sigh*, I chose the later. I asked him, "Is that who I think it was?" and Ken said matter of factly reading the newspaper, "Oh, him? Yeah, Robert Plant comes in here all the time, he lives near here."   And I had another jaw dropping experience within 5 minutes of the last one! "No, really?! Why didn't you Tell Me??!"    I could see myself camping out at that Pub from now on!  But the look on Ken's face, was priceless, "Oh why, you like him?"  Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing not running up those stairs after him...however tempting.... and God knows what would have happened if he saw me and I saw him! lol Probably nothing but I know my boyfriend would have been hurt.
And so...as we wonder down the road... I bought the drinks and sat there with Ken, composing myself and hoping what went up must come down but he never did while we were there...Oh well, clearly I was meant for the Other Road!
Thank you to Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for showing us the way...via this Mytical, Celtic Spirited and Beautiful song.
The Path is filled with temptation but your Soul is wise, listen to it and when you can't do ask for help...it is out there, and it is waiting for you. 

"And It Makes Me Wonder",  entry to my Blog, "Shelter From the Storm" (c) July 6, 2018 by Shawn M. Cohen 
all rights to the author except for the lyrics and song by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Stairway to Heaven and the video. (c) to Warner/Chapell Music, Inc.