Kay Taylor - Intuitive Guidance from the Light

1. The Marriage of Intuition & Astrology (Part I in Organization for Professional Astrologers (OPA) Journal May 2008)

The Marriage of Intuition & Astrology
Part I

            For some, the word “psychic” still evokes images of fortunetellers and gypsy frauds, even though in the midst of our Neptune/Aquarius mutual reception there is in fact a radical awakening of consciousness and a growing interest in psychic phenomena.
A psychic or intuitive capacity is natural to all of us; we are using these capabilities whether we know and understand it or not, much as the cycles of planetary transits can be seen clearly in the lives of people who don’t believe in astrology. For some people it is natural to use and trust their intuitive insights while for intellectually centered and naturally skeptical people it can be challenging to trust subtle impressions and precognitions that have no basis in hard, observable facts. How do our natural intuitive gifts impact astrological counseling? If we deepen and refine our abilities can we develop a clearer and more accurate consultation and greater empathic resonance with our clients? Or will we possibly taint the reading with our own biased feelings and thoughts that we imagine to be helpful? Or worse, will we be lumped in with psychic charlatans and lose whatever hard won credibility astrology has been gaining in recent years?
I believe there are three important aspects to a good astrological consultation: the accuracy of the data, the skill of the interpretation, and the connection between the astrologer and the client. This connection, which could also be called chemistry, is often a component between astrologers and particular clients. When the chemistry does not naturally exist, it can be created through an empathic link--a well developed intuition on the part of the astrologer that will allow him to “see” and “feel” the client more accurately in a multi-faceted, intuitive way. When a client feels seen at this deep level, she may open her heart and thus experience an awakening and healing as opposed to simply listening to a simple recital of dates and facts, however accurate these may be. This development of empathic, deeper connection is the type of intuition I feel is most easily cultivated and applied to astrological counseling.
We can compare this need for intuitive chemistry to the need for the human skill that is not available in a computer generated reading. Most of us will agree that although computer horoscope reports are fundamentally accurate, the computer cannot possibly synthesize the information with the precision and holistic viewpoint of a gifted astrologer. However, even the gifted astrologer might be missing the full viewpoint if not connected intuitively with the person. The intuition of the astrologer allows him to know where to begin the session, to use words skillfully in difficult territory, to perceive accurately the emotional reaction to the information purveyed, to know which questions to ask, and perhaps to know when to change course from the planned structure of the session and go into another area that holds more energy for the client. Moreover, intuition allows us to perceive the consciousness of the client, which will help us understand how this particular being is operating through the chart and thus know more easily how to focus our interpretations of some chart features that hold a wide range of possibilities.
To do an astrological reading while staying clear and open intuitively can be challenging initially because we must be open in the right and left brain simultaneously. Most of us tend to naturally favor one side or the other. It takes some practice to be open intuitively and while remaining clear mentally with the details of an astrological analysis. It is worthwhile though to expand this capacity, which will also allow us to function more effectively in our own lives, balanced between intuitive, creative reception and direct thought, process and action.
When we do astrological counseling we use studied wisdom passed through the ages. We are grounded in the authority of the chart, where there are at least some agreed upon qualities: “the chart indicates you are likely to feel good about yourself when you have opportunities to be solid and dependable” (Sun in Taurus). However, when we have an intuitive feel or psychic “hit” about our client, we need to be extra cautious that we offer the information openly and without dogma. We are more likely to be heard without defensiveness if we offer respect to the inner truth of each client. We might say: “I’m wondering if….” Or “the word “X” comes to mind. What does that evoke for you, if anything”. Client centered, open communication can be more healing than edicts and pronouncements, but it is particularly important when we are in the intuitive flow and there could be a chance we are biased in some way--or the client simply isn’t ready to hear what we are getting. If we are integrating intuitive insights with astrological counseling it is also ethically important that we let the client know how we are coming to our conclusions.
We clarify our intuitive capacity and develop trust in our insights in a number of ways I will discuss more thoroughly in Part II of this article. We begin through healing processes such as meditation and emotional clearing, as well as practice questions with simple issues. With time it becomes easier to connect intuitively with charts and with clients in a way that is grounded and clear, adding a new and rewarding dimension to the astrological consulting practice.

The Marriage of Intuition and Astrology
Part II

Part I of this article discussed some of the ways in which grounded intuition benefits astrological counseling, as well as some of the cautions designed to keep the consultation clear and ethical.
The philosophies and techniques discussed below for developing intuition are also tools for cultivating a clear vibration. A clear, grounded and open sense of self serves any occupation, but especially a healing, serving profession. Intuitive awareness is a fundamental human trait that is developed and clarified through meditation, personal healing and practice. It is not necessarily a substitute for a spiritual path, and yet some of the techniques for clarifying one’s vibration are spiritual in nature. And, a desire for a spiritual path perhaps might flow from that inner healing.
If you would like to develop your intuitive abilities to integrate this skill into your consultations, consider my five cornerstones for psychic development and clarity:
1. Spiritual Clarity. Most would agree that meditation is essential to clear the mind of chatter and this is probably the most important step in attaining clarity. Our ego driven thoughts and fears can create a mental clutter that confuses us. We are unable to hear our inner voices or trust our insights. Meditation can be traditional spiritual styles designed to create a clear mind and nonattachment, including physical styles such as Tai Chi, yoga or even meditative walking. Guided visualization to visually clear our personal energy field, described traditionally as the aura and chakras, is also beneficial. It is helpful to meditate before the first client of the day as well as in between sessions, even if just for a few minutes. The simple act of a few conscious breaths to be grounded and centered allows us to approach the chart with a fresh perspective.
2. Emotional Clarity. In order to be intuitively clear, it is helpful to observe, understand and maintain the cleanest emotional state possible. It is challenging to receive clear information when we are stressed, angry or filled with any strong emotion such as grief. Our empathic receptors might be clogged with our own feelings or the feelings of others, including the previous client. Regular inner examination and emotional processing either alone or with a therapist, healer or support group is recommended so that we are not filled with unexpressed emotion that will bias our intuitive, receptive sense of the client.
3. Physical Clarity. We will be clearer when our bodies are strong and healthy. Poor health creates a fogginess that spreads into our personal psychic realm. Each person has a unique constitution so there is no one recipe for health. It is beneficial to observe and modify our personal physical needs: diet, exercise regime, supplements, alcohol and other substances (including sugar and caffeine), as well as sleep. We know these factors affect our health and they also affect our ability to be a clear channel for information and healing energies.
4. Spirit Connection. I believe we all have spirit guides--usually at least three or more. They give us information that we sometimes perceive as our own thoughts. With meditation and practice, a more specific connection with spirit guides or one’s Higher Self can be developed to receive accurate and clear information. It may be helpful to have guidance and support from a spiritual teacher or training to learn to connect with high level spirits safely and clearly.
5. Practice, Practice, Practice. We can use opportunities in our daily lives to ask questions of our spirit guides. We can also make a habit of checking in with our kinesthetic intuition or “gut feel” as often as we can. “How do I really feel emotionally now?” “How is my body feeling now?” “What do I most truly need right now?” We can also ask simple, mundane questions of our guides for practice. Our spirit guides are much like loving friends and are willing to help with simple issues so we can ultimately focus on deeper and more complex choices. It is easier to receive and learn to trust the answers to these simple daily questions so that when we have a real crisis or emergency for which trusted guidance is essential, we will have a sense of what an accurate answer feels like and be able to trust the insight. A practice example question might be “Will my friend actually follow through on lunch plans this week?” Keeping a journal of questions and answers, noting the sense of connection or clarity and getting to know the difference between when we are accurate and clear and when our thoughts and emotions affect accuracy will refine our skill.
By developing and trusting our personal intuition over time, we purify ourselves and embody a greater sense of clarity, peace and inner harmony. We become responsible and professional guides in our clients’ journey. And we will find it easier to connect intuitively with charts, to hold an empathic connection with our clients, thus refining and deepening our consultation skills.

How to Find or Fix a Relationship: Hold the Vision. Let Go.
published by Open Exchange Magazine, April/May/June 2008 Issue

            How do we really attract something we want? How do we let go of something that isn’t working well? To make it even more complicated, consider the typical relationship dilemma in which we need to let go of a relationship that isn’t working or didn’t work, and then make ourselves ready for a new one—and then find that new person?!! The answer is to hold the vision and also detach. This may sound like conflicting advice, so let’s explore further.
Books and movies like “The Secret” and “What the Bleep Do We Know” have been very helpful in our emerging spiritual evolution to bring about understanding of the way our thoughts, words and actions create our reality. However often in our zeal to create our reality with positive thoughts, the complexity of the way these energies work is not fully understood.
            Tamara doesn’t really want a serious relationship, as she is busy with work, great friends and exciting travel. Out of curiosity she comes to see me to ask about several men she’s met in her office building who are actively pursuing her. Lynette spends fifteen minutes every morning meditating and doing positive affirmations about finding her soul mate. She has an altar devoted to love and partnership in the relationship corner of her bedroom. She goes to singles events every weekend and asks her friends to set up dates for her. She has been single since her last break up a year ago and is feeling hopeless about ever meeting anyone.
            Tamara is drawing potential partners into her space because she is detached from the need for one. She is actively engaged in living a full life that sends out a positive vibrational message which attracts various possibilities that she might not be actively affirming. She has processed the painful feelings of her past relationships fairly well so her emotional vibration is reasonably clear. If she changes her intention toward the idea of having a relationship and continues to still hold her vibration of detachment from need, it is likely she will choose one of these suitors and begin a satisfying relationship.
            By contrast, Lynette is still angry and hurt about her past breakup. She says she wants a new relationship but a part of her still wishes her old partner would return. She believes she is not really worthy of being with someone but at the same time believes a relationship would make her happy and all her other problems would disappear if Prince Charming, Soul Mate Extraordinaire would show up. Most of us carry a bit of the Tracy energy within us. Our culture promotes the idea that Life Will be Perfect When We Have True Love through advertising, films and fairy tales, so I’m not meaning to criticize her feelings at all. However, when someone seems to be doing all the right things, and it isn’t working, then it will be helpful to either look at the subconscious energies, unprocessed emotions, and conflicting beliefs—or simply be patient and trust in life’s perfect timing.
Looking at the energies and emotions can be done in psychotherapy or other healing processes or you can work on the healing process by yourself. The following steps can be done once or (more likely) many times moving toward greater awareness. They can be done separately at different times or if you feel ready they can be done at the same time.

Examine and observe your true feelings. Try not to demonize or repress the unpleasant feelings like hurt or anger or try to move too quickly to forgiveness or happiness. Give yourself time and space to breathe into your body and notice exactly how you actually feel, without trying to change anything. You might notice tightness in your body as you breathe into the stronger feelings, and you might notice the sensations change as you stay with the breath and observe the feelings.
Consider your goal in the broadest possible terms and hold the vision for that energy to be part of your reality: In this case we are talking about holding the vision of having partnered love, but this process can be used to envision other essential qualities, such as financial comfort, freedom, spiritual connection, etc. Use the breath to imagine drawing that energy to you. Feel yourself surrounded by the energy of what you want, and allow yourself to feel feelings such as contentment and peace you might feel in response to that energy.
Now let go. Let go of attachment to the outcome and the details of how this is supposed to show up in your life. Let go of your need to have this energy you are affirming. Notice how you feel about letting go of the attachment---which might take you back to point #1 where you observe your true feelings.

If your goal is to release an old relationship and draw a new loving partner into your life, your process might include feeling the feelings of loss, pain and anger about the old relationship, feeling fear of never finding a new person or feelings of not deserving the kind of relationship you really want. The vision would be to feel what it’s like to fully let go of the old relationship, and then to feel the new relationship energy with you. The letting go process would be to feel what it’s like to let go of the outcome, the timing and the details. Some of us need to fully accept and enjoy singleness to manifest a really great partnership, while others don’t seem to have that much work to do on this type of relationship issue. Everyone is different. However, by releasing attachment of any level, you are likely to find yourself feeling freer and lighter and I believe you are much more likely to experience life in a positive enjoyable way—and to have the preferred results.
Janine experienced this exact result recently. She met a man on vacation in Spain last year and has continued to write to him, feeling he is her perfect match. She is willing to relocate to Spain, but he feels the distance is an insurmountable problem and insisted they be friends only. Now she will be going to Italy on a work assignment and had asked him to join her there for a couple of days to explore their relationship. He had shared with her various reasons for why he probably wouldn’t visit her there. Over several months, she did some deep work around her heart issues including feeling criticized and abandoned by her mother, which led to looking at whether she truly believed she deserved a good relationship. She began dating other men, while continuing the long distance “friends only” email relationship. Last week a friend asked her if she was going to see this man when she was in Italy, and she said “I don’t have a clue.” When those words left her lips she knew there was something different in her attitude. She knew deeply she really didn’t have a clue and wasn’t trying to figure it out or make it happen anymore. Previously she would have said “well I really hope so and I’ve been asking him and he hasn’t exactly responded yet and I know he really is the one…..” But in this moment of not having a clue, she realized she had truly let go of the outcome and was willing to sit in the place of not knowing with some inner peace. The next morning he emailed her that he was checking flights and by mid day he had booked the flight to meet with her.
Sometimes we experience something like “an inner click” when we let go. Sometimes the process of letting go is a slow one, where we wake up one day to realize we haven’t wanted this goal for many months. Often true letting go feels like changing our mind or truly not caring at all. Detachment is a very deep feeling. We cannot trick the Universe and pretend to detach when really we’re still holding on, our fingers crossed behind our back and three Aces hidden up our sleeve.
When we hold the vision, we hold it in our heart. There is a feeling of peace, joy, love and high intention surrounding the vision. We only want what is truly right for us and those around us. Through the mundane issue of relationship we have an opportunity to clear emotional and karmic energies and to deepen our spiritual understanding. What a gift!
Hold the Vision. Let Go.

January 1, 2007 - Staying or Splitting: The Big Question (an article published by Open Exchange Magazine, January-March, 2007 Issue: www.openexchange.org)

Is this my soul mate?" "Should I leave?" "How can I get this person to change?" "Are we going to be together— should we be together?" Many people struggle with the fact they feel deeply connected with another on a soul level, and yet the personality issues and challenges cause them to wonder if they're really "meant" to be together or if they should separate and try to find someone more compatible. So often we really "love" someone but we don't get along with each other, or we feel the relationship might be unhealthy for us. Knowing when to stay and work on a relationship and when to let go is the first dilemma. If one decides to stay, often the second dilemma is how to heal and deepen the relationship so that it really works. Luckily the answer to those two dilemmas is often the same.
Soul mate or Dysfunctional Glue? I don't believe in the idea that we have one soul mate, destined to complete us so that we can live happily ever after. This idea keeps a lot of people in unhealthy relationships for way too long. We probably have many souls with whom we've had multiple past-life relationships and with whom we feel a deep bond— often instantly. These people could all be considered soul mates. We often feel we love and know these folks as soon as we meet them, but then we still have to discover how we might get along in this life. It's not always about love and long term commitment— sometimes they are simply a pivotal facilitator to help us move out of stuck patterns, or a short term relationship, or a friend or mentor. If one of these old friends doesn't show up for some reason—or shows up but is emotionally or practically unavailable to us, there are others who will have equally matching energies and will provide similar karmic lessons. We draw exactly the perfect person for wherever we are in our own evolution, including choosing on a soul level to have periods of alone time.
If you are with a person who feels like a soul mate connection, but there are lots of challenging relationship issues, there are multiple healing layers to explore. Ask yourself if you feel compelled to stay with the relationship. Look at the dysfunctional glue between you. Each of us has emotional patterns connected to both childhood experiences and past life unresolved issues. Our energies attract like or similar energies—often expressed in opposite polarities. So if you have low self esteem and are easily influenced and manipulated, you are likely to attract individuals with low selfesteem who are controlling and manipulative. It is the same third chakra wounded energy, but the polarity of expression is opposite. This attraction of similar energies facilitates healing if you look at your own issues rather than blaming the other person for their behaviors.
"Tammy" was dismayed to find yet again she was in relationship with a volatile, angry man. "I've done so much work on myself already", she said. "It just doesn't seem fair that I do therapy and meditate and go to classes and my boyfriends always have this big temper, even when they seem so mellow and spiritual when I first meet them." In sessions that included intuitive guidance, astrology, past life regression and processes to integrate different parts of herself, Tammy unraveled a complex picture that included memories of violent and painful past lives, connecting her own fear of anger and angry people with a raging father, realizing she had lots of unexpressed anger herself, realizing she needed to work out and use her own feisty spirit in powerful ways, and feeling empowered to set boundaries with her boyfriend about how she wanted to be treated. As her own inner work proceeded, she was able to feel the strong soul connection and attraction to this man as a good thing, but it was balanced with a need to have a healthy relationship. It can sound trite, but she began to truly love herself. From this healthier place, she was both detached and more available to really love. She was willing to stay in the relationship a little longer if he was working on himself, too, but not at the sacrifice of her own happiness and fulfillment.
The dilemma of when to stay and when to let go is a challenging one, indeed, but as you come to understand and value yourself, the answer often becomes clear.

May 15, 2004 - LIFE IS SPIRITUAL HEALING
(published on Open Exchange website Spring 2004 issue)

Spiritual Healing is simply the healing of body, mind and spirit through the application of healing energy. There are many different belief systems about healing. Reiki, energy or psychic healing, distance healing, laying on of hands, and hypnosis are just a few of the types of spiritual healing, and yet at its core healing is always about the shift of energy from a compacted or unnatural state to its flowing, harmonious state. Healing can be facilitated through the assistance of a person who can “translate” healing energy into a more usable form but there is also an abundance of healing energy available to each of us in our daily lives. Healing is always an individual process of opening to our essential true nature and the loving, healing force of the universe.

Disease is initially created by energy out of balance. Each of us is born with an energetic blueprint based on the unresolved emotional experience of all previous incarnations. This blueprint forms the basis of our aura and chakra system. This is how karma is moved from one incarnation to another. It is not as if there is a karma committee punishing us as some would imagine. It is simply the truth of energy.
Energy is cleared by forgiveness and love. We can forgive the person who harmed us, be forgiven for our part in the situation, and we forgive ourselves (often the hardest part) for the part we played in the experience. I know many people find the idea of forgiveness challenging, especially in crimes against children. And yet, still, at the perfect time, forgiveness is the key to healing. Simply for our own healing and peace we must forgive and let go. Forgiveness cannot be rushed or pretended. Sometimes the best we can do is get to neutrality. However, the lack of forgiveness holds the energy of the wounding experience and will draw that same experience to us in modified forms, in this life and in future lives, over and over again, until finally we experience a spiritual breakthrough, and forgive totally.
As healers, I believe the format of much spiritual healing work is simply to satisfy the ego. Our human self wants to learn a system, know what we’re doing. We want to see the dark energy, remove it, replace it with new energy. Balance and align chakras. When we go to a healer, we like to have a name for their system, to believe, to trust in the training. We can do this and it works. There is a certain satisfaction to being actively involved in the healing or believing the healing modality is special. It gives the mind something to do. Ultimately, however, healing is simply the release of energy and acceptance of love in its place. It is amazingly simple.

Sometimes I do detailed spiritual healings; sometimes I go the simple route--calling in love from Spirit and friends to the person I’m facilitating. Often the person receiving healing feels the simple forms the most.
In daily life, we all have the capacity to facilitate our own healing, by surrounding ourselves by people who love us rather than settle for “friends” who are meanspirited. We can visualize ourselves surrounded and filled with love, at any time of the day, rather than dwell in fearful and negative thoughts.
Life can be filled with spiritual healing. Practice breathing, meditation, yoga or tai chi. Take long walks in natural settings. Clear up old issues and open your heart. Love yourself enough to eat well. Focus on the present moment. Get healings and massage from others. Practice sending healing with a friend. Laugh. With every breath, fill yourself up with gratitude and love. You are spiritual healing (or not!) in every moment.