Hello Friends:

I'm so very thankful that you are a part of my life. Your presence impacts me and I feel very lucky to be in your orbit.

We've had some lovely Venus trines this week:

November 24th: Communicative Mercury Rx conjoined mellifluous Venus at 5:51 pm PT, an informative, pleasing voice

November 26th: Beauteous Venus trined expansive Jupiter Rx at 8:31 am PT, blessings and mercy abound

November 26th: Sweet Venus trined Saturn Rx at 3:47 pm PT, committed to love and beauty

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Gabe is with me this Thanksgiving break, and it has been wonderful. We spend hours together doing "nothing," and I get to catch up on all he's learning and becoming.

It is enough.H
e asked for a low-key celebration, so we made it very simple with a roasted chicken and a few sides. He made a scrumptious apple crumble. Napping was on the menu, luxurious in our full-to-the-brim lives.
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While cooking, we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and then the dog show on Peacock. I was jarred by the repeated stream of ads in between a few minutes of actual programming. I rarely watch television and pay for ad-free subscriptions on my podcast platforms, but with curiosity, I looked at the ads more closely.

From prescription drugs to injury attorneys and insurance, it was a barrage of what can and does go wrong in our human condition and how we protect ourselves or deal with it when it happens. You can alleviate eczema and the social stigma of self-consciousness, but you might have suicidal thoughts, or you can get justice in the millions when you've been injured.

These are what we are served amidst popular seasonal family programming, sometimes a tradition in many households. Growing up, we were accustomed to the ads for laundry detergent, air fresheners, toys, and cars. But these days ads can feel quite sad no matter how they paint a cheery outcome.

Behavioral sciences are deeply baked into marketing campaigns and brand stickiness. We are conditioned to buy. Even when we don't employ our screens, the billboards are on the roads, and sponsors are highlighted in performances. Buying online is frictionless with algorithms feeding us what we like while tempting us with Buy Now, Pay Later options. Our whole bodies take in all of this information whether we're conscious of it or not.

I realize it's a privilege to curate my consumption experience. Being vigilant about maintaining mental health and nervous system regulation, as well as healthy finances, require continuous mindful choices.

Over the past few months, most of the outer planets have been retrograde requiring us to go inside to reflect and learn on a bigger level. What was inside us was reflected in our outside reality. We had to acknowledge some difficult things.

This week, Saturn and Mercury station direct while Venus leaves her detriment in Scorpio for a bit more fun in Sagittarius. Perhaps things will feel a bit lighter and more positve after this time of introspection and hard decisions.

The rest of this week promises some forward movement after several months of delays and challenging lessons.

November 27th: Saturn stations direct in Pisces at 7:51 pm PT, What have we learned about boundaries?

November 29th: Mercury stations direct in Scorpio at 9:38 am PT, Phew! We've been doing a lot of personal excavation. Continue to double check and back up until Mercury's post-retrograde shadow ends on December 16th.

November 29th: Venus opposes Uranus Rx at 6:48 pm PT, How have your ideas of love and beauty been changed for good?

November 30th: Venus trines Neptune Rx at 12:48 am PT, Let it flow.

November 30th: Venus enters Sagittarius at 12:13 pm PT, Out of intense Scorpio, and looking forward to the adventures!!

The Principle of Enough

As we enter into the biggest consumer holiday, I am contemplating the principle of 'enough,' whether it's the amount we consume, the things we have, the situations we are in, or how we view ourselves and others.

As entrepreneurs we look to SCALE and billionaires want MORE, while those immersed in self-development seek GROWTH.

Well, we grow or we die, so there's that.

As my Vedic Meditation teacher Thom Knoles says, "Knowledge is structured in consciousness." The bigger our level of consciousness the more able we are to react based on wisdom. Ours is to expand our capacity: emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

I'm currently reading No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity by Ashlee Piper. As part of my 30-day Moon Cycle and 117-day Mercury Cycle commitments, I am shaping my life to receive what it is I'm working towards. This book is helping me clear space on so many levels.

As a Taurus Moon, I LOVE my things, especially the sentimental ones. Moving from my home of over 18 years with five bedrooms and over 3,500 sq. ft. was traumatic, having to release so much to fit into a more manageable two-bedroom home on Lake Travis.

The key to change is to have something to look forward to like fulfilling my vision board of more life on the lake. However, lletting go isn't easy for me as a multiple earth being (Triple Capricorn, Taurus Moon, Virgo stellium). At this stage of my life, I've accumulated a LOT of lovely things, and I'm learning how to give them away to someone who can use them. My books are still my tender spot.

Minimalism works for many and there is a happy medium. Capsule wardrobes seem ideal until you realize your clothes wear out faster because you are washing and wearing them all the time. Then there's the practice of "one in and one out" when buying clothing or things and having a dedicated bag or box ready to go to donations in your car.

The question might be: "What would it feel like to not live as a consumer?" Followed by: "Who would you be instead?"

Satisfying and enough, with plenty for others, too.

Changing our mindset to ENOUGH might be the secret to stress-reduced cooking, buying, and even socializing this holiday. I notice when I clear space in my mind and my surroundings, creativity is the thing that keeps showing up...

...but then I'm deeply back in art, craft, and writing supplies 🙈😜

Commitment + Devotion

Some of you might remember from the last newsletter, or if you've been reading my Substack, that I have embarked on a 30-day Moon Cycle and a 117 Mercury Cycle to explore my desire to build a farm stop, tea haus, book shop, and community center. I've been reading several books on how to build a farm stop to Michael Ableman's ideas on urban farms providing jobs, food security, and community. I've been visiting potential properties and speaking with store owners and farmers about their experiences.

And I've been sitting in silence and listening.

This is a big project and although I prefer challenging endeavors, at this stage of my life, I wonder if I have the motivation and stamina for one more big accomplishment.

And then I watch something like this, and I keep going.

Campfire Stories and Campfire Podcast is curated by documentary filmmaker Mattias Olsson. "Topics range from regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and simplified living to tiny house & off-grid life, poetry, storytelling, and systems change. Each episode invites you to slow down, reflect, and reconnect—with nature, community, and purpose. Whether you’re exploring alternative lifestyles or seeking deeper perspectives on the world we live in, these stories offer inspiration and insight."

Or I'm inspired by Paola of The Cottage Fairy, who recently bought and reopened Trails End Bookstore in Washington.

It's vital to stay immersed in stories that keep me focused on the Collective needs and efforts, larger than my own fears and doubts.

I am a student in This Jungian Life's Dream School (and Studio) to further my understanding of depth psychology and dream work. Collaborating with the dreammaker by promising to write down or draw what we remember upon waking, illuminates so much about the unconscious and grants access to all parts of ourselves when making decisions. It's not enough simply to correlate the scenes to occurrences during the day, but to be willing to stay open to the symbols as they unfold days and even years later.

I loved this recent podcast with Lisa Marciano and Deborah Stewart of TJL titled Standing on the Whale: Gratitude, Jung, and the Bigger Life Gratitude. "Jung states: 'The decisive question for man is: is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life.' When you can relate to the infinite, then you are in right relationship with these larger forces. And gratitude gives us access to that." They talk of true gratitude as showing up to every situation with your whole heart open.

Retreat Rescheduled

I am rescheduling the Compass of Devotion retreat to my birthday weekend of January 9-11, 2026.

The Compass of Devotion: A 2026 Planning Retreat

January 9–11, 2026 • Wimberley, Texas​
Weekend Retreat or Daylong Saturday

A strategic and sacred planning retreat for the year ahead

The Compass of Devotion is a yearly tradition for entrepreneurs, creators, and educators with unique methodologies or unconventional IP. This retreat gives you the space and structure to map your entire year with clarity and intention.

I work with so many brilliant, multidimensional people with offerings that are hard to explain because they aren’t meant to fit inside conventional categories. Healers who are also leadership advisors. Writers who are also mystics. Designers who work with energy. Herbalists who channel story. Coaches who hold ritual space. Poets who build schools. People whose work is alive in many areas at once.

The hardest part for creatives like us isn’t lack of vision, but rather articulation, structure, and finding the language and a roadmap for something that doesn't yet exist.

This is exactly why I created The Compass of Devotion, my yearly planning retreat in Wimberley taking place January 9–11, 2026.

It’s a weekend for people with a unique blend of certifications, skillsets, and a devotion to service, but little dedicated time or space to plan and organize this deep heart's work.
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People whose work is real, touching, and transformative, but who need a grounded, practical structure to bring it into the world with clarity, relatability, and relevance.

Over the weekend you’ll create:

• your 12-month strategic plan
• a mapped business model
• clarity on your solution, unique value proposition, and signature offer
• a quarterly execution map
• a personal decision-making compass
• your 2026 astrology and Human Design calendars
• intention and ritual tools
• and a helpful workbook you can return to all year long

Weekend Schedule

Friday: Arrival, astrology calendars, orientation, workbook setup, opening circle
​Saturday: Morning practice, values + priorities, Tarot, quarterly planning, time blocking, sharing circle
​Sunday: Fairy tale work or Trello/Notion setup, closing circle

Full schedule is flexible based on the needs of the group.

What’s Included

• Lodging (weekend option)
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner (lunch for daylong)
• Workshop materials
• Astrology + HD charts
• Movement + meditation
• Tarot + narrative practices
• Intention + ritual tools
• Community, connection, and spacious time to plan

Investment

Weekend Retreat: $1200
​Daylong Saturday: $450

Limited to 5 weekend participants and 20 daylong participants.

Bonuses

• First 3 weekend signups: $500+ in additional gifts
• First 5 daylong signups: free 1:1 follow-up session
• Past clients receive 20% off (reply to this email for your discount code)

If you’d like to spend a weekend gaining clarity, structure, and devotion for your 2026 project, I would love to have you with us.

Seasonal Stuff

If you are needing deep Astro-Tarot guidance for your project, move, or business, I have a few spaces open. Just a quick reminder that all sessions booked until December 31st include a bonus 30 minutes of any modality of choice.

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Come replenish on Sunday evenings at The Yoga Common for Kripalu Gentle Yoga & Sound on Sunday evenings at 6 p.m.

Thank you for reading this far and for your support of my work.

I'd love to know what you're working on and what blessings have expanded your heart.

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With much love and reverence,

Monica

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