HoopLA!

My current areas of focus in personal practice are chest rolls, 4 hoop splits, angle dance and breaks, dancing with the upper body and arms and increasing the dance with multiple hoops. Dancedancedance! My strengths are crafting performance with choreography, costuming + theming; multiple hoop splits (up to 3 almost solid with 4), freestyln a dance floor (there are really great clubs in sydney to hoop/dance at!) (favourite hoop position while dancing: the butt), larissas and other off the body moves, karate kicks, chest/shoulder/neck hooping with loads of arm action, transitions up and down the body by hand and coiling, thrill-seeking dives into the world of the unknown if only to progress, challenge, evolve and push boundaries... don't mind a bit of foot hooping in those rare platformless moments and am about to the throw myself into the world of fire hoopdance! My number one piece of advice with performance and life is - only ever work what feels right for you and what brings you joy, even if that means changing your plan on the spot!

Pluto in Capricorn - Welcome!

January is a month of change in so many ways! New year's resolutions, that sense of a cleared slate, a time of renewal. In the realm of the stars it is even more so. Mid January 1995 Pluto moved into Sagittarius. 13 years later, mid Jan 2008 (just a few days ago) Pluto moved into Capricorn. The next shift of Pluto is not for another 16 years - mid Jan 2024. Imagine Pluto in Aquarius! Wow.Truly cosmic. But before zipping ahead into the future let's get a sense of what has passed and what might shape our current collective un/conscious challenge that is the energetic power of Pluto.

What is Pluto about anyway? Pluto represents the deep unconscious mind and that of the collective - it is the realm of Persephone and the underworld. A blurb from a channeled moment I had back in 2004:

To be stuck on pluto is to be sucked down a deep dark hole into a space full of fabric formed by the unconscious mind. It is both collective and individual, impersonal and totally about the self. A centripetal process that traverses both space and time, it depicts the mircocosmic fallout of the macrocosmic web imploding upon mortal investigation. Pluto, being the most distant (known) planet of our solar system, represents an extreme point in the spectrum of astronomical and astrological information that we are aware of at this point in time. It is a place to interrogate the past in order to be in the present so we may consciously map out the future. It is the 'seed of our unlearning,' a psychospiritual compost if you will, in which to cultivate in order to grow into the fullness of our being. Pluto rules Scorpio - it is the master of the underworld, sex, magick, the occult, death and transformation. What we find in the plutonic realm is a space in which to investigate the soul at its most separated and evolved point in the human incarnation. By reaching into the recesses of unconscious reality le petite morte greets us with each and every new discovery of an essence that is both sublime and subtle in revealing to us who we are with a primal force. Intensity is to be expected. This planetary energy offers the opportunity to look and see deeply into experiences of the travelling soul. Imagine taking a trip to the farthest peak of a mountain to gain a panoramic view of the landscape below with a telescope to peer into the finer detail. Beware the ledges you stand on for beneath a volcano is sure to rumble ready to erupt. Pluto is not the destination you arrive at, but the journey in itself. Pluto - a place where learning to fly is how best to fall.

In holographic terms, we as humans help create the patterns of life, just like the stars and currents of the ocean. In essence - Pluto is about transformation, a shift in our cosmic wave of awareness. Usually if the natural flow is not perceived and acted upon, Plutonic power simply creates the force required to push through all existing blockages - aka life's crises.

So as this shift comes we are also reminded by Chinese astrology that a 12 year cycle has completed and is ready to start over again. Interesting that when Pluto moved into Saj the Chinese year was that of the Pig - the last animal to reach Buddha and so the final year on the Chinese astro circuit. This time around, as Pluto moves into Capricorn, we usher in the Year of the Rat - the first of 12 animals. If we align the cycles of Pluto and Buddha's animal race we might get a sense that these past 13 years have been about completion and now this next phase is about beginnings.

With Pluto in Saj the past phase has seen the rise of spirituality and expanded consciousness into the collective Western culture. We have been tuned in and turned on to the power of positive thinking and self-directed creative manifestation. Those of us privileged enough have become privy to an absolute cornucopia of self-awareness portals in bookstores, on the internet, in advertising and increasingly in random moments of conversation. Cross-cultural awareness has hit the mainstage with the massive spread of globalism, information technology and the political development of an increasingly active and aware electorate. Pluto's notable opposition with Saturn in 2001 saw my own Saturn return (ouch!) and a collision of cultural philosophies with 9/11 and the subsequent wars afterwards. The Jupiterean nature of Pluto's past phase has been big band - we have have stamped our massive footprint into the ecology of this planet, we have become more well informed and so arrogant in our attitudes, we are about to jet into outer space with Virgin Galactic so not even the sky is the limit, we are superheroes in our right! Are we here to explore, exploit or save the planet and our selves? Or all of the above? Let's not forget that with all this grand living, there are still millions who continue to suffer due to the imbalance and injustice that exists amongst such prosperity.

When I consider the energy of Capricorn, the term no shit Sherlock immediately comes to mind. It's serious! Often a little too so. I am hearing a lot of doom and gloom in astro circles about Pluto's next stint around the cosmic clock. I would like to suggest that in the age of love and light that we need to LIGHTEN UP if we are to progress. We are after all working toward Pluto in Aquarius in 2024! The Big Business Power Raid interpretation of Pluto in Capricorn doesn't sit too well with me, but then again such Patriarchal views of the hologram never really did. It's not that I disbelieve it's reality, for has not Man's pursuit of riches and success been an ongoing theme in HIStory? My view is that you create your own reality as perception is ALL and as such, I prefer HERstory - that of mother earth, her undulating cycles and the energies, thought forms and actions that support her sustenance and growth. The sooner we over-ride the negative with the positive, en masse, the sooner the positive will preside.

This brings me to what I see as the most prominent themes of Pluto in Capricorn - RESPONSE-ABILITY, SELF PARENTING, GROUNDING, REGENERATION and EMBODIMENT.

We've heard so much about THE SELF since the cultural revolution of the 60s - self awareness, self development, self help. These have all guided us through the childhood of our spiritual development. Let's take some inspiration from Saturn - the archetypal father and Lord of Time... let's grow up! To blame or defer is to negate RESPONSE-ABILITY. Pluto in Capricorn is giving us 16 years to learn this essential life skill - we have the tools, let's use them. Think of it in dualistic terms - do you unconsciously react or consciously respond? To everything. Once Pluto moves into Aquarius the Self will dissolve into the pool of collectivity that must ensue. We are moving toward an age of the Higher Mind - it is well worth knowing how to access and use it.

To parent the self is to to know how to live in conscious dialogue with, and often outside the parameters of, unconscious paradigms of reference (i.e. habits) that our parents represent. Our parents are our greatest teachers. They are our creators who gift lessons and offer portals of release from karmic patterns and into avenues of growth. They pass on the baton of evolution for us to run with. It is up to each individual to choose the circular or spiral path in response. To parent the self is to be independent and self-sustainable but also to know when to ask for help. Self-parenting is a process that involves understanding your internal family - who your inner mother, father, child and sibling/s are. We are all multi-dimensional beings - this is something that Pluto in Capricorn can help us to understand. As much as it is a very earthly, practical energy, it is sandwiched between Saj and Aquarius for a reason... the grounding before and after the flight.

Grounding, regeneration and embodiment - all essential aspects of humanity. Learning to eat better, exercise more and in better ways, to rest and to fully embrace and understand our physical form, as individual beings and as a planet. Yoga! The answer to many of life's issues. Hulahooping! Even better. Let's loosen up and have some fun! The two in fact go hand in hand. As a mind-dominated species we are both exalted and debilitated by our mental processes. The key is to find the balance. Meditation will become more prominent in our culture out of necessity to tame the mind. Capricorn is a very traditional energy - alongside all the amazing feats of science and technology, we will see a return to tried and true ways of sustainable living which includes practices of the ancients - yoga, meditation, dance, astrology. It will be impossible to ignore the physicality of our selves, the planet and our inextricably linked natures. We must pay attention to the rhythms of our micro and macro environments - the resources we have depleted, the riches in our natural world that we are yet to explore with the core values of the matriarchy: LOVE GROWTH KINDNESS COMPASSION UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION FORGIVENESS JOY PEACE. Perhaps one day if we all practice these values on a daily level with ourselves and others in our small little worlds the big bad world will simply have to follow suit. Can you commit to creating this reality in your mind first and foremost? Then in your personal world with your friends, family and colleagues? Then on a collective plane with all that you encounter?

The Goddess Kali will guide us. Her way would be best learnt by all throughout this time. I welcome Pluto in Capricorn which now squares my Moon in Aries and Pluto in Libra activating the opposition and the trine/sextile to Neptune in Saj. I welcome the change.

Chiron - the Wounded Healer

Natally I have Chiron is in the 8th house in Aries opposing Sun Mars Uranus in Libra in the 2nd which trine Saturn in Gemini in the 10th which sextiles Chiron. A yod? Chiron has manifested in many ways over the years such as intense physical and emotional pain rooted deeply in and about the self which would often become stuck and aggravated an already volatile Moon Pluto opposition (Pluto in Libra in 1/2nd cusp, Moon in Aries in 7/8th). In my earlier years it created a considerable amount of turmoil! Then came Saturn. The Rainbow Bridge Between Worlds by Barbara Hand Clow has probably been my strongest informant of Chiron's energy. She speaks about it being the connecting point between Saturn and Uranus... a transition from the mundane human world into cosmic intelligence and the higher mind. The way I perceived Clow's interpretation was that once we have faced our karma and accepted its many challenges (Saturn and in particular its return) we become more able to move beyond the lower realms of perception (i.e personal referencing and habitual reacting) and more open to the connections that are available through Uranian energy and the planetary energies that exist beyond - i.e Neptune and Pluto. The energy that we must work with to attain this free flow of spiritual or higher self consciousness is Chiron - the wound, and more specificially - the wounded healer. Clow speaks of 8th house Chironic natives as being a basic nightmare unless they have done their Saturn tour of duty. Once these karmic energies have been resolved, the darkness that IS the 8th house can actually come to shine as an incredible light of Phoenix like proportions that speaks predominantly of renewal. I discovered this to be true once I transformed my career (Saturn in the 10th) into a work of art and child like play (Saturn in Gemini). A moment's respect for the power of the HULAHOOP! In fact, once the absolute mayhem of my Saturn return had settled, I discovered so many different solutions to old and deeply ingrained patterns of problems. Cell-shifting movement thats seem quite simple in retrospect but what a trip to reach that point of realisation. Intense! Did I mention a Leo Ascendant adds a whole lotta drama to life? Mostly of the amazingly creative and wondrous kind and then occasionally not so... The deal with the rainbow bridge is that as humans, we tend too often to live in our wound. As adults this isn't very useful or productive if we consider how this might impact relationships with ourselves and others, i.e negatively. It also blocks us from the cosmic mind as there is nothing personal about divine consciousness. To take on the challenge of evolving and growing out of our human skin and into your spiritual bird like selves we must be prepared to take full emotional and energetic responsibility - to resolve our issues as spiritual warriors so that our wounds may heal - and embrace the flipside of the pain and suffering that is too often a dominant and unconscious motivator for our thoughts and actions: the Joyous and Peaceful Healer within. We need to remind ourselves that we have choice and we can if we like reference difficult situations from a positive point of view that supports ourselves and others as conscious human beings rather than falling into child-like states of hurt. Mostly we see this in intimate relationships when we are at our most vulnerable. The bridge that is Chiron is about TRANSFORMATION and MOVEMENT so that we can GROW and take steps towards our higher selves that sit perched in the cosmos waiting for us to catch up and get with the program that we ourselves create.

2008 The Year of the Rat

An exciting year ahead, I can feel it in every single cell of my being. Strangely I feel different! It's funny how the years go by and on those momentous occasions like birthdays and New Year one can sail right through without feeling a change. Not this year! The shift is energetic. It's like a magnetic forcefield is pulling my energy in one direction and away from another. Mostly, it's now focused in my heart and less in my head. Strangely this shift makes me want to write more!! The polar universe that is. In my astro-verse I refer to this an ORF - oppositional reciprocity factor where everything has its flipside. The mirror is shining bright and wouldn't you know it I've lost my sunglasses again!! Lucky the clouds have kicked in (again) in Sydney's attempt at Summer.

So we are coming to the end of a 12 year cycle with the close of the year of the Pig. This time 12 years ago I moved to Sydney from Melbourne. This time 12 years ago Jupiter was in Capricorn marking my own Jupiter return. What it is to to experience this - refreshed opportunity; the outcomes of excess; sitting in the natal 5th house a creative explosion; a serious yet detached insight into all that has been, is now and could be in the future. Jupiter with Saturn - expansion and contraction. Possibilities and limitations. Contained excitement.

In this month's hoop newsletter I wrote - "Now is an important time to consider all that has been in the Year of the Pig - intensity, indulgence and interesting times. Consider these three elements with regard to your hooping practice - how were you most intense last year? What did you indulge yourself in? What most provoked your interest?" To answer my own questions it goes something like this. I was way too intense emotionally last year and that definitely includes my hoop world which I guess is pretty much most of my life these days. But something that I am becoming more aware of is that too often we confuse emotions with attached thoughts. I feel that I was too "in my head" and not enough in my heart. Too busy constructing realities without fully BEing in reality, whatever that may be. I was too intense with men and my masculine side - driving the hoop mobile hard and fast without taking enough time out to be in my feminine and with my female friends... to be in my practice and have compassion for myself and all others. It was definitely a Yang year, time for a little Yin - possible with the Rat on Rat?

What I indulged myself in... hmmm! Goes without saying really and needs not be said. Let's just say that the lid is firmly sealed right NOW and will be for some time. In many areas of life, 2007 feels like that last year of indulgence for me. I am ready for the middle path and the many processes of cleansing to reach a point of equanimity.

What most interested me were all the new tricks out there and the growth of so many hoopers, particularly here in Australia. We are so inspired here by the art of hoopdance and The Hoopaholics have really been taking on the challenge of feral hooping! The days of strict circus hula in this country are clearly over :) YAY! We are mixing it up and drawing as much inspiration from as many influences as possible.

I dedicate this year to my own practice of hooping and yoga. Also a time to cleanse my body, mind and soul. This year I would like to reach maximum health and fitness. Strong business practices are also on the agenda. Balance, focus and strength are called upon as I aim to fulfill many goals. The creative urge must be channeled with as much clarity as possible.

WORLD HOOP DAY 070707

World Hoop Day is almost here and Sydney is still raining hard with random magickal moments of sunshine and clear skies. What would life be without a little dramatic tension. It's been a whirlwind organising this event but something that has simply flowed as it must and will. The Hoop Empire team have taken on the challenge with much creative joy and hoopiness. We have joined forces with The Colour Parade - Sydney's hottest new cool cats - and are spreading the freakazoid joy about town. Last Saturday's impromptu hoopjam at Taylor's Square was rokn. Podiums ready and waiting, crowds intrigued and entertained, flyers flying into hands, a pumping sound system thanks to our new megaboombox PA and MC Anto on the mike - "it's not WHAT you are ... it's THAT you are!" Luv the Colour Parade. WHD really has created an energy around the hoop that goes beyond anything we have done before. ABC2 are documenting and we are hooping it UP all over - Phoenix dance floor Sunday night, classes on Monday, rehearsal on Tuesday, showcase on Thursday and yet another Taylor's Square hoopjam on Saturday "Get your tweak ON hoop style." World Hoop Day is creating a synergy in Sydney and beyond. It is aligning creative forces and that whirling spiral energy that the hoopla is most famous for. It sets the agenda not only on an international level but on an energetic cosmic vibration as well. People WANT to celebrate the hoop. They want to be part of building this collective happiness.

On a personal level much is changing. I felt it so strongly in yoga this morning as day break crept into the studio. A new day = a new way. I can feel my body communicating with such clarity like never before. The hoops @ Phoenix anchored and elevated me at the same time. No "shows" just rokn it out for me and whoever else may or may not care to absorb the super fastness as in a whirling vortex of psi then not psi but quick and sharp whilst breaking my new platforms into the hoopla. Levels are still challenging to achieve in these mammas but the goal is set. They are THE boots. I am willing to do what it takes to own those new feet on the floor! More Sunday night hoop disco for sure. The mind too feels more at ease... less in need of constant stimulation as I increasingly notice just how much an addiction this has been for me and so many of us! I feel ready to relax into what is and what i can create at a flowing speed. Emotionally and spiritually I am moving more into a rhythmic state of calmness and willingness to accept. Life is good and prosperous. Love is discovering new dimensions. The hoopla keeps me spinning in my microverse in ever-expanding macroversical ways!

HOOP PROFILE

Name: Bunny Hoop Star

Years hooping: 10+

How did you get into hooping? Why did you start hooping?
I saw amazing show in Melbourne a long time ago! A friend gave me a hoop that xmas and from then on I was addicted – it was my new party trick and of course everyone loved and encouraged it… I became an instant Hoopaholic.

What do you get out of hooping? How does hooping enhance your life?
Firstly, hooping is a great way to stay fit and in shape. But most of all, I love how it is an avenue for creative expression, like dance, only with a whirling planetary energy about it and few circus tricks to boot! It makes me feel like I am pure energy and with the right music transports me to other dimensions – a feeling of total euphoric bliss. Not sure where else I could find such a feeling on this planet…

First hooping memory: spinning chocolate strawberry and banana Big M hoops when I was a kid, listening to the ball bearings go whooooosh!

Favourite hoop moves: propelling myself in circles while rocking out to my fave dj’s tunes; the lasso above and below; underleg passes; sexy cat floor hooping; chest hooping rokstar style

Signature moves: as above

Hoop heroes: Hoopstress Yos (All time favourite hooper ever); Ladonna Rama (Hoopaholic); The Groove Hoopers (NYC) Christabel (SF) and Anah (LA) Diana Lopez (CAL) Karis (Mutaytors LA aka Scissor Sisters hooping hottie in Filthy Gorgeous film clip)

What are you hoop ambitions / dreams / fantasies ?
To hoop with LEDs, neon and fire ASAP!
To open a hoop school + hoop disco.
To share the joy of hoops with as many people as possible.
To hoop onstage and/or on uber podiums thru out audience at a massive rokn funky show.

how the hoops began

Hoolahooping started for me about 12 years ago - u could say it's a jupiter in libra cycle but the point is it has stayed with me for such a looong time and I really just cant get enough of it!

Time has gone by and I have travelled far and wide... even tried to get a hoop into the taj mahal way back when... Unfortunately security refused such goings on with a strict "NO HOOLI!" and made me check it in at the cloak :s They obviously didn't realise how much of this bloody planet I had passed over to reach this desired point but alas, twas not to be. Satisfaction was recovered however with a rather fabulous photo of me in my red and white pinstripe safari suit and short black hair infront of that big jewel the taj and infact, looking larger than the tomb itself! Unfortunately that photo is not quite lost, but also not quite found either... a long story.The hoop was left in a wardrobe in a hotel at the foothills of a jungle just outside of Mumbai... I wonder who found it!

So. Eventually I made it to sydney from melbourne (about 10 years ago) and discovered a new and improved cosmic family! Gradually over the years my methods of conversion to the religion of THE HOOP have been most successful and reached a point of hoopaholic fabulousness!

The barbarellas are a rokn hoopaholic troupe who embrace the religion of THE HOOP with much fun and frivolity. We perform over town, in front of the camera, for each other and whereva the winds blow us! At the moment we are working with cosmic forces to take us higher and higher. It's an incredible process to watch and be part of.