Two ways to drop sand:

Grasp tightly or

Let fall the hand.

Only one way to hold sand.

This beautiful poem/koan, written by my friend Eliot in 1982, may be worthy of remembering next week , on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at approximately 7:43 am MST (+/- 1.5 hours).

An eclipse will be occurring then right on the Eastern horizon, at a point that aligns with the galactic center.  A retrograde Mercury and a strong Mars will be there too, all in a nakshatra lorded by Ketu which is in the most stormy part of the zodiac and occluding our sense of perception, the Moon.

Meanwhile, the benefics, Jupiter and Venus, will be well-situated in the 4th and 11th houses.

Thus, even though the last eclipse that occurred on this axis happened on 9/11, and something bad may happen, I think the USA and our allies will be safe.

Anytime Rahu and Ketu, the nodes of the Moon, are so influential and especially when enacting an eclipse, I think it is worth remembering that, whatever happens, perceptively it feels like we are on a gigantic roller coaster, or, if you will, a humongous seesaw.

The secret to any seesaw of any size is to remember that there is a point in the middle, a fulcrum, which does not move at all.

That is the still point.

Find that still point (which astronomically is literally the Earth, next week) and that emotional roller coaster of the nodes will not affect you.

Thus, the appropriateness of the koan.

A rotational relational database on herbs and techniques of Ayurveda , the traditional ancient Indian form of medicine.

Please note that it is a work in progress and not complete nor exhaustive.