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Gift Giving With Purpose & Meaning

Tuesday, 13 December 2011 00:00 Risa D’Angeles Columns - Astrology
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RisaNewS

I attended an Alternative Giving Fair in Fayetteville, Ark., last week. Table after table of gift alternatives focused, not upon individual ephemera (tinselly) needs, but upon humanity’s needs. In a conversation with my daughter this week, responding to her saying she has not bought any holiday gifts (good choice in the Mercury retro), I suggested that she not buy any gifts this year (and next) of the regular kind. Instead that she gather her little (holy) family, inform them that Christmas (the holidays, including Hanukkah) would be different this year and every year hereafter. Instead of receiving they would be giving together as a family to another family in need.

I suggested she place on their table, next to the lit Advent wreath, brochure and pictures from Heifer International, a non-profit, humanitarian organization that provides gifts of seeds, trees and farm animals—ducks, lambs, goats, llamas, flocks of chicks, a camel, water buffalo, heifer or an entire ark of animals, including bees, along with environmental agricultural training. The gifts are for families and communities around the world (50 countries including the U.S.). Gifts from the Heifer project feed, clothe, house, educate, protect, train, empower and motivate resources-in-need families. Families helped through the Heifer project are able to rise up from poverty, sustain their families, conquer hunger, create a sense of community and prosperity, and begin the process of being able to give to others. When one gives (tithes, provides for others) a sense of joy, wild, unexpected and liberating settles in the heart. Children taught to give in this way and help others “inherit a lifetime sense of intelligent giving.” This is my daughter’s gift to her children this year. The Heifer International Project. Visit heifer.org.

Esoteric Astrology as News for the week of Dec. 15–21, 2011 For Sun and Rising Signs

ariesAries-March 21–April 20 
The Warrior. Offer in Aries’ name a gift to the Wounded Warrior Project, providing programs and services to severely injured service members during the time between active duty and transition to civilian life. Often forgotten, this project honors and empowers those who protect our freedoms. www.woundedwarriorproject.org.


taurusTaurus April 21–May 21 
Developing Prosperity & Well Being. Understanding the fact that the world situation is not about the economy but about politics. How to invest in times of Transition. Offer them the Solari Report; give them gold and silver. Introduce them to Catherine Austin Fitts. solari.com/store/the_solari_report. silverandgoldaremoney.com.


geminiGemini May 22–June 20 
The Communicator. Education at this time, says the Tibetan, is the where all the money in the world must be focused. Cory Ybarra, Educating Special Needs Population worldwide is “Building for Generations” (Cory's vision). www.buildingforgenerations.com.


cancerCancer June 21–July 20 
Nurturing the world, especially women with cancer. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Dedicated to education and research and a cure for breast cancer. Providing cancer research, education, advocacy, health services and social support in the U.S. and 50 countries. www.komen.org/.


leoLeo July 21–August 22 
The heart of the matter, especially children – Gifting to the children we love – an article on passing on the wealth to our children.solari.com/articles/gifting_to_the_children_we_love/. Also, giving to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, pioneering research and cures. All children treated regardless of family finances. www.stjude.org.


virgoVirgo August 23–September 22 
The one who serves. Give them the book Serving Humanity, a compilation of writings from the Tibetan through Alice Bailey. Lucis Publishing Company, www.lucis.org. And help them serve the animal kingdom through the Humane Society. www.humanesociety.org.


libraLibra September 23–October 22 
Relationships of Care. The subject of refugees. UNHCR. The UN Refugee Agency. Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie’s Charity. USA for UNHCR (UN High Commission for Refugees), humanitarian work of the UN Refugee Agency. There are 40 millions displaced people, or refugees, in the world. Last year, the theme of UNHCR was “home.” www.unhcr.org.


scorpioScorpio October 23–November 21 
The Disciple. Doctors Without Borders /Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Doctors and nurses volunteer urgent medical care in more than 60 countries to victims of war and disaster, violence, neglect, epidemics, catastrophe, etc., regardless of race, religion, or politics. www.doctorswithoutborders.org.


saggSagittarius November 22–December 20  
The Journey. The Lawyer. Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, protecting rights of farmers and consumers to engage in “direct commerce” (consumers having access to foods of their choice—raw milk, non GMO, etc.—from the source of their choice), threatened by global control and corporate corruption of our food system. www.farmtoconsumer.org.


capricornCapricorn December 21–January 20 
Maintaining Tradition. Positioning assets for the family that are sustainable and fair, understanding investing in transitional times.. Also, Environmental Defense Fund, environment protection and conservation. Solutions for environmental problems with Right Stewardship. www.edf.org.


aquariusAquarius January 21–February 18 
The Futurist & Server of Humanity. Both books “Here Comes Trouble” by Michael Moore, and “Serving Humanity” (see Gemini & Virgo above). And the human service organization of the Red Cross, helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies, present and future. www.redcross.org/gift-donation.


piscesPisces February 19–March 20 
The visionary and Savior. World Vision International: Development and Relief Services. Building a better world for children. www.worldvision.org. And Unicef (UN Int. Children’s Emergency Fund) – protecting children's rights, their survival, development and protection, guided by the Convention on the Rights of Children. www.unicef.org.

Risa is Founder & Director of the Esoteric & Astrological Studies & Research Institute, a contemporary Wisdom School in Santa Cruz, CA.

More at nightlightnews.com. Risa's email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Facebook: Risa's Esoteric Astrology

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