What Does 2005 Mean Numerology-wise?

2005 breaks down to a Number Seven in Numerology 2+0+0+5 = 7. Seven, among other things, relates to spirituality. We will see more of a spiritual tone develop throughout the world this new year. Many people will seek their own "truth" and develop a deeper sense of "being". With the war still ongoing in the Middle East (I unfortunately see it, for many more years to come), it is likely the vast majority will disagree with the war in 2005 and hold more prayer groups, peace rallies, etc. On an individual level, many more people will study spiritual topics, return to their faith, organized religion, etc. That's why beginning this year, at all of our regular scheduled psychic fun fairs and Goddess Gatherings, my readers and I are hosting free spiritual development classes open to anyone who comes to the fair. The classes only run an hour or so in length and will feature a new topic every month; astrology, numerology, meditation, Native American spirituality, holistic health, karma, past lives, psychic development. On occasion, we will also offer more in-depth paid workshops at our fair sites as well. Please check our schedule for dates, times, etc. I think that one of the best gifts you can share with someone, is the gift of knowledge. So the readers and I are excited to share what we have learned with you. Plan to attend if we are close to your area. This February we will be celebrating twelve years doing the fairs. We started our first one in Lapeer MI back in February of 1993 with just five readers; Thelma, Angie. Suzie, Cindy, Alexandria and myself.

To start the new year off, I've written a short piece on the best and the worst for all signs for the first six months of 2005. But first let's get into our monthly schedule.

Nice Letters We Get

Hi Maria,
I am the lady in California you did a reading for on Tuesday morning. Thank you so much.The reading was very helpful and gave me understanding and clarity. Your reading was the most helpful and accurate reading I have ever had. I am grateful for your gifts of intuition and insight.
Thanks again, L.

Dear Maria:
I wish all the Best for you and your family during this holiday season and all year long in 2005! I want to thank you for making the cruise such an incredible experience!! The talent of the different speakers was so expansive! It would have been so very nice to have been able to talk for a while with each one. Their life experiences were so exciting to hear and learn about. And you, of course, were the best of all!! Ken was very impressed and has been telling everyone about his reading with you, the aura readings and his session with Barb!!! Can't wait till next year!!! Merry Christmas!!
Dr. Mike Lechleiter

Dear Maria;
Your Conscious living Cruise was fabulous. The workshops were highly informative. fun and inspiring. The group of healers feel like friends all coming together. I will be rounding up my healer friends for next year's cruise. Your organizers, Clay and Peggy are tops! Thank you Maria for your encouraging astrological reading. We have a great year to look forward to. We are excited to read your books. This was our first cruise, the first of many with you. God Bless you Maria.
Hugs and Kisses, Lauren Austin and Raul Holgiun, Florida

Saw you on VH1....love your hair color and length, looks like you went a little auborn/reddish...looks good on you! Your comment does Paris Hilton wear panties, was a hoot. I was disappointed they didn't show your remarks about my Gemini in arms, Colin Farrell. With all the sex planets in his chart, you got to know he'd be a great lover. But this was after all a tongue-in-cheek show about celebs, not a show about astrological truths. Too bad. I'd prefer to hear about their charts!!
Brenda, Minnesota

Hey Maria
Just watched you on TV ! (VH1 All Access) You did great ! You looked better than any of the other host, I was so excited someone I knew on TV. I called everyone to turn on the TV and see my friend.... You really did good, can't wait for you to replace Oprah and have me as a guest !
JoAnn, Illinois

The New Orleans Cruise Was a Blast!!!

On Friday night before the cruise, everyone met at my French Quarter house for a "Meet and Greet". I was surprised how many people could actually fit into my humble abode. After everyone had a few drinks, my neighbor Ernie, who does the Haunted Ghosts tours in the French Quarter, took our group around to some of the scariest places in the Vieux Carre. The night was rainy and dark...and perfect for a ghost tour!

On Saturday morning, many of us shopped ‘til we dropped at the French Market, and along Bourbon and Royal Streets, munched on beignets at Cafe Du Monde and enjoyed a muffulatta for lunch. In the morning, a group of us met at the VooBrew where Priestess Miriam, the voodoo queen of New Orleans, gave a lively talk about Voodoo customs and showed us how to do a "house blessing" and "wash". The Priestess (she's a Pisces) was so delightful! I don't believe any one in the group actually met a voodoo practitioner before, so this was a real treat and a great way to start our week long journey.

My friend Jackie and I boarded the ship for the cruise at the very last minute. We hated to leave New Orleans and its festive holiday spirit. Everyone else was on the ship hours before, getting a good spot in the buffet line and checking out their rooms. Our travel agent Tammy, from Vacations at Sea, even boarded for a while to answer last minute questions. Kudos to Tammy for her great personal service!

The first night everyone settled into their cabins, then went for dinner. Sunday was our first full day at sea and all the speakers took to the stage for a brief introduction. I was so excited to hear everyone speak and tell a little bit about themselves. Everyone had something special to offer from Dr. Rosa (Chicago) who "heals people who do bad things" to Joann Seckus (Chicago) who taught us how to read our own palms. Clay and I were comparing our palms to see which one of us was the most stubborn. (Of course, Clay is...he's a Taurus). Mary Frost (Louisiana) showed us how to receive healing energy and what it can do to enhance our auras and energy. Her aura camera was used in many classes over the week long journey to demonstrate.

Monday, we spent the day in Key West Florida, sipping margaritas and eating key lime pie. Tuesday, we woke up in Cozumel Mexico. I met with one of my clients from Michigan, who now lives in Cozumel. She took us for lunch at one of her favorite restaurants. The food was terrific and of course, very authentic. After lunch. we bought some tequila with worms in it for Christmas gifts and bartered with the shopkeepers at the flea markets.

Wednesday, we set foot in Costa Maya and bought lots of silver and jewelry and just soaked up the sun. Thursday our Conscious Living Classes began and they were fabulous!

Here's are some of the other highlights besides what I mentioned above:

Peggy Gelpi a.k.a. Joy Bubble, the Love Fairy (New Orleans) presented a wonderful class on how to live an enchanted life. She told us not to forget the magic we knew as children and encouraged us to take time to see the "wonder" of the world. At the end of her class, Peggy had us all stand in a circle and toss fairy dust into the air. What a magical way to start our week.

Bonnie Broel (New Orleans) gave us her formula for fighting cancer and other dis-eases.Her personal story of how she overcame "terminal" illness leaves us all anxiously awaiting her book.

Aimee Buckel (Louisiana) gave a wonderful lecture on working with our angels and guides.Her soothing meditation helped many of us get in touch with our own angel and ask for their guidance and wisdom. Many in the audience received their angel's name and personal messages.

Barb Garza's (Michigan) lecture was highly anticipated. Many attendees had booked private sessions with Barb and claimed her readings were "life altering". Barb took the time to give individual messages from the guest's spirit guides.

Hazel Thompson (Michigan) gathered everyone in a circle for her presentation and spoke of the power of intention and how to use it to create a wondrous life. Many people also enjoyed personal and detailed readings with Hazel as well.

Amy Perkins' (Michigan) session on ghosts was fun and informative! She spoke of the different types of ghosts and spirits as well as some personal experiences and events on her paranormal investigations. Amy also had specialty oils that many people took home to use in their spiritual work.

Clay Thomas (Louisiana) gave great feet massages during our psychic and holistic fair held on Thursday night. His list was full of people with tired, aching feet from shopping and dancing. The only complaint I heard was from Bessie Sennette, who said that Clay should have wore his formal tuxedo while doing the massages. His tips would have been larger, she said! Clay also spoke early on Friday morning on rolfing and energy. Everyone enjoyed the class and begin using some of his techniques on the cruise.

Twyla Rice (Minnesota) presented a Pilates class and guests went through a series of positions they could easily do. Many people were curious as to what Pilates was. Even though we have all heard of it, it was surprising to see how many folks had never taken a class. It was a real treat to have this workshop available, especially for beginners.

Jack Fontana (New Orleans) offered a special workshop on breathing that was considered one of the highlights of the week for those that participated. He and Marianne Burkholder (Mississippi), who also presented a workshop on auras and energy facilitated. They helped lead us through almost two hours of deep breathing exercises that brought up buried issues from our subconscious that we were able to then release. For all of us, it was a rewarding experience. Marianne and Jack were such a calming presence when they guided and helped us through the process. People were talking about this life changing experience all week.

Jean Wallis (Minnesota) gave an insightful talk on cellular memory. It was the largest attended workshop of the week within our group. Her personal stories and experiences added to her thought provoking talk.

Dr. Michael Lechleiter (New Orleans) seminar was probably one of the most fun for me...because it involved winning a lottery! Dr. Mike introduced Intrasound, a device from Denmark that does a number of things to improve your health and also takes away fine lines and wrinkles, The room was filled with mostly our women guests, anxious to try Intrasound. Dr. Mike explained how it works and then everyone was able to try the machine out for themselves. Dr. Mike had brought seven machines on board to sell. Four of them, unfortunately, had already been spoken before his talk even began. There's was only three left! And everyone in the room wanted one, including me. A lottery was held to draw the names of three lucky winners who would get the chance to purchase one. I was one of the lucky people to take an intrasound home with me!

Bessie Sennette (LaFayette LA)held an informative morning workshop on holistic healing utilizing many techniques including energy, auras and meditation. Bessie's relaxed and friendly style of teaching, helped "beginners" understand holistic concepts and more "advanced" practitioners learned a great deal too.

Lauren Austin (Florida) closed our conference with a beautiful, uplifting lecture as well as a wonderful meditation that "centered" the group and sent love out into the universe. A prayer circle rounded out our joy-filled finale.

If I forgot to mention anyone, please let me know!

Here's a few of the quotes I received from people on the cruise:

Jack Fontana, New Orleans "I had one of the greatest experiences of my life this week!"

Bonnie Broel New Orleans - "I found a greater sense of peace, spirituality and purpose in my life."

Cheryl Welliver, New Orleans - "I found, from deep within, my own self worth."

Lynn Kridler, Caro, MI - "It was a very healing and nurturing experience."

Marianne Burkholder, Mississippi - "You couldn't go to a workshop any cheaper anywhere else!"

Jean Wallis, Minnesota - "It's fun!"

Bessie Senette - Lafayette, LA - "It was wonderful to network with so many people of such high integrity"

Bob Bassett, Louisiana - "Wonderful, life changing experience".

Gordy, St. Cloud WI - "Fantastic!"

Shareeka, Dallas, TX - "One of the best experiences of my life!"

Others who voiced their opinions used the words: Awesome, fantastic, life changing, rejuvenating, inspiring, fun!

Lenny from New Orleans invited his friend Terry to sign up for the cruise, promising him he's meet tons of beautiful women. Lenny told me last August that his goal was to meet his soul mate on this trip. Lenny and Terry closed the dance club every night and rumor has it clicked tons of pictures of lovely ladies they danced the night away with!

The ship was beautiful and the ports has lots of ambiance and good shopping. I was a guest speaker for Royal Caribbean and presented three times on the ship as well as hosted a few private workshops and lectures in my suite for our group. I hosted a " Learn to read the Tarot Class" and an aura reading workshop. I must have read about 65 auras one evening and saw some pretty amazing things in people's energy fields; like their ancestors and dearly departed loved ones coming through.... with names and messages. No need for the great psychic John Edward on this cruise. We could hold our own as messages from the other side easily came through on almost everyone.

For me, the best part of the cruise was the people. Sure the ports of call were fun and exiting to see. Our cocktail parties, midnight buffets and dancing the night away were great too. But it was the combination of all the positive energies, the talents, the willingness to share knowledge and nurture others, that was the best! Here we were, a group of about seventy people coming in from all parts of the United States; all different backgrounds, religions, lifestyles... coming together for the same purpose.... to grow spirituality and to share with others our knowledge. Everyone, whether they were a speaker or not, contributed in some way, to make this cruise spectacular. Thanks to Peggy and Clay for helping out in organizing everything. We got to know everyone whether it be at dinner or in a class or sipping a drink together on deck. It was sad to leave the ship, having to hug goodbye. Yet we will all carry a little piece of each one of us in our hearts until we come together again.New friends were made, old ties reestablished and lots of positive energy exchanged. We crammed a lot of great experiences into a single week. Thanks to everyone who made Maria Shaw's Conscious Living Cruise a wonderful spiritual experience!

Maria's Thoughts on the Cruise

And speaking of our Maria Shaw's Conscious Living Cruise, I have another one in the works that I will be releasing the details on in the next few weeks. A special newsletter will be going out around mid-January. We may be sailing this year out of Florida. Our last cruise sailed from New Orleans. The one before that...Los Angeles. So we may do Florida in 2005 so we can sail to some new ports. We will have around 18-20 speaker slots open. I know I already have about five of them spoken for with my Michigan readers. So please contact me if you'd like to be a speaker so Cindy or I can put you on a list. Many of you already know Rev. Cindy Myers. She has been with me for twelve years and will also be helping out with this year's cruise as far as speaker scheduling. Call my office at 810-631-6887 to be put on a speaker list.

Astrology Notes

Crazy, Astro-Vibes
The beginning of this month, we are experiencing some very strange and explosive energy. This astro-configuration had a lot to do with the terrible and tragic Indonesian earthquake during the full moon around the Christmas. Personally, you may be feeling quite angry this week as well as last week too. You will notice there are more crazy, irate drivers on the roads. People want to argue with you. Anger could swell up inside of you as well. There may be malfunctions and problem with equipment at work or in your home.

If you are feeling upset and angry, I advise you to get rid of this angry in a constructive way; work out, do something creative, talk to someone, etc. You may think you will be able to work through this, you can't. It's nearly impossible due to the Mars Square Uranus aspect unless you create more problems in the meantime. Repressing your anger usually draws accidents and upheavals. So let it go and work it out. Tell someone off if you must.

If someone you're dealing with is yelling at you, just let them dump on you and move on. Don't take anything too personal now. Don't fight back as this will pass and help defuse future anger. Try and understand why someone is angry and talk things through until they feel better. Also, be extra careful with your driving too. I know many of you have E-mailed or called to say how frustrated you were and wondered if there was something strange going on with planets. This is my best explanation. But it will all be over soon!

Deep Observations On Life

1) "When I die, I want to die like my grandfather--who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car." --Author Unknown

2) Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: "Take two aspirin" and "Keep away from children." --Author Unknown

3) "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." --Drew Carey

4) "The problem with the designated driver program, it's not a desirable job, but if you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At the end of the night, drop them off at the wrong house." --Jeff Foxworthy

5) "If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base." --Dave Barry

6) "Relationships are hard. It's like a full time job, and we should treat it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they should give you two weeks' notice. There should be severance pay, the day before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp." --Bob Ettinger

7) "My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim.'" --Paula Poundstone

8) "A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: Duh." --Conan O'Brien

9) "Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God.... I could be eating a slow learner." --Lynda Montgomery

10) "I think that's how Chicago got started. Bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'" --Richard Jeni

11) "If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead." --Johnny Carson

12) "Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography." --Paul Rodriguez

13) "My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law." --Jerry Seinfeld

14) "Remember in elementary school, you were told that in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?" --Warren Hutcherson

15) "Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same." --Oscar Wilde

16) "Suppose you were an idiot ... And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself." --Mark Twain

17) "Our bombs are smarter than the average high school student. At least they can find Afghanistan." --A. Whitney Brown

18) "Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place." --Billy Crystal

19) "You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" --Dave Barry

20) Do you know why they call it "PMS"? Because "Mad Cow Disease" was taken. --Unknown, presumed deceased