Early in the week of August 12-16, we are passing through the dark of the moon; the period near the end of the lunar cycle leading up to the next new moon. This is a time when it is a good idea to tie up loose ends, get some rest, and prepare for upcoming changes.
On Friday, August 17 at 8:45 PDT , and 11:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time, we have the Blue Moon in Leo at 8° 25 seconds. A blue moon occurs when in a given lunar month, two full moons occur. This New Moon in Leo signals a new opportunity for choosing life, creativity, and fulfillment over fear, hatred, and stagnation. We always have these choices, but particularly at this new blue moon time. The archetypal energy and symbols point us in the direction of life affirming change.
This new Moon sextiles the Mars-Saturn conjunction in Libra. Mars and Saturn moving through the late stages of Libra have been pushing us to learn the lessons necessary for our own health and happiness. Mars has activated this passage of Saturn bringing us ever more lessons and opportunities to make the changes in whatever area of our lives this passage has been taking. By now you know for it has been going on for several years. Saturn in in the last few degrees of its passage through Libra (it will leave Oct.4-5). We are in the final stages of Saturn's transformative passage through Libra, so don't be surprised if you feel like you are still wavering between the past and the future in some kind of noosphere...an area between the past and the future where you still stand in awareness of what was and what could be. Life will change significantly when Libra enters Scorpio in early October.
All planetary change has an effect both before and after the exact time of transits or conjunctions or aspects. This new moon for example is preceded by a period called the dark of the moon--a time where the moon is not visible in the night sky and a time when we are completing both inner and outer work from the last lunar cycle and preparing for movement into the next season or face of life. Gradually throughout August in the Northern Hemisphere, the days have been growing shorter. The opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere. We can also watch as the sun sets farther and farther south on the horizon as we watch the night sky light up earlier and earlier with constellations, meteor showers, and the waxing moon. We feel and observe the seasons changing, and we too are affected by the changes. As we approach a new moon, we are readying ourselves to cross another threshold into a new phase of life.
Influencing us at this time is the moon's aspect to Saturn and Mars. This new Moon acts as a threshold to the beginning of a completely new leg of our journey. You may have noticed yourself feeling more tired lately or longing for a lull in all the summer activity (or a break from the winter doldrums in the South). During the dark of the moon, the next 3 or 4 days, it may be a good time to pay closer attention to providing body, mind and spirit with some quiet and stillness.
Look into the mirror and assess how you are really feeling, what your state of health is, and how you have been taking care of yourself. Notice where you are out of alignment and where you need to take better care of yourself. For example, what kind of nourishment have you been taking into your body? How much exercise have you been getting, and have you been getting a comparable amount of rest? What kinds of activities have been taking up most of your time? How much time have you spent getting fresh air, a blast of natural wonder, or some playful time swimming in the pool, walking on the beach, or just sitting around the campfire laughing, talking, and singing?
Some of us work too hard while others never seem to get down to business. What does your wife look like, and how Mike should move into choices and actions that nourish and support higher levels of energy and life giving motivation?
The lessons that Saturn has been teaching us have to do with those areas of our life where we have been called to metaphorically and literally clean out the closets, face the unresolved issues in your life and allow some light on the shadows that still hold you hostage. Dust off your dreams, and take one step and then another in the direction of those dreams.
Whatever you have been looking to change in your life now requires you to step out onto a path equipped with all you need for the dreams and goals you have. No matter how together we may feel spiritually, mentally or physically, we must also develop patterns of behavior and attitudes that allow us to be receptive, intentional, and aware regardless of who or what we are dealing with. Just as we have no control over the automatic nature of our physical body (our heart beats on its own, our breath comes in and leaves our bodies, not at our will but its will), much of what happens in life is beyond our ability to plan, control, or predict. Instead, much to our chagrin, life happens despite what we plan for or what we can control. How we understand and perceive life however, is within our control. Therefore, being conscious and intentional about how we live, is vital to our ability to create, be productive, find meaning, and understand what we are called to do and be. I'm reminded of this by a friend who currently is struggling with a physical issue that has him in the hospital. He is used to taking an active role in life, and now is having to surrender to the care of those who are working to get him healthy again. His part, at this point, is to surrender and receive what is being done for him and to him. It's one of the hardest things to do for some of us; to be taken care of. It requires that we surrender our will, our ego, and our need to fix things. The gift for him, and for us, is that we are surrounded by those who love us and enveloped in the power of the Divine which guides and guards our every step. We can choose to see life as a gift to be treated with great care and respect, or we can fail to see the gifts in the garbage. The choice is always ours.
The archetype of Saturn, that great teacher, has been performing an awakening within us and within our world, reminding us of the undeveloped parts of our personal and collective lives that needs to be strengthened and developed. The Mars/Saturn conjunction that is sextile the Sun in Leo also calls us to express ourselves more independently, and in relationships to feel less afraid to be ourselves. Our relationships with one another and to our work provide us with opportunities to either become a cog in the wheel or to express our individuality and creativity in ways that enhance our work. In relationships, we often and go through phases where we try to be what the other person wants us to be. While all relationships require an element of compromise and adjustment, to bury the truth of who we are in a relationship, is to doom the relationship and ourselves. We did not come to this Earthly experience to be someone else; we came to express our divine gifts, to work out our sacred destiny, and to express our true nature.
With Mercury in its stationary position until the 21st (not yet moving full speed ahead), and with Jupiter in Gemini square Chiron in Pisces, the healing of old emotional wounds still requires our attention. And we won't be able to just think ourselves through the pain. We need to use more than logic for healing. Music, dance, bodywork, and a deeper more spiritual process can help us better face whatever grief, sadness, disappointment or losses are blocking our good. Whatever we have chosen to bury remains in our body, mind, and emotional being. It does not go away just because we wish it would period.
Chiron( the Wounded Healer) in Pisces represents our need to transform our tears into gladness--in other words, we need to deal with whatever has piled up within us in order to be healthy, happy, and whole. We also need to face whatever is unhealed in our experiences in order to continue to grow, develop, and create. With the energy of the Sun in Leo, we may feel more motivated to befriend the shadowy parts of ourselves that are calling to be attended to. Leo's joyful, playful Sun shines on us and fills us with confidence, reverence for life, and desire to dance for joy. For some reason, this joyfulness makes it possible to heal more easily. We experience a lightness of being which casts even our shadow issues and memories in a brighter, more easy-to-deal with light.
This New Moon opposes Neptune-Chiron (quincunx) resulting in a new start that may be based somewhat on illusions and fantasy. It may also be influenced by powerful dreams and strong intuitive hunches. We are cautioned to be discerning about what we are basing our choices on right now. Intuition and dreams are powerful tools for our insight, but both require an awareness of how they may be practically applied to the choices and plans we are making now. There is a fine line between delusion and true insight. Allow what ever dreamed, intuition, and fantasy guide you at this time to stand the test of time. Whatever is brewing, requires some time to reveal any flaws or distortions in your plans.
A good way to deal with visions, dreams, and what may seem illusionary, is to be creative. Write in a journal, paint a picture, play with clay, dance around the kitchen, or in the backyard under the moonlight. Whatever you do, get your feelings out in a positive way, so that you allow yourself time to discern how they fit into the shape your life is taking.
The new Moon in Leo is also influenced by a cardinal T-square. Venus squares Uranus in the early degrees of Aries and opposes Pluto in Capricorn. This is likely to inject an element of emotional and dramatic energy into the areas that are most affected by this new moon in your life. Leo is dramatic as well as creative, so this could encourage greater romantic and showy displays of affection and feeling. If you are into drama, you could give one of your best performances. For those who seldom express their emotions, this new Moon encourages a bit of a release and a fuller expression of your being. There are very positive ways to express emotion including music, dance, games, and acting. Planning some end of summer impromptu skits or play to entertain friends could be one positive way of using this kind of energy. Have some fun with this. Last night in my meditation class I introduced the idea of active meditation through Native American spiritual practice meant to honor the directions and the setting of the sun. Our class is held by the river and the ocean and the sun was setting as we began so it seemed the perfect moment to introduce a special honoring ceremony. We moved together to honor all who live in the four directions. It helped us connect to the world we live in and to one another.
Ceremony and ritual in our lives allow us to connect to the Earth, to the elements, to the Universe, to one another, and to the wholeness of our own being. We do not enter ceremony for gratuitous dramatic expression-- ceremony is about expressing meaning and connection in our lives wholeheartedly-- using our body,mind and spirit. In the Northern Hemisphere this has been a time, of abundance, fruitfulness, and growth. For a short period of time our attention was gathered together with those who participated in the Olympic Games in England. For this period of time opportunities opened up for us to connect with one another and nurture the common good. It is always easier to do so when we are enjoying ourselves. We need to take some of this energy and connection and plant seeds that will grow from the positive experiences we humans have so we can work together to heal ourselves, our relationships with one another, and our planet.
Venus, the Moon's ruler, in Cancer releases us from the losses, lack, and isolation that we may have been trapped in due to taking care of old business. Someone once said, "If you carry the bricks from the house that was destroyed to use to build your new house, you will be rebuilding the same old house." Through all the transformative movement and destruction of the past that has been taking place with Pluto, Saturn, Uranus, and Mars' movement through areas of our lives that needed to be overhauled, we probably all now understand the lessons we have been learning. We have examined how we entered into relationships, what roles we played, and how our expectations honored or dishonored ourselves and our partners. We've learned to forgive, release, and be comfortable in our own skins again. We have become more comfortable with the whole of who we are; allowing ourselves to accept both our strengths and growing edges. Letting go of the patterns that no longer nourish and support our growth, health, and well being, is required if we are to develop and grow, if we are to step forward on the path toward our highest good and soul call. Our life is a spiritual journey that we live out through our actions and behavior, our relationships, through how we fulfill our obligations, and through how we live out our dreams and plans.
The idea has been over the past year or two, to face within ourselves and our lives, that which was falling apart and away, and to clean up, finish up, and relinquish that which no longer served our good or the good of those we care about. Sometimes the loving thing to do is to let go. Sometimes things do this to try harder. The Venus archetype calls attention to our need for love as well as the patterns and expectations that have formed our ideas about love. Venus in Cancer has us seeking nourishing, kind, and loving relationships during this transit...we seem more aware of our need to maintain our sense of feeling safe within whatever relationships we choose to create. We move toward a more nurturing experience for ourselves, yet one that allows us to be ourselves and allowing others to be who they are. With the independence and confidence of the Leo Sun, we are apt to find ourselves reveling joyfully in the full manifestation our our being. We find more ways to express our creative spark and to develop more meaningful ways to live in harmony with one another. The more we have healed through the transformation, the more we can accept others for who they are as well. Knowing we are all required to surrender to the greater will of the Divine in order to receive the gifts and resources, helps us move into the energy of the New Moon with greater optimism, hope, and commitment than we have in quite some time. We can now use the shadow material we have worked up out of our subconscious to "turn the garbage into gold."
The idea of the Blue Moon connotes an unusual and rare experience. This New Blue Moon Leo is just such a time. We have the opportunity to begin anew each day, and at the New Moon, we enter a new lunar cycle. This time of the cycle evokes our emotional responses, and calls for a more fully manifested expression of our true nature and being. Now is the time to begin anew, and to remember,you have the opportunity to consciously and intentionally, use each moment wisely. "Wherever you are is the entry point." You need not be anywhere but where you are. You need not be anyone but who you are to live out the full expression of your being. The New Moon calls you to do so joyfully!
No comments:
Post a Comment