Virgo New Moon & Women's Moon Camp

Om Chandraya Namaha, ladies~ it is almost time to welcome another lunar cycle!

It is still a week away, but I can't tell you how excited I am for both the Virgo cycle and our 1st Moon Camp. We specifically chose the Virgo new moon for camp, and the reasons were many.

Virgo is mutable (transform) Earth (form, physical) and is the sign most connected to making changes in the physical realm. Virgo is associated with the healer, and the perfectionist. This is the best sign to get into details and detoxification of the physical world we live in. The trouble can often be that we, especially women, get too critical, too perfection driven, either about ourselves, or we turn this keen eye on to those around us; particularly if we are not ready to do the work that needs to be done.

Choosing this cycle to spend a couple days together in the mountains, on the earth, taking time to do our individual and collective work, sitting in circle sharing our truths and new intentions, making healthy meals together, hiking, sitting around the fire... these are all such powerful ways to welcome an energy that can either be powerfully transformative, or powerfully destructive. 

Especially coming out of Mercury Retrograde (goes direct 8/26!) many of us had a lot of stuff coming up the last couple weeks: challenges, fears, illnesses, communication issues, doubts, anxieties about ourselves and maybe even the world around us.

I found myself more sensitive than usual to the news of famine in Somalia, the seeming hopelessness within our own economy, cases of brain eating amoebas in the South... I was feeling desperate, angry, sad. Is there nothing we can do?

Enter Virgo, problem solver, hard worker, wounded healer, patient, focused, humble and eager to create change. The first challenge is to put your eyes on yourself, and be gentle. Through lovingly assessing and cleansing our own bodies, minds, spirits and environments, we may find a way to share the healing. Perhaps through eating cleaner food, you decide to plant a garden, and then get your neighbors involved. Or if you discover that clean water is your passion, maybe you get inspired to donate to clean water funds or become active in Heal the bay. Perhaps you sign up for a composting class, and decide education needs more attention, think of all the ways you can take action in that field! The possibilities are limitless, as is the nature of mutability. 

Virgo is tireless in her effort to be of service, and as long as she keeps her eyes on herself and stays focused on the progress, not the perfection, this is the cycle that can change the world.

If you would like to join us in Ojai for Moon Camp, you can check out details on the facebook page (www.facebook.com/newmoonwomengather) and I will be sending directions this week, once I get final RSVP's. So please, RSVP:) you do not have to stay the whole time, but we will have Sky Ranch from Saturday around 2pm to Sunday afternoon. We recommend car pooling, bringing food to share for lunch, dinner, breakfast and snacks, as well as warm clothes, optional hiking shoes, sleeping bag, a tent that does not need to be staked (we will be camping out on the deck) and any of your Virgo inspired tasks like journals, crafting, reading, music, etc. There is not a specific ritual or ceremony, as the intent is to simply have time in Nature with our circle, as our ancestors always did at this time of the month, for cleansing, dreaming, processing and sharing. Virgo is the healer and nothing has proven more healing than Mama earth and a loving circle of sisters. The new moon falls on Sunday, but the dark moon was the night most associated with cleansing, and so it was perfect to spend the dark moon night together and then emerge on the new moon refreshed, filled and ready for what promises to be a very busy cycle of creating change. 

If you cannot join us, know that we hold your spirits in our circle, and please take time to welcome Virgo. Take care of your body through diet, exercise and cleansing, take care of your mind through journaling, talking with trusted friends, reading up on things you are interested in and take care of your spirit through meditation, getting out in Nature and sitting with the new moon to receive the wisdom of Virgo.

I hope to see you at Sky Ranch & I wish you a healing, productive and transformative cycle.

Aquarius Full Moon Saturday 8/13

The moon is waxing beautifully in the summer skies. While the full moon is still days away, I think most of us can't help but draw our eyes to the heavens this week as things may feel like they are not unfolding as planned in front of us. 

The new moon in Leo came in with a fiery roar, and we were happy to hear it; there was a night or two of excitement, eagerness, playfulness, courage and fun... then Mercury went retrograde and that roar went inward. Perhaps some of you felt like you were coughing up a fur ball or two? All the intention of moving outward, and suddenly, communication is off and we just want to pick up our toys and go home.

That is okay. The retrograde cycles are always a time for powerful teaching. The energy moves backwards and since so many of us are constantly wanting to move forward, it is a real challenge to stop in our tracks and allow those steps back. Our outward fun may turn into inner reflection and our big parties may become quiet picnics under the stars. I was hiking with a dear friend today and she was telling me how a teacher just told her that sometimes creativity is not about making a piece of art, but rather, when things aren't moving the way you want, can you use your creativity to respond in a fluid way?

I think that may be the teaching of Leo/Aquarius this month. 

Aquarius is fixed air, (maintain creativity) which often makes it feel more watery since when air is contained it feels more like waves, as does its symbol the water-bearer. I never quite understood or related to what a water-bearer was and so I looked into it:  The symbol for Aquarius is the Water Bearer, symbolically and eternally giving life and spiritual food to the world. The water from the vessel washes away the past, leaving room for a fresh, new start. The sign of Aquarius is forward-looking and growth-oriented. Concerned with equality and individual freedom, Aquarius seeks to dispense its knowledge, and its vision of equality and individuality, to all. (from cafeastrology.com) 

Aquarius is always outside the box. So maybe Leo inspired some traditional summer fun activities, and now with mercury retrograde and the rising emotion of the full moon we have to back track and find a way to use our creativity and passions in a different way, a more fluid and unconscious way, maybe one that is focused on bettering ourselves and the world around us, rather than having a final summer hurrah.

If you are feeling depressed, angry, unsettled or frustrated, that is still Leo energy waiting to be channeled, and now the Aquarius full moon asks us if we dare to channel that creativity in a new way? A way that gives new life and energy to all beings? Just as sitting under a waxing/full moon nourishes the soul, so can your Leo/Aquarius intentions. The retrograde cycle can make it difficult to start something new, so let that air energy move backwards into other intentions you may have set this year that didn't get fulfilled. Do you remember the intentions you made back at the Aquarius new moon this year? Both air and fire have the flexibility to go in any direction we want. Become an air-bender this week and heed the Aquarius call.

As always, the choice in responding to our celestial teachers lies with you. Every month, in each part of the lunar cycle, we have an opportunity to learn, grow, transform and create. The planets, elements, signs are all just guides, suggestions along the way. There is no right or wrong but these times offer really powerful opportunities to each of us. If nothing else, pay attention to your feelings, to nature, to the sky and just do one thing that your intuition guides you to do this week, even if it seems really weird (that is the Aquarius calling card;))  Obviously, be sure it harms no one and again, no big life changes during retrograde... but a subtle change in your reaction, a whim to do something a little differently, to use your creativity in a new way, that will be enough to honor this cycle and please both the Lioness and the Water-bearer.

Have a beautiful waxing week and a sweet Aquarian Full Moon weekend. I leave you with a quote from a famous Aquarian, Francis Bacon, "He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator."