Pisces New Moon~ Dreaming Waters
On February 3rd, just one day after Imbolc, 4 days before the Leo Full Moon and a mere two weeks before this new moon, Neptune, the planet of mysticism, returned to it's home sign of Pisces. Neptune has not spent time in the Piscean depths since 1861 (except for a short time last year as it prepared to leave Aquarius) and will rest in it's natural element until 2025. During it's last 13 year reign, we saw a multitude of artistic, spiritual and cultural transformations, from the birth of the impressionist movement, to the abolishment of slavery, the creation of anesthetics, declaration of women's rights and the invention of the blue jeans.
Much of the Mayan prophecy 2012 chatter has been based in specific, powerful planetary alignments. One is the Venus/Sun transit on June 6th, another is the Pluto/Uranus square and this shift of Neptune into Pisces is also considered a catalyst in creating the new era.
I think the timing of this transition, coming in so close to the Pisces lunar cycle, is a beautiful and blessed opportunity to give us a taste of what the next 13+ years might hold.
The Pisces cycle is the month between winter and spring, where the mutable water element both dissolves the icy snows and nurtures the first seeds to blooming. Mutable energy is transformative and water connects us to our emotions and unconscious minds. I think of Pisces as the changing waters from the sky~ ranging from light rain to hail and everything in between. It can be gentle and healing or cold and damaging.
The best way to explore Pisces/Neptune is through dreams, intuition, meditation and working with water. You may have already noticed your sleep shifting in the last couple of weeks; or perhaps your dreams got really good or really bad. Building up what the shamans call a "dreambody" and spending more healing time with water are tasks that will not just support an interesting month, but tools that can assist you (and others) in moving towards a higher realm of consciousness/awareness/growth that will support our planet's much needed shift.
I have mentioned before that the outer planets are pretty impersonal. Neptune in Pisces will manifest whatever spiritual/emotional changes are needed to continue evolution in our solar system, regardless of our willingness; but we do have a choice about how we experience it and how it effects us. We can harness this lunation and become co-workers in the process. We don't need to drown or get lost in Pisces' adapting waters, we can accept the umbrella offered and decide to dance and sing in the rain.
The umbrella offered, in my opinion, is from our constant ally, the moon. Our grandmother is giving us 28 potent days before Spring Equinox to really drop into our emotional and dream bodies, to cleanse, shift our consciousness, open our creativity and set the intentions needed to ride the coming waves. This is the month to designate a dream journal to your bedside table and commit to writing in it every day, not just dreams, but any message or intuition that comes up through your day/night.
Dream work comes easy for some, and way hard for others. I have always struggled with dream work. Part of my Shamanic apprenticeship involved extensive strengthening in the dream body, and I must confess mine never could carry much weight. It has been one of the bigger challenges I face in mystical work and I have nothing but awe and reverence for the powerful dreamers in the world. Luckily, Neptune in Pisces should automatically enhance everyone's dreaming abilities, so this is a good time for those of us who have a hard time to put in some focus.
In addition to writing down your dreams/intuitions every morning this month, whether or not you recall them, increasing meditation will also open up the unconscious and form a better container to hold messages/visions/dreams. Sitting by water would be a great way for new and old meditation practitioners to set their intent, and using actual water elements tune us more deeply into Pisces' frequency. You can also get some music with sounds of waves/rains/rivers to listen to as you just sit quietly and breathe. Physically working with water is also recommended. I am ever the fan of hot baths, and cold dips in oceans and streams.
The waters of our planet play a pivotal role in the survival of the human species, start to explore ways to conserve, protect and restore our water sources. Buy a new eco friendly shower head, put filters on sinks rather than buying water, say thank you in your shower, donate money to groups that preserve waters and only wash full loads of dishes/laundry with organic soaps.
Maintain a mind that is conscious of how precious this element is as you ask it to bless, cleanse and heal you. Form a relationship with the waters around you, a relationship based in gratitude, and the waters will also respect you and deepen your intuitive process.
One other helping hand that is reaching out to support our experiences are healing herbs. For thousands of years, mystics have ingested, burned, bathed in and slept with sacred herbs to enhance the benefits of water, meditation and dreaming. Consider accepting the guidance of some Mugwort, Wormwood, Chamomile, Valerian Root, Rosemary or even Lavendar in your Pisces journey. I do not ingest many herbs and I don't recommend anyone trying without guidance, but I do love to put them under my pillow while I sleep or steep in my bath before meditation or bed.
Bring the same intelligence and reverence to the herbs as you do your water and dream work, and you will find yourself becoming a more sensitive, creative, intuitive and connected being in an era where that consciousness is desperately needed.
Pisces and Neptune have 13 years to bring about amazing changes, and we have the next 28 days to align ourselves with this transformation and pick up tools that will allow us to be more awake and active in the mutable weeks and months that follow. I hope you will decide to spend some time in Pisces company and begin to understand what a difference each of our own dreams can make when we bring them into consciousness.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Leo Full Tues February 7th
The sun has been glorious the last couple of weeks. I mean, Southern California is pretty much known to be regularly abundant in the vitamin D department, but there has been something especially sweet lately in those life-giving rays. This morning, after I took my shower, I was freezing (winter in LA often means it is toasty outside and cold inside), so I grabbed my cup of tea and went out to one of my favorite sun spots. I sighed in instant relief as the heat caressed my cold, wet skin and I watched how the light danced across my tea. I had a moment of deep gratitude for this incredible star that brings life to our planet without discrimination. I thought of my dear friend Christy's favorite Hafiz quote:
"The sun never says to the earth "You owe me"/Look what happens with a love like that/it lights up the whole sky."
That about sums up the intent of Leo, particularly the Leo full moon.
The Aquarius cycle, that we are in the midst of, is definitely universally oriented. Aquarius focuses deeply on maintaining a creative consciousness and finding union in all opposing thought. But Aquarius is an air sign, which is mental energy, and can be way more dedicated to the goal, rather than the journey. Aquarius is also known for being a little emotionally detached and is often baffled by the very human need to have "feelings" and individual experience.
Which is why Leo is companion to Aquarius in the zodiac and in the lunar cycle. Leo, fixed fire, is also passionate about bringing people together, but fire energy is spiritual energy, alchemy, and honors the desire in each of us to express ourselves as dramatically as necessary.
The symbol for Leo is the lion, but I like to think of her as akin to the sun, which is also the ruling body of the sign. The sun is constant, just like Leo is fixed; and while this celestial powerhouse shines equally on all of earth, our planet spins, therefore sunlight bounces around. This movement allows each of us to experience the light uniquely though our source is one and the same.
I think part of the reason my sunny spot felt so delicious this morning was because the expanding moon in the sky is waxing towards Leo, but I also sense it was an ancient comfort, a loving ancestor touching me reassuringly because I needed that support.
Aquarius is making a lot of changes. It is everywhere you look, the breaking down of old institutions that serve a "few" rather than "all." I have complete trust in the Aquarian shift, but it's a little scary for these human emotions of mine. I want to to stay in the place of detachment and continue to work for the highest good of all beings, but I have my own desires, my own dreams and my own fears. Yes, I want us all to be equal, in community and have all of life revered, but I also want to step out on my own, find my own light.. and support others as they do the same.
We should all be treated kindly, lovingly, but we are not cookie cutter beings. Each of us contains a divine light that needs to be felt on the skin of their fellows, to warm hearts and inspire further dreams. The Leo full moon understands that and says YES. Yes, we can be both individual and collective, yes, we can have all of our feelings and dramas and still be working towards the same future. Yes, we need to create changes, but if we want a future worth living, the transformation needs to come through the realization that the sun shines equally on all of us, but we each reflect it in a way that only we can.
This is the message of the Leo full moon, a full moon that falls just days after Imbolc, the holy day celebrating Mid-winter. Imbolc is a time of initiation, which means taking the first step into a new way of being. The new way of being I seek as Winter wanes, Spring draws near and the Leo full moon shines bright is a path of living in light. A light that is uniquely mine but also shines from the hearts of every other relation, light that fills me up and inspires me to be a better woman and create a better life. Light that is expansive, limitless, healing yet deeply precious.
Can you imagine a world without the sun? Neither can the moon, for it is the sun's light she reflects back to us. The Aquarius cycle asks for collective consciousness, to recognize our oneness. The Full moon in Leo supports this request, yet through her glow she reminds us that though we are given life from the same source, we should aspire to reflect it out in a way that increases its radiance, rather than diminishes, which is what happens when we compete with others, repress our luminosity or try to be the same as someone else.
This truly is a time of initiation. What new way of life are you ready to take the first step towards? Set that intention under Tuesday's fiery moon. And if you are unsure, ask her to show you the way. You will know if it is the right path, just follow the light.
"The sun never says to the earth "You owe me"/Look what happens with a love like that/it lights up the whole sky."
That about sums up the intent of Leo, particularly the Leo full moon.
The Aquarius cycle, that we are in the midst of, is definitely universally oriented. Aquarius focuses deeply on maintaining a creative consciousness and finding union in all opposing thought. But Aquarius is an air sign, which is mental energy, and can be way more dedicated to the goal, rather than the journey. Aquarius is also known for being a little emotionally detached and is often baffled by the very human need to have "feelings" and individual experience.
Which is why Leo is companion to Aquarius in the zodiac and in the lunar cycle. Leo, fixed fire, is also passionate about bringing people together, but fire energy is spiritual energy, alchemy, and honors the desire in each of us to express ourselves as dramatically as necessary.
The symbol for Leo is the lion, but I like to think of her as akin to the sun, which is also the ruling body of the sign. The sun is constant, just like Leo is fixed; and while this celestial powerhouse shines equally on all of earth, our planet spins, therefore sunlight bounces around. This movement allows each of us to experience the light uniquely though our source is one and the same.
I think part of the reason my sunny spot felt so delicious this morning was because the expanding moon in the sky is waxing towards Leo, but I also sense it was an ancient comfort, a loving ancestor touching me reassuringly because I needed that support.
Aquarius is making a lot of changes. It is everywhere you look, the breaking down of old institutions that serve a "few" rather than "all." I have complete trust in the Aquarian shift, but it's a little scary for these human emotions of mine. I want to to stay in the place of detachment and continue to work for the highest good of all beings, but I have my own desires, my own dreams and my own fears. Yes, I want us all to be equal, in community and have all of life revered, but I also want to step out on my own, find my own light.. and support others as they do the same.
We should all be treated kindly, lovingly, but we are not cookie cutter beings. Each of us contains a divine light that needs to be felt on the skin of their fellows, to warm hearts and inspire further dreams. The Leo full moon understands that and says YES. Yes, we can be both individual and collective, yes, we can have all of our feelings and dramas and still be working towards the same future. Yes, we need to create changes, but if we want a future worth living, the transformation needs to come through the realization that the sun shines equally on all of us, but we each reflect it in a way that only we can.
This is the message of the Leo full moon, a full moon that falls just days after Imbolc, the holy day celebrating Mid-winter. Imbolc is a time of initiation, which means taking the first step into a new way of being. The new way of being I seek as Winter wanes, Spring draws near and the Leo full moon shines bright is a path of living in light. A light that is uniquely mine but also shines from the hearts of every other relation, light that fills me up and inspires me to be a better woman and create a better life. Light that is expansive, limitless, healing yet deeply precious.
Can you imagine a world without the sun? Neither can the moon, for it is the sun's light she reflects back to us. The Aquarius cycle asks for collective consciousness, to recognize our oneness. The Full moon in Leo supports this request, yet through her glow she reminds us that though we are given life from the same source, we should aspire to reflect it out in a way that increases its radiance, rather than diminishes, which is what happens when we compete with others, repress our luminosity or try to be the same as someone else.
This truly is a time of initiation. What new way of life are you ready to take the first step towards? Set that intention under Tuesday's fiery moon. And if you are unsure, ask her to show you the way. You will know if it is the right path, just follow the light.
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