As Winter Solstice approaches, it is hard not to think about one's concept of "magic." Whether triggered by images of elves, flying reindeer, an incredibly generous bearded man, the sight of glistening, pure snow, the smell of pine and cider or simply the spirit of giving, it is hard not to feel a tug towards something bigger, better and more powerful than what we experience during the rest of the year.
The sun lingers in Sagittarius as the full moon waxes in the sky. The partnership between adventurous, fiery Sagittarius and curious, airy Gemini is a union that can encourage a cultivation of the mystical.
I love magic and magical thinking. I love magic stories and movies and I love people who love magic. The word itself has a few definitions, depending on who you ask, but for me, Magic has always been about awareness of the subtle and extraordinary energies in nature and the universe and an ability to tune into and harness the energy of both. It is also a word I reserve for those events or happenings that are inexplicable and transformative. Magic and miracles often go hand in hand in my book.
Yet I do think we can be active participants in magic. There are many people who are considered more magical then others. In my experience, though, while certain people do seem more in tune or passionate about working with magics, we are all capable of experiencing and exploring the underlying powers that be in all situations.
The moon cycles are a way that anyone can begin to notice and harness the subtle and extraordinary energies. It is magical to watch the moon wax and wane and to feel the affects that has on our dreams, moods and interactions. The seasons are also easy ways to begin to observe and connect with the shifts of light and dark, growth and decay.
This full moon is just 4 days before winter solstice, the longest night of the year. It is a perfect time to begin to celebrate and sense the magic of the cycle and season. Sagittarius invited us to warm up from the inside out by cultivating our passions and filling up with adventure, excitement, travel and loved ones. Gemini full moon enters center stage just before Winter and Capricorn take the seasonal reigns, and to me, this is a huge opportunity to balance mind and spirit, science and art and invoke the magical energies of the moment. Gemini can be way too intellectual, getting caught up in the black and white, the dualities and paradigms, she is represented by mutable air. But when paired with mythological, philosophical Sagittarius, Gemini can turn her keen and penetrating mind on to other things. She can sense the subtleties and extraordinaries and not only can she fully immerse herself but she is also capable of guiding others into the magical realms with her talents of speaking, writing, singing and all around communicating.
Wherever you find yourself in this holiday cycle, we can all use a little magic. Look to the full moon for her wisdom, watch your favorite fantasy movie, read your favorite magical story to a child or pet. Go for a walk in the moonlight, bundled as you need to be, and see if you sense the subtle and extraordinary energies that surround your winter wonderland. Look at your current relationship to magic, and see if Gemini can help you define it for yourself, in a way that brings it to life and inspires your spirit and opens your mind. Solstice will bring the return of the sun (still a magical event in my mind) and Capricorn will start us towards our new goals for a new year, but in these last few weeks of the Sagittarius cycle, let's all invoke magical thinking and being. Can you see the world, and your life, as magic? Can you be someone who is filled with and can share magic? Can we all believe, just a bit more in the supernatural beauty of the world? Can we all, in our own way, make magic?
I hope you answered yes to the above and I hope the full moon, winter solstice and your family holidays fill your heart and soul with all that is wonderful, miraculous and magical.
Showing posts with label Gemini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gemini. Show all posts
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Gemini New Moon & Summer Solstice 6/20~ Duality
Whew~ we made it through another eclipse cycle and the culmination of the rare Venus transit. As the moon wanes and the days lengthen, most of us are still feeling the intense effects of Gemini's duality. Confusion/clarity, calamity/serenity, birth/death, light/dark are just a few of the polarities dancing around my head... one moment I feel focused, at the next, utterly overwhelmed. We are being transformed, our old patterns/karma/fears dissolved. This process will continue through the next month as we welcome a second new moon in Gemini the day before Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year.
Venus is retrograde until June 27th, and on July 14th, Mercury will begin it's next backward cycle. We are still in the underworld, my friends, probably, in one form or another, until 2013. This whole year has been about re-birth, re-newal and re-aligning with our highest truths, so it is appropriate that we are experiencing so many astrological line-ups that encourage the clearing away of the old and bringing us ever closer to our authenticity and destiny.
Summer solstice marks the exact half-way point in a highly charged year. Next Wednesday, we will greet the longest day with the discerning eye, inquiring mind and open hands of the previous night's Gemini new moon. This moment of strongest sun is the most powerful, palpable, pranic time of the year, an auspicious day for healing and illumination. Then, the very next day, nights slowly lengthen and the gentle ebb of the seasons begins. As Gemini teaches us, while we live in this world, there will be duality, and it is only through this opposition that we can truly experience life.
I don't think that the point to being human is to transcend our nature, or to be one with everything else. The philosophies I resonate with say being human means constant change and experiencing the extremes of nature: hot, cold, light, dark, up, down. Living with so many different expressions means we sometimes suffer and the best antidote to suffering is to develop a relationship with the dualities and discover how to live as happy, joyous and free as you can while being in the moment.
As we move into this next month, I want to encourage you to keep going and to slow down. I want you to play, and get more rest, let something go and welcome someone in, enjoy the sun but allow the darkness. Much of our lessons right now are in letting the mind think, the emotions feel, the spirit fly and the body move. Each of these aspects is completely different and sometimes what they want are equally different that is seems impossible to take action! All are part of being human and as Gemini continues to light our way through the summer, trust that you are letting go of what you need to let go of and making space for what you want and these things happen simultaneously.
It is not about simply balancing our differences, our schedules, our victories and defeats, it is about allowing each to come to light and allowing that experience to blend into our individual and collective 2012 transformations. We are all transitioning in many ways, some that make no sense right now. And they don't have to. Human life is finite and we are playing with the infinite, so stay in the game, loving each play for what it teaches you about your journey.
One of my favorite simple sanskrit mantra's is "Om Shiva Shakti" and it honors both the yin/yang, masculine/feminine, light/dark, life/death, sun/moon through the aspects of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti. Sometimes, when my Gemini nature is making me crazy, I say this chant over and over. It reminds me that though right/wrong would make some decisions easier, it would take the magic out of being alive.
Welcome the light of summer and the dark of the new moon to move through you this month, mind, body, emotion and spirit. Make decisions based on where the light is shining and trust the play of the infinite. Gemini can make you crazy with her mind games, but she is also the messenger of the divine, if you can stop taking her riddles literally and instead, make them part of the dance. Use your energy and life force wisely now, honor the clarity received through last month's chaos and from the center of light and dark allow your own color to shine.
Venus is retrograde until June 27th, and on July 14th, Mercury will begin it's next backward cycle. We are still in the underworld, my friends, probably, in one form or another, until 2013. This whole year has been about re-birth, re-newal and re-aligning with our highest truths, so it is appropriate that we are experiencing so many astrological line-ups that encourage the clearing away of the old and bringing us ever closer to our authenticity and destiny.
Summer solstice marks the exact half-way point in a highly charged year. Next Wednesday, we will greet the longest day with the discerning eye, inquiring mind and open hands of the previous night's Gemini new moon. This moment of strongest sun is the most powerful, palpable, pranic time of the year, an auspicious day for healing and illumination. Then, the very next day, nights slowly lengthen and the gentle ebb of the seasons begins. As Gemini teaches us, while we live in this world, there will be duality, and it is only through this opposition that we can truly experience life.
I don't think that the point to being human is to transcend our nature, or to be one with everything else. The philosophies I resonate with say being human means constant change and experiencing the extremes of nature: hot, cold, light, dark, up, down. Living with so many different expressions means we sometimes suffer and the best antidote to suffering is to develop a relationship with the dualities and discover how to live as happy, joyous and free as you can while being in the moment.
As we move into this next month, I want to encourage you to keep going and to slow down. I want you to play, and get more rest, let something go and welcome someone in, enjoy the sun but allow the darkness. Much of our lessons right now are in letting the mind think, the emotions feel, the spirit fly and the body move. Each of these aspects is completely different and sometimes what they want are equally different that is seems impossible to take action! All are part of being human and as Gemini continues to light our way through the summer, trust that you are letting go of what you need to let go of and making space for what you want and these things happen simultaneously.
It is not about simply balancing our differences, our schedules, our victories and defeats, it is about allowing each to come to light and allowing that experience to blend into our individual and collective 2012 transformations. We are all transitioning in many ways, some that make no sense right now. And they don't have to. Human life is finite and we are playing with the infinite, so stay in the game, loving each play for what it teaches you about your journey.
One of my favorite simple sanskrit mantra's is "Om Shiva Shakti" and it honors both the yin/yang, masculine/feminine, light/dark, life/death, sun/moon through the aspects of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti. Sometimes, when my Gemini nature is making me crazy, I say this chant over and over. It reminds me that though right/wrong would make some decisions easier, it would take the magic out of being alive.
Welcome the light of summer and the dark of the new moon to move through you this month, mind, body, emotion and spirit. Make decisions based on where the light is shining and trust the play of the infinite. Gemini can make you crazy with her mind games, but she is also the messenger of the divine, if you can stop taking her riddles literally and instead, make them part of the dance. Use your energy and life force wisely now, honor the clarity received through last month's chaos and from the center of light and dark allow your own color to shine.
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