Virgo Full Moon/supermoon/spring equinox

The full Moon in Virgo brings with it a supermoon (closest moon to the earth in 18 years), the Spring Equinox & Mercury Retrograde ghost period: that is a lot of heightened energy and power for an already emotional lunation. We have two options: to find the inner critic or the inner healer.

 

Last Monday night, the night with all the crazy wind, I was driving home a white owl flew slowly past my car. I saw it completely and was amazed, I have never seen an owl like that.. when I looked up "white owl" in animal symbolism, I found 2 very opposing views. The first said it was a Goddess totem, representing wisdom and healing. The 2nd said it was a death totem. 

 

Virgo is smart, very methodical, organized, questioning and perfection seeking. She wants to make it all right and fix everything. This sign is also one of a natural healer, an empath, a medicine person who knows just the right combination of herbs, foods, plants and exersizes to bring anyone back to wholeness.

 

A Supermoon (Lunar perigree) means the moon is physically closer to us then normal. The full moon is already the highest emotional night of the cycle, but with the moon closer, there is a much stronger pull on tides and feelings. The full moon always opposes the sun sign (Pisces) and so the dance between these energies is being magnified. Pisces is mutable water and Virgo is mutable earth so the movement is quick, fluid, adaptable, the balance sought is between consciousness and form and with the addition of the nearer lunar proximity, actually would resemble tidal waves and earthquakes, on a literal and metaphorical level.

 

The day after the full moon is Spring Equinox, one of two days where night and day are equal as earth sits balanced on her axis, but symbolizes the shift to the lighter, warmer time of year afterward, as our hemisphere now tilts closer to the sun. It is always a celebratory time and quite profound for cleansing rituals, preparing seeds to plant and honoring the end of darkness and beginning of light.

 

Mercury, planet of communication, (also happens to rule Virgo) is preparing to move backwards, the "dreaded" mercury retrograde cycle. The intense period is actually March 30th till April 23rd but right around the full moon it starts it's "ghost" period, where it appears to be stopping and getting ready to go the other way. This is a cycle that is intended for anything starting with "re": re-new, re-view, re-lease, re-store, etc and generally considered to be a less ideal time to start anything new. It's initial slowing down is in Virgo, which also increases the necessity to slow down because it is amplifying the desire to make change and this is a cycle better used for doing inner work than making outer adjustments.

 

SO~ there are all these signs, planets, feelings and stuff swirling and shifting and we have two choices on this full moon: give in to the inner critic, the one who saw death in the white owl and decides to focus on all the things that are wrong, the problems, fears, feelings and decided NOW is the time to fix it, which will probably lead to more frustartion, anger and fear... OR, invite the inner healer to the full moon party: the one that recognizes and honors the need for healing, love and self-care so that when the time is right for action, she will be fully present and capable of making sustainable change. 

What can you do to welcome the inner healer and what can you do to release the inner critic? Take a look at your exercise and eating habits. This is a great cycle to start preparing the garden, weeding out the old, cleaning out pantries, fridges, medicine cabinets. Connect to water and earth, do a detox or cleanse. Maybe get a massage, see an ayurvedist, nutritionist, acupuncturist or other teacher you have been wanting to seek out. Perhaps have your astrology chart read. Go to more Yoga classes, take more hikes and maybe even get to the woods or beach. 

Our next new moon gathering will be Sunday April 3rd.

Also, I am doing a Spring Equinox Celebration at Yoga Blend this Friday 3/18 8:30-10:30pm to honor both the full moon and seasonal shift. It is one of my favorite practices and I am so looking forward to being sacred space with all of these overwhelming shifts.www.yogablend.com

Remember this is a time for inner work, so be gentle with those around you who may not do what you think they should be doing. Keep the focus on yourself and let this full moon highlight those places that need a little more love. The greatest gift we can give a world so desperate for healing is our own wholeness, only then are we truly able to be of service. That is my wish to the full moon, to help me remember my wholeness, clear out my own blockages so that I may serve in whatever way is needed. To me, that is the purest teaching of Virgo. 

Listen to those wild winds, look to the full moon and open your heart and mind so that you can honestly hear the response to your own wishes and be guided through the rest of this magical and magnetic cycle. 

Namaste~

Bekah 

Pisces New Moon Friday 3/4

The weather today is perfect for Pisces... light rain and wind.. the dance of mutable water... the dissolution of consciousness, the transformation of flow. Pisces asks us to soak life in, to be permeable as a sponge and just as unattached. Fill up, take it in and then let it go again. After a month of revolutionary Aquarius changes, let's invoke the healing, dreaming, languid realm of Pisces. 

 

Happy new moon week!

 

I used to rebel against Pisces energy. I did not like the empathic nature of the fish, nor the dream-like sensitivity that seemed both fully present yet on a different realm of consciousness.

 

I learned, though, that I rebelled because it takes strength to stand in a Pisces flow, it requires the most open heart/open mind/open spirit to transform (mutable) flow/psyche (water) I mean, what a contradiction! How do I transform flow? Well, I don't, actually, no one does.

 

Pisces is conduit material. I like the sponge metaphor because it emphasizes the nature of this sign. The sponge fills completely in the flow, but it eventually always drains it out. It is hard to keep a sponge filled with something. and if you are a uh.. person who likes control.. like me.. you struggle with things that release so easily.

 

Pisces is another sign that the moon naturally resonates with, as she also teaches the sponge behavior: she fills every month and she empties every month. She does not stay the same for longer than a couple days. That can be scary in our world where fear is the root of almost everything, fear of losing what we have or not getting what we want.

 

Pisces doesn't have that problem. She completely absorbs & experiences whatever is around her and then lets it go so she can fill up again. The symbol for Pisces is the fish.. what is more in the flow than a fish? Have you ever watched a fish? I suggest finding one this month (maybe a good cycle for a trip to the aquarium?) and waching it for a while. It is quite informative.

 

On this new moon, the best day for setting goals and intentions, can we take a break from the "gung-ho/be the change" Aquarius attitude and allow this to be a month for soaking? Soaking in early spring rains and sunshine, basking in the filling and emptying of the Pisces moon cycle, watering that fertile space within where our intentions for 2011 have been planted. Welcome dreaminess, cat naps, sleeping in, hot baths, cool showers, empathy, feeling your feelings (and letting them flow) 

 

Pay close attention to dreams and emotions because you will experience heightened awareness and sensitivity both during sleep and waking times. This is always a great cycle to start a dream journal, even if it is only a word or two that can be recalled. Dream journal practice deepens the connection to our unconscious mind and intuition and those are both great allies to have as the year waxes and time starts to move faster.

  

Please take time for yourself to tune into the Pisces New Moon. Find a fish, record a dream, walk in the rain, meditate on ways you can transform the flow of your life by learning how to fill up, empty out and fill up again.

 

New Moon in Aquarius/Imbolc/Chinese New Year Wed 2/2

The moon in Aquarius is a call for community, perception, deep intuition and biggest picture thinking. The fixed (maintain) air (consciousness/creative energy) is a potent balance of harnessing our group thoughts, creativity, dreams and focusing and holding it until it expands into something more than we can possibly imagine.

 

The last full moon pulled the bandage off old wounds and poured salt water into them. It hurts like hell but the healing can be quick now if we stay receptive and willing to endure. This waning cycle has been all about endurance. Many people are struggling to hold on and keep going. There is a feeling of sadness, intense emotion and a little bit of craziness but it will pass. Breathe into the sting of the salt, the ocean water that is symbolic of that last Cancer full moon, and we can now allow the strong wind of Aquarius to blow through and take away the intensity: the new moon is here.

 

We are again free of eclipses this new moon, we do have the added energy of the Chinese new year (year of the rabbit: purity, nurturing, peace, calm, rest, so needed after Tiger last year and Dragon in 2012!) and of a cross-quarter holiday. Most of you are aware of the equinoxes and solstices, but in the middle of those big shifts are the cross-quarter days which represent the mid points of each cycle. February 2nd is Imbolc, also know as Candlemas and I like to consider it the very first stirrings of Spring, though some see it as mid-winter.

 

Imbolc was also the day of purification, prophecy and initiation for the new priestesses in the Goddess traditions. The word Imbolc has to do with year's first milking of the ewes and symbolized re-birth. The celebration was dedicated to the Celtic goddess Brigid, who was such a powerful goddess that when the Christians took over Celtic lands, they made her into a Saint because the people would not renounce her and Imbolc became Candlemas, day of lighting the sacred flame.  She is the goddess of healing, inspiration, poetry, creativity and smith craft. Brigid is also known as Bride and it is her that women invoke before marriage as she is symbolic of the maiden, stepping into her power and beauty.

 

I was so happy when I realized Imbolc fell on this new moon. Aquarius is nothing if not set on bringing community together for the greater good and opening our eyes to the union with all the universe. I am getting married in April and I knew what I wanted more than anything was to bring together our beautiful circle of women on this special new moon to invoke this powerful Goddess, celebrate the new cycle and share a group bridal ritual.

 

My dear friend, teacher, sister, yogini, priestess and new mama Christy offered to host the gathering and facilitate the ritual and I am so unbelievably grateful and excited. We will be gathering at her home:

Wednesday February 2nd 7-10pm

Email for address~

 

There are details to the ritual that I am not aware of, so you can email her christy@yogablend.com if you would like. What I do know is that, as usual, no boys or booze but we will be sharing potluck.

 

I would like to request for both food and dress this evening that we try to stick primarily to the colors of red and white. These are the colors that represent Brigid and the shifting of the seasons as well as a woman's movement from maiden to wife.

 

If you have never been to a gathering, generally the first hour is eating/talking and the circle starts at 8pm and there is not any issue with people coming in late and leaving early. We are still very flexible with arrival and departure, but if you want to enjoy the full celebration, please arrive no later than 7:45pm and plan to stay until 10pm.

 

Also, if you can RSVP to Christy or me just so we know how many to expect, that would be lovely but is not required.

 

If you cannot make the gathering, please take time to honor this sweet new moon and holiday. It is a new year with new energy and intention. What big dreams have you let go of that you can call back in? Do you feel stuck? This is a profound time for purification on all levels: your body, mind, home, sacred tools, relationships, car, pretty much everything. Wear red or white on February 2nd and take time to light a candle under the new moon. Watch the flame dance in the breeze and set your intentions for this cycle.

 

Call in the Goddess, welcome the spirit of the Rabbit and open yourself to the expansiveness of Aquarius. We are all in this together and even though we each have our own stuff happening, we are connected. That is the message of Aquarius and when we each bring our creativity to the circle and let go of the separateness we feel, that energy becomes so big it can change the world.

 

I am honored to be the "bride" in the upcoming ritual, but who among us in not stepping into a new relationship with a new year? Which of you is not setting new dreams and goals and wanting to find union with it? This is the Aquarius moon and that means the night is about all of us, coming together, honoring, celebration, releasing and preparing for all of the "marriages" this year will hold.

 

If you are interested, I am also guiding a pre-Imbolc women's circle at Spirit Works in Burbank on Sunday January 30th from 1-4pm. Two of my dear friends have created a wonderful spiritual space there and we are taking advantage of this powerful week to deepen the connection, share circle and sacred practices. Please email me for more information.

 

Whatever you choose to do, honor this new moon in the way that feels best. Call in Brigid, call in the tribal spirit of Aquarius, celebrate the new year and remember that we are in this together. No matter where you are or what is going on in your life, our circle is open and there is a place for you, with all of your creativity and dreams, right in the middle of it.

 

Sweet Imbolc & New Moon blessings for you all~

 

Namaste~

 

Bekah