Aquarius Full Moon/Lunar Lammas~ Receive and Release
Welcome to our second unusual new moon/full moon pairing. Normally, the Aquarius full moon balances the fixed fire energy of Leo, but thanks to that 2nd Gemini new moon, Aquarius is aligning with Great Nurturing Mama Cancer. In the middle of Mercury retrograde, on the tail end of intense solar flares, and falling almost exactly on the cross quarter holy day, Lammas, the mutable air full moon might be just the right sign to remind us of our universal relationships and responsibilities.
Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh, symbolizes the first harvest. The summer crops have come to fruition and it is time to start reaping what we have sown. The first crop, traditionally, was wheat or grain, and most cultures were very glad when this day came, because last year's stores are usually barren and needing to be filled. It is the counter point on the wheel of the year to Imbolc, falling around February 2nd, where the first milks were made available and we began to sense the coming of Spring. Now, we sense the coming of fall and there is both gratitude and fear setting in as to what the colder season may bring.
Aquarius is fixed air, which confuses people as it's symbol is "water-bearer" so they presume it is a water sign. Close, though, being fixed, air at it's most contained, palpable quality. I think of Aquarius as mist, or fog, which has a mysterious nature and can cover the whole country with it's veil. That is, ultimately, what Aquarius likes to do: bring beings together in an unattached, unconditional, all encompassing way for enlightenment and idealism. Aquarius works with higher energy centers, it is not concerned with physical, material things, but is fixed on showing everyone that they are spiritual beings.Though air energy is generally mental, Aquarius is interested in the high mind, the collective consciousness rather than the individual mind.
It is interesting having such a mental sign during the extremely emotional Cancer cycle. But I think it is rather profound to bring these two together and recognize the relationship between them. For Aquarius' ideals to be sustainable, they need to be rooted in deep love, affection for home and family and an appreciation of life's juiciness. I also find it fascinating that Lammas is being celebrated under Aquarius's mist, perhaps this will remind all of us that no mater how hard we have worked, there are still those in need, and we can be of service to them at this time, especially if we are reaping well.
Our ancestors used to sacrifice a portion of their crop back to the earth as an offering to their deities to thank them for the harvest, but to me, it also symbolizes the idea that, if you want to truly absorb something, you have to be willing to give it away. Once you are full, you have to empty, so that you can fill again. Lammas is a powerful time to meditate on the pulsation of receiving and releasing as both Cancerian nurturing and Aquarian non-attachment.
Aquarius can affect our minds with her mist, helping us to remember that we are not alone on this planet, and that everything we do can benefit other beings, or harm them. She shows us not to be attached to the material world, to recognize our spirits and that all spirit is connected. We come out of our own self absorption and focus on service and community.
Cancer keeps us connected to the feminine, to our homes and loved ones, continuing to whisper that we need to honor love, gratitude and the flow of nature. She won't allow us to forget our humaness, but can deepen the emotional connection we have to each other, keeping us from being too detached or airy.
And Lammas, as a physical shift of the wheel, brings it all together, the emotional, personally invested feeling of bringing goals to fruition, the joy of sharing our triumphs and the very humble spiritual quality of acknowedging that everything changes, winter will come, and we each need to do our parts to take care of the tribe, as well as recognize the gifts spirit has given us this summer season.
Keep an open mind, and an open heart, at this full moon. As we move towards the darker side of the year, our commitment to both receiving and releasing is what will keep us willing, humble, present and kind to ourselves and others. Embrace your feelings, because it keeps you human, seek out a higher consciousness, because it allows you connect to all beings, and appreciate fully all the gifts in your life right now, for this cycle, too, shall pass.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Capricorn Full Moon 7/3/12~ Anchoring the Wind
Capricorn Full Moon~ Anchoring the Wind
The first week of the 2nd Gemini cycle has been pretty sweet. Much of the eclipse heaviness has burned off with the summer solstice sun and people seem to be feeling lighter, clearer, on all levels. And for the first time since I realized we would have a Capricorn full moon during Gemini, I am feeling the absolute perfection of the pulsation.
Gemini is almost always paired with Sagittarius, mutable air to mutable fire. However, because of a 2nd new moon falling in Gemini, rather than Cancer, Capricorn's usual partner, we are seeing a very unusual lunar dance. I often joke that out of all the signs, Capricorns are who I struggle with the most. I remember reading in some astrology book, maybe Linda Goodman, that these two signs are NOT compatible, that the steadier mountain goat (Capricorn) is bewildered by the twins (Gemini). Bewildered!!! I love that word, and it is definitely one I would use to describe both my reaction to my Capricorn friends and their response to me.
And yet, I was always drawn to Capricorn folk, and my struggles with them all resulted in beautiful growth and transformation. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, good old "father time." Cardinal earth, the sign that heralds winter solstice and demands structure, steadiness and material intention; symbolized by the mountain goat, a relation that can scale the summit without losing her footing once. I also just like to think of Capricorn as the mountain... cardinal earth at it's finest... these beautiful, powerful mountains that take thousands of years to move.
In this auspicious year of endings and beginnings, we get to experience the twins dancing on the mountain, rather than 'round the bonfire (Sag) under the full moon light.
Truth be told, from here on out, every sign will be coupled with an unlikely partner, and I think we will all be the better for it. It is always an interesting game to be teaching a class or workshop, telling students to partner up, but then following with "find someone you have never worked with before" and then watching what unfolds. There is always a moment of collective groaning, looking longingly at your BFF, and then, with a sigh, looking around the room for the someone who looks "normal." It never fails that they find the exact right person for the task, and both people learn and experience something they never would have, if they had stayed with the familiar.
Embrace the mountain and the wind on this full moon. The Gemini cycle, when she is with Sag, is so quick and energetic, fire and air pulsing and weaving all month long. No sense of time, boundaries or responsibilites, just mutable energy at it's strongest.
Enjoy this calmer, steadier Gemini, supported by Capricorn, and be grateful, also, for the softening of Saturn, his little brother Mercury nipping at his heels and urging him to have a little fun. I was just hanging out with friends who have an older dog. It had seemed like her puppy days were truly past, but then they got a brand new pup, who brought the energy back to the old dog. And the old dog, in turn, has helped train and calm the pup.
The universe knows what she is doing. Time is passing as it needs to pass and the wheel turns. This full moon, and in the next full moons ahead, we have a beautiful opportunity to move a little differently, shake up our dance card. It is so fitting that it begins with the unlikeliest of partners, quick, changeable, airy Gemini and the anchoring, grounding, responsible Capricorn.
I plan on spending the full moon on a mountain, feeling the firmness of earth and at the same time reaching my arms to the wind, knowing that at this time, it is possible to bring all creativity, intellect and movement down into reality, into manifestation. Capricorn is just the friend we need to slow down our racing thoughts and plans, to remind us to stay connected to our foundation. Imagine this full moon as a colorful kite, able to dance, swirl and fly in the wild winds, knowing there is someone keeping it's roots close to earth, supported and safe. You need both air and earth to successfully and joyfully fly a kite, right? What can you do, in your life, to experience that kind of freedom and grounding?
The first week of the 2nd Gemini cycle has been pretty sweet. Much of the eclipse heaviness has burned off with the summer solstice sun and people seem to be feeling lighter, clearer, on all levels. And for the first time since I realized we would have a Capricorn full moon during Gemini, I am feeling the absolute perfection of the pulsation.
Gemini is almost always paired with Sagittarius, mutable air to mutable fire. However, because of a 2nd new moon falling in Gemini, rather than Cancer, Capricorn's usual partner, we are seeing a very unusual lunar dance. I often joke that out of all the signs, Capricorns are who I struggle with the most. I remember reading in some astrology book, maybe Linda Goodman, that these two signs are NOT compatible, that the steadier mountain goat (Capricorn) is bewildered by the twins (Gemini). Bewildered!!! I love that word, and it is definitely one I would use to describe both my reaction to my Capricorn friends and their response to me.
And yet, I was always drawn to Capricorn folk, and my struggles with them all resulted in beautiful growth and transformation. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, good old "father time." Cardinal earth, the sign that heralds winter solstice and demands structure, steadiness and material intention; symbolized by the mountain goat, a relation that can scale the summit without losing her footing once. I also just like to think of Capricorn as the mountain... cardinal earth at it's finest... these beautiful, powerful mountains that take thousands of years to move.
In this auspicious year of endings and beginnings, we get to experience the twins dancing on the mountain, rather than 'round the bonfire (Sag) under the full moon light.
Truth be told, from here on out, every sign will be coupled with an unlikely partner, and I think we will all be the better for it. It is always an interesting game to be teaching a class or workshop, telling students to partner up, but then following with "find someone you have never worked with before" and then watching what unfolds. There is always a moment of collective groaning, looking longingly at your BFF, and then, with a sigh, looking around the room for the someone who looks "normal." It never fails that they find the exact right person for the task, and both people learn and experience something they never would have, if they had stayed with the familiar.
Embrace the mountain and the wind on this full moon. The Gemini cycle, when she is with Sag, is so quick and energetic, fire and air pulsing and weaving all month long. No sense of time, boundaries or responsibilites, just mutable energy at it's strongest.
Enjoy this calmer, steadier Gemini, supported by Capricorn, and be grateful, also, for the softening of Saturn, his little brother Mercury nipping at his heels and urging him to have a little fun. I was just hanging out with friends who have an older dog. It had seemed like her puppy days were truly past, but then they got a brand new pup, who brought the energy back to the old dog. And the old dog, in turn, has helped train and calm the pup.
The universe knows what she is doing. Time is passing as it needs to pass and the wheel turns. This full moon, and in the next full moons ahead, we have a beautiful opportunity to move a little differently, shake up our dance card. It is so fitting that it begins with the unlikeliest of partners, quick, changeable, airy Gemini and the anchoring, grounding, responsible Capricorn.
I plan on spending the full moon on a mountain, feeling the firmness of earth and at the same time reaching my arms to the wind, knowing that at this time, it is possible to bring all creativity, intellect and movement down into reality, into manifestation. Capricorn is just the friend we need to slow down our racing thoughts and plans, to remind us to stay connected to our foundation. Imagine this full moon as a colorful kite, able to dance, swirl and fly in the wild winds, knowing there is someone keeping it's roots close to earth, supported and safe. You need both air and earth to successfully and joyfully fly a kite, right? What can you do, in your life, to experience that kind of freedom and grounding?
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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