My belief is that we evolve through spiraling cycles of awareness, release and creation.
In life we may be proactive and actively striving for awareness through such practices as meditation, yoga, counseling/therapy, journaling, or any other way of becoming more conscious of our emotions, reactions, behaviors, thought and beliefs. Or if we are not proactive, and sometimes even if we are, certain people or situations in life will force us to examine our emotions, thought patterns and underlying beliefs. Occasionally, if we are lucky, we will be brought to a place where we can get the chance to view life from a much higher perspective and see actually see the lens we’ve been viewing the world around us through and get the opportunity to broaden it. This is the awareness step. Once we are aware of a way of being, of thinking; once we are aware of a negative belief that is affecting us in a way that makes us want to change it, we can move to the next step which is release. We must release the old way of thinking and being. We must release the belief that is causing us discomfort. We choose how we believe and that creates how we experience life. If you’ve accepted a belief such as “I’m not smart”, from some incident that happened long ago, you can choose to change it. Then once we’ve released, we get to create. We get to choose the belief that suits the experience we would like to have in the world. This all sounds like a simple process, but it can be much harder to get down to the underlying beliefs in our subconscious than it seems. And rewiring old thought and emotional patterns that we’ve been running for years takes dedication and persistence. It is said to take 21 days to form a new habit. My dance teacher said when learning a new movement to use the 90x90 rule – 90 times a day for 90 days. Assisting in the steps of awareness, release and creation is what I do as a hypnotherapist. In hypnosis we work directly with the subconscious mind to get awareness and then move more quickly through the release and creation process. We can start at any point in the process - with a situation in life that is bothersome, or a pattern, or a habit, or a feeling. Anything you notice that you want to change is a starting point; a starting point to consciously creating your life. We are building toward the full moon in Taurus this evening at 5:05pm. The full moon is representative of the completion of the building cycle of the waxing moon that began at the new moon, but it is also illumination, as the sun fully illuminates the moon at this time. If we view the sun as the light of consciousness and the moon as the subconscious and emotions, we can think of this time as bringing to light or revealing something that was previously hidden to us. The full moon always is a juxtaposition between the sign the sun is in and the sign the moon is in, so with this moon, the light of the sun is coming from Scorpio, illuminating the moon in Taurus.
Taurus is ruled by Venus, who has just been on her retrograde journey through the underworld, meeting her shadow self and being reborn as the morning star. Venus represents the value of self as well as comfort, beauty, sensuality, money, possessions, and love. The moon, representative of our emotions, is sitting in Taurus and we may find ourselves wanting to indulge in the good things in life. But the light that is illuminating this sensual full moon is coming from Scorpio. Scorpio represents the depths of our being. Saturn, the teacher has just recently finished his 3 year transit of Scorpio, and during that time we’ve likely had subconscious beliefs, thought patterns, fear-based thinking and/or old wounds come up for evaluation and release. Venus plunged into her underworld journey this summer, again calling attention to our shadows and challenging us to see all of ourselves and value ourselves. Then September’s full moon eclipse on the Aries/Libra axis illuminated how that work that we had done (or maybe not done) on our inner selves was manifesting in relationships. October’s new moon followed in Libra, giving us a chance to set a new intention around harmony, balance and cooperation in relationships. Now the full moon in Taurus says enjoy what you have created in relationships. Surround yourself with friends, food, beauty, and love. At the same time, the light shining from Scorpio may be illuminating for you anything that is still blocking you from realizing the comforts symbolized by the Taurus/Venus moon. Is there anything in your psyche that is still keeping you from seeing all of the blessings that surround you? Are you looking at your life through a filter of a past trauma or negative belief? If so, the full moon can aid in this realization. The waning moon for the next two week period is for release, and then the next new moon will be in Scorpio. This provides us with the opportunity to set new intentions for our life around what was just realized and released with this cycle. As we move into this full moon, take this opportunity to look around you, look at your life, and see all of the beauty and blessings that surround you every day. Make time to enjoy your life and be in gratitude for what you do have. Focus on what you are grateful for. If you find your focus shifting to something that you feel is lacking, use the moon to illuminate what belief that is originating from inside of you and use the next two week period to release that and create your new belief and your new experience of life with the next new moon. In this way, you consciously create your life. Despite my best efforts, the dark cloud settled down over me, enveloping me. As it did, I had the distinct sensation of being disconnected, separated, and isolated. This wasn't a new feeling for me - the sense of isolation that sometimes came over me was like an age-old enemy.
I had awakened that morning with fresh determination, shoved down my feelings, tucked them safely away, cloaked myself in layers of optimism and positivity and bolted out the door to a morning yoga class. It was a fresh morning and the fall sun was shining. Everything should be good. Should be… We moved through the poses and I noticed I had less energy than normal. I told myself it was OK, but inside I was not really OK with having less energy. I’m really never OK with what I feel is less than optimal performance. My self-critic is a harsh and driving, relentless force. I felt the dark cloud settle down over me as I followed the instructor’s voice. It seemed to grow more and more distant. I felt more and more cut off from the room, as if I was diving down into an invisible black hole. I moved each part of my body as instructed, feeling increasingly disconnected, and even more perplexed that I could not explain why. We moved into pigeon. My tight right hip resisted against the stretch – the pose felt like it was tearing at my very foundation, at the only thing that might be holding me together. I paused for a moment, torso upright, and then came onto my elbows and leaned forward, bowing my head. As I did, I felt something rise up from deep within the core of my being and emerge up through my heart center, into my throat and face. Tears filled my eyes until they spilled silently out and ran down my cheeks. What WAS this? I could think of nothing that would explain to me why I was experiencing this. We arrived at pigeon on the left side. Another wave of emotion rose up. I remembered starting to feel restless and frustrated the previous afternoon. I had attributed it to not being able to accomplish some tasks due to technological difficulties. But then I realized that the restlessness had come before the technological difficulties. My discomfort, my restlessness, my impatience had come first. So what was that about? We moved out of pigeon and into the next pose. My mind strained to find the answer, to solve the puzzle, as I half-heartedly moved through the sequence. I had no choice but to accept what I was feeling, to be there with it. There was nowhere to go, nothing I could do to escape. After class, I walked home and then came across an article on the moon having moved into the sign of Scorpio the previous afternoon. The moon represents our emotions and our subconscious and moves quickly through the signs of the zodiac. The day before, it had moved into Scorpio, a sign known for being intimate with the sometimes unpleasantness of psychological depths. Scorpio is in a way about intimacy on a number of levels – coming to know ourselves by dredging our own deep subconscious waters, but also deep love, sex and soulmate energy are the domain of Scorpio. This is an area where we are encouraged to dive deep and not be afraid of what we might find hidden beneath the surface; because once we have acknowledged it then it no longer holds power over us. Then I realized that all of my discomfort had come from my fear and self-doubt. What was it that I feared? It was judgement, but it was at its core the fear of not being good enough. There was no judgement from the outside that could ever compare to the harshness of my own inner critic. The afternoon before I had wanted to push to get my self-appointed to-do list done and had been unable to because of technical difficulties. My perception of judgement from the outside world was really only my judgement of myself. So because I wasn’t being loving, kind or accepting to myself, I judged myself which created feelings of discomfort, restlessness, and impatience as I tried to escape a situation I had created within myself. And that is precisely how the moon in Scorpio can show us our shadows. We may project our shadows onto others and perceive things as happening to us; we may see behavior in others that brings up what we dislike about ourselves. Scorpio may bring awareness of judgement, jealousy and anger within ourselves, or highlight our relationship to those things in our lives. Whatever comes up, all you have to do is acknowledge it. Like a dark figure that’s chasing you in a nightmare, all you have to do is turn and face it. It wants you to see it. Only when you stop running and face that dark shadow will you get your power back. We have a little over twenty-four hours before the new moon, which will be exact at 6:06pm on Monday October 12th. This period before the new moon is prime “dark moon time”, which means it’s optimal for taking time for yourself. Use this time to check in and become aware of your needs and nourish yourself in whatever ways feel appropriate.
This is also an extremely powerful time for psychic/emotional housecleaning. Now is the time to review what’s been happening in your life, what your relationships have mirrored to you about yourself, and evaluate what it’s time to let go of, whether it be thought patterns, habits, aspects of your identity, fear, the need for control, an outdated belief, an attachment, a relationship, a job, or anything else that has outlived its purpose in your life. This is a perfect time to assess what in your life is nurturing you and giving you energy and what is draining you and release what is not working. In recent weeks you have more than likely been shown at least one thing, or maybe a few things, that aren’t working in your life. If you’re having trouble, there are a couple of techniques that might help you get at the root of negative thoughts and beliefs. The first is simply asking yourself, “What is the worst thought I think about myself?” Yes it feels uncomfortable to answer, and you may feel resistance, but try to answer it honestly. What’s the first thing that comes to mind? If you’re not getting to what feels like the root, then you can try another technique for digging deeper. Ask yourself the following: “One negative thing I think about myself is _____________; another negative thing I think about myself is _______________; The WORST thing I think about myself is _________________.” That should help you uncover a negative belief about yourself that you might want to focus on releasing this dark moon. The dark moon is also a powerful time to focus on forgiveness. Forgiveness of yourself and forgiveness of others is a powerful healer, and if you are trying to clean house and release blocks that are holding you back, it’s essential. Forgiveness is releasing yourself from the negativity of an event. It is not reconciliation or trust. Forgiveness only involves healing and moving forward on your end and in no way means a lack of healthy boundaries. Resentment and guilt serve no purpose as you create your life and actually can keep you stuck, or even create illness. Take this time and set yourself free. A new beginning is just a few hours away! The geometric pattern made by Venus' retrograde cycle. As we head into the weekend we have Venus and the Moon entering Virgo side by side, and Mercury turning direct, all with the dark moon. Venus’ entry into Virgo marks her complete emergence from her retrograde journey which began in late July. This only occurs once every eight years.
Now is a great time to pause and think about what has transpired in your life in the areas ruled by Venus (love, but also self-love, value and worth, how you get attention and how you express yourself in the world) since July and how it compares to events in 2007 and 1999, the most recent of Venus’ retrogrades. I wrote on the correlation between Venus’ retrograde journey and the Sumerian myth of Inanna’s Descent, in a previous article, The Full Moon Eclipse in Aries and the Phoenix Astrology of September, but I will recap here the story, since it has relevance as she officially completes her journey. The Sumerian myth of Inanna’s Descent explains the retrograde journey of Venus. Inanna leaves her kingdom in the hands of her consort in order to journey to the underworld to visit her sister, who represents her shadow self (those negative subconscious parts of us we would like to keep hidden – our fears and inner demons). She dresses in the seven garments of civilization and as she goes through the seven gates of the underworld she must remove them one at a time. These represent the seven chakras. They are also representative of all of her power in the civilized world. Those things mean nothing in the depths of the underworld however. She is stripped bare and vulnerable upon entering and then is attacked by her sister and left on meat hooks to die. She is there for three days (the length of time of the dark moon) before her servant’s pleas are heard and she is restored to life. Now having been to the depths of the underworld to confront her shadows, having died and been reborn, she is fierce. In order to leave the underworld she must find someone to take her place. She decides on her consort who has not been concerned with her absence and has been engrossed in ruling her kingdom as his own. Inanna leaves her kingdom on a spiritual quest. She confronts her shadows and fears and then is given new life by her higher self. Ultimately she has a new consciousness. She has slain her personal demons. She returns to her life whole unto herself and stepping fully into her power with knowledge of both her light and her dark, having one aspect of herself die in order for a new one to be reborn like the Phoenix. In our lives maybe we can see how we have confronted some old, outdated, or dark and hidden part of ourselves and been able to take responsibility for it in order to be more empowered. Maybe we have let go of an old aspect of ourselves or an old way of being in order to make room for a new way of being. With Mercury, the Messenger and planet of communications retrograde in Libra (sign of partnership, relationship, cooperation, balance and harmony) for the past three weeks, we have given time to slow down and rethink and/or reevaluate parts of our lives that have had to do with these matters. Now as Venus emerges from shadow and Mercury turns direct, the energy is shifting and we can start to take action on those things that have been illuminated for us during this time. But it’s not “all systems go” just yet. We are in the dark moon now until the new moon in Libra on Monday October 12th. The new moon is the official reset, and in the area of partnership, balance and harmony no less. The dark moon says don’t rush into action. Don’t make hasty or impulsive decisions. Turn inward, nurture yourself, and rest. Things will be making themselves more clear very soon. Take time during the dark moon to assess how your journey has progressed so far and where you stand. Take time to search deep within and align with your truest and most authentic self, and develop your intentions for this new moon in Libra. Let go of what is no longer serving and focus on what it is you would like to create in your life in the area of balance. This balance can be applied in many different areas of life. Libra is the sign of partnership, or rather balancing the self by cooperating in relationship, but can extend to friendships, family situations, business partnerships, community, balancing the lower self with the higher self, the material with the spiritual, work and love, career and family, and so on and so forth. Where has this been playing out in your life? What have you learned? What have you let go of? What do you want to consciously create? Venus will make a square to Saturn around October 14th, which may bring one more challenge or lesson from whatever you have been working on. Then she will catch up with Mars in Virgo around November 3rd. The two were joined first in February in Aries, highlighting the idea of the self and each person’s needs – a prelude to that eclipse on the Aries/Libra axis in September that illuminated how we were honoring self within relationships – and then again in Leo back on September 2nd while Venus was still retrograde, and now they will be in Virgo, the sign of healing and grounding ideals and what we’ve learned emotionally and spiritually into our everyday lives. Now you can take the time to ask where you’ve been able to access more self-love and how you are bringing that value of yourself into the world and ultimately into your relationships with those around you. A new beginning is upon us. We now have before us an opportunity to integrate what we have learned through our challenges and experiences, and consciously create our lives with self-love, courage and trust.
As we move away from the intensity of the full moon eclipse and toward the new moon, we are now coming up on the last quarter moon. The last quarter moon prompts us, possibly through tension or discomfort, to make a change internally, in our thoughts or beliefs. The full moon may have brought something to light in our lives and now as we integrate that information we see where we can change something within ourselves to better align with what we desire.
The two weeks between the full moon and the new moon is the waning cycle of the moon, and therefore is all about releasing and letting go whereas the period from the new moon to the full moon is about growing and building. Following the cycles of the moon is an ancient tradition, and one we can still tap into today to align with each month’s cycle of energies. A moon phase calendar can still be found in farmer’s almanacs today as a guide for planting. The moon, being so close to earth, has a powerful effect on it and you can see this in how it affects our tides. The moon actually causes the earth to rotate in tandem with the moon on a different axis than it would if it were not being affected by the moon’s gravitational pull. In every twenty-four hour period, we have one high tide based on the earth’s rotation and a second based on the moon’s interaction. So why not harness this energy in our lives? The moon’s cycles are intertwined with the sun. The sun is what illuminates the part of the moon that we see in the sky; we see the moon because the sun is reflecting his light onto her. The sun is representative of the male energy, the light, yang, and conscious will. The moon is the feminine energy, the emotions, water, dark, yin, and the subconscious. The moon cycles then are the interplay of these two energies. The new moon is a beginning. This is when the sun and moon are in conjunction, or “on” each other. (A conjunction is formed when planets are six degrees or less to each other and it is exact at zero degrees. Conjunctions blend the energies of the two planets.) This is your time to sit down and think about what you would like to consciously create for that lunar cycle. Generally it’s best to wait beyond the time the new moon is exact until the sun’s light starts to come in just a bit to do this. Meditate on your intention, write down your goals, do whatever feels appropriate. The point is to set your intention consciously. Whatever sign the moon is in will be the energy being highlighted for this new beginning, and if you find the degree and sign of the new moon in an ephemeris, you can locate its house in your chart which will give you the area of life this new beginning can be made in (identity, expression, relationships, etc.) The first quarter moon is when the sun and moon make a waxing square, meaning the moon is waxing, or the sun’s influence is growing, and the sun and moon are at a ninety degree angle to each other. Squares mean change and this energy is increasing, so this is about building and taking action. The first quarter moon is a good time to make sure that you are taking the action steps that support your intentions made on the new moon. The full moon is the sun and moon at full opposition. The moon is completely bathed in the sun’s glow. This is illumination. The light of consciousness is completely illuminating the subconscious. What insight are you gaining? What are you realizing in thought or in the world? Here we feel the full energy of the sun and are more likely to lean to socializing and outward expression. The last quarter moon is again a square between the sun and the moon but this time it’s waning, and the sun’s light is decreasing. The square here again is about change, but rather than an outward expression it is now turned inward. This is where we reevaluate on a subconscious level. Where do we need to shift our beliefs and thoughts to support what we are trying to consciously create? This is a time to be aware of the changes that are trying to occur in your life and be fluid with them. The three days leading up to the new moon is called the dark moon. The dark moon represents the point in the cycle where we turn the furthest inward. This can mean things deep within our psyche bubbling up to our awareness. This is a time of rest and nourishment. This energy is prompting us to clean house psychologically and get to the bottom of anything held subconsciously that is blocking us from achieving our goals. It’s time to release and let go of those things that are not in alignment with that which we are consciously creating. And with that psychological house-cleaning, you have completed that lunar cycle and with the new moon can align more powerfully with a new set of intentions. In this way you can use the moon’s energy each month to continue to spiral upward, like riding a thermal, through intention setting, action, realization, self-awareness and release, to living a life you have consciously created. Last Quarter Moon: October 4th, 2:08pm MDT Following the illumination of the full moon eclipse, take what has been brought to light for you at that time (probably in the area of self versus partnerships) and examine what change is being highlighted that you make internally. Where are you holding beliefs that are outdated or irrelevant to what you want to see in your life? Can you tune into thought patterns or stories that point to what the underlying beliefs are? Dark Moon: October 9th -11th Turn inward. Rest, nourish and do the psychological housecleaning based on what you found at the last quarter moon. It’s time to release those old ways of thinking in preparation for the new moon. New Moon in Libra: October 12th, 5:06pm MDT A fresh new beginning in the area of partnership. Setting intentions around balance and harmony. What will you be consciously creating with this lunar cycle? |
Archives
October 2024
Categories |