"If you seek a spark, you will find it in the ashes." -Elie Wiesel

I spent much of the day nagged by a subtle sense of despair. Every time I wrote the date, I paused and was distracted by unknown grief. The dark moon can be characterized by dread as we sit with uncertainty around what the next lunar cycle will bring. Yes, myself and many of my beloved allies are steeped in not knowing, living with a sense of shifting ground beneath us and big change brewing, but that did not explain away the fear. I hoped that the moon's moving to meet the sun in its home in Leo might shed some light on the gloom.

That's when I recalled that this year's Leo new moon shares its date with Hiroshima Day (8/6). What happens when the light shines so brightly that it burns? What happens when so much energy is manipulated and turned against all life? What are we to do in a world so pregnant with grief, fear and despair? As Audre Lorde says, "Use what power you have to work for what you believe in." 

This new moon, I invite you to look for the spark inside the pain. What beauty, what truth, what vision can only you make real because of the ashes you've risen from? What brilliant expression of deep desire for peace is asking for our tender nurturance and playful exploration? How can we honor the lives of ancestors lost in nightmares too real and too grave to forget by living our dreams of peace and compassion now?  I find relief in the naming and the asking of these questions. In that relief are the threads of the power of new moon magic to set intentions, make wishes, focus on that which you wish you create. 

Knowing that tomorrow (8/7) brings a Pluto and Jupiter opposition activating the Pluto/Uranus square, bringing it into a T-square for the next few weeks positions me to honor the dance of despair and hope. Acknowledging that, I find resonance with Jessica Shepherd's wise words: "T-squares are packed with energy and momentum. Here's the formula: what needs to change or die (Pluto) + restlessness + new opportunities (Jupiter, Uranus) = sudden new paths." May we find a sudden new path towards peace, inner and outer, and may we release the struggle against what wants to be and accept what is. In that acceptance, may we feel clearly what wants to happen next, putting one foot in front of the other with ease and grace, as agents of peace and change. 

"Bless you for your grief, it's a sign of great capacity...You are a sea of goodness" -Yoko Ono