 Today brings us the dark moon in Aquarius, a time when the lunar year shifts from snake to horse. I don't have nearly as much primary experience with horse as I do with snake, but I can say that in the lead up, I've felt a flurry of activity galloping in my direction. More than once I've wondered if I was riding this wave or if I was being ridden.
Aquarius is an air sign, bringing the workings of our mind to the fore, spinning and spinning as the mind does, so focused on the big picture that we forget to look where we're going. We find ourselves wanting to do everything right, knowing how to do it right, if only we lived in a world less complicated by our humanness. Repeating the phrase "you can't do it wrong" has allayed my mind (when it's willing to listen to reason). This phrase then magically extends to others. Judgment then becomes easier to recognize and drop. Those moments when my mind insists on doing what the mind does best (think, awfully obsessively at its worst), I've found peace in slowing my stride way down a la walking meditation. Putting one foot in front of the other, with intent and insistence despite the frantic pace of modern life, somehow resets my mental processes. Doing this in the moments I need it rather than waiting until I'm at the perfect place for walking mediation is key (yes, I suspect I get funny looks which usually means I'm doing life right). Amazingly, as my body slows, I can then actually see into what the best next step is. I also get to appreciate the beauty right in front of me which is often the only best next step. Once the crazy thoughts feel good and reigned in, I'm delighted by how much more I can actually get done. With the approach of mercury retrograde (2/6-2/27), I suspect we'll all be slowing down whether we like it or not. Might as well enjoy it. It is easy to become so preoccupied in the head that we forget our feet. When we remember our earthbound connection and the gift of gravity, we give ourselves permission to simply be. In that peace with the two steps forward, one step back dance that all this retrograde motion is bringing up can exist in acceptance as we drop into cyclical rather than linear time. Venus' retrograde is just about over so it's also a time to reflect on what you've learned about what matters most to you over the past forty days and forty nights. How do you really want to be in relationships (to people, to money, to stuff) moving forward? What kind of care do you need to extend to yourself in order to embody that more? Lastly, astro-heads up: Valentine's day brings us a full moon. Remember that expectations are pre-meditated resentments and that love can show up in all sorts of ways if we only open our hearts to it. More on that later. For now, mark your calendars to join me for an evening of art making, playful ritual and self & community love at Be Your Own Valentine. Happy Imbolc/Candlemas/Brigid's Day to all the witches and witch lovers out there! In honor of her bright spirit and deep poetry, Mary Oliver has some words to live by this shifting season tide. Photo credit: Nathan Taylor
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