Power of Trip to the Sea

© ML Monroe 2016

Three months ago, a couple of friends contacted me. They were coming to the area in November and were wondering if I wanted to get together with them. Easy answer to that ~ Of course! As we talked, we decided to make an overnight trip to the beach ~ which would work out great for both of us since I would be their driver and they would make all the arrangements.

Little did we know as we made our plans the tenor of our travel time. Each of us brought with us some recently troubled or troubling experiences. Besides our own issues, the weather has been stormy and we're all still a bit off balance from both the elections and the holidays. Whew! Lots going on.

When we arrived, we barely settled ourselves in and set off for a walk on the beach. The rain that was misty turned to a downpour. The wind picked up and the temperature seemed to dip. A walk was simply not in the cards. So I snapped the picture and we set off to shop and find somewhere to have dinner.

Yet that simple moment when I was on the beach, looking at the sea and the fog healed my troubled heart. I felt calmer, stronger, safer even with the wind battering us with rain. When we got into the car, my friends mentioned the same thing. Simply being at the sea ~ Mama Ocean, Yemaya ~ we each and all breathed in Her Presence and it was enough.

What creates turmoil in your life? How do you work through it? Is there a place you go to find healing and solace? Where is it? Why do you think it has an effect on you?

Beltaine 2016

I love this image I found online because it is a Beltaine gathering and dance. My favorite part of it is the Beltaine fire ~ in the shape of a phoenix.

Beltaine is about the fertility of the land. An acknowledgement of the coming lushness. Gratitude for the cyclical blessing from the union of Mother Earth and Father Sky.

It's also about rebirth and resurrection. In Christian traditions, Easter is near to this time. Even closer in Orthodox traditions. In Judaism, it is near Passover, another celebration of release. A rebirth, renewal.

Every Spring, when Beltaine nears, I feel the pull of Oya's dance of renewal. I find myself tugged in the direction of the sea. Mama Ocean calls to me. A bonfire on the shore is a wonderful celebration of this call and this time.

This year in particular, I feel the surge of the Earth and Ocean. I feel the tug of the warming weather and Sun. As Beltaine approached, I found myself nearly tripping over a squirrel, sitting peacefully on the pavement in front of me. As I approached, unaware in my rush, it did not move until I was less than a foot away. Then only as far as under the bush beside the walk. Sitting, watching me, as though to say, Slow down and notice. Good thing I noticed. As I approached my car, a crow was sitting on the ground beside it. I slowed down as it turned its head from side to side, noticing me too. It remained next to my car until I was less than three feet from it. Then it hopped a few feet farther away, turned to watch me and chatter. I spoke back to it ~ of my gratitude for its presence and my honoring of our mutual awareness of each other. It bowed to me as I opened my car door and got in. Then it hopped on a rock and watched me depart. That noticing, that slowing down to breathe, is the expression of celebrating Beltaine for me.

How do you celebrate the coming of the next step of Spring? What do you feel as the weather warms and everything turns brighter green and colorful? How do you acknowledge the gifts of Earth and Sky?

Super New Moon in Pisces and Solar Eclipse

Tuesday, March 8th at 23:19 UTC (11:19 p.m.), the Solar Eclipse begins. The four-minute antumbra will begin at 1:59 UTC (1:59 a.m.) on Wednesday, March 9th. It will be visible in a swath of the Pacific Ocean and Micronesia. Living on the West Coast of the U.S., it will not be seen in the sky, but it will begin at 3:19 p.m. and be at its maximum at 5:59 p.m.

Those are the technical details. Then there are the other, more arcane meanings. A solar eclipse happens when the three most powerful and influential celestial bodies ~ Sun, Moon and Earth ~ align and create a new energy, a new story, for us to embody. Having this particular eclipse happen while the Super New Moon is in Pisces sends us into Mama Ocean, the collective unconscious, where depth hides the memory of every story that's ever been lived on Earth. It contains all of archetypal life as well as the myths we plumb to guide our steps. Within this container rests our creative imagination.

This is the New Moon for travel into the Dreamtime, for practicing and dancing with our creativity. Mama Ocean helps us shape-shift in that deep, dark realm, in the primal womb. This is the time to engage our passion and uncover what we are passionate about ~ to dream a present and a future that embraces each and all of us. Within that Dreamtime travel, there is a call to stay present, awake and aware. It is a time of healing the deep soul wound through many clear or subtle routes, including karmic completion, full awareness of feelings, forgiveness of self and others.

What are you feeling as you pass through this Eclipse and New Moon? What draws your heart? your passion? How are your interactions with others shifting? How are you expressing this? What creative expression calls to you? Are you answering it?