Aquarius Full Moon

© 2016 ~ ML Monroe

We are in the influence of another remarkable Full Moon ~ this time in Aquarius accompanied by a penumbral eclipse. 

Aquarius is the sign of joined work and humanitarian efforts. It's about caring for others as well as the creative impulse to rally for what we believe in ~ all done in a convivial, playful way.

In this moment, we stand at the crossroads of a Leo Sun and an Aquarius Moon in a combined focus of ME and WE. Aquarius lifting us beyond the personal focus of Leo to the communal good.

.Aquarius creates the energy for the freedom to experiment with a variety of behaviors, expressions and lifestyles. It encourages us to extend those freedoms to others.

Uranus, which rules Aquarius, provides the necessary energy to break up the status quo and make way for transitioning to the new.

Our current transition to the Age of Aquarius reveals its shadow side as well ~ the unpredictable side that seeks to destroy without having a more innovative and positive solution in place.

Be aware of and awake to intuitive flashes and synchronicities showing up under the influence of Uranus and Aquarius. Practice allowing the thoughts their space and thinking/reacting in the world on the fly. Accept the inspirations as they arise and trust the right timing of them. That's what this Moon is all about!

Where do you have your focus so intent that you don't see the forest for the trees? Can you detach yourself from the outcome, even a little? What is your concept of a perfect world? How can you begin to implement even a little of that into your life? What intuitions have surfaced in your thoughts? Have you acted on them? What happened if you did? How did you feel with either choosing to act on them or to let them fly by?

Considering Blessings

John O'Donohue is one of those master teachers akin to Buddha, Confucius and Gandhi. In simple, gracious terms, he describes the day-to-day world and brings it into a new and wondrous focus. This particular quote resonates with all that I am currently sensing.

Yesterday I filled out my retirement paperwork. It's been a long time coming, yet I continued to waffle and waver almost all the way to the office.

Afterward, and all day today, I found myself bubbling over with gratitude. Recognizing the blessings of my life amidst the occasional sense of uncertainty, my heart overflowed.

The blessings showering my life in this moment are many. Here's a few that protect, heal and strengthen me as I continue into retirement:
Foremost among these blessings ~ my family and my friends. I am blessed to be included in many varied circles, populated by much love and joy. I'm blessed to be retiring from a job I loved, that kept me learning and creative; and with a pension plan that is no longer available to serve the young as it does me. My health is good and I am active and strong. While I am retiring, I am not yet eligible for social security. All these things are incredible blessings and only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the good, the wonderful, the fullness in my life. As I continue on this path toward a new beginning, many of these blessings flicker in front of me like fireflies on a dark summer night. I am grateful.

I also acknowledge that I am here to create blessings in other people's lives. That's part of the circle, the cycle of blessings ~ receive, be grateful, pass on. It makes life far more amazing and bearable. I receive as I give and gratitude is the grease that keeps the blessings in motion.

Where are you in your current life path? What are you grateful for? What blesses you? Who blesses your life? How do you express your gratitude? Whose life do you bless?

Have I Gone Mad?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice remains one of my favorite characters to follow ~ down the rabbit hole or through the looking glass, either works for me. She moves with cool confidence and commonplace expectation through a landscape of dream and adventure. Her questions reflect the juxtaposed juncture of 'mundane' and 'exceptional.'

Like this one: "Have I gone mad?" She's asking this politely of the Cheshire Cat who occasionally reveals himself to be only a grin. In the mundane world that very action would be the answer to her query!

I love his response: "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret... all the best people are." As Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1859, it was likely the first book to use the term 'bonkers' to mean crazy. Looking up the word's origin, it is claimed as 'unknown' and has it originating in the 1940s or 1950s. Clearly, most of those looking at its origins have not read Alice..... how sad for them! I digress ~~~

Being bonkers, mad, crazy, whatever term one chooses to use, is a good thing. It describes lightness and play in one's heart ~ a capacity to express oneself in ways that are beyond the normal. All creatives are thought mad at some point or another. All dreamers are too. This kind of madness, though, is both blessing and curse. Name-calling generally leaves one feeling judged and out-of-sorts. Yet it is also a way to explain the feverish directed passion that can overwhelm someone when they catch, or are caught by, the creative spirit.

How do you feel about being called 'bonkers'? Are your creative moments planned? or overwhelming? or timely? Are you glad to be in the company of others with that moniker? or do you steer clear of those with a creative passion bent?

The Wild Places of the Mind

How I discovered Katherine Mansfield and this quote from her Notebook, I have no idea. No matter. It is here and so am I.

"The mind I love must have wild places, a tangled orchard where dark damsons drop in the heavy grass, an overgrown little wood, the chance of a snake or two, a pool that nobody's fathomed the depth of, and paths threaded with flowers planted by the mind."

Prior to reading this, I did not ponder any specifics of  the mind I love. Over time, I have chosen friends and lovers whose minds could match and challenge mine. I did not want to be bored.

My mind is awash in the creative language Mansfield uses ~ the fullness of the Wild Places. Without copying her specific terminology after the wild places, I consider the mind I love ~~~

The mind I love must have wild places. They ring with crimson bells and resound with the voice of the loon and crow. They focus bright white full moon light on darkly rippling water. There must be a lilac wood for the unicorns and high stone ledges which dragon fire cannot harm. Snakes and snake charmers, suns and stardust alike shimmer at the edges. The labyrinthine depths draw me farther in and closer to the heart.

I have met this mind. I have danced to its music and floated on its clouds. Its gypsy wild howls bring me ravenous joy.

What about you? How would you describe the mind that you love? What kind of wild places would you associate with that mind? Is there more than one? Would they have similar wild places? What is a wild place within your own mind?