July 2015 Aquarius Blue Moon

July 31st is the second Full Moon of the month which makes it a Blue Moon. This Moon is eight degrees Aquarius and with the Sun in Leo, there is opportunity for choice: open to the group or detach and go solo. Or find the balance between independence and interdependence.

This Full Moon is also alive with vision and new horizons. Like a TV dish, it draws insights from the ether. Because of its capacity to focus on the future, it has trouble in the present. Create the ideal and keep the feet firmly planted on Mother Earth. Be sure the foundation is solid and be willing to illuminate whatever fears, tensions or apprehensions show up. Deal with them. Feel them. Face them. Upgrade those feelings. Breathe through any changes or breakthroughs. And be ready for any 'ahas' that may show up, for any radical upgrades in thinking, organizing, perceptions of reality.

What are you feeling as this Full Moon lights up the sky? How can you open yourself to changes? What is the Full Moon lighting up within you? How solid is your foundation? What can you do to shore it up?

Am I a Writer?

Words repeat inside my head:
If you want to be a writer, you have to write.
And:
Waiting until you feel inspired, may keep you waiting forever to write.

The questions arise again. Those internal insecurities about being good enough... creative... about having something to say... about someone wanting to read what I write.

What do I need to write? Not very much. Stories float around inside my head. Questions, curiosities, challenges all start my thoughts forming characters, places, quests. An image of a rope tumbled on the beach begins here:
He grabbed hold of the rope and tugged, checking the tension, feeling the strength. It held fast. He put his hands, one ahead of the other, on the rope, set his left foot against the rock face at knee level and pulled himself up. His right foot found purchase on the rock face, and he was off. Hand over hand, feet moving up the rocks.....

This is one of the adventures floating through from that image. Where will it go from here? The stories crowd inside me, looking for passage from one world to the next. The only require a pinhole to find their way out.

I need time, a computer or tablet, paper and pen or pencil. The first often is the most fragile, the slipperiest to reach. Now on to use mine differently.

What do you desire to create? How strong is your desire? How do you define yourself? How do you want to define yourself? What will you do to make your best definition come true?

Cancer New Moon ~ 2015

http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nh-charon.jpg

Today's sky reveals ~ or does not reveal ~ the Cancer New Moon. However, it's also the day that reveals the New Horizon's images of Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons, up close and personal. What a remarkable event!

The Cancer New Moon is all about emotional fulfillment... finding what sparks your deepest love and most expansive passion. It may refer to partnerships. I'd say look beyond those because even partnerships are sparked by something within your heart. Be aware that this New Moon may bring with it more intense and rapidly changing emotions, perhaps creating some raw and exposed feelings. Breathe through them. Continue to love yourself and honor all parts of who you are.

The images from Pluto ~ and its moon Charon ~ arrive in perfect timing. In mythology, Charon is the ferryman who carries the souls of mortals into the Underworld, Pluto's realm. Since Pluto is the symbol of the hidden, of what seeks to be revealed, of the deeper darkness within, the New Moon is the most auspicious time to be in the presence of Charon, the guide into that Underworld.

What passion is bursting forth in your life right now? How is the hidden part of you peaking through and showing itself? What is the coinage you will use to pay Charon to cross into  the Underworld? What will you bring back?

Relaxed Mind

I began my day today with a cup of tea ~ which provided this lovely Teabag Tarot comment. Reflecting on several recent discussions, I chuckled and shook my head when I saw it... that relaxed, creative mind also calls forth these quotes or images. It's as though the mind, given the space and the stillness, creates what it most needs to thrive.

One friend would refer to it as the Law of Attraction. Relaxing my mind, reaching for the higher vibration, attracts the flow which, for me, shows up as creativity. For someone else, it may show up differently. I want to attract creativity. I like the feeling of that creative flow. So here I am, writing about it.

When I feel tense (as in distracted, upset, stressed, or overwhelmed, to name a few sources of tension) my brain and being shift closer to or into survival mode. At that point, creativity is not bubbling forth as an option. I am into protecting myself. Everything is focused on that end. Even though creativity and rational thinking may be great allies, they are difficult to access. If I'm fortunate enough to recognize that I've gone reptilian, I take a minute or two or more to refocus, to shift. I breathe deeply. Or I stretch my limbs. Or I go outside, change the scenery. It generally doesn't take long.

After my breath returns to its normal, less constricted pace, and my muscles find movement comfortable, I can pick up a pen or sit at a keyboard and write or grab a brush and paint or look for images in a magazine. Anything to keep myself balanced and relaxed. Then even the muscles of my face relax into a smile and I find centered space and joy.

Understanding that creativity finds many forms, what does your mind create when its relaxed? What activities keep you centered? What clues does your system give to let you know you're tense? How do you shift from tense to relaxed?

Capricorn Full Moon ~ July 2015

Another Full Moon is upon us! If you're lucky and you've looked up in the night sky over the past few days, the moon has been delightfully and wonderfully growing into its fullness. As its grown fuller, its moved away from two very bright spots in the night sky, Jupiter, and the brighter spot, Venus. Gorgeous!

With Pluto being the Ruler of the Underworld, there is much hidden, darkly emotional movement happening at this time. It opposes the warrior Mars and squares the Nodes, making another Cardinal Cross ~ which always carries a whallop.

In the Earth sign of Capricorn, the place of material manifestation, this Full Moon queries: What are your values? This Full Moon wants you to be grounded, to focus on commitments that run deep into your soul. How can you balance those values with your daily world?

The question of balance goes even further because of the Cardinal Cross: Be aware that you may feel needy and reactive (South Node in Aries). Let that neediness and reactivity settle down before taking any actions (North Node in Libra) and moving forward.

Opportunities may show up with a sense of duality: work or family/personal; right or wrong; miscommunication or healing; crisis or opportunity. Breathe through them. Take your time with decisions. Work on self-affirming habits. Adapt to demands of the times.

What is this Full Moon revealing to you? What is the light at the end of the tunnel? What is the buried treasure that you are uncovering? What do you value?

Adjusting Perspective

Every experience, every thought, every lesson we have, shows up in our lives from one perspective: our own. No matter what we do, we cannot entirely change that.

One definition of perspective is "true understanding of the relative importance of things; a sense of proportion." The word's origin comes from medieval Latin: perspect- [looked at closely], and the verb perspicere, [to look through].

Our perspective on an event or comment is always seen through our own eyes, our own experiences, our own values. We have nothing else. However, like the pigeon perched above the city, we have the opportunity to change that view. We can perch ourselves in the middle of a busy street, on a housetop, on a 10-story apartment building or on a 80-story skyscraper. We have the capacity to adjust our perspective.

My personal experience is generally starting in the middle of the street ~ surrounded by the murkiness of whatever was just slung at or buzzed by me. It's dangerous there. Sometimes I wallow in whatever is happening on the street, often unintentionally, because I'm reacting ~ and I am in the middle of it all.

At those exact moments, it's difficult to shift perspectives. It's a struggle to remember that I can fly; I don't have to muddle across the active street. Spreading my wings, getting lift, rising ~ all have their own challenges. Once I do that, though, I can adjust my perspective, the view of what's happening, and breathe differently.

What do you do when you find yourself in a metaphorical street fight? How do you feel when things get thrown your way? Do you feel the need to change perspective? If so, how do you do that? If not, how does that work for you?

Summer Solstice 2015

Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the shortest night of the year, arrives today. The majesty of the Sun shining through 14 to 20 hours is awe-inspiring. Then Lady Moon shows herself, this year in a dainty growing crescent, for so brief a span.

This Summer Solstice brings with it more renewal. There have been a number of gateways of change and shift happening in 2015 ~ even though the energies may have begun as long as two years ago.

Solstice is a time of celebration, and in particular, of fire and fecundity. Look at the flowers, at the gardens, at the fields. Every thing is in bloom, bringing with it ripeness and sweetness. This year, many of my gardener friends have told me that their gardens have ripened early. They continue to speculate ~ and noisily discuss ~ about the duration of the growing season. Will the plants continue to produce their crops (berries, tomatoes, etc.)? Or will they complete their growing cycle more quickly, leaving a fallow time to fill out the remainder of the summer?

Summer Solstice also brings with it a time of reflection. It is one of the Quarters that marks the seasonal calendar. I choose to burn incense ~ sage, to cleanse and renew; frankincense to reconnect with the Holy Mystery. Drumming calls in the directions and honors the guides who show up and grace the entry into a new season. Ritual always connects me, connects us, with the threads running through our lives and all of Life in, on and through the Earth.

What do you do to celebrate the Summer Solstice? Why? How do you honor the change of the seasons? Are they important to you? Why or why not?