Coming home to yourself
About twenty-five years ago I was eating lunch at a restaurant that had a deck of Osho Tarot cards on each table. I eagerly drew a card; the Stress card. The essence of it has reverberated within me across time: “We create it ourselves with the idea that without us nothing will happen, especially the way we want it to. Well, what makes you think you are so special? Do you think the sun won’t rise in the morning unless you personally set the alarm? Go for a walk, buy yourself some flowers.”
Everything is connected, we are all a part of the fabric of life that is constantly weaving and reweaving itself. We, our lives, are an intrinsic part of that process that is ever unfolding yet it is all too easy to forget that in the most often crazy frenetic pace of life. And thus we feel stressed and out of control.
This Friday, July 5, at 6:57 EDT/3:57 PDT pm our annual New Moon in Cancer takes place. Everyone speaks of the New Moon as a monthly time to set new intentions, to initiate something new. And this is true but it is much more.
Each New Moon represents the completion of a cycle. The Moon returns home to itself. This monthly pattern is the symbolic template for all other “returns’ within your natal chart as it moves from new, to 1st quarter, to full to 3rd quarter, and back to itself starting the process of change again. A Saturn return for example is approximately 29.5 years, about every 7.5 years it reaches one of those quarters. Mercury and Venus have returns annually in your chart. Each cycle is an opportunity to begin anew. The rhythms of our lives unfold against the backdrop of each planet’s cycle. Your annual Venus return? A great time to reset both relationships and your sense of worth…both literally and figuratively, as Venus rules money.
So each month we can use this time during the New Moon to begin again regardless of which sign the Moon is moving through.
To me when it is in Cancer it is particularly powerful. The Moon rules the sign Cancer, it is at home. It is comfortable. Think about it; what do we do when we feel most at home? We unwind and let down our guard. Ideally, we allow ourselves to simply be.
How often do you allow yourself to just be?
For myself, and most if not all of the people I know, there is always this feeling that we should be doing something “productive” Thus, much of the time we find ourselves striving, relentlessly pushing ourselves forward towards some unknown destination that is beckoning to us like a siren’s call that we simply can’t turn away from. Its lure is inexorable. And while the magnetic nature of all of our unfolding journeys is compelling, sometimes you just need to slow down, catch your breath, and take in the view.
This Moon is an invitation to embrace this sense of your quintessence. It offers you the opportunity, even for a brief moment to let down your guard and relax. To just be. To recharge. To refresh.
Cancer is the sign associated with birth. The initiating power of the Moon is towards manifestation; it wants to give birth and reproduce itself and its experiences of life. It wants to replicate its interior life in the exterior world. And if you have ever given birth or have been physically present to witness the process you know how powerful it is, how awe-inspiring.
And absolutely beyond the control of anyone. It is a primal force of nature.
Life will continue effortlessly creating itself, we just need to trust its care for us. Think about it: How would you be experiencing your life if your underlying assumption was that you were cared for by the very fabric of existence? Because in the end we actually “get” (aka manifest) what we expect, what we are unconsciously anticipating. So imagine, what if you felt so secure, essentially at home, in the world that you didn’t have to do or produce anything to earn your sense of belonging? Of safety?
Take this moment to catch your breath. Allow yourself to gestate, to nourish what is growing within so that it is ready to be born. Next month’s New Moon in Leo holds the energetic fire of creation. Take this time to refresh yourself. I promise you won’t regret it.
Come home to yourself this month, knowing that home is a place of belonging. Allow yourself to surrender to the mysterious power of the universe’s love that has ushered you to this moment, this place in time and space, and will continue to call you forward.
Ritual for the New Moon in Cancer
A reminder: The potency of any ritual is intimately tied to the way in which you enter it. Your preparation doesn't need to be elaborate, just heartfelt. Take a moment to center yourself by inhaling deeply bringing your awareness to the sensation of your breath entering and exiting your body, consciously breathing out any distracting thoughts. Slowly, luxuriously, become aware of your body, and appreciate its sensations at this moment in time and space. Tune into your heart. With humility and honesty, offer yourself. Offer your time. Offer your attention. To the Moon, her ever-changing nature, and all that she contains.
Return your awareness to your body. Notice how gravity holds and connects you to the Earth. Envision your body as an ancient stone temple: sacred, solid, strong, and secure. Take a moment to sanctify this temple by imagining a priestess pouring consecrated water and scattering rose petals, all the way down, anointing you from your head to your toes. Feel all of your worries, any anxiety or negativity washing away. Notice the thoughts and feelings leaving the temple—your judgments, your distracted mind, your worried heart. Be sure to honor them. Send each of them love and blessings as they depart your temple.
As you sit here in stillness feel the seeds within beginning to sprout. You may already think you know what you wish to accomplish but I want to urge you to trust that each see has an intention of its own which will flower at its own pace. Let go and trust that all will unfold perfectly in time. Know that this brief ritual has aligned you with spirit. Now ask your heart if it has a closing message for you. This may come in words or as a picture, perhaps as a body sensation or sound. Then, in gratitude to yourself and spirit, return to normal awareness. Give yourself time to receive this message. Digest it. Write it down. And then do what you can to nourish it so that it can be born in its own time.
