"It's dark because you're trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. It's the best advice ever given to me... to throw away your baggage and go forward." - Aldous Huxley
Already April is off to a quick start with the full moon on the 7th. This lunation is incredibly powerful, even electric, due to the fact that it is conjuncting Uranus/Eris in Aries. The new moon is a when the last bits and pieces of a cycle are finally drained of their energy, thus folding into a pearl, an essence, an echo for the succeeding moments to expound upon; and what a cycle this has been. The last six months, following the Aries Full Moon Eclipse in September, have seen the likes of fog swarming into our lives, turning everything into a disarray of events, ideas, memories, and questions. It seems that life is going through the kick start similar to learning to drive manual: there are moments where the force in life starts something new, only to die out again for a period of time. Things may have started, shifted, and changed, letting you feel like you finally knew where everything was going and then to be left wondering what the hell happened again.
However, it takes practice to learn how to drive smoothly; how to shift gears in a flawless and smooth motion that doesn't feel like you're being jerked around. Thus is life, my friends. Whenever major shifts occur in the universe, effecting our planet, there is a gap- a space that can almost appear empty just because we've never experienced what is coming later down the road.
There are many spaces... and this seemingly "emptiness" can create a lot of panic, fear, or depression. For the majority of 2016, Saturn, Neptune, and Jupiter are in a T-square in Sagittarius, Pisces, and Virgo. Not only that, but Jupiter has been conjunct the North Node of the moon and will be coming back around in a few months, too. This all speaks of forces that appear to be extremely opposite or contradictory: Saturn is all about worries, fears, time, material life, hard effort, and pressure. Neptune and Jupiter, though, take roles of expansion; one acting like water that erodes away the boundaries of life, and the other reaching beyond the boundaries to create new perceptions.
The lesson?
Balance.
Integration.
Learning the meaning of "non-action" in its truest sense.
I'm sure most of you have heard the Buddhist idea of non action; however, I find that it has been drastically misconstrued, even though it may be the most necessary truth for all of us right now. Non action does not imply laziness or apathy. Quite the contrary. If we observe ourselves without thought, without judgement, and recognize the moments we seem to "forget ourselves", we find that there really is no "I". We've created a sense of being a perfectly separate, autonomous entity that makes choices; yet, the us the we think we are is merely that: thoughts, conditioned views, opinions, habitual beliefs, and electronic signals working throughout our brains to simulate an experience.
This may be frightening, or seem depressing. In fact, I first found it to be, too. Then, I began to understand what the Buddha meant when he said "there is no self" because we are actually just a conglomeration of energy/parts in the Universe. Therefore, we really aren't separate from it, but completely embedded with it to the point that we ARE the Universe. Our identities are simply a form for the Universe to express and experience itself! Now isn't that wonderful?
So, non action doesn't meant that there isn't something happening, but that there isn't a separate entity doing something all by itself. Everything is a dance of the energy of life; you can't mess up life and there isn't anything you can look at, feel, or experience (including your thoughts) that are not a part of this beautiful, perfect, mysterious Chaos. Through evolution, more and more people are seeing their energies moved to a place of awareness that allows them to see that there is no self; allows us to rest in the dance of life rather than resisting it. Non action actually allows us to be the most efficient and intuitive, which is the message of The North Node in Virgo, asking us to cultivate discernment and intelligence as how to interact with the myriad parts of the Mystery we're playing with.
This month (and generally this year as a whole), we are being called to settle the outside noise and listen to what's showing up. Aries may be known for being explosive, brash, and obvious; however, I beg to differ that Aries contains one of the most subtle energies of the zodiac, one of the most enigmatic. After the drop into the cosmic abyss of Pisces, something is seemingly born out of nothing in the Aries phase. Aries is like the pinpoint, the Big Bang, the question that everyone wonders about: how did the universe come to be? The fiery energy is like the most microscopic, illusive spark that resides in everything, including ourselves. This month, Mercury, Pluto, and Mars turn retrograde; following in the footsteps of an already retrograde Saturn and Jupiter. The flow of energy will warp inward for quite some time now, and this is the perfect space to feel that subtle spark mentioned above.
When we realize the spark of life within ourselves, how that expresses uniquely through us, and purge the fears inside us that block manifestation, then we will be able to exude the explosive creativity of Aries.
That's the goal folks.
Boy, it's been a wild ride for the beginning of 2016; and it's not over yet. There is emotional, mental, physical, and energetic purges happening personally and collectively as we transition from one game of reality to the next. We must embrace and cleanse the dense patterns of our past in order to gain true freedom and autonomy in this present moment ( Uranus); putting in swift, intuitive effort in the practice of letting go so that we may once again join the dance of life. It's all a learning curve baby!
Some things to practice this month:
- Meditate, reflect, or journal on the moments in your life that make you "lose yourself"; not in an escapist way, but rather quick flashes where you feel so entrenched in the present that you don't separate anything into labels and expectations. Writing a list of those peaceful, alive moments can help you when doubt about "who am I?" comes up.
- If you find yourself feeling aimless or deep in despair because life seems "meaningless" or without "purpose", go out in nature. Watch a world that doesn't need human order to be prosperous. Just observe how the wind moves, the plants grow, and the ocean fluctuates. Sometimes we get so caught up in the idea of the Universe being made in "Man's Image" that we forget we are not the precipice of creation. Life does not need an intellectually made purpose in order to be magnificent. Now remind yourself that you don't need one either.
- Find new activities that you can channel your energy into. The Aries energy and Mars retrograde can stimulate aggression or frustration and the last thing we want to do is project that onto others. If we let the inward energy overwhelm us we can become prone to obsessive thinking and compulsive action, rather than healthy contemplation and guided movement. Exercise, playing music, planning for a project, dancing: all are good outlets at this time.
Last but not least, I hope that the weight of the last few months burns away; that as we observe all the areas we are blocking ourselves from truly living, we can open up to true expression. Sometimes it is necessary to dive deeply, get very heavy and unsure of ourselves so that we can explode from the nothingness within, stronger than before and with a greater trust in ourselves. Life is too important to be taken seriously, and I feel that we are learning to move more lightly in our lives, to experience the heaviness first so that we know where it belongs and where we need to let it go.
Safe driving my lovelies,
Hannah
