~ This April's New Moon on 4/5 is in Aries ~
Essences
Patience, presence, trust, gratitude, shifting, unraveling, rest, integration
Questions to Ask
Who am I beyond this body, beyond these life experiences, beyond the story of what anyone else has told me? Who am I, really?
What to Become Aware of
During a discussion about astrology last week, a sweet friend asked me asked where I learned about it and how I’m able to apply that to my Moon Letters. My answer was that I never have learned about it, and that I don’t apply it to my Moon Letters at all. This made me realize that I’ve never been that open here about the fact that these letters are literally my journal. They’re not astrological projections. They’re manifestations of elements that are going on in my own life at each Moon, without needing to get too personal or overshare details. I started sharing this practice on our blog as a way to bring our community together in a presence and gratitude around each Moon — to use each Moon as a symbol, a marker in time, in which we can collectively set space aside for ourselves to tune in to what we’re feeling, how that’s shaping our reality, and gain some clarity on the manifestations we’re actively calling in. And when I started sharing these, I realized how many of you so, so relate. I personally seek to use each Moon as a reminder in my life to tune out, tune in, get organized (both physically and emotionally), and come into more acceptance for life as it is. I share these letters to encourage you to do the same!
I’m not here to give you the low down on what it means for the Moon to be in Aries, I only share this as the title in order to distinguish between each Moon — as a way to remind us that the Moon and her place the sky is different every day. She is never the same, and neither are we. It’s not that I don’t believe in astrology, but I don’t fully subscribe to it. I don’t “believe” in anything that I haven’t had a visceral, intimate experience with, and I’ve just never had that with astrology in a way that gets me totally on board. I do believe that everything on Earth and in the cosmos is connected and working together as one gorgeous organism, in both incredibly minuscule and in largely obvious ways. I do feel that the placement of planets and stars, and especially of the Moon, has gravitational influence on the fluctuations of Earth. But I also actively seek to drop the story in life — to again and again come back into just simple presence and awareness without always needing to put language to the way that life is. Language is of course so needed, and I use it in many of my practices to help uncover what’s going on. Sometimes it’s needed, but sometimes it’s not. And I feel that since the rise of astrology in the media and how popular it’s become, it’s been taken too far and too many sensitive and open souls take the story that an astrologer on the internet provides for them as being their truth and something that they need to live by. And the story may very well be their truth and give them validation and licensing to love and accept themselves more, but I personally am here to encourage a balanced perspective to that: drop the story, because who you truly are is all the beauty that is beyond that story. I’m here to ask for that every minute you spend cosmically profiling yourself based upon what time and where you were born, you spend just as much if not more time sitting in stillness with only yourself (no website, no guru, no astrologer, no intuitive) and keep on asking yourself the question: who am I, really? Who am I beyond this story? Who am I beyond my life experiences? Who am I beyond my beliefs?
All of this to say, tomorrow I may very well have a visceral, intimate experience with astrology that gets me fully on board. I’m open to it all. But I also question it all. And on this dark and delicious New Moon, I encourage you to do the same. Question everything. Stay open to everything. Give gratitude for everything as it is. Trust that you — the gorgeous you that is beyond this body, this story — is only love, only guided, only held and only whole.
Rest. Remain patient with the time that it takes for your body and mind to catch up to the revelations of peace and healing that your spirit first feels. Allow the way you perceive reality to shift, to open, to transform. Find your little nuggets of gold within what feels the hardest to break through right now. Be that gold. Be (embody) the alchemy (the transformation) that you seek. Keep on going beyond. Who are we, really?
A Ritual to Practice
For the Love from Cacao
I feel that all times are perfect times to turn to cacao and the bittersweet heart opening medicine she brings. I love a good ritual involving sipping on ceremonial cacao, which is entirely different than eating a chocolate bar. Ceremonial grade cacao is essentially a whole food, as a block or discs of ceremonial cacao include the whole fruit -- the cacao butter fat and the cacao powder. You can read more about this here! However if you don't have ceremonial grade cacao on hand, a good cacao powder will work just fine! Find the recipe below. After you've made your delicious drink, carve out some space for yourself to sit silently, sipping your cacao consciously and gratefully! Once your cup has been emptied, sit in silence for as long as you desire, taking yourself deeper and deeper into this Moon's question...Who am I, really? Arise from this meditation whenever you feel called. And no matter what it is that you discover, may it linger throughout the remainder of your New Moon day, infusing beauty and balance into all that you do.
The Recipe:
- 10 discs of ceremonial grade cacao (I love Firefly) or 2 tbsp of cacao powder
- 1 cup of hot (but not boiled) water, or coconut milk
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 3 juicy medjool dates, or 1 tbsp raw honey
- A few shakes of cayenne pepper
- Optional add ins of turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and medicinal mushrooms like reishi, chaga, lions mane...
- Blend on high for 15 seconds, pour into your most favorite mug, sip away