✧ This December's Winter Solstice + Full Moon on 12/21 is in Cancer ✧

 

Essences: Opening, honoring, listening, centering, celebration, prayer, humility, rest, forgiveness

 

Questions to Ask: What parts of me are currently feeling exposed to the outside world?

How do I feel about this exposure? What emotions is it triggering within me?

What do I currently wish to keep sacred? To keep to myself or my loved ones?

What do I wish to let go of? What habits, patterns, or practices no longer serve me?

Is there a grieving that arises when letting this go? If so, what does that process feel like?

What is my relationship with the media I am currently consuming? What makes me feel inspired? What makes me feel down? And how can I be more conscious of what I'm allowing into my mind?

What do I wish to call in on this Winter Solstice? What am I manifesting for this coming year?

What are 10 things in my life that I am grateful for on this Full Moon?

In what ways do I feel that I must forgive myself, as well as forgive others?

 

What to Become Aware of: There are little words that can unequivocally describe the messy beauty of loving yourself, and learning how to do so. Amidst the chaos of learning and feeling what we came here to experience, our peace must emanate from within. This weekend is our reminder to tune in, tune out, choose wisely and celebrate the blessings of support we receive from family, from friends, and from Nature. I’ve been writing these Moon Letters twice a month for a year and a half now, and this is undoubtedly the hardest one I’ve written. I’ve honestly been mulling over it for days, not even knowing where to begin. This Moon, this Solstice … it’s all exposing parts of me I haven’t felt ready to expose, and as it’s all happening in our crabby, reclusive sign of Cancer, naturally all I want to do is shell up at home with my man and my baby girl, drink cacao, cook warm meals with friends and read a book. But I can’t. There’s more. There’s still something within me that yearns for truth, for authenticity, for the exposure because the exposure is the alchemy. I never get personal in these letters, but I feel called to say that personally, this is a chaotic time for me. If you have been following along Evan and I’s journey over the past few months, you would know how much has changed in our lives, not only with the landing of our baby girl, but also in making a shift in our diet away from being staunch vegans, to eating more omnivorous. And god did this create some angry ripples out in the inter-ethers. The amount of hate messages we have received is just baffling. But even more so, the amount of kindness and love we have received is stunning. It’s so clear that we are not alone in this journey of shedding old skin and slithering into transformation — whether that has to do with diet or something completely different, thank you to every beautiful human who has sent me stories of how they are being called to follow their intuition and listen to their inner wisdom way more than anyone or anything else. Yes, listen to science, listen to your compassion for animals and the planet, but also direct your listening inwards with as much intuitive presence as you can muster. I personally have not felt this much energy coming my way in a very long time … if ever. Both the good feels and the really icky feels. Lots of sage smudging has been happening around here. I would be lying if I said that it’s just all good and it’s all love and I’m not phased either way. I’m definitely feeling phased — naturally, the support makes me feel high and the criticism makes me feel low. I get nauseous when I read hateful comments about myself and my precious family online. I feel angry about all the anonymous and uninformed anger that is projected at me and my lifestyle choices. It’s actually absurd what people behind an avatar of the internet are compelled to say about people they don’t even know. And yes, we don’t want you to know everything. Evan and I are not nutritionists, we are artists, we are poets and mystics. Yet, I called all of this in — this whole experience of seeing myself through the eyes of someone with strong beliefs that go against my choices. This whole experience of owning up to the labels I placed upon myself and my world, then breaking free of them and watching how this rattles someone else’s foundation. But I know me. I love me, and I haven’t always, so this is good. This intense experience of becoming a new mother, as well as braving up to dismantle the identity of “vegan” that I identified with for even a short time, has turned myself back into myself in many gorgeous new ways. I am not my label, and neither are you. There’s an unshakable strength and knowing within me that just the good times can’t quite bring out. I feel stronger as a result of being able to hold my anchor in this moving sea that is so quick to change it’s tide. I feel more beautiful in a body that finally feels balanced — with clear skin and happy digestion, and enough energy for my growing baby. 

I open all of this personal stuff up just to give some context and authenticity to the fact that this weekend is a big one for me, and I know that I’m not alone. 

The Winter Solstice is a celebration of the promise of the light, though warmth is still many months away. This is a time to give thanks for the abundance of autumn, welcome the silence of winter, and set our intentions for the manifestations of spring. The solstice is our opportunity for brave release of our grip on the past, dissolving what no longer serves us and making honest way for new dreams to come through. It is a time to remain patient, persistent, and raw in our expression. Winter is our time of inner hibernation, reflecting on where we’ve been and how we wish to move on. Full Moons are times to practice gratitude for what has manifest in our lives — for the abundance which gives our lives structure and meaning. Full Moons are our times to celebrate the new and embrace what is without judgement or resentment. Full Moon medicine is that of gratitude. 

It’s a wild world we live in these days — it is complicated and connected, anything and anyone accessible at the tap of a finger on a glass screen. And to hold this screen in our hands means that we have so much power — we have the power to create, or the power to destroy. It means that we have the power to influence others with our words and images, or we have the power to allow others to influence us with theirs. Everything we see and read leaves an imprint of a certain spirit in our conscious mind. This weekend is a wonderful time to get seriously reflective about the kinds of media we are consuming, and how we choose to interact with it. Are we filling our minds with inspiration that makes us feel good and whole, or are we filling our minds with something that makes us feel unworthy and lesser-than? This is our time for inner creation, not so much outer consumption (though society advertises the opposite to us this time of year!). May we use this time to reflect on what we wish to let go of (that may be labels, stories, habits or patterns) and set clear intentions for what we wish to welcome in (new manifestations, prayers, and dreams).

May we celebrate in remembering that the way we react to something in our external reality really and truly has nothing to do with “them”, and everything to do with how we feel about getting our own inner world stirred up a bit. There are going to be those who support your journey and travel along with you, and there are going to the those who think you’ve got it all wrong and wish to go the other way. And the truth is, neither of them matter. What matters is our center. What matters is whether or not we know ourselves deeply and are listening to our intuitive pings. It doesn’t matter in the slightest what someone believes about us, what matters is what we believe about ourselves. What matters is how much we love ourselves, and how that love extends into the creation of what we dream. The thoughts we think and the feelings we feel about ourselves are what shape our reality, bending it towards more love or towards more fear. May we use this powerful weekend to really remember that it all begins within.

 

A Ritual to Practice: Clear + Activate your Doorway

One of the most important parts of our home is our front door — it symbolize a leaving of something as well as a welcoming of something, which similarly fosters a beautiful practice on this Winter Solstice Illuminated Moon. Make your entrance pleasant, inviting, clean, and clear, so good vibes and prosperous opportunities flow in and out with ease. Imagine this energy is like flowing water; you want all obstacles out of its way. Apply these tips and pay attention to how both the inside and outside doorway look and feel. Look into Feng Sui if you want to dig deeper.

• Smudge your entrance when you begin and end the ritual

• Make sure your entrance is well lit

• Clear obstacles and debris that block your doorway

• Clean your door, doorknob, bell, address, and the surrounding grounds. Be sure to fix anything that's broken.

• Add non-obtrusive decorations that feel positive, such as a nice doormat, flowers, stones, protective or good luck symbols above the door, hang a bell inside the doorway to clear negative energy.

• Feel the shift and be ready to release, and receive!

 

 Share Moon Letter with anyone you feel would find some love from it.