NEW MOON IN CAPRICORN: Foundations. Boundaries & Movement

Welcome to the First New Moon of the Year! One week into 2021 and we are greeted with A Capricorn New Moon that invites an energy of setting ourselves up for the year ahead. It’s important to acknowledge that while we don’t know what the New Year will hold politically and socially, we can still turn inward and set our sights towards our personal goals, desires and dreams.

Capricorn is a determined, hard worker, but Capricorn also works smart and that involves setting up the structures and foundations needed to hold our goals so we can execute them to the fullest, while also holding space for the unexpected and the unknown. It also requires an evaluation of the beliefs, structures and boundaries that we are currently upholding within our minds and bodies, that keep us stuck and prevent personal expansion. Airing out any ways we might be stifling our goals from reaching their fullest potential. 

The Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle.

This New Moon we can look to Capricorn’s Tarot counterpart The Devil, as a way to reflect on Self-Imposed or External Limitations & Boundaries we have around our goals, dreams and desires as we step into the New Year. The Devil can show us where we might be tempted to self-sabotage, blame ourselves for not succeeding and where we have internalized cultural or societal guilt around taking up space, and living fully & comfortably in our own skin. The best way to break free from the grip of Devil energy is to move through it. The chains are loose enough for us to make a decision, walk away, or stay. But often we don’t know how and the mental and physical bodies can be deeply entrenched and bound to whatever we are working to free ourselves from. These attachments can show up in the external oppressive systems, such as capitalism and the patriarchy that we all live within, the familiarity and comfortability of a certain pattern or behavior that has been ingrained over time, or beliefs that keep us bound to spiritual or religious institutions that no longer serve.

Capricorn rules the Joints & the Skeletal system, the very foundations of our body, so we can look to the eight’s of the Tarot, helping us to see the type of movement & fluidity that is necessary to break free from the Devils hold. Releasing restrictions and boundaries as we take steps towards building new ways of being for ourselves. If you work with Tarot, pull out the eights from your deck, place them face down and give them a shuffle, when you are ready draw a card with the intention of seeing which type of movement you can work with at this New Moon.

The 8 of Cups invites Spiritual and Emotional Movement, ritualizing the release of a certain spiritual practice, teacher, or belief that is ready to be evolved. A cleansing bath, a meditation to the soothing sound of the ocean, and rhythmic rocking are good places to start.

The 8 of Pentacles is Work that is necessary but not always fun. This is the movement and work that we Have to do, but not always the work we Want to do. It’s work that allows you to build diligently and steadily towards your goals. Movements that allow you to stay embodied during the work are key, break up your day with a walk, set aside time to play, spend time in nature.

The 8 of Wands is quick movement, inspired creativity that requires your immediate attention. Think trusting your gut instincts when it comes to setting goals and when you bump up against self-doubt, move like fire, hot, burning down and clearing the path forward. Jumping, shaking, breathwork and simple core exercise can drop you into this energy.

The 8 of Swords is the subtle art of working with your internal dialogue and choosing to step away from outdated protective mechanisms. Give yourself movement that allows for a new perspective to emerge. There isn’t just one way forward or back. Twist side to side, visit a new place, even within your own neighborhood (safely and socially distanced), have a conversation that is out of your comfort zone. Confront rigidity and restriction by stepping, literally forward, freeing yourself one step at a time.

Newness of any kind can bring discomfort, there can be a learning curb as we work towards what we want, and address the best ways of getting there. Newness can also bring liberation, and a sense of self pride when we do succeed in bringing about the changes we’ve worked so hard to create. May this new moon allow you to set your sights high and remember that you have the power to create strong and steady foundations for yourself.

With Love,

DAVIDIA🌙

Reflections on Temperance: Inspired by the Sagittarius New Moon.

We have arrived. The final days of 2020, the final New Moon, at the Precipice of the New Year. And what a Year it’s been. With it’s multitudes of grief, confrontations, upheavals and uprisings. What have you learned? About Yourself? About those closest to you? How does it feel to have gotten to this point in time? Are you frustrated, excited, scared, angry, joyful, relieved? The spectrum of your emotions as you reflect back on this year are all valid and very real. Take time to honor or ritualize the ending of this year in whatever ways you feel called, and in whatever ways allow you to give voice to your deepest experiences that this year has held for you.

New Moons can be a symbolic moment of tending to any new beginnings we would like to cultivate, but this last New Moon of the year is also a Solar Eclipse. Eclipses, by their nature reveal the hidden, the unseen. Before you can begin again what can you process from the wellspring of your unconscious? Where can you avoid a false start by taking your time. To really notice anything coming up for you right now that is asking for your attention. What core beliefs can you get a better grasp on? Are you feeling pulled toward the quieter nature of the moon? Couple this lunation with Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, the planet of Destiny & Karma, and you have the opportunity to gather information about things such as Spiritual Development, Resiliency, Balance and Alchemy.

Here’s bit of what came up for me while reflecting on Sagittarius and it’s Tarot Counterpart, Temperance (Key 14), and what nicely emphasizes some ways we can harness the energy of this Moon:

“Ultimately Sagittarius wants to expand. It wants the personal freedom and agency to uninhibited & unrestrained, explore the great mysteries of life. Divinity, Spirituality, Religion, Magic, Philosophy, Truth Seeking, these are some the domains of study and compilation for Sagittarius. Expansion that leads to greater wholeness and oneness with ourselves, the planet and beyond. It’s personal religion found through co-creation and alchemy with Spirit, Ancestors, Guides. When we can learn to temper our automatic, habitual impulses/nature and upgrade to new ways of being, thinking and believing we can honor and embody the full spectrum of this exuberant, resilient, and heart centered Sign.”

Modern Witch Tarot Deck By Lisa Sterle

Themes to explore and questions to ask Yourself:

• Rest and Recharge: Consciously choose (within the confines of your responsibilities and life requirements) to prioritize rest over the next 3 days.

• Protection Work: What boundaries/practices do you need to implement to protect your Time, Energy, Creativity, and Peace?

• Regeneration, Rebirth, Renewal

• What will Sustain You over the next few Weeks and Months?

• What sources do you draw energy and vitality from?

• Future Healing, Spiritual and Well-Being Goals.

• What parts of yourself are you reuniting with at this time?

• Outer information sources: Where do you get your Political, Educational, Spiritual/Religious Information from? How do these sources align or combat your inner truth?

• Habitual Patterns that You Consciously are aware of and wish to Evolve.
  

Seeing the Reality: An Exploration of Justice

“ —To love is to not lie”

What follows are reflections from this time last year about the Justice Archetype. Although our world is radically different in ways we could have never predicted, as I read the words the tone feels so applicable for where we are right now. Everyday we are confronted with the deep humanitarian and environmental injustices that are plaguing our country and the world. In Yoga, Tarot, Astro & Magic communities alike, we often hear the rhetoric “all we need is more love, more kindness, and to remember that we are “all one.” While this may be rooted in good intentions, it fails to address the systemic inequalities embedded within our society. Leading to Spiritual Bypassing and Gaslighting. Justice in the Major Arcana harkens a moment of Seeing, Embracing and Realizing that one way we can change, disrupt and rectify unfair and unjust circumstances is to acknowledge, whole heartedly the truth and reality. There is no room for false information, lack of critical thinking, or illusions about what our society is going through. And in a climate where false information is easier to come by than facts, it’s imperative we pull back the curtain in our own environments, ideologies, beliefs, teachers and spiritual practices. How are they useful, and how might they be harmful? Do they encourage mental well-being and prioritize communal safety? Honor sacred rage in the face of injustice? Justice corresponds to Libra, the sign of learning to relate to others by seeking harmonious, loving, balanced relations. This Libra Season, may we continue to embrace the harshest of truths and may we be activated and inspired to change the current landscape of our reality.

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. . . Contemplating this Archetype lately, I found myself circling back around to a nugget of wisdom I heard recently. “To Love is to Not Lie.”

These words struck a deep and resonant chord within me.

Darnell Moore, a Social Activist, was speaking on sitting in discomfort, and having conversations that can evoke feelings of darkness and uncomfortability. I find this to be particularly relevant to where we are right now. Our planet and its inhabitants are experiencing deep injustices and have been for a very very long time. So how do we find Justice? How do we Right the Wrongs? How do we tip the Scales? How do reconcile and create Balance? We must give space for our rage and anger. Our sadness and heartache. Give voice to our fears and pain. And remember our capacity to keep loving. To love one another is to not lie, to not turn away from injustices that others face, but instead we must see the Reality of things. We learn to hold space for the discomfort that this seeing brings up. We do this because we must see what is really happening in order to start to work towards something better. In order to cultivate a world that is more Just. This takes commitment and vigilance. Bearing witness and Seeing the world for what it is, is absolutely, only the first step in this process. I think that’s why Justice sits on their thrown with a sword. Because after seeing things sharply and clearly, we have to then use that information and take action. Taking action from an informed place gives us the ability to use love against the injustices we face. Not as a way to come together under false pretenses, but as a way to reconcile and heal, by embracing the Truth. 

May we continue to take action, to use our voices and bodies, and prayers, and money, and time and skills to fight Injustice. 

You can find the article/podcast episode with writer and activist Darnell Moore that inspired this musing here https://onbeing.org/programs/darnell-moore-self-reflection-and-social-evolution/


The Modern Witch Tarot by Lisa Sterle