Spirit of the Child New Moon cycle
Rebirthing from our Roots- Miracles of life.
This New Moon will have us journeying with our Inner Child. The innocence of the unborn child, still nestled in the Womb, it is during this Moon cycle that we journey from the Underworld of Winter and we emerge from the ashes of last years lessons. Awakening from our slumber to the Newness that is Spring.
This is a huge task, to make our way back up to the surface again. By the end of this moon cycle we will find ourselves popping out at Ostara - The Spring Equinox, and we will feel the sunshine on our face, and jump for joy like the March hare.
Now as this new cycle begins we dwell here still in the dark of the Moon, our safe cave of the Mother about to birth us from our contentment and into a new world.
Let us reflect first on the journey so far since the Descending moon as we gaze lovingly at the fire left here by Bridget at Imbolc.
The Descending Moon of the Longest shadows had us journey down through the soil last November, through the dark layers of ourselves we willingly pushed ourselves down down down. I receive an image of the Sacred Apple of Fertility- fallen from the tree, breaking down and merging with the earth (the masculine seed of the apple merges with the fertile soil of the Goddess)
Inside the apple we find five golden seeds of life, symbolising the five inner moons required before the new life of Spring will come. The five pointed star earthed in the soil. Activates the journey within.
On our descent we took off layers of ourselves, until we arrived at the Womb cave naked and raw from our journey down to the inner realms.
We arrived Home just in time for Christmas day where the seed (masculine) reunites with the Womb Mother within. The returning of the light, after his descent to the loving embrace of the Mother. I am seeing the symbol of the Vesica Pisces here, when the two unite in love the trinity is formed, the three within the five.
The second moon has us journeying with our inner masculine. The Winter Solstice has us celebrating the return of the light (within) The theme of this moon is about our inner King, his shadows and his light, this moon is connected to the left side of the brain, the constellation of Orion the Hunter and the Dog Star Sirius.
Connecting to our higher consciousness, our Soul essence.
I find it very interesting that the Egyptian Pyramids are aligned to -on one side Sirius and Orion the Hunter and on the other side Ursa the She bear and Draco. When I drew a Vesica Pisces symbol over the pyramid and star alignment I remembered the purpose. Perhaps one side represents the masculine aspects and the other the feminine. -Just some of my musings haha.
The next moon cycle has us journeying with our inner feminine aspect. The King now fully established he rests inside the womb, the feminine is now working, for She tends to and nourishes the seed within. She does this by exploring her creativity, drawing, dancing, playing, writing, getting into her body, her sensuality- this is what feeds the Shakti feminine life force, we are in our creative right side of the brain. Her dance has set the creative waters of the oceanic Womb on fire, and ANYTHING is possible. Her rivers begin gushing within, growing the life with her ecstatic love and passion. We may of also met with our animal for the year whilst journeying here, an allie who wishes to merge with us for this year- their medicine aligned with our soul's evolution.
I would love to hear of any animals who have joined your paths the last moon cycle!
And that brings us to where we are now.
Our masculine and feminine being in balance and harmony just in perfect timing for the Spring Equinox which comes at the end of this cycle (19th March). There are two Equinoxes each year, marking the dates on which the Spring and Autumn seasons begin and the sun crosses the celestial equator. The term Equinox derives from Latin meaning "equal nights" This is a time when Night (feminine) and Day (masculine) are in balance. In the Northern hemisphere we are coming into Spring, and the Southern Hemisphere into Autumn. So we currently have balance (the vesica pisces) and the alignment required to birth new life.
My invitation for this cycle is to invoke our inner fool, the fool card pops up from the Tarot cards. The fool lives in a world where everything is possible. This energy reminds us to be awake and open to possibilities at each moment.
It is truly a joy to witness my seven month old boy discovering the world for the first time. He will try anything and everything, first foods, first time seeing the sea, the rain, the sunshine. He is so enthralled by the magnificence that is BEING here on earth. The excitement to be in a body, and play all day, discovering new textures, techniques and flavours.
As we grow older we can lose some of this innocence and play from our lives, we are often so busy in our Yang world of success and achievements we so often forget to notice the miracles all around and the gifts that are being shown to us every second. Today Arthur (my son) and I spent a long time watching a group of ravens flying over our head, he was fascinated by them so we stopped and watched. I noticed they were all flying in pairs through the sky circling around and around. Raven's mate for life, and I had this warm feeling in my belly thinking about my relationship with my partner. A deep sense of gratitude buzzing within me. Then we saw the miracle of the fresh dandelions that had burst through concrete and stopped to say 'well done' to them for such a valiant ascent.
And on the subject of pushing through concrete we move onto the next theme of this cycle.
Force. Drive. Power.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is associated with the element of Wood. The masculine Springs back into action (great pun!) The force required to push through concrete or at least find ways through it requires a lot of force. The child in the Womb goes from being totally at one with the Mother, no separation at all, swimming in the oceans of the Womb, infinite, weightless, fed, and cosy to then being catapulted into the most powerful, challenging and testing experiences of his life- his birth. Mother and child work together, and both are tested to their limits, nothing will be the same once they separate, all will be transformed. The seedlings have this same journey to make before they reach the light of day. One thing we definitely need this moon is courage. Courage to break free. Courage to start anew. Courage to be seen. It's a huge shift.
It is no wonder many of us feel a strong urge to clean in Spring. Spring cleaning our bodies with health practices and cleanses, clearing out old drawers and papers, decluttering our homes, clearing space for the new and bringing in some fresh air after the Winter inside. This process is incredibly healing and therapeutic.
The meridian pair connected to this time the Liver and Gall Bladder, hence why the cleansing element comes up! The liver is the primary chemical factory. Any substance that cannot be broken down and used for energy ends up in the liver for detoxification. So is it any wonder that the miraculous plants bursting through the concrete at this time are the courageous Dandelions? The dandelion being the perfect tonic for balancing the liver. The emotional quality connected to the liver is anger.
Anger is greatly misunderstood and shamed in society generally but I like to believe that it is this energy of anger that gives us the power to charge through obstacles and roar like the dandelions, enabling change to begin. The strength to say no when our boundaries are crossed. The power to speak up for justice when it is needed.
I was deeply roaring during the birth of my son.
Rage can be a sacred charge, an unstoppable lion - and powerful force breaking through the surface.
This is the theory anyway, but as always with life there are challenges and obstacles.
This is a great time to plant seeds this new moon. As the seedlings burst through the soil, envision a part of yourself emerging into the sun. I have been growing some seedlings on my window ledge and have been realising how miraculous and also brutal life can be.
Not all of the seedlings I planted made it.
And such it is in life. This practice of witnessing life live and die is incredibly awakening. Learning that not all seeds/ideas/creations will flourish. And to cherish the ones that do with all our hearts. They made it through the ring of fire. Through the birth canal into the light of day, and that is the miracle of all miracles.
We don't officially begin our ascent until after the Spring Equinox, and as with all births, some come a little early, some a little later. Some of us may be coming up and out already, whilst others are just stirring in our nests, wherever you are in the journey spend some time this moon cycle connecting to your baby in the womb, perhaps doing some art and drawing a picture of yourself in the womb. Reflecting upon your own birth, writing down as much information as you know. What time were you born, what was the season, weather like? How many weeks were you born at? Were there any complications? How long was your Mother birthing for?
All this information can be really insightful to reflect upon how these things impact our lives now. For example babies who are premature often live their lives arriving early for things, (like me).
Once the baby image is complete, place the drawing on an altar or special place that you will see every day and ask your inner child what he/she needs today. Bringing awareness to the needs of our inner child and honouring those needs can be life changing. I know I'm going to be doing that this moon cycle.
In the stars this new moon we see another story unfolding, as the live time sky shows the New Moon in the constellation of Aquarius- the water bearer. This water pouring down from the heavens will bring some much needed celestial nourishment to our young seeds. The Aquarian moon bringing opportunities for community collaborations and humanitarian projects.
Let's weave a new song into creation this New Moon, a song that sings from the heart of the inner child. So love and innocence lead the way in our new world and we will once more find ourselves playing in the Garden of Eden, munching on Golden Apples of Immortality.
' When we still ourselves, we begin to hear the child feminine whispering from the roots. She is naturally wild. She cries when she is sad, rages when she is angry and seeks comfort when she is scared. When she is happy she is the very personification of joy and loves with a fiery passion. All she desires is to love and be loved and to be allowed to be. But family and society often persuade us to keep our feelings to ourselves and by the time we are adults we may have replaced her with a stiff upper lip, a tied tongue and a well defended heart. But that is not her nature. Her nature is to run like wolf, roar like lion. Or just to be, like the lilies in the field.' - Ian Siddons Heginworth.