As per this week's horoscopes:
This two week period between eclipses is a good time to "clean things up" internally and externally and will culminate on Diwali, the Vedic celebration of light where we honor goddess Maha Lakshmi. Think of the next few weeks as creating space for more light to enter, more wealth to flow, more creative abundance to course through you. Clear, clean, purge, and cut out all that is not working in your favor. This will be happening for you on a conscious and unconscious level as well as on multiple levels of existence. Surrender to the uprooting process. We have been creating masks over the last few weeks. First we created a warrior mask, then we "unmasked" this warrior. This week, we will create a dialogue between the two. Start with body movement- the pelvis is our body part focus right now (four planets transiting Libra which correlates to the 7th house, the house of pelvis). This is a place of creative potential, and also a very vulnerable part of the body. Vulnerabilities are invitations for strength and awareness to be realized. Start in a standing position and bring awareness to your alignment. Then begin to rock the pelvis back and forth, then side to side. Finally, make circles both to the left and to the right. Pause. Has there been any shift for you? Continue your spinal/pelvis exploration through standing poses, seated poses and by lying on your back. When you are ready, come to your drawing pad and place both of your masks in front of you. Begin with your warrior mask and ask it these questions: What do you need? What do you want? What is your purpose for me? What do you have to tell your unmasked self? Ask your "unmasked" warrior to respond: What do you need? What do you want? What is your purpose for me? What do you have to tell your masked self? Pause and breath. Wait for the emergent ["the third"] to arise. What conclusions can you draw from these two parts of your self? Are they each necessary? Why or why not? Do both have value and purpose for you? How can these two parts of your Self offer insights and awareness to your life process? If you would like to share your masks, please send them to me at swatijrjyotish@gmail.com
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The last few week's we've been working with our inner warrior. During the Navaratri festivities, the epic battle of goddess Durga fighting and overcoming the rakshasa (demon) Mahishasura, has been enlivened within us and around us. The planets continue to cultivate this theme for us, refining our inner work and calling us into action. This is a time of deep inner work and it requires us to be courageous about it.
As per this week's horoscopes: Full Moon is on 10.18 at exactly 18:37 CDT as Moon enters Aries. It joins Ketu there and will receive drishti from four planets: Rahu, Saturn, Sun and Mercury. Moon will be transiting Ashwini Nakshatra at the time of the full Moon. Healing comes to the forefront for each of us. Health and rejuvenation of mind, body, soul and pysche are themes for the new waning Moon cycle and will effect our choices and actions in the coming weeks. The creative arts can also be used as healing tools and are enlivened with Ashwini Nakshatra. You will need the mask that you created last week for this activity. Need the details? Find them here. This week is about "unmasking". Beginning with gentle movements that awaken somatic awareness, lie on your back and gently lift the chest with an inhale, relax on the exhale. Repeat several times until you feel the chest opening and the shoulder blades responding. Next rock the pelvis with gentle tilts coordinating your movements with inhales and exhales. Find a gentle spinal twist and then move into any series of poses that bring more awareness to breath, spine, and grounding. Take a 5-10 min sivasana to close. When your body excavation is complete. Come to your drawing pad. With your warrior mask in mind (or nearby), complete a drawing of what is behind the mask- or the unmasking of your warrior. Who is behind the mask? What is there? What messages does it have for you? If your unmasking could speak, what would it say? Keep your work. We will build on this again next week. Last week we worked with our animal bodies, this week we will work with the "winds of Vayu and spreading our wings" as our theme. As per this week's horoscopes:
"This is a time of storm energy, 'cleaning house' so to speak, forced change- for better or worse. Spread your wings and surrender to the winds." See my article on Rahu and Saturn in Libra for further details. We will use the arms and hands as our entry point and awareness builder. "Enter your body through your hand" as I've heard Anna Halprin say. Body part associations include: holding/letting go, build/destroy, give/take, push/pull. We feel with the sensitivity of hands and touch, we feed ourselves, create with them etc. The arms are an extension of the heart and lung area; they help us reach, embrace, resist etc. With arms as your metaphoric wings, begin slowly to lengthen and extend them, reaching all the way out through the fingertips. Create a wing dance, linking breaths with arm movements. Be sure to include the full range of movement here- from fingertips and hands, into elbows and shoulders. Notice the connection to the expansion and collapse of the heart region as you flap. Come to your drawing pad and draw an image of one of your bird feathers. Then finish these statements: I am the type of bird that: When I fly, I feel: Without my wings I can't: I imagine my bird: My bird wants: Last week we worked with the rib case, opening and closing, letting go and letting in. We created mandalas for each of the bodies: Emotional, Mental, Physical, Spiritual.
This week, Moon is full, Saturn, Rahu and Venus are creating storm energy and debilitated Mars is still bringing emotional upheavals and imbalanced action. Water is a strong element right now. As per this week's horoscopes, the key words for the Full Moon and waning cycle ahead: tapas, purification, Shiva, creative movement, changes and shifts, balancing act, endings, renewal. This week we'll work with our animal bodies. Animals can teach us so much about being simple and can teach us powerful lessons about self, co-existence and Natural Law. Create a 30 minute movement dance where all possibilities and options exist. Shapeshift into the animal that softly emerges within. Sound your animal and let it interact with others of similar or different species. How does it respond? How do others respond to you? Come to your drawing pad. Draw an image of your animal. Is this animal part of your totem? Why or why not? What message does this animal have for you? What can it teach you about your self and your relationships? Give your animal a name. "...through the Creative Engagements I'm able to embody and consciously embrace the information my feeble brain can't always absorb. WHAT A GIFT!!!...these weekly offerings are filling a void i feared would only get deeper, more vast. thank you for helping me fill my coffers with love, insight, art and my own, authentic medicine." ~ S.R.
Creative Engagement Activity for the week of 9.9 ::: Last week we used the pelvis as an entry point into our creative potential. With the intention of creating for our New Moon cycle, we developed a mandala and wrote "I am creating" statements that came from our dance and mandala experience. This week, continuing the mandala theme, and in honor of "removing obstacles" because of Ganesha Chaturthi, we will build on our previous work. With "the act of creating something new for our lives" in mind, we will work with the ribcase. The ribcage/ribcase houses and protects our heart and lungs, two of our most vital organs, and it also protects our main life-support systems. Here we can feel the rhythm of our breath, the pulse of the heart beat, a letting in and a letting out. Lie on your back, prop your self up comfortably in a seated position. Place left hand on heart, right hand on belly. Take at least ten minutes here feeling the breath, noticing the movement of chest with every rise and fall. Come to your drawing pad and create three mandalas- one for the mental, emotional and physical levels (extra credit for a spiritual level). Finish these statements: What am I opening to? Closing to? What am I releasing? Inviting in? |
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