The July new Moon awakens nourishment, wisdom and support from the guru as Moon transits Cancer and Pushya nakshatra at the time of the New Moon. At 03:46 am on July 23rd, Sun, Moon and Mars collide in Brihaspati's domain, inviting in support from the sacred.

Moon in its own sign of Cancer, softens the heart and increases a sense of emotional body balance. Spiritual awareness will help increase new understanding and deeper compassion. Sudden emotional shifts are likely and sensitivity is high. Protect yourself and find ways to land within consciously. The coming cycle brings a powerful heart opening process that requires some storms to clear and open the channels. Find the balance between release and healing. What needs to be let go of in order to create space for the new?

Brihaspati's nakshatra, Pushya, is a a constellation ruled by the structure and constriction of Saturn, and yet Brihaspati is the personification of Jupiter and his expansive, spiritual nature. When the energy of Saturn and Jupiter align, ultimate integration is awakened. Seek integration and alignment between your polarities in the coming cycle.

The interesting thing about this nakshatra is its seemingly contradictory rulers. Brihaspati is the deity who governs this lunar constellation. Essentially he is the personification of Jupiter, the expansive, nourishing, wisdom giver. However, the planetary ruler of Pushya is Saturn, the contractive, slow, grief inducing planet. As the nourishing star, this nakshatra reminds us of the importance of balance. Both expansion and contraction are vital for any real balance to be experienced. Cancer is the sign Pushya resides in, which is the seat of our emotional body and heart, and the home to our inhale and exhale as well as trust in life. Pushya reminds us that the ultimate nourishing breath of life comes with both openings and closings. Healthy boundaries that include yes and no, being a part of this process.

As the nourishing star, this nakshatra supports nourishment that comes with balance- honoring the open and close of life and death, inhale and exhale, joy and pain. Integrating our polarities, both shadow and light, are essential in order for maximum nourishment from life. 

Nourishment comes with balance and healthy boundaries. Inner and outer needs must be integrated and harmonized. Where do you need more balance with inner and outer? Use your heart to calibrate your needs and choices. Keep landing back in your heart wisdom, your emotional body, and listen carefully. There is depth and awakening available to those who listen to the wisdom of heart and breath in this waxing cycle.

Balance, breath and heart wisdom, opens and closes in the coming weeks. Though Pushya is the nourishing star, a provider of support, wisdom and holding, it often arrives after some release and letting go; just as the exhale allows the inhale. Take time for landing in your heart and breath in the coming cycle and use your breath to arrive in the now. Open the heart and release the pain. What are you opening to? What are you closing to?

July Transits

Venus continues to transit its own sign, Taurus, until July 26th. Some harmony with nourishment, abundance and manifesting earthly desires gets supported. With Saturn's direct gaze on Venus, integration and alignment between opposing forces- structure and flow- is awakened. Seek the middle way, the path of least harm and force. Find your inner fluidity.

Mercury moves through Cancer until July 20th. The mind and emotions stay in a fierce dance this month, forcing you to clearly identify stories vs. feelings. Can you separate the two? As Mercury shifts to Ashlesha nakshatra on July 11th, extracting the poisonous nature of the mind will be important. Identify, release, transform negative thought patterns, choices and behaviors. Are you addicted to the poisonous, toxicity of the mind? What are you ready to heal and let go of?

Mars moves out of Gemini and into its debilitation sign, Cancer, on July 11th. This transit does not support action and will require conscious effort in order to achieve results. Debilitated Mars invites you to turn inward, pause, and attend to your inner landscape- especially the emotional body. Don't push or force outcomes. Attend to frustrations, anger and resentment consciously. What is the deeper need showing up? Where are you feeling malnourished, unsupported and under-acknowledged? Attend to the core wounds, rather than lashing out at others. Nourishment begins within.

Sun moves to Cancer on July 16th at 04:30 am Mountain Time, joining Mars and Mercury here. Outside of the gaze from the other planets, the Sun settles into this nourishing sign, promoting heart-opening expressions, compassion and kindness. Transiting with debilitated Mars can increase these tendencies- if the wisdom of these fiery planets is encouraged in this way. The heart will be heated, awakened and provoked through the last half of July and into August. Let this heat burn away the excess and use it to transform pain, hurt and trauma into light, life and love. Start with self compassion and loving kindness, then let it be contagious and share freely. Deepen your inner nourishment in the weeks and month ahead. Attend to your inner waters with passion, purpose and creativity! Love and be loved.

The July full Moon on Saturday the 8th coincides with Guru Purnima, the celebrated honoring of our teachers, guides, masters and the wisdom that they offer us in our lives. It is a highly auspicious day and one that is considered to be the "fullest full Moon" of the year in the Vedic tradition. Spend the day aligning with gratitude and thankfulness for the gifts that you have received from your biggest teachers. Meditate, create, spend time in nature and give thanks!

On the 8th, at 22:06 Mountain time, the Moon is the ripest, transiting Sagittarius and Purvashada nakshatra. This is the domain of water goddess Apas, who brings transformational abundance through her watery wisdom. Apas comes from fire (tejas). When fire heats water, it transforms it and allows it to take new form. Much like perspiration and tears bring physical release, the rain releases accumulated moisture from the clouds. Apas can bring gentle waters or harsh and severe flooding. This is an Ugra or fierce and severe constellation. It can bring aggression, war and destruction. It can break us open, cleanse, rejuvenate and heal. Water always wins.

The emotional body is your inner expression of the Divine Feminine, the wisdom of water. Purvashada nakshatra is ruled by the planet Venus and therefor expresses the qualities of life force energy and love, harmony and creative power. Your inner waters are responsible for feeling nourished and abundant in life. What is your relationship with your water wisdom? Are you allowing love, creativity and life force to flow through you? Where are you stuck, resistant, avoiding or distorting your life force energy?

This cycle can support love, harmony and relationships. Open your heart and align with Bhakti, devotion. Love is the ultimate Dharmic path. Devote yourself to self love, loving-kindness, compassion and ahimsa, non harming. Notice where you are in battle with yourself. Track your mental body stories and emotional body waves closely. Do you lean closer or resist your feelings? What are the underlying needs that you may be missing through avoiding your emotional body wisdom?

Seek the path of least resistance. Seek alignment with all your parts and pieces. Seek love and devotion to your entirety- shadow and light. Seek the integration of polarities. Find the still point within.

This Embodiment + Creativity Self Care resource is a simple one, yet often overlooked and tossed aside. We often neglect gratitude when we are stressed, overwhelmed or stuck in a cycle of chaos. Gratitude can be a powerful antidote, however, to changing our feelings of loss and lack, into hope and nourishment.

Interestingly, the same part of the brain that produces fear also produces gratitude. Using gratitude for creating a small shift in focus, or a re-direct in therapeutic terms, can bring a sinking ship back to the surface.

In terms of attracting what we want into our lives, we have to be in touch with the feeling level that we want more of.

Despite how most people use the of Law of Attraction, it's not your thoughts that will get you the new car, the happy marriage or the big paycheck. However, if you continue to focus on the feeling of nourishment you get within your relationships, or the feeling of joy and ease that comes with more money, you can start to create more of that feeling in your life. Like attracts like.

We all want more of the good stuff in our lives don't we?

Using gratitude as a means of expanding the heart and feeling more joy is a very simple way to help us create a life that feels more nourishing, to help us thrive and expand our hearts.


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Create A Life of Thriving With These Five Steps:

Step #1

Write a list of all the things you are grateful for. List the people, experiences and parts of your life that truly make you feel glad to be alive. Are you grateful for your health? Your children? Your garden? Your amazing clients? Put it on the list!

Step #2

As you look at your gratitude list, pause and be still. Where do you feel the sensation of gratitude in your body? Can you feel it rising up from your belly or spreading across your chest? Try to locate the sensation and clearly identify it.

Use this physical body feeling as a tuning fork. Keep coming back to this sensation as a way to touch in with the feeling of thriving and nourishment. More of that please! This is what you want to create more of in your life!

Step #3

Create an image of this feeling of gratitude and the sensation of nourishment it brings into your body. Use craypas, paints, collage, pen and ink or any other medium that inspires you.  Use colors, textures and shapes to create your image. Take 20+ minutes to create your image then give it a title.

Step #4

Move your image. Use your image to inspire a movement exploration. Let your body move in response to your nourishment image with an intention of "moving with your feelings of nourishment".  What sensations emerge for you during your dance? What awareness? Allow 5 to 10 minutes for this movement exploration.

Step #5

Harvest in your journal some of your key findings from this process. Answer these statements:

I sense___
I feel____
I imagine____

Bonus Step:

Pick a few people to share your gratitude with. The best way to amplify this feeling is to share it with others! Use post it notes for a quick thank you or get more elaborate and write out a love note to someone special. Write a sweet message of gratitude to your child or give your neighbor a friendly mailbox surprise.