New Moon Wisdom + Creative Ritual

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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?

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Creative Ritual

Expanding our container, our capacity to hold and to release, can physically and metaphorically be done  through the breath. New Moon in Cancer and Pushya nakshatra, is allowing us to align with our heart, work intentionally with the emotional body- our capacity to feel- while also giving us new opportunities to work with healthy boundaries. The open and close dynamic of boundary work (yes and no) is signified by our inhale and exhale. Below is a breath dance, designed to enliven and maximize your breath awareness and your container for sensing and feeling.

1. Breath Dance. Begin standing, lying down or sitting. Bring your awareness to your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Filling and letting go, opening and releasing, like waves moving in and out of the body. Track the movements and sensations in the body and let these guide you. The sensations will guide you into the physical body impulses, the messages of the body. As you continue to breathe and become more and more aware of the movements of the ribcase, let these movements exaggerate. These exaggerated movements are the making of your "breath dance".

Continue to move from and with the movements of the ribcase as you breath. Explore, expand and develop your breath dance for at least 10 minutes. Let it evolve and as it does, continue to self track, noticing the body parts most alive and awake as you explore your body part sensations present. As you bring your breath dance to a close, ask yourself these questions: I sense, I feel, I imagine.

2. Create an image of your heart and ribcase. What colors, textures, shapes and images arrive on the page as you draw your ribcase? I encourage you to get your hands involved in this process whether it be through painting directly with your hands, or smudging the craypas with your fingers. Let the hands be sensitized through the process. Get messy. Let the hands and fingers fully engage in this image. (Working with clay may be an alternate medium to work with). Title your image. Take at least 15 minutes for this.

3. Harvesting. When your image is complete, use it to harvest with further inquiry by asking it these questions:

Ask your image if it has anything it would like to share with you: If your image could speak, what would it say?

I am
I want
I need

What am I opening to? What am I closing to?

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I am on a mission to help sensitive souls connect with their inner truth and inner wisdom. To connect with purpose and dharma. We need you now more than ever!

Every week I offer two *free* dharma coaching sessions to action takers who are ready for deep life change. Is this you?!

Send me a message to see if I have any openings: swatijrjyotish@gmail.com