My Moon, My Soul

MY MOON, MY SOUL

How do you illuminate things in the dark? How do you connect with your psyche, the soul, and root of what matters to you? How do you adapt to the ebbs and flows of mood washing in and out in a continuous cycle—never in stasis, never exactly the same?

She speaks through the unseen depths of me:

Aries Moon

I feed a passionate imagination, with a quick reaction to anything that touches my bold emotional boundaries. I know what I want and when I want it. I bring security to life through a deep trust in Self, nurturing my independence.

Taurus Moon

I feed a sensual imagination, with an animalistic reaction to anything felt by my embodied emotional boundaries. I know what pleasure feels like and when I need comfort. I bring security to life through deep values, nurturing my voice.  

Gemini Moon

I feed a witty imagination, with threaded reactions to anything felt by my flirtatious emotional boundaries. I know what duality feels like and when I need variety. I bring security to life through deep connections, nurturing my belonging. 

Cancer Moon

I feed a rich imagination, with soulful reactions to anything felt by my protective emotional boundaries. I know what vulnerability feels like and when I need protection. I bring security to life through deep roots, nurturing my intuition.

Leo Moon

I feed a playful imagination, with dramatic reactions to anything felt by my hot emotional boundaries. I know what the spotlight feels like and when I can hold it. I bring creativity to life through a deep presence, nurturing my command.

Virgo Moon

I feed a rhythmic imagination, with analytical reactions to anything felt by my holistic emotional boundaries. I know what processing feels like and when I need to digest things. I bring skill to life through deep systems, nurturing my purpose.  

Libra Moon

I feed an elegant imagination, with harmonizing reactions to anything felt by my fair emotional boundaries. I know what a relationship feels like and when I need a dynamic exchange. I bring gracefulness to life through a deep balance, nurturing my charm.

Scorpio Moon

I feed an intimate imagination, with intense reactions to anything felt by my magnetic emotional boundaries. I know what power feels like and when I need to merge. I bring resources to life through deep investigations, nurturing my hidden resources.

Sagittarius Moon

I feed a visionary imagination, with optimistic reactions to anything felt by my expansive emotional boundaries. I know what the high road feels like and when I need belief. I bring adventure to life through deep truth-seeking, nurturing of my wisdom.

Capricorn Moon

I feed an aspirational imagination, with careful reactions to anything felt by my strict emotional boundaries. I know what responsibility feels like and when I need to focus. I bring achievement to life through a deep alignment, nurturing my authority.

Aquarius Moon

I feed a progressive imagination, with irreverent reactions to anything felt by my questioning boundaries. I know what rebelliousness feels like and when I need detachment. I bring groups to life with deep contributions, nurturing my humanity.

Pisces Moon

I feed a dreamy imagination, with compassionate reactions to anything felt by my sensitive emotional boundaries. I know what surrendering feels like and when I need to escape. I bring inspiration to life with deep fluidity, nurturing my magic.

In service of your development, through the phase she’s in:

New Moon (0-44 degrees past natal sun)

I am a symbol that your soul has grown through exposed mountainous elements over many lifetimes. Burrowing into rocky soils and harsh conditions, you’ve anchored roots atop a steep, visible peak, granting you a depth of influence in this life. Wear emotional wounds and weariness with honor and allow yourself a degree of detachment. I am teaching you to be an emotional rock through a gravity that needs you to deepen supportive roots on the edge of a cliff. I bring you lessons about holding pressure and foresight in this lifetime. My ebbs and flows are reflecting a need to SLOWLY build your authority, to accept vulnerability as you reach for responsibility, and deepen into integrity. You hold a mysterious depth that gives a tough love nurturing around past, present, and future sight. You will simultaneously feel compelled to dream of a new lifetime, in which you are free to break from emotional walls needed in this life’s call for focus.

RELAX into a ‘slow and steady wins the race’ growth pattern, align with pressures that are not too great or too little. Repeat.

Waxing Crescent Moon (45-89 degrees past natal sun)

I am a symbol that you are detaching from a cycle of life that’s spanned many lifetimes in preparation for a new many-life cycle to come. Breaking out of old walls and emotional programming in this life, allow yourself more space, compassion, and detachment in order to experiment and surrender into things less seen—in order to return to chaos where all must return before metamorphosis can take place. You are likely dealing with more baggage and complexity than most, but I give you a softer gravity in order to grow cosmic roots to mystically hold it all. My ebbs and flows are teaching you to ask for help from things bigger than you. I am teaching you to trust in a non-linear cosmic growth pattern.

Release emotional programming and find inspiration. Repeat.  

First Quarter Moon (90-134 degrees past natal sun)

I am a symbol that you are in a new dawn of a many-lifetime cycle. Alive with passion and impulse, claim your direction in this lifetime. You may be a beginner in many ways, likely born into a circumstance that’s pushed you to be your own support. But often it’s the beginner’s soul that’s got the brightest insights. Don’t let naivety hold you back in trusting your near psychic instincts and fighting spirit. My ebbs and flows are teaching you to be bold. I am teaching you to connect to emotional self-trust and a certain reliance on Self. I instill in you a gravity that requires you to grow new and independent roots systems, bringing lessons about clear and strong emotional boundaries.

Nurture self, grow self-trust. Repeat.  

Waxing Gibbous Moon (135-179 degrees past natal sun)

I am a symbol that you are in a phase of learning new things about who you are, how to use your voice, connect to body, and develop curiosity and roots of connection in this lifetime. You may feel a degree of anxiety, craving greater security and grounding that’s hard for you to grasp. But you have an attractiveness in your emotional openness that makes you appealing and interesting to others. My ebbs and flows are teaching you lessons about simplicity and values in life. I bring you a gravity that’s light, allowing your roots to move and explore themselves in the world.

Nurture lightness, grow security through the breadth of connection over singular depth. Repeat. 

Full Moon (180-224 degree past natal sun)

I am a symbol that you are in a phase of finding greater depth and soulfulness in this lifetime. Although you are in a fertile place, rich with imagination (like the roots of a tree in summer), you are growing and finding great feeding underground where intuition has to be relied on over clear reason. My ebbs and flows are teaching you about deepening in order to find the security that you need to feel adult. You are craving to show the world your ability to grow life and fruitfulness. I am teaching you lessons about grounding and stabilizing through your unseen depths and through the kind of strengthening you are required to find when you are relied on to support others as well. I infuse you with a gravity that is filled with intuition and empathy—a gravity that allows you to deepen into nutritious soils that all other moon phases crave—making you popular.

Nurture Self, use the strength gained to support others. Repeat.

Waning Gibbous Moon (225-269 degrees past natal sun)

I am a symbol that you are in a phase of cultivating greater maturity in this lifetime. You are getting the hang of creative ability and skill, which brings with it a lot of ripe harvests in your life. With an ability to produce also comes a demand for hard work and a need to feel whole and useful. My ebbs and flows are teaching you lessons about refinement and daily rhythms. I infuse you with a gravity that is both playful and useful, where your roots can mature and strengthen in order to hold fully ripened fruit. Just because you will always be able to produce in your life, and you crave feeling useful, doesn’t mean you should always give your fruits away. Find discernment in your helpfulness, but know that you have a lot to offer in service of your fellow man.

Nurture your maturity and deepen your usefulness. Repeat.

Last Quarter Moon (270-314 degrees past natal sun)  

I am a symbol that you are in a phase of vulnerably pushing aspects of your wholeness into the outer world where greater exchange requires greater cooperation and compromise. You have reached a halfway mark in the current many-life cycle that you are in. This is a turning point where self-development is matured and now partnering in the world is both triggering and beautifying for your soul’s medicine. I am teaching you lessons about nurturing relationships and fairness in this lifetime—about trusting the depth of another. With conflict comes the ability to learn skills in harmonizing and diplomacy. As you get better at intuiting fair exchanges in your emotional life, you will ease up with simpler elegance and an easier ability to loosen attachment to self-securing—something you have more than enough of. I offer you a gravity that is charming in order to attract more relationships, thus more practice in developing trust outside of Self.

Nurture trust in ‘other’, see if your souls can dance with trust. Repeat.

Waning Gibbous Moon (315-359 degrees past sun)

I am a symbol that you are in a phase of learning what it means to share your depths. Having reached a very potent point in a many lifetime cycles, you’ve developed emotional resources that need to be uprooted and merged with the resources of others for greater nurturing of magnetism. My ebbs and flows are teaching you about empowerment and precision. Deepen your wisdom through adventure and seeking that can help broaden your intuitive perspective of the world. You may gain emotional wounds, or sense some from other lifetimes in this cycle, that you need to witness—that are blocking how you merge your depths for deeply supportive expansion. A challenging phase, but one where I am teaching you very important lessons around holding a powerful psyche in the world. I give you a valuable gravity that seduces others to share their resources in order to access your mysterious insights.

Nurture your resourceful depths, share-based on intuition to attract potential expansion. Repeat.

Through the houses, she focuses your gifts of nurturance:

(this will be felt as going through cycles of impulse, to vulnerability, to stability throughout different times of the year, and more broadly, ages, in your lifetime)

1st House

I ask you to be vulnerable in personal passion, bringing up insecurity around impulse, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize Self-trust.

2nd House

I ask you to be vulnerable in value, bringing up insecurity around self-worth, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize strength of voice.

3rd House

I ask you to be vulnerable in communication, bringing up insecurity around connection, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize belonging.

4th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in nurturing, bringing up insecurity around intuition, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize a sense of protection.

5th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in creativity, bringing up insecurity around presence, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize command.

6th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in productivity, bringing up insecurity around refinement, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize skill.

7th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in relationships, bringing up insecurity around trust, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize peace.

8th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in intimacy, bringing up insecurity around inner resources, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize power.

9th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in vision, bringing up insecurity around faith, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize wisdom.

10th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in authority, bringing up insecurity around integrity, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize position.

11th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in co-creation, bringing up insecurity around uniqueness, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize contribution.

12th House

I ask you to be vulnerable in surrender, bringing up insecurity around chaos, which leads to deepening and nurturing roots that stabilize inspiration.

Breathwork for Cancer’s Eclipse Season

BREATHWORK FOR CHANGING ROOTS

Welcome to a Cancer Season filled with uncertainty, endings and beginnings, but also one that holds much possibility in the changing spaces.

I’ve designed an audio breathwork to help absorb this season into your life and body—to help us all tap into the natural progressions and energies that are wanting to be worked with and through.

I’ve spent the past couple of years slowly going through trainings in LA to certify in this healing practice, as taught by David Elliott.

This month I’m giving this a a free offer so you can try it out. In the following seasonal breathworks, this will be a paid offer.

Link HERE to start breathing!

Xo, Allie Kesler

The Way We Dance with Others

How South Nodes & Planets in Capricorn are Reshaping the World

By Allie Kesler

Photograph | Robert Collins

We’re in a moment that is profound in the stars. We’re in a moment where some big parts of us, some foundational and underlying strengths, are coming into their own. There are deep aspects within each of us, and aspects of greater outside constructs, that are ready to stake their place in the world, more seen, thus more open to all that comes with being seen.

Imagine learning to dance (or enter your own passion __________). You decide to do this because a new pulse enters your core and you need to move with it. Over time you discover how to use your body and understand your personal pulse in relation to the beat of music (or the world). You then mature with rhythmed practice, finding strength, flair, and technique.

At this point, mastering individual command of your dance, it’s like being filled with an in breath, full and ready to claim your reputation in the world as someone that can exchange on their dance. This may surface as asking someone to dance with you in a partnering way. It may be to offer your skills in teaching or in a business that interfaces with others. It’s at this point that you can relax into a knowing of your skill, in your core, and the exhale can begin which feels like relief. But, enter the world and we find that our mastery now needs to bend, letting go of personal purpose for something more elegant.

 

This is a big moment, testing in whether we can allow our personal mastery to respond to requests with a cooperative attitude. To notice that the way we use our mastery could be tweaked to be more encompassing of the way others master things, better able to help them on their path, or to be utilized effectively in the world. It’s the moment we either harmonize, developing elegance through our ability to move with others—OR—find conflict in an inability to either find cooperative others, face others who ask us to compromise in uncomfortable ways, or contend with an inability to imagine the benefit of all by compromising in positive ways. The dance broadens. The world via relationship challenges you to find your correct give and take. But output is a must no matter your ability to move with Other.

This initial moment of exhale, or recognizing our mastery, of newly needing to find our rhythm in relation to Other, is upon us in multiple layers right now. The concept of self-mastery built upon a new vibration that triggers us to initiate something can be as short as a breath, a day, a year, or a longer pattern such as something that’s taken ten or twenty years. But, what we’re talking about right now also holds very long patterns. On one level, there are things coming to this point that have taken around nine years, some that have taken fifteen years, on another level there are things that we began in a previous lifetime or that we inherited through great grandparents. But also, on a whole other level, potentially things we started hundreds of lifetimes ago.

The South Node of a few planets/cosmic bodies is what’s being triggered right now. These points show where a planet’s orbit begins to descend below the ecliptic, holding the energy of an exhale, like autumn, pushing from self-development into offering your wholeness into the world.

It’s a mystical karmic point in relation to our soul’s journey and puts us at 180 degrees around a circle, directly facing something we began months, years, or lifetimes ago.

In the shortest patterns coming into being, but most obviously felt, the moon’s south node is crossing over both Saturn (authority – April 30) and Pluto (transformation – April 4). This indicates something around power and position that we’ve been working on in a personal, embodied way, for nine or so years, is being felt coming to a place of confidence and arrival. In the sign of Capricorn, all of this nodal shifting will take place around our reach and how we’re building our reputations and expertise with integrity.

In a much broader way, the south nodes of Pluto and Saturn (which have been in Capricorn our whole lives), are both being crossed by their own planets over the next year. Pluto did this in February, but will reverse back over his south node in July, and then cross again for good in December. Saturn will kick 2020 off with a bang on January 12th as he does this with his own node at the same time as he conjuncts Pluto, WHILE the sun and Mercury also conjunct this momentous event.

 

The last time Pluto crossed his own south node was in the last days of 1770, leading up to the American Revolutionary War. It was a time of radically forming new notions around constitution of governance. The last time Saturn did this was in 1990. Around this time structures either crumbled or found more authority: The Berlin Wall came down reuniting Germany, the Soviet Union crumbled ending the Cold War, Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, Clinton started campaigning to be the US’ Chief Executive.

*Of course lots happened around these times, but I’m trying to keep it to themes that Pluto and Saturn would’ve triggered during their above nodal crossings. Feel free to add to the comments, historical events you feel are important to these times and themes. I welcome encompassing accounts.

On top of this, everything is leading up to Pluto making his 250 year return in 2022 to his position in the US’ birth chart. This has never happened for the US. At the same time the US is undergoing its 19-year nodal return with the signature of chaos, shedding baggage, and making room for new beginnings. AND, its rising sign is hosting its own ruler for a new 12-year reboot, with Jupiter in Sagittarius. It’s going to be some heavy but also fresh igniting years in this nation! Radical reinvention sounds about right.

This is major stuff. This is burn it all down and rebuild from our ashes stuff. Although I won’t go that far in literal terms—but figuratively it feels this way.

 

Let me break down the bigger, more Karmic patterns around Saturn and Pluto’s South Node crossings.

This year, Pluto crossing his own south node: What is full in each of us, and in our generational powers, that’s ready to face karma, cooperation/conflict, or potentially more elegance, balance, and exchange around our radical depths?

Find your ability to share resources in a way that’s empowering to all involved in the sharing, or to all who are affected by merging of power. Equalizing power/governance in authority and constructs is the goal. In the greatest pattern, I believe the earth is ready to reclaim and equalize how her resources are being abused through our constructs. She loves sharing and reciprocation, but it’s currently unbalanced.

Think about your own resources in this way. What deep inner wells of value in your expertise are you ready to put into the world that might be vulnerable to outside powers, or bring you more exchange? This is likely something in you that your soul has been working on for a long time, that you now need to face during this lifetime.

Just as the earth is mined for gold, silver, oil, and all sorts of other valuable resources, close your eyes and feel into your being. Imagine heat, compression, aging, chemistry, and alchemy that’s been at work on you since before you were in your current body. What do you see in your darkest, oldest recesses? Write down any imagery that arrives. What’s ready to be mined and exchanged on?

In another perspective, as we face off with things started lifetimes ago, we may feel certain debts, weights, and challenges lift off of our plates, or fight the balance being sought and compound some difficult Karma.

 

Next year, Saturn crossing his own south node: Closer to January I’ll share a practice to help visualize what is ready to come into exchange around our soul’s Saturn-esque qualities.  For now, recognize how you might be feeling some pressure to perfect some sort of authority you’ve been honing over the past 15 or so years, as well as in other ways, over many lives. Find personal rhythm in order to weave authority complete in yourself. You will feel, after April 30th when the lunar south node crosses Saturn, a smaller experience of what Saturn’s builder rhythm is working to perfecting through you.

How all of these south node crossings plays out for each of us will be quite different. We each have karma we’re unaware of. We each have our own maturity around cooperation and compromise. Both beautiful and difficult things will be triggered. Do your best to put yourself in the shoes of others and you’ll find a better grasp of the balance that is needed to dance through this equalizing time.

 

How each sign (read for your sun and rising) may see the lunar south node crossing over Saturn and Pluto, unfold over the year:

Aries | 10th House: Your authority and power are ready to rise. Be ready for more feedback, more responsibility, and more open-mindedness to keep fairness in balance.

Taurus | 9th House: Your perspectives and ability to create authoritative growth in your life out of willingness to push into the unknown, is on the rise. Partners or partnerships may be important elements in play here, and the goal will be to share the broadening of authority and power in a balanced way.

Gemini | 8th House: Your authoritative connection to shared resources is rising, partially through the power of your work, but with this, you will need to be willing to compromise and cultivate equal exchange, fairness, in how resources are utilized or promised.

Cancer | 7th House: Your partners and partnerships are gaining more clout, partially via creative ability and leadership. You’ll need to find dynamic balance to agreements and willingness to use your spotlight in cooperative ways.

Leo | 6th House: Your work and lifestyle are finding more capacity and expertise. A master of processes, it’s now time to share this in the world and find compromise in order to attract the work that gives you due respect. A deeper connection to your roots and security could be partially at the heart of your new-found solid rhythms.

Virgo | 5th House: Your presence and command are moving from cultivation and hard work into an elegant ability to share through your heart, your authoritative creativity. Your powerful detective mind could be partially to thank for the solidity of your star that’s rising, but that will need to cooperate in what’s being created or led.

Libra | 4th House: Your sense of security is beginning to feel solid and more balanced, with roots that now have room to allow more Others to feed from your care, or contribute to it. Your self-worth finding more form is partially at the heart of why things are solidifying. Be sure to find more space for cooperation in your private life as more elements begin to appear.

Scorpio | 3rd House: Your Mind and communities are firming up with a deeper command over your network of connection. Through your ideas or written word, you will have access to more authority in your life, but authority that will need to be fair, potentially shared, and cooperative. It’s partially through deep personal passions and a rising sense of Self that you are generating more diversity in your power.

Sagittarius | 2nd House: The authority and expertise you demand from yourself to feel worthy of value, or in how you solidify values, is coming into its own. It’s time to relax into recognition that your authority is solid enough to ask that it be recognized and valued. It’s partially due to your connection to spiritual or inspired realms that you are better finding your material connection to the pleasures of life—maybe via a cosmically assigned title. Be sure to create a flow of give and take to keep your ‘boss of magic’ value balanced.

Capricorn | 1st House: You have been under a lot of pressure, Cappy. Working very hard to cultivate who you are as a person with passion and authority over Self. It’s time to relax a little more, trusting yourself that you are solid and whole just as you are. Everyone is going to want a piece of you, and it’s partially due to your powerful insight into group, technological, or collaborative innovation. With more attention, you will need to find balance between how much of your passion you share and how much you keep to help you stay centered.

Aquarius | 12th House: Your grasp of the mystical and artistic realms has been working very hard to find a sense of rhythm and wholeness. You are arriving in grand fashion right now. Rest in the knowing that you’ve crafted your authority in things intangible. At least as far as they are meant to go for the now. There is a readiness to show your work in more seen ways, to feel respect for your grasp of composition or trust in things beyond. It’s likely that your career and aspirations are partially at the root of what’s been pressuring you to work so hard at ‘flow states’ or finding clout in professions of magic and glamour. You may be asked to share your gifts in ways that you aren’t used to, but you’ve got the foundations to bend any way you choose.

Pisces | 11th House: Groups, collectives, movements, technology, humanity. These are the things pushing powerfully up through rhythmed hard work. Your reputation in the world is rising but with this (and know you have what it takes now) you will need to find room for all kinds of sharing of skills and ideas. You will need to create spaces that are fair and elegant in how authority is used or experimented with. It’s partially due to pushing your powerful boundaries and visionary aim that you are solidifying your authority in electric spaces.

 

And There’s More: Winter Progressions, A Triplicity Change & Synodic Resets

There is so much going down over the next couple of years in the sign of Capricorn, as if the above wasn’t’ enough. It’s truly a historic time.

In a broad sweeping way, several powerful planets in Capricorn show us some general but big progressions to be aware of.

Currently we’re experiencing Saturn, the farthest planet that we can see with the naked eye, thus indicating our reality, pushing through its own sign of Capricorn. Symbolically, Capricorn welcomes us into winter energy, indicating a need to batten down the hatches as reality needs us to focus, reach, and rely on the solid strengths we’ve developed with foresight over the past 22 years when he ignited in Aries’ spring energy through to Sagittarius’ end of autumn visionary aim. Whatever is excess may be too much of a burden to carry, depending on what you’ve built. Lean down so that your resources go far. In Capricorn we’re seeing what in our realities (and actual structures) are strong enough to hold up, and what is crumbling. In his tour through Aquarius during 2021/22/23 we’ll reinvent around what breaks.

Jupiter will enter Capricorn at the end of 2019, ruling over how we create civilization and shared philosophies. In Capricorn, our beliefs will be put under pressure tests. We’ll shed weight and see overly compromised social judgements crumble. In 2021 moving into Aquarius, reinvention will start to take place, but the winter feelings of needing discipline and lean living will be present due to these two planets that shape our tangible constructs. They’re needing us to let go of old, making room for imagination and experimentation that will lead to fresh cycles of shaping the world. Just before 2023 Jupiter will move into spring energy, and just after the start of 2026, Saturn will. We’ll all fare differently leading up to this time. We’ve all planned and prepared and built differently, but our sociopolitical integrity is going to be under tests of pressures for years to come.

We also have Pluto who’s been burning things down around the integrity of powers in the world, travelling through Capricorn. He’s not felt as personally as Jupiter and Saturn, but in larger pattern, so harder to see ways, he’s at work transforming and uprooting structures of the deepest and darkest things in our world. He entered Capricorn in 2008, to stay until 2024.

 

We have mounting winter energy playing out in big societal ways. This is a lot, but to add to the plate, each of these planets is going to make conjuncts to each other over the next two years, igniting new synodic cycles. There is sacred geometry to these rare occurrences.

First up, Saturn will conjoin Pluto on January 10, 2020, igniting a new 34-year cycle in how we find integrity in our power.

On July 21, 2020, Jupiter will conjoin Pluto in Capricorn, igniting a new 12.5-year cycle of how we expand in power.

With both of these happening in Capricorn, major long term cycles are indicating a need for integrity, strength, and foresight in our foundations and depths.

Last up, Jupiter and Saturn will conjoin on December 21, 2020. This is the occurrence that is most closely felt. There are some interesting patterns that these planets play out called the Triplicity Cycle. For 200 year chunks, these planets will conjoin every 20 years in one element. This is used by many astrologers as a way to measure our sociopolitical and historical climate. In earth for the past 200 years, we’ve been heavily focused on industrialization, mining the earth for resources, and valuing the tangible assets in life. There was a bridge occurrence in 1981 as this took place in the air sign of Libra, but in 2000, we went back to the earth triplicity with a Virgo conjunction.

We’ve been in a bit of a meld between the era of information and the era of capitalism. Come this new conjunction in the first degrees of Aquarius, we fully enter the era of air signs, every 20 years moving backwards to the preceeding air sign. I very much so agree with these articles

(http://www.sevenstarsastrology.com/entering-ages-air-ground-sky/  &  https://www.astro.com/astrology/aa_article160602_e.htm )

in that we are still in the age of Pisces, but that it’s in fact this Jupiter-Saturn bridge time of partial airiness that has made us feel like the age of Aquarius has begun.

The era (not age) of air/Aquarius will be upon us in more straight forward ways come December 21, 2020. It will be interesting to watch and see if more utopian views start to find real traction, to see where technology goes, and how much more information we can be bombarded with—or innovative ways to handle it.

This article is a little advanced for the novice, but I love its videos, giving imagery of how the planets are moving and the music of their spheres interacting during these epic years.

https://www.lunarplanner.com/~lunarpla/2020/index.html

Overall, going back to the beginning of the article, with all of this playing out around planetary south nodes, it’s a time of great equalizing and karmic scales weighing and measuring things. Gender, race, culture, fiscal, you name it, it’s time to mix it all up and even the scales in power, policy, structure, and status. Although the US has so many issues right now, I can say that I’m grateful to be here as her melting pot (for good and tragic) does give us pretty good grounds to roll with major reinvention coming down the pipeline.

 

A Note from Me:

I’ve developed my own patterns in how I see planetary nodes, in how planets progress, and how they each have their own phases, like the moon, that take you out of the flat chart, out of fully being geocentric in orientation, and gives more dimension and elegant wholeness to the sacred geometry of our universe.

If you want to learn more about my lens with astrology, sign up for the

It’s a piece of me. It’s born of a mind that digs and digs and digs for the roots of patterns and rhythms in a way that can be felt though sensation. I use biology, ecology, and other sciences to bridge depth of understanding. They’re all entangled. It takes one out of so much mental gymnastics into embodied recognition of cycles playing out. It’s a lifestyle tool to help you cultivate balance and rhythm in co-creation with nature and the stars.

The Mystically in Season practice can do for the rhythm of life what mindfulness practices do for the breath.  

For The Love of Me, Myself, and I

By Tessa Woolf

The She & I

When I look in the mirror, I see her reflection. She is always here, and always there. She’s the first woman I see when I wake in the morning, and the last woman I see when I say good night.

She is I. I am she. We are one.

Sometimes she’s happy; other times she’s sad. I love to see her laugh; I hate to see her cry. I try to care for her as best as I can, and she does the same for me. In our own ways, we nurture each other. We bathe in a warm tub, letting the water from the faucet cascade over our toes and the dainty water droplets trickle down our backs. We brush our hair, letting the bristles slowly release the tangles in our locks and the tangles of the day. We sip piping hot cups of tea and read from the pages of great novels. We explore the desert, the mountains, and the stark-white, otherworldly Salt Flats. We tell each other our deepest, most intimate secrets, and share our most magical dreams.

She is I. I am she. We are one.

Yet, sometimes I betray her. I catch a glimpse of her in the mirror, and I quickly look away. I see her shadow following me on a sunny day, and I pick up my steps, trying to outpace her. I awake to see her sleepy eyes and messy hair, and I think, “She looks terrible.” She beckons me to sit, to enjoy a moment of pause during a hectic day, but I dismiss her invitation. “I’m too busy,” I whisper under my breath as I ignore her kind, welcoming smile. Often, I hurry to bed, too tired to take care of her. And then, tucked beneath the sheets, while the world outside is silent and sleeping, the deep sorrow and unshakeable loneliness sink in. Alone I stand; together we fall apart.

Because she is I. I am she. We are one.

2 Steps Towards Greater Self-Compassion

Our relationship with the self is one we all too often overlook. We’ll go to great lengths to please our partner, friend, boss, sister, daughter—but when was the last time you went out of your way to do something nice for yourself? To care for the one person who will always be by your side? When was the last time you practiced self-compassion?

Contrary to what you may have convinced yourself of in this fast-paced, plugged-in, to-do’s driven world we reside in, self compassion is not selfish. Before you list off a series of excuses why you don’t have time to focus on yours truly, consider this: The act of caring for oneself not only boosts your mental and physical wellness and betters your relationship with the self, but it betters your relationships with others, too, and your ability to care for them in return.

Winter is the perfect time to polish up your self-compassion practice. The season is synonymous with cold, dark months, a time when we literally and figuratively turn inward—we spend more time inside our homes, hearts, and heads. And although the winter can be harsh, cruel, and bitter, it’s coupled with moments of joy, warmth, and softness—much like life itself.

Below, I share two steps to start your journey towards healthier self-compassion through positive self-talk, nurturing self-care, and self-grounding rituals.

TALK TO HER

The Act of Positive Self Talk

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” ―C.G. Jung

Words have power. With the words we speak, we can elicit a smile, conjure tears, and even start a war. And the same is true of the words we speak to ourselves.

Listen to your self-speak: Do you speak to yourself kindly or do you criticize yourself?  Do you tell yourself you’re beautiful regardless of your bad hair day? Or do you curse you tresses for being frizzy and unruly? Do you tell yourself it’s OK, everyone makes mistakes, when you mess up on a work project? Or do you tell yourself you’re stupid? Do you tell yourself you’re not worthy of love when a romantic relationship ends? Or do you tell yourself a greater love exists?

Find your inner compassionate voice, and give yourself permission to stop negative thoughts. Learn to silence your own inner critic. Acknowledge that you are human—you are not perfect and, yes, you make mistakes—just like the rest of us. You know the saying, “Treat others as you wish to be treated.” The same is true with words: Speak to yourself the way you wish to be spoken to by others. Practice positive self-talk through mantras and daily affirmations. You can find powerful mantras and affirmations online or in books about self-compassion, but you can also create your own personal, meaningful phrase—one that truly speaks to your heart—to repeat every day when you rise.

LOVE THYSELF

The Act of Nurturing Self-Care

“Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.” ―Meister Eckhart

Throughout life’s ups and downs, when you find yourself in the thick of an emotional fog, lost in the shadows, or encountering moments of darkness, remember that you are not alone. The self is always by your side—you simply have to reach for her and ask for her to walk with you. There is comfort in knowing we are never truly alone; the self is always there to hold your hand and to comfort you in times of need.

But finding that warm, guiding hand in a sea of sorrow can be difficult. You must learn to channel your compassionate, nurturing self during times of loss and need. The best way to do this is to be present and to truly feel—to sit with your sadness, with your thoughts and your discomfort, and let it wash over you. As scary, painful, and uncomfortable as it may be, and as much as you may want to ignore it, try to welcome the sadness. Take a deep breath and feel it all. Don’t shy away from tears as crying is an act of cleansing. Take comfort in knowing that the self loves you no matter the circumstance. Practicing nightly self-grounding rituals like those outlined in THIS post will also help you become better connected with the self in times of both gratitude and great need.

Photography:Britt Chudleigh | Model: Blaire Wachter | Art Direction: Allie Kesler | HMU:Gabby Gabbitas | Prop/On Model:Lauren V Brady

Take (Compassionate) Action

The Act of Self-Grounding Night Rituals

By AnneMarie Vivienne

“Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there.” Meister Eckhart

All too often we are either rushing or dragging ourselves to bed without acknowledging the healing and creative power of night, of darkness. Nighttime is usually simply a time to shut off the checklists, the constant mind chatter, and lofty ambitions that tomorrow will be better than today’s hot mess. Right? Morning will come, and we’ll be kinder, wiser, braver, and happier—magically, with just six-ish hours of sleep.

Nighttime is certainly magic if we can find our own way to acknowledge the passing of what was in order to welcome what could be. Darkness is where creation happens—a womb for gestation. Plant yourself deep in the night to tap into your core self—to remind yourself that you are truly made of the earth and stardust. Of course, tomorrow will be a new day, but first you must acknowledge the coming of night and the rest it brings. Deliberately plant your heart in the dark of the night, and watch to see what grows.

The Rituals:

Washing

Not only is a womb a dark place, but also it is full of water. Just like the sea, our waters are affected by the night-sky queen: the moon. Wash away the day’s dirt every night. Wash your face with cold water, or soak in a bath if you have some time to spare. Listen to the sound of the water as it runs from the tap and you splash it on your face. Water will crack open the seed you have planted, and feed the roots that must take hold in the dark before the leaves reach for the sun.

Candle Lighting

1. Greet the Night | Light a Candle

    As you inhale, say, “Welcome, night.”

    As you exhale, say, “I enter rest.”

2. Embrace Loss | Mantras for the Dark

                As you inhale, say, “I accept loss.”

                As you exhale, say, “All things must end.”

3. Let Go | Blow Out the Flame

As the smoke ascends and a few glowing embers dance in the dark, remember that things are being minded–that you, thankfully, don’t have any control. Let things go, so you can let them come. Allow yourself to sit in the dark, in silence for a few breaths.

“I need to be silent for a while, worlds are forming in my heart.”Meister Eckhart

Photography: Britt Chudleigh | Model: Blaire Wachter | Art Direction: Allie Kesler | HMU: Gabby Gabbitas | Prop/On Model:Lauren V Brady

Taurus New Moon of Essence

[one_third] Photography: Anna Rey[/one_third][two_third]TAURUS NEW MOON of ESSENCE
MAY 15TH | 25 DEGREES TAURUS
Allie Couch | 2018 – 2019 Seasonal Astrology Guide

What are your senses finding pleasure in and how can that ground you into your essence and value?

GIVING FORM TO YOUR NATURE
Smell the scent of mid-morning dew evaporating as the sun warms the day. Hear the sounds of birds leading their young to feeding grounds as they peck and toss their heads with plump worms. Witness the sight of new life breaking through the ground in fresh spring pallets. Luxuriate in the feel of soft, baby petals starting to unfold with new confidence. Notice the nature of our earth starting to show what she’s made of. Drop into your senses, one at a time. Really be in them.

Think back on what the birth of Spring Equinox brought up in you. From this place of embodiment, easily and with surety, pass through a list of things that you are still deciding whether to pursue around new desires. Say yes and no with confident grace from this place of embodied knowing. You are in the most stable and grounded phase of spring and the Taurus New Moon is here to help you decide what to put yourself into. A slower, more deliberate pace means some things must go, but the things you truly value will start to come alive with shape, texture, scent, and sound during this season. What you decide to hold onto should connect to you in a way that brings you pleasure and slow, steady ease. These will be things that bring you worth because they are so honored. They are a reflection of your nature, your essence, your worth. The things you say yes to should be allotted ample space and time in your life in order to move with and adore them.[/two_third]

[two_third padding=”3% 0 0 0″]A STATEMENT OF VALUE
Write a short phrase that supports your most pure, inner essence. Successful brands do this for themselves to assure a guiding value. Why not do it to grow personal self-worth. Disney’s is “fun family entertainment”. Simple, short, to the heart. Everything they value and give form to stems from their essence statement.

As an example, I strongly hold both the mystic and explorer archetypes so I can deduct why I’ve always been drawn to off-the-beaten-path travel and why cherished ethereal items flood my home. By further cataloging the way I spend and care for certain things I own, I can understand that I value design, quality, cycles, patterns, mystery, and nature. In melding these, my guiding essence statement is “Exploring Seasonal Elegance”. Keep yours to three to four words if possible. Use the above practices to write down what you intend to give form to through your essence. Use this as a way to remember your guiding values, meant to provide you a life of pleasure and worth.[/two_third][one_third_last][/one_third_last]

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last]THE ASPECTS: INTELLIGENCE OF FOCAL POINTS
Mars and Pluto are in a nice angle from Capricorn––this brings maturity and powerful passions around all that rises anew this spring. There is support from protectors and those with resources at this new seeding time.

Opposed Jupiter in Scorpio, it’s through compromise and sharing that great opportunities widens your perspective and what is possible.

Venus rules this new moon and is sextile Uranus in Aries. Find secure boundaries and focus on why there’s been any discontent around your identity. This will allow you to be more natural with strong focus and dedication in acceptance of who you are. Square Neptune, there may be something you are seeing through rose-colored glasses around what you believe to be valuable. Come down to earth and re-engage your senses.

Taurus is sitting on the south bend of the moon’s orbit, making its energy one that is peaking our lives. Taurus pursuits are moving into a phase of rest and renewal. Accept recognition coming your way for all of your grand summits in how you’ve built personal value. This energy will be reborn to a brand new journey in a few years. [/two_third_last]

[one_sixth][/one_sixth][two_third]The above article is from our 2018 – 2019 Seasonal Astrology Guide: Devotion To The Unseen. For more on this season and through to the end of winter 2019, order your guide HERE.[/two_third][one_sixth_last][/one_sixth_last]

Scorpio Full Moon of Entanglement

[one_third] ARTWORK: Anna Rey | Distillation Series[/one_third][two_third_last]SEDUCTIVE ENTANGLING
Allie Couch, from our new astrology guide DEVOTION TO THE UNSEEN

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours––this is the lure and the intrigue magnetically pulling us to reveal things we’ve strategically kept hidden. A mysterious scenario arrives promising great power should you merge your resources with others. What is it about the power of the situation that pushes you over the edge into great risk and great vulnerability? One person says yes to an affair, knowing that it has to be kept secret for a variety of reasons, but also knowing that they will newly have access to resources they never dreamed of. Six months in, they feel depleted and empty, unable to find personal power in the situation they’ve entered, but they no longer see how they can live without the power that the other offers.

Another invests in a land deal, knowing there are risks, knowing there could be great payoff as well as great loss of precious resources. But this person does something strategic and precise: they check into their essence and know that they have what it would take to recover what could be lost. They know their worth, and, therefore, how to rely upon themselves to create worth. Whether this investment brings greater wealth or assets are lost, they can afford it. This is the secret of Scorpio and power: knowing you can empower yourself regardless of how you merge with others. Knowing that Scorpio’s opposite energy of Taurus needs to be strong in order to come out of sharing your essence with others, unscathed, regardless of how everything lands.[/two_third_last]

[two_third]DEEPENING VULNERABILITY

Sometimes we have choices, but sometimes we don’t give permission nor do we have any control over why something occurs to things we value deeply––things that have been shared or taken. Either way, it’s likely that there is a mystery in your life that you feel, if you could just extract the roots of it, something in you would be unblocked.

At the Scorpio Full Moon, it’s time to open up about what’s blocking you. It’s time to find courage and vulnerability and reach out for help should you need it. It’s time to stop trying to figure this mystery out on your own. Healers come in many shapes and forms these days and it may be time to tap into them. You may never solve a mystery, but you can find healing through releasing it. For me, the most powerful healing I’ve experienced is in allowing myself to be witnessed by others in my truth. There is something about the vulnerability of being truly seen that releases things, sheds light on them, and that gets absorbed out of you in the most powerful of ways.

Deep transformation comes from baring your soul and revealing what’s blocking you to a safe group or another person. I challenge you all, at this moon, to let others in who want to help you release things, or to truly witness another that needs this from you. It’s not about giving counsel or fixing anything, it’s purely a witnessing.

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[one_sixth][/one_sixth][two_third]Claim your power back, release blocks and mysteries, and reach out for a healing hand at this moon should the need arise. If not, pay attention to how you can balance new vital understanding in your personal essence and worth, and how that can allow you to confidently entangle with others––in healthier ways—knowing that you have choices and the power to detangle should you need.[/two_third][one_third_last][/one_third_last]

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last]THE TRANSITS: FERTILE GROUNDS

Scorpio’s energy is a very fertile place for all of us this year, laying at the north bend of the moon’s orbit. There may be a feeling of protection and roots starting to sprout in how you are personally allowing yourself to merge and share with others. Things blossoming and becoming full right now may, in several years, be what allows you to take part and share on bigger platforms in the world. Tend to these things and know that they are meant to be nurtured and protected for the time being.

This moon will require initiative and shifts in order to properly grow with a square to Ceres and the lunar nodes. Channel your dynamic problem solving skills and push through any barriers around your needs. Inspiration and compassion through a Neptune connection will help soften some intensity. Saturn adds some get-it-done oomph while Jupiter adds an extra dose of enriched fertilizer to help you grow deeply and expansively. If you need financial help through a loan or raising funds, there are good prospects around this moon—put your feelers out.

Both rulers of this moon, Mars and Pluto, conjunct each other, bringing and alignment of purpose. In Capricorn, this may be around outer world achievements and how to navigate power and control in regard to authority figures, career, or starting/growing your own business.[/two_third_last]

Aries New Moon of Clarity

[one_third]What’s ringing through clearly right now, easy to act on and move forward with?

OUT WITH THE OLD
Stillness, quiet, energetic darkness. Can you feel the charge? The little electric currents that are trying to tell you something, that are trying to crack you open with fresh energy after winter’s hibernation?

Last season during Pisces’ reign, you finished your yearly tour of the zodiac. Hopefully you slept a little more, found inspiration through the arts, and experienced inspired renewal and compassion. You are now prepared to enter a fresh cycle of life with the Aries New Moon—the ultimate time of new beginnings and rebirth.

It’s time: Exhale the old. Inhale fresh new life.
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[two_third padding=”4% 0 0 0″]IN WITH THE NEW
Stillness comes with the dark richness of the New Moon. Sit alone in a place that calls to what’s newly sparking inside of you—just you, just your energy. Find your center, use your mind’s eye to cleanse it, and to find the heart of simplicity in mind, body, and spirit. Use deep breath to clear out stuck things and to get your blood moving. With the whole of your energetic life force, feel trust for any clarity that begins to surface. Let this fill you with assertion, passion, and a new zest for yourself and your life. Take ten to twenty minutes to plug into this space of total oneness with yourself and any fresh creation inside of you.

Once you’ve sufficiently felt the quality of your inner authenticity, speak out loud with no hesitation, without thinking, rather through the clarity of impulse. Immediately rattle off three to five things that you want, that you love, or that you feel passionate about. Use this powerful exercise to gain conscious clarity about what your authenticity is currently holding. Own and write these things down as a way to remember this pure base of what your passion holds in the new astrological year. Save these, you will need to tap into them many times over the next twelve months. Come back to this practice any time you feel a need to connect to yourself and find clarity in self-trust.
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[one_sixth][/one_sixth][two_third]THE TRANSITS: LIGHTNING STRIKES
This New Moon brings a lightning bolt of passionate personal charge in connection to group movements and their ability to bring shocking change through grassroots initiative. The new sparks that this spring starts in our lives are sure to be erratic, shocking, and ultimately productive seeds. All of our personal agendas are going to be like little (or sometimes big) bolts of lightning that can strike at any time.

Some softness can be felt through tuning into your self-worth as well as a little self-compassion any time you feel fire rising to your head. Embed your self-trust with initiative in building success and focus in your life. There’s a bit of a serious tone inside the seeds formed at this new moon.

Photography: Allie Couch | Pictured: Erin Telford
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Leo New Moon: Feel Your Heartbeat

[one_half][/one_half][one_half_last padding=”4% 0 0 0″]Sunday July 23rd | Leo New Moon
By Allie Couch

“I believe there is something of the divine mystery in everything that exists. We can see it sparkle in a sunflower or a poppy. We sense more of the unfathomable mystery in a butterfly that flutters from a twig–or in a goldfish swimming in a bowl. But we are closest to God in our own soul. Only there can we become one with the greatest mystery of life. In truth, at very rare moments we can experience that we ourselves are that divine mystery.” -Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World

The critical 0 degree point of Leo that we experience this new moon at, along with some of the planetary aspects to it, could make for some shocking episodes. Some could even experience a rare glimpse into the creation and root of their heart’s communication with their mind—raw energy converting into consciousness.
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[two_third padding=”0% 0 0 0″]With Mars only one degree ahead of this new moon, a current of creation-magic engulfs this event. Mars clears away debris with his manifesting fires in order to crack through into new realms, carrying electrical pulses. 0 degrees, new moons, and Mars all contain the power of initiation—gate keepers of new realms. In the sign of Leo, solar fires as well as our hearts and egos become the focus. We also have a square from Uranus, planet of lightning: grand flashes of sudden disruption, whether in beautiful insight or destructive force. All of this adds up to a lot of fire-y originality striking.

At this new moon, I challenge you to witness your life force—your ability to use electricity to move, eat, sleep, and dream. In this delve into your own gorgeous, mystical existence through electrical currents—currents that are constantly creating new life processes­—feel how your heart feeds off of these energetic plays. Notice its magnificence in transmuting impulse and energy into something that your mind can interpret and form desires and willpower with. Learn to witness your ego taking form and find brilliant ways to manipulate that for greater creative control of your life, love, and happiness.

Make intentions at this new moon to redesign your ego and your ability to warmly embrace the process of life and love over the next year. [/two_third][one_third_last][/one_third_last]

Dining Under Desert Skies

[two_third]Test Image[/two_third][one_third_last]CELEBRATING CANCER STYLE
by Allie Couch

What better way to celebrate this Cancer’s soft, nurturing, feminine energy, than with a little escape to Southern Utah to dine under dramatic desert skies. Cancer is the imaginative muse of the zodiac and an incredibly whimsical character. Al fresco dining seemed the only logical option to match the energy for a dinner celebration themed after this illogical and lunar ruled sign. Our celebration came to life as we set up a low dining area filled with soft pillows, gorgeous floral by Ashley Beyer of Tinge Floral, and small bites—all at an amazing glamping venue (Moab Under Canvas) in the middle of some of the most beautiful desert scenery. Five creative, luminous, and muse-ful ladies to dine with completed the picture. Total bliss! [/one_third_last]

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[one_third]Sentimentality is big in Cancer Season and our dinner celebration was not lacking in this attribute. We toasted to our little community of complimentary creative talents that have come together over several years, each of us playing an influential role in creating much of the content that you’ve seen on CosmoMuse. These ladies have become very important in my life, and interestingly enough, have given so much depth to everything Cancer stands for: nurturing, imagination, support, whimsy, and female boding.

A big CosmoMuse toast to: Britt Chudleigh, Tessa Woolf, Lauren Brady, and of course to our two models, Madi Owens & Erin Walsh, who so willingly and graciously jumped on our bandwagon and fit into our imaginative antics like a glove!

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[two_third][/two_third][one_third_last padding=”15% 0 0 0″]With a merry band of ladies, who all possess Cancer traits in spades, whimsy and artistry collided in an epic way, making this desert dinner one we’ll always remember. Being the zanny nuts we are, we filled three cars to the brink of breaking through windows, battled through torrential rains, and came out the other side with magic and heart. This dinner signified so much more than a fete fit for this whimsical time of year, but as an illumination of just how important it is to celebrate those who lift you up, protect you and nurture your every good quality – and maybe some of your crazy ones too! Because what fun is life without a bit of kooky chaos? [/one_third_last]

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CREDITS

Location: Moab Under Canvas, Moab, Utah

Art Direction & Words:
Allie Couch of Cosmo Muse

Photography: Britt Chudleigh of Britt Chudleigh Photography

Styling:
Lauren Brady of Saucy & Kitsch

Wardrobe Consultant: Tessa Woolf, editor of Salt Lake Park City Bride & Groom magazine

Floral: Ashley Beyer of Tinge Floral[/one_third][one_third][/one_third][one_third_last][/one_third_last]