Author: TheMuse

Connect With Your Tribe Over Hibiscus Tea

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”6% 0 0 0″]GEMINI HIBISCUS TEA
By Lindsay LaPaugh | The Wellness Gypsy
Images & Styling | Allie Couch

As the days get longer and the weather gets hotter, there’s nothing more satisfying than getting together with friends and celebrating each other. Celebrate your bond, your friendship, the stories you love to tell over and over again, and the stories you’d never repeat to anyone. We hopefully learn more about ourselves as we age and become in tune with our soul–we hope to find a tribe that understands and accepts us.

Once we find a tribe that gets us the energy is addicting and you feel at home. The connection is magical, you feel energized even after you leave. Tea has always been a drink to connect people all over the world. It’s often served in people’s homes and if you don’t accept it, certain cultures will be offended as if you had said something terrible about their first born. When we make tea for our loved ones, it’s like a written love note. Every ingredient we put in is handled with care, and carefully selected to compliment the other flavors. Have your best friends over, make a pitcher of this hibiscus tea, cool down and enjoy the company and conversation around you.[/two_third_last]

[one_third padding=”5% 0 0 0″]Gemini Hibiscus Tea

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried hibiscus leaves
4 cups filtered water
3-4 tbsp raw, local honey
2 cinnamon sticks Lime wedges(optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Add water to a saucepan on low heat. Once water starts to warm add honey and hibiscus leaves. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Add mixture to a large pitcher, cinnamon sticks and refrigerate overnight (or 8-10 hours). Remove from fridge and strain hibiscus leaves. Serve over ice with lime wedge.
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A Refreshing Gemini Season Spring Cocktail

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”4% 0 0 0″]Lemon, Basil, Mint Spritzer
Recipe, Styling, and Photography by Allie Couch

I’m no mixologist but this spring I’ve happened onto a concoction while fiddling with some ingredients out of my garden that I’m now obsessed with. Most evenings, before heading out to the yard to get my hands dirty, I throw one of these together. It makes tending to weeding and watering a little more leisurely, enjoyable, and bubbly.

Seeing as it’s a long holiday weekend (Memorial Weekend), I thought I’d share my little garden drink that you can easily transform into a mocktail if you’re not into alcohol at the moment. Just omit the wine and add a bit more of the lemon mixture and splash more sparkling mineral water.

Ingredients:

o White wine
o Lemons
o Fresh basil
o Fresh mint
o Sparkling mineral water[/two_third_last]

[one_half][/one_half][one_half_last][/one_half_last]

[one_third padding=”6% 0 0 0″]There is no exact science to this cocktail so these measurements are loose:

1) Squeeze a few fresh lemons into a jar that has a lid.

2) Finely chop some fresh basil and mint.

3) Mix the chopped leaves into the fresh lemon juice. Shake and store the fridge for 30 minutes.

4) Fill a glass with ice. Pour 2/3 parts white wine to 1/3 parts sparkling mineral water. Leave 1/2 inch for lemon mixture.

5) Strain the lemon mixture and add as much as desired (I do about a teaspoon). Stir and garnish. Cheers! [/one_third][two_third_last][/two_third_last]

A Vibrant Gemini Supermoon New Moon

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_half][/one_half][one_half_last padding=”2% 0 0 0″]The Gemini New Moon
By Astrologist Allie Couch

Our last new moon of spring brings much life into the open that has been finding its grounding, intention, and senses behind the scenes. The sun is ascending to its highest point and we are experiencing our longest days before the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer, at Summer Solstice, and starts tilting back toward the Tropic of Capricorn.

Baby deer, raccoons, voles, and chipmunks will start to make their first appearances to the outside world, away from their birth place, just as our new spring intentions and values will do the same. More insects start to appear as do bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in order to carry the pollen and seeds of new spring growth. This is what happens with humans as well. We start to communicate, to allow our new spring initiatives to emerge from the protective places we’ve held them, and to tell our communities what we are going to be working on this year.

The Gemini new moon is the pivot for all of this and this year’s is quite a powerful one.

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[full_width]Be very careful with your thoughts at this new moon. If you are struggling with jealousies, negativity, or anger, see what you can do to keep these away from your new moon goals. The Gemini new moon is a potent time to create intentions for the next year to come around mentality, learning, belonging, connecting, and communicating. Gemini spreads its seeds far and wide so this, more than any other new moon, holds the chance of inadvertently planting seeds that you didn’t mean to plant, filled with mental attitudes that will play out all year.

Find some extra awareness and self-control around your thoughts (ruled by Gemini) over the next week or you may end up with some seeds that only bring more negativity and hurtful words into your life—for a full year.

On the other hand, if you tap into your natural rhythms, really feel into those places that welcome you with open arms and hold great interest and curiosity for you, your Gemini new moon goals could lead you to great mental growth, fortuitous connections, and a year filled with wonder and community.

Now to the smaller details: This year’s Gemini new moon is a supermoon. This means that this union between the sun and moon will fall in its closest possible proximity to earth, making what arises very potent and powerfully felt. We have a lovely link to Jupiter in Libra, making this moon open to pushing our boundaries and finding more faith around equality, harmony, fairness, and relationships. On the other hand, Neptune is squaring off to this moon, calling for us to be extra cautions around honesty (from ourselves OR others), to be realistic, and to use our creative urges toward the arts and spiritual aims rather than toward deceit and trickery. Last, we have Pluto in a sesquiquadrate angel to this moon. Some subtle challenges may be felt at our cores around obsessions and power issues. By bringing these to your surface and sharing your thoughts, some of this can get cleared out and actually create some metamorphism around using knowledge and eloquence for empowerment rather than to control. [/full_width]

[one_half padding=”10% 0 0 0″]We also look to the planetary ruler of Gemini (Mercury) to see how our goals may move throughout the year. In Taurus, we may need for our Gemini goals to bring us a greater sense of ownership and self-worth. Take some moments leading up to writing out your new moon goals to feel your value. Use all of your senses to find resonance with your authenticity. How can your words and communications help you hone this even more over the next year? Mercury will be in nice angle to both Neptune and Pluto, the very planets giving our new moon a bit of heat. This will help us to tap into the better sides of these planets over the next year, in connection to our Gemini goals. Inspired art, transcendent feelings, psychological insight that brings great transformations—all of these are possible as we work to move our Gemini goals forward. [/one_half][one_half_last][/one_half_last]

[full_width]Muses, if there’s anything to remember about the Gemini new moon, it’s this:

Our Gemini new moon day is a powerful time to make goals that will enhance the eloquence of our thoughts and words. It’s a time to embrace the duality that lives within us by experimenting with both the left and right sides of our bodies—our yin and yang qualities, to plug into communities and learning experiences that feel right and accepting of us, and to let loose our curiosity for the wonders of life, all around us. The seeds formed at this moon will bring a new cycle of thought, movement, and connecting into our lives for the next year. Stay aware and stay positive. [/full_width]

Monday Mantras: Invest in Curiosity

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last]Invest In Curiosity
By Allie Couch | Image via Perla Marek

This week we’ve newly entered the solar season of Gemini. Ruling over the last of the zodiac’s spring seasons, this sign wants us to wander and flirt with life, to find our curiosity, and to buzz around like little hummingbirds, engaging with life in a multitude of ways to see what sticks: Try a new hair color; start writing; spark a conversation with a stranger; say yes to something different.

In the words of Elizabeth Gilbert from her book, Big Magic: “Keep your eyes open. Listen. Follow your curiosity. Ideas are constantly trying to get your attention. Let them know you’re available.”

Taking this a step further, during this curiosity amplifying Gemini time of year, Gemini’s ruler, Mercury, is back in the sign of Taurus. This will add a layer of making our ideas need to feel valuable to us—or create value for us.

Invest in your ideas this week and see how this valuing of curiosity pays off throughout the year. With our Gemini new moon arriving on Thursday, doing this sooner than later will serve us best. [/two_third_last]

Mid-Spring Meditation: The Breath & Our Senses

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”0% 0 0 0″]Mindfulness Expert, John Kesler of Integral Polarity Practice Institute (IPPI), offers us a simple polarity meditation to get in touch with our senses this Taurus Season. Feel physically centered and accepting throughout May’s lively spring days.

 

When we are fully present to our physical selves we are most awake to our senses. The most basic physical dynamic, which we share with all living things, is the expansion and contraction of our many physical systems. The example of this expansion/contraction polarity that most of us can access most readily is the in breath and the out breath.

By slowing down and deepening our breathing and being fully present, we can settle into relaxed stillness, a deep calm, and experience more fully the luscious qualities of our touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight, and the beauty of the world. This meditative experience helps us appreciate the value of slowing down life a bit generally and enjoying the richness of our physical and sensory presence in the world.

In addition if we can be fully accepting of this moment – and the next and the next – we can attain a level of physical stillness and centeredness that we can sense more deeply our own life essence, which is the life force that is in and through all things. As we tap into this cosmic force, it flows through each of us in support of our own strong and utterly unique voices.[/two_third_last]

[one_third padding=”1% 0 0 0″]AN IPP MEDITATIVE PRACTICE

Accessing the Still Point of these polarities and the virtues that flow from them:

• Get comfortable in a chair or seated floor position, somewhere without distraction.

• Breathe in a relaxed manner and settle into a state of relaxation, calm and tranquility, a deep quality of physical stillness.

• Be present in the moment and notice one at a time the rich quality of your senses of touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight. Spend some time with each one of them, what is arising moment to moment. Then be open to and feel the richness, pleasure and beauty of your entire sensory world.[/one_third][two_third_last][/two_third_last]

[full_width]• In this moment of physical stillness bring forth a deep sense of acceptance of this moment – and the next and the next – and touch into that life force within you. Open your awareness to how there is no limit to the presence of this life force in the world and the cosmos. Feel it within you and through it, feel your connection to a oneness with all being and all things.

• As you step into your daily life allow that life force to give power and authenticity to your voice in the world.

Photography: Dustin Couch | Model: Brooke Musat
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Monday Mantras: 1 + 1 = 1,000

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last]One Plus One Equals A Thousand
by Allie Couch

“A miracle is when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A miracle is when one plus one equals a thousand.”
― Frederick Buechner, The Alphabet of Grace

Dear Muses,

This week’s Monday Mantra is a reminder that our yearly full moon in Scorpio, the sing of joint forces and power, arrives on Wednesday—but affects us all week. Find others who can help you. Join hands and hearts with those who can lift you up and empower your current position. This requires grace in intimacy, but when we allow others in and entangle what we can do, or own, with what others can do, or have, miracles can materialize.

Maybe this full moon brings a cycle of grief and we need the support of others to help swallow up what’s too much to bear. Maybe great windfalls of wealth in finances or other resources actualize through allowing your 1 to join with the 1 of another (or many.) Maybe all of those 1’s that join forces are different kinds of 1’s, and when put together, they equal something so very great and so very graceful. Surrender to a need to keep your things separate and your own. Risk their wandering and their death by taking a chance on merging and see what transformations arrive. [/two_third_last]

Inner Musings: Being Heard

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”9% 0 0 0″]This Taurus Season, the season of connecting to voice, mental health muse, Lauren Eimers-Wangrud, brings us some beautiful and wise tips on how to truly hear and be heard.
Artwork by Kaitlin Walsh

“Communication is not saying something; communication is being heard.”
– Frances Hesselbein, Former CEO of the Girl Scouts of America, writer, b.1915

Taurus season is a favorite for many reasons: the true arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, a slowing down to savor the good things in life, and the time to dig into conversations with others. Conversing can be one of life’s greatest pleasures, but it can also be one of its thorniest activities. If you are really wanting to be heard the next time you find yourself deep in conversation, there are a few tried and true ways of making sure you’re not just talking, but communicating.[/two_third_last]

[two_third padding=”0% 0 0 0″]If there is one thing you can remember from this little piece, it’s that listening, really hearing what the other party is saying, will make what you are saying listened to, as well. In our fast-paced culture, we often just wait for the other person to finish what they are saying to jump right in with what we have to say. In essence, we are just using the time we aren’t talking to prepare for when we will be talking again. It’s pretty difficult to hear what someone else is saying when you are mapping out a blueprint of your next phrase or sentence. It has become such a rarity to really be listened to that an entire profession, mental health therapy, has boomed in response. People and health insurance companies are willing to pay to have a person sit and listen to them in 50-minute increments. As a therapist, I can tell you some of the best medicine is just to be heard and acknowledged, since it’s lacking in everyday life.

Now, you’re going to remember to listen (or at least try to) in your next conversation, right? That last paragraph is a great example of how to get the essence of what you want to communicate, the “meat” of your argument, to be heard: by literally telling folks to listen to what you are about to say! Tell your audience or conversation partner you are going to say something important, say it, and then remind them about it once more before the conversation is over. However, don’t overuse this little tool, since it should be used just once or twice in a conversation or presentation.
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[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”3% 0 0 0″]Another way to truly communicate with others is what’s called “mirroring.” The great news is is that your brain handles this for you effortlessly. When you are giving full attention to what the other party is saying, you will subconsciously start to mirror that person in tone, body language, and inflections. Your brain has “mirror neurons” that are activated when mirroring and allows for a greater connection and understanding to be established with the other individual whose mirror neurons are kicking in, too. Your brain has this system in place to help create empathy, which we all know is what truly connecting can foster.

Knowing that tuning in and listening can help you make a deeper connection to others should give you the confidence to slow down and invest in the words you are exchanging. Take this Taurus season to communicate completely so that you can be heard. [/two_third_last]

Taurus New Moon: Material Healing

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last]Happy earthy and sensual Taurus new moon, Muses! On this once yearly pleasure oriented day, Astrologist Allie Couch brings us some cosmic guidance and a sense driven practice.

Are you swimming in compassionate seas this Taurus new moon, with your values and possessions seeming to take on spiritual notes?

New moons are our most fertile time to make goals. In Taurus, new seeds may be forming around your income, your values, your material possessions, and your self-esteem. Just like an actual seed, care and tending are needed for these metaphorical seeds to sprout, grow, and blossom. We look to the full moon of the same sign for results, six months down the road.

The planetary ruler of any event will point us in a deeper direction. The Taurus new moon is ruled by Venus so we look to this goddess planet for context. Our intentions will be formed in Taurus-related themes, but they need to go somewhere—they need to be expressed. In the last degree of Pisces, the last degree of our zodiac, Venus is cracked wide open with her heart exposed and healing all sorts of value wounds that we hold. Our greatest potential for manifestation is held in this degree—so long as symbolic and spiritual tones are noticed.[/two_third_last]

[full_width]EXPERIMENTING WITH SENSE & IMAGE

  1. Close your eyes and say the word value out loud – what image arises in your mind’s eye? How does it make your heart feel? Does it make you feel fluid and fertile?
  1. Do this a few more times with other Taurus-reflected words: self-esteem, possession, ownership, income, pleasure, voice, form, texture, smell, taste, sight, sound. Jot down some notes after each to use when forming your Taurus new moon goals.

This new moon has some serious healing vibes surrounding it, but you have to have awareness of the spirit channels at work. They are subtle. Meditation, music, art, breathwork, and the above reflecting practice can help you.

Drawn to our site, you are likely a special breed that is open to subtle forces that are ready and waiting to envelop you in heartfelt love—seeing you for all the greatness you possess. Ask for some cosmic help and see what comes to your aid, reflecting your value back to you. Say out loud: I’m ready for cosmic assistance to help me value myself more, to help me slow down and enjoy my senses, and to find more stability in my personal finances. Be sure to show gratitude to whatever swoops in to assist you. It takes time to develop a relationship to cosmic guidance, but it’s there.

Download our free 2017 guide that has a new moon worksheet for each season, if you don’t have it yet – or buy our printed one, now on sale. [/full_width]

[full_width]OWNERSHIP, INCOME, & BUDGETING

Here are a few more thoughts to help you understand how you relate to Taurus’s financial energy at this new moon.

What do you want to own in the material realm and why?

Before you answer this, let’s do a bit of reflection so we can think about this question with more depth and understanding of our habits.

What do you tend to spend your money on?
Does your income support the above habits with ease? (If not, are you being overly careless with your resources or do you need a leg up to help you get by with very essential needs? Either way, use this new moon to help you with the issue.)
What resources do you own that you consider valuable?
What possessions do you take the most care of?
What are a few things you’d like to initiate to help you feel more security through your personal resources (open a savings account, budget to rid yourself of debt, put more into a 401k, open an IRA, stash a shoebox of money, ask for a raise, learn how to budget…)

These material things can help you feel more solid and stable, allowing you to act out of your real values rather than react out of a feeling of deficit. Once you’ve answered the above questions, go back and answer the first question. [/full_width]

[two_third]TAURUS NEW MOON AFFIRMATIONS

Taurus: I assert into life with strength of voice, financial prudence, and loving values.

Gemini: I inspire the world through my voice and values. My cosmic connections are comfortable.

Cancer: I help evolve humanity with a progressive voice and values.

Leo: I support the world through loving values and a prudent voice.

Virgo: I value pushing my perspectives to be wiser as I expand into foreign sensibilities.

Libra: I value and respect the resources of others, in turn, finding value through those resources.

Scorpio: I build relationships based on hearing others and values rooted in equality.

Sagittarius: I find pleasure and value in my work. My lifestyle is easy and comfortable.

Capricorn: I create with my senses and find a strong voice as a leader.

Aquarius: My home is a place of comfort, pleasure, and strong values.

Pisces: I use my strength in communication to spread loving values.

Aries: I am financially comfortable and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.[/two_third] [one_third_last][/one_third_last]

Monday Mantras: Clarity & Senses

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_sixth][/one_sixth][one_third][/one_third][one_third]This week’s Monday Mantras for April 17th – 23rd, come to us from Astrologist, Allie Couch. Designed to help us shift from the ending Aries Season to Wednesday evening’s approaching Taurus Season.

This is a week of shifting energies as we move from our first astrological season of Aries; the season that woke us out of our winter slumber and into initiations for the yang half of the year; to the season of Taurus where we’ll be taking a slower pace to find pleasure and hone in on our senses. These mantras should wake us up to the value and beauty of life and ourselves. The shifting energies this week can bring feelings of urgency to tie things up, celebrate or release a cycle, and take some awkward steps into a new energy and season. It’s not a great week for initiating, but rather, for reflecting,and being open to new possibility as you observe and sense your way into Taurus Season. [/one_third][one_sixth_last][/one_sixth_last]

[two_third padding=”2% 0 0 0″]Aries: I am clear and self-possessed as I move into a fresh cycle of sensual living.

Taurus: I am clear and spiritually activated as I move into a fresh cycle of claiming my worth.

Gemini: I am clear and socially plugged-in as I move into a fresh cycle of spiritual enhancement.

Cancer: I am clear about my authority and aspirations as I move into a fresh cycle of valuable networking.

Leo: I am clear about bold aims as I move into a fresh cycle of giving form to my aspirations.

Virgo: I am clear and personally empowered as I move into a fresh cycle of grand financial aims. [/two_third][one_third_last][/one_third_last]

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”5% 0 0 0″]Libra: I am clear in my harmonizing with others as I move into a fresh cycle of transforming my values.

Scorpio: I am clear and assertive in my productivity as I move into a fresh cycle of forming valuable relationships.

Sagittarius: I am clear about my creative initiative as I move into a fresh cycle of slow & valuable living.

Capricorn: I am clear about my self-care needs as I move into a fresh cycle of forming creative projects.

Aquarius: My mind is sharp and clear as I move into a fresh cycle of nurturing & caring for my senses.

Pisces: I am clear about my bold self-worth as I move into a fresh cycle of valuable connecting and communicating. [/two_third_last]

Courage In Maitri

Posted on by TheMuse

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”5% 0 0 0″]In all of her eloquence, Ann Whittaker brings us some inspiring words and thoughts around developing a kind and friendly relationship with ourselves as we approach the end of Aries Season; a season all about recognizing ourselves.

Developing loving kindness + friendship with ourselves

MAITRI: unconditional friendliness, loving kindness, love

What if the bravest, most meaningful, most powerful thing we could do was to befriend ourselves? To show ourselves a deep and honest love? What if we began to cultivate a curiosity about every aspect of ourselves? What if we took time to get to know our whole selves–to know who we are when we’re sad, when we’re content, when we’re angry, when we crash and burn, when we forget to call a friend, when we welcome a stranger into our midst, when we take time to listen to a broken heart? What does it take to really show ourselves unconditional loving kindness? What does it mean to befriend ourselves?

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[two_third padding=”8% 0 0 0″]Stay. We must stay with ourselves––our whole self. Pema Chödrön says that

Maitri strengthens us. One of the qualities of maitri is steadfastness, and that’s developed through meditation. So through boredom, through aches, through indigestion, through all kinds of disturbing memories, to edgy energy, to peaceful meditation, to sleepiness, it’s steadfastness. You sit with yourself, you move closer to yourself, no matter what’s going on. You don’t try to get rid of anything—you can still be sad or frustrated or angry. You recognize your humanity and the wide gamut of emotions you might be feeling.

I think it is difficult to stay with ourselves–especially when we are feeling intense emotions–especially when so many planets are in retrograde and everything is undefineably off. Parts of ourselves might show up that we’re not fond of, and, yet, if we stay with these pieces, if we befriend the bits that make us human, we will find strength where we thought there was weakness; we will move closer to ourselves and accept our complex humanity. If we allow ourselves to experience the full spectrum of emotion, and allow ourselves to travel along the spectrum of sadness, anger, joy, and gratitude, we will open ourselves up to loving kindness. [/two_third][one_third_last][/one_third_last]

[one_sixth][/one_sixth][two_third]When we accept our own humanity it’s easier to accept others’ humanity–we are curious about them as well as ourselves. Instead of practicing self-criticism and self-doubt, we can begin to nurture self-curiosity––become intensely interested in observing yourself and simply let your emotions and thoughts run their course. Nothing is permanent. Thankfully. We do not have to cling to or identify with any emotion we’re feeling. When we’re feeling sadness, that does not mean we are a sad person––it simply means we are human. If we can love ourselves even when we are angry, jealous, or sad then we can love others when they too experience the ebb of happiness.[/two_third][one_sixth_last][/one_sixth_last]

[one_third][/one_third][two_third_last padding=”7% 0 0 0″]So how can we show ourselves loving kindness? Pema Chödrön explains:

For example, you might say that taking a bubble bath or getting a workout at the gym is maitri. But on the other hand, maybe it isn’t, because maybe it’s some kind of avoidance; maybe you are working out to punish yourself. On the other hand, maybe going to the gym is just what you need to relax enough to go on with your life with some kind of lightheartedness. Or it might be one of your 65 daily tactics to avoid reality. You’re the only one who knows.

I think it’s difficult to admit that you are on a journey to love yourself unconditionally. So take courage. Practice maitri for yourself so that you will have the strength to share maitri with others. Be real and honest with yourself––you are a human being running the full gamut of experiences and emotions. No one is exempt, no matter how hard you try to mask it. Own it and take care.

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