New moon in Gemini, 3rd June, 2008

Hi Everyone,

It is hard to believe it is June already – this year is just racing by! I just noticed that this post completes four years of this blog, which is just amazing. Thank you all again and always for your continued feedback, love, stories and support. I am always so moved and humbled to hear your reactions to my posts – although I like to think that it comes through me rather than from me!

The meditation in this post is one I've used at this moon before - I keep trying to write a new one but when I open the door this is what I always see! So it must be the right one. Hope it works for you!

Calling the circle
As we contemplate this new moon, we call to the spirits of our season, the spirits of the East. Spirits of new beginnings, new starts. Element of air, first breath. The power of life, springing forth. We call the spirits of the East and ask them to join our circle.

We call now to the spirits of the South, spirits of strength, power, warmth, clarity, motivation, energy, movement. Element of fire, the power of light, bright and powerful. The fire that is our passion, burning deeply within us always. We call the spirits of the South and ask them to join our circle.

And we call to the Spirits of the West. Spirits of our deepest feelings, our strongest emotions, our truest love. A sunset over a calm ocean, a still lake reflecting back the sky, the still waters that run deep, deep within. Element of water, emanating the power of love. We call to the spirits of the West and ask them to join our circle.

Now we call to the spirits of the North. Spirits of midnight, dark moonless skies in winter, places where truths are told, where laws are made. Element of earth, grounding us. Power of law, karma, ancestral wisdom, we call to the spirits of the North and we ask them to join our circle.

And we call to those spirits above us, angels, stars, heavens, light beings everywhere, those souls not yet incarnate. Children of our children. We call the spirits above and ask them to join us.

And we call to the spirits below us, to the earth that grounds us and keeps us steady, the green kingdom with its deep roots and to the lava beneath the crust that impassions us. We call the spirits below and ask them to join us.

Finally, we call to the spirits of the center, where all the directions meet and merge and where they meet and merge in each one of us. The central flame. The sacred spirit. This circle is closed, a safe and sacred circle where everyone is welcome and free to express herself.

Where is the Moon?
The moon is in Gemini, and it is definitely a thinking month – one to look at our thoughts and actions to see how well they line up. Also, it is a month to accept, acknowledge and welcome change, a particular challenge for me sometimes! Finally – stay focused! This energy can be a bit electric and sometimes can lead us in three different directions at the same time. Follow the ones that you can but prioritise if possible. All the writers out there: it is a particularly good month for you. Write and write and write, and also ask for help when you need it! What message would you send out, with Mercury as your messenger?

Talking stick
I have started and stopped writing this a few times already and I just can’t seem to get happy with what I have to say. I am having a very powerful and energetic week, which is a nice departure from the feelings of vulnerability and doubt that I was having at the full moon. But I am so into that energy that I really need to get back to what I was doing, I think, even if that makes this an unusually short and not very interesting talking stick! In short: my goal for this new moon is to keep going with this intensity and put all my heart and hope and creativity into forging my own direction. I want to not reach back in fear because I don’t know what lies ahead. I want to let this exuberance take on a momentum of its own and carry me to where I need to be.

Meditation Imagine yourself lying beneath a fragrant apple tree, at the height of blossoming. The air is thick with the smell of earth and flowers, and it fills your senses as you breathe in and out in time with the breeze, in time with the stars. As you breathe, you feel yourself getting smaller and smaller, until you are so small that you are able to walk right into the tree. As you look up, you note the vast branch system, how tall and high it is, looking down, you note the vast root system, reaching down into the earth farther than you can see. Then, notice that one of the roots is larger than the others, and resembles a spiral staircase that you can walk down. Imagine then stepping onto the 13th step, the step of transformation, then spiraling down and around and inward to the 12th step, then down and around to the 11th and the 10th, spiraling down and around and inward to the 9th, then the 8th, then around and inward to the 7th and the 6th step. Then, pausing on the sixth step, note that as you look up you can no longer see the top, and looking down, that you can no longer see the bottom. You are standing in the middle of the spiral, in a moment of infinite perfection. If there is anything that you are carrying that you don't want to take with you on your journey, you can leave it on this step. Continuing then to the 5th step and the 4th, spiraling around to the 3rd and the 2nd and then finally the 1st step, then stepping into a clearing with four doorways, each pointing in one of the four directions. Imagine yourself walking down the pathway that heads east.

It is early morning, the light strong and warm as the path leads out into the sky. You are flying, floating, surveying the landscape below. You can see everything for miles, it is so crisp and clear. You can also see the paths you’ve walked from here and where they have led you to. The sky is huge and blue, open, as if the heavens are reaching down to meet you as you fly. In the distance you spot a dwelling, and feel compelled to fly toward it The dwelling looks as if it created from the earth, reaching up to meet you; you feel it is a home completely familiar to you, and one that is always welcome and available to you. You fly down to the home of your wise woman.

As you are about to knock, the door opens and your wise woman greets you, welcoming you in. Her home is warm and cozy, and she leads you to the kitchen where she is cooking. She offers you whatever it is that she has cooked for you, and you sit and eat or drink with her, asking any questions that you may have, or asking for any wisdom that she might wish to share with you.

When you are ready, she leads you down a hallway, with many doors. You walk to the doorway at the end of the hall. Stepping through the door you enter a sacred circle. In the centre of the circle is a spiritual guide, perhaps one you know, or maybe a guide you have never met before. Your guide calls you to the centre to join him or her. S/he explains that s/he is a messenger, ready to carry the message that you most need to communicate and release it to the universe, the Goddess, God, however you choose to experience that energy. You tell your messenger what it is that you most need, what you are working toward manifesting in your life. When you have done that, your guide tells you that they are also carrying a message for you, one that you need to hear the most right now, and shares that message with you. Once you have received the message, if there are any other thoughts that you would like to share with your guide, you can do so. Otherwise, your guide leaves the circle, taking your messages with him/her. You are joined in the centre of the circle by your wise woman. She asks you to carefully repeat the message that you received, then asks if you have any questions about it. You converse with her for as long as necessary. When you are ready, your wise woman leads you from the sacred circle and back through the door.

You head back toward the kitchen, sharing any last minute thoughts, asking any last minute questions. As you reach the door of the house you say your goodbyes, and while in her embrace, she whispers one word or phrase and presses an object into your hand that will help you to remember your message. You thank her, then head back out into the desert, heading toward the doorway in the distance. When you do come to the doorway, and are ready, you walk through.

Stepping back up onto the first step, spiraling upward and outward to the second step and the third, and upward and outward to the third step and the fourth. Then spiraling around to the fifth and the sixth step, and pausing now on the sixth step, retrieving anything that you left behind before, or just leaving it behind in that perfect moment in infinity. Climbing now to the seventh and upward to the eighth, upward and outward to the ninth, then the tenth, and around to the eleventh and the twelfth and then finally to the thirteenth step, the step of transformation, then back into to the tree. Stepping out of the tree, you find your place beneath it, again enjoying the cold night air. Then, feeling your consciousness return to the space you are in, and, when ready opening your eyes.

Prayers for our circle
Today I would just ask that we pray for each other – that we each have the courage and strength and vision to create the lives that we want for ourselves.

With all my love,

Tara