August’s Lunar Magic

This week started off with a spirited charge from the lunar eclipse on Monday.  Even though it couldn’t be seen in North America, it’s energy could be felt by many.  With the archetypal theme of Aquarius coming through, this lunar event opened a window to allow a higher vision to come into focus and presented a spark of inspiration to propel us forward in alignment with this vision.

While eclipses are magical in that they act as a portal into multi-dimensional awareness both in our awake and dream states, they can also simultaneously dredge up old fears, emotional wounds and grief that need to be cleared for the alchemy of an eclipse cycle to take place.  The hermetic principle of correspondence applies here.  “As within, so without.  As above, so below.”  An eclipse is like a chiropractic adjustment for the soul or higher self so that we can align our inner world with that higher vision the universe or divine source is holding for us.  When we decide to make a change in our lives or to manifest something new, it is already a done deal on a higher dimension.  Our job is to clear away the energetic, emotional and physical debris that prevents the higher vision from manifesting on the three-dimensional plane.  When we tune in to the energy and wisdom an eclipse cycle offers, we are given a chance to dance with life in a magical and playful way, as well as experience deeper shifts in our lives.

If an eclipse cycle does indeed trigger some buried patterns that need to surface and transform, do not be surprised if your body doesn’t also respond.  Headaches, nausea, insomnia and back or neck issues can kick up around an eclipse as well as life circumstances being in sudden upheaval.  As we lean in to these experiences, no matter how uncomfortable they may be, and look within to what the higher self is revealing, we can begin to clear our inner debris and more fully embody this new consciousness wanting to shine through.  This past week, as my own body went through some physical upheaval, I recognized some long-buried fears rising to the surface.  In the recovery process, I could feel a clearing in my body making room for a higher vision I’ve been mapping out.  As I leaned into the discomfort, I felt a whole new level of love and appreciation for how my body and my higher self can work in conjunction. 

Not every eclipse cycle needs to have dramatic effects on one’s life, but as we observe what is coming up for us in these weeks around the eclipse, they become a queue from spirit to look within to see what wants to shift or transform.  August itself is a magical time of year.  Summer is coasting along and there is a release as we sense the gentle beginnings of the year’s unwinding.  It is also the beginning of the harvest season.  These next 10 days leading up to the big solar eclipse, a once in a lifetime event for many, are an opportunity to experience a little magic at play, opening the heart and mind to observing the symbolic language of the universe and giving the linear mind a summer vacation.  If you have a question or decision to make about something, begin to look for answers from what may seem like random places.  It could be a song about that question playing on the radio, or someone casually mentioning something that leads to an answer, or an unusual animal crossing your path that holds a symbolic key.  I remember a cricket flew through the window of my 3^rd floor apartment one summer evening and sat on my bookcase, playing its music for me.  As I turned off my TV and sat on the couch listening to his beautiful sound, I was so grateful for this animal’s gentle reminder to stay centered in my heart.

The week ahead will be a great time to find some stillness and tune in to your own inner subtleties, as well as the subtleties of the world around you.  The space underneath the surface of everything is where most of life transpires, and when we allow our sensitivities to tune in to that space, magic begins to happen.  Think of the eclipse as a booster for developing that intuitive awareness.  While the lunar eclipse offered us higher vision awareness, the solar eclipse will then be asking us to anchor that awareness into our physical world and to cultivate the courage to live in alignment with that vision.  The vision could be asking you to make small changes in your life, or it could be asking for bigger inner and outer shifts.  Either way, the most important way we can benefit from this lunar cycle is to live in the present as fully as we can, because as we do, we allow the process to unfold with ease and become a joyful adventure.