Pink Moon in Scorpio - Spring is in the Air...

As we've all been shaking off the remnants of last month's eclipses, and finally getting our feet under us again, we find ourselves gearing up for the incredible, albeit intense, Scorpio full moon. April's full moon is lovingly referred to as the Pink Moon, because of the wild, pink phlox that start appearing this time of year. I don't know about you, but this is the full moon when I see spring fever in those friends and clients whom are particularly inclined; like a primal need to role in the wild flowers, and howl at the moon. This spring, we'll also be contending with Jupiter in retrograde, moving into opposition of Neptune; Mars goes retrograde just a few days before the full moon, and lovely Luna is on a course of collision toward Mars as they are moving at break neck speed toward each other in Sagittarius meeting up on the 25th just a few days after the pink moon! 

As I sit writing this blog post, I've been noticing a pattern with myself, and people I come into contact with - we're exhausted! It's like no amount of sleeping, or napping, could keep our eyes open for the last few days. The closer we got to the 16th, and Mars entering the shadow of the turn into retrograde, the more I heard about the need for sleep from all corners of my life! I know that Mars moving into retrograde can cause a sluggish, lack of direction, with no motivation to push forward, but it hasn't even started yet! So, I started looking at all the movement leading up to this months' watery, deeply mysterious, sensual Scorpio moon; not only are we still feeling the ripples of the solar eclipse in Pisces, and the lunar eclipse in Libra, but all this backward motion is calling us to dream! 

Jupiter began its' shift to retrograde through Virgo back in January of this year, and as we reach mid-April, we're all starting to feel the pull of Neptune's opposition to the backward moving Jupiter! As Jupiter moving through Virgo always gives us a chance to examine the bigger picture of our day-to-day life, our health, and practical matters of all kinds, the backward momentum pulls our attention toward introspection. The gift of Jupiter retrograde is the idea of expansion of your inner world, and in Virgo the universe gives us the opportunity to see how everyday life is really the key; after all, the day to day, practical stuff - that's where the rubber hits the road, right? Often, in our quest to want more, strive for enlightenment, and push our lives forward, we forget that first we have to deal with all the reality of how we live our lives for real! What a wonderful opportunity over the next few weeks to look inside and see how our daily lives are the place to begin our transformation;  especially as the taskmaster Saturn (also in retrograde) pulls tighter into conjunction with Jupiter. The desire for all of us to reform our unhealthy habits, look at revamping our schedule to get more out of our days, and the idea of expanding our knowledge of practical information to improves our lives, has become critical to many of the people I talk with. Combining all this, with an opposition to dreamy, spiritual Neptune in Pisces, can create a bit of a dream state whether we are asleep or awake.  

It's this slight dream state we're all feeling, that I think is causing us to feel SO drained! Along with everyone's dreamy self reflection, we're moving closer and closer to that Mars retrograde in Sagittarius. Sagittarius, Jupiter's natural home sign, may have been pushing us all to exert more energy than we have anyway. If we are searching our brain, instead of our heart, it can have a tendency cause the wheels in our head to spin us into exhaustion! All of this internal, mental work can sometimes come across as disrupting any focus we usually direct toward keeping the little things in order. This might be a good time to just give in if you can. Take a nap. Sleep when you have a chance, and don't judge yourself for it. Sleep can actually be a very useful form of meditation, and if we let it, our brain is very adept at working our problems out when we let it relax!

Aside from the last few weeks putting us through an emotional roller coaster, and giving us all a much needed shove forward, how do we use this energy to our advantage? Many of us are feeling like our new start is just a few seconds away. What's stopping some of us from curling up in bed, and taking a three day power nap? The excitement we're feeling as we build to this Scorpio full moon! Somewhere deep down, we feel a primal pull to keep going, to keep pushing, to drive ourselves toward knowing ourselves on that deep, ancient level where rebirth, and transcendence begin. Even though we feel tired, if we let it, we can use this call to sleep to our advantage by  looking at how we honor, and practice, the mysteries in our daily lives. The daily practice of honoring our spirit, acknowledging the unknown, living a life of purpose by taking time to meditate, honor our dreams, and submitting to all we do not know, is a good start to connecting to our most ancient roots.

In this world of rushing around to finish tasks, and making lists of responsibilities that mustn't be overlooked, sometimes the only way we stop and connect to our subconscious, primal, self, is when we fall asleep, and that's okay - it works! Besides, the act of honoring the needs of your body will always be your  most basic act of self love. I don't know about you, but I've been having, and hearing about, a lot more dreams than usual. I don't just mean the kind of dreams that happen when you're sleeping (although there certainly has been more of that lately), I'm talking about the kind of dreaming you do when you're awake; the way people feel their deepest desires deep down in their heart's. I don't know if you've ever noticed, but the most important things that have ever  happened throughout history have started with a dream. Rarely do the plans that move mountains and catapult society forward start with a blank canvas and a think tank; they START with a dream. 

It might sound a little silly that my recommendation for the next few weeks is to dream, but that's my advice and I'm sticking to it! I would encourage you, however, to examine your definition of dreaming. What I'm asking you is, could we incorporate dreaming into our everyday lives? The solar eclipse in Pisces last month did a good job of showing us what we needed to let go of. It's difficult to dream, or connect to Spirit, the Universe, or anything else, when you're dragging your past around. The following Libra eclipse asked us to restore balance, and I'm sure your life has been pointing out where that needs to happen! You won't find the keys to letting go and finding balance in "how to" programs or "self-help" books. The only path to change is by tapping into your own inner identity, and these movements have really helped, believe it or not! When you tap into that deep, honest, raw and primal part of who you are, it isn't about self-discipline, or shoving yourself into a box provided by society, and it isn't about pushing yourself into exhaustion, frantically checking off your list; living becomes a natural unfolding, just like a rose or a butterfly. Nobody sets an alarm clock for their rose garden, and a caterpillar doesn't check off a list before taking their "chrysalis stay-cation", and nobody I know is being told it's time to wake up to their higher self, and embrace their destiny. The thing is, we can either fight the change by letting all our mental wheels spin, letting our ego believe we can reason our way through these feelings; or like flowers and butterflies, we can stop fighting the change, and take a nap while we relax into the life and the person we were always born to become. 

How does the pinnacle of our upcoming full moon put an exclamation point on recent planetary movements? By building the slow, steady pressure to connect to our deepest, darkest desires through ancient mysteries like sex and ceremony. We all desire communication beyond that which can be experienced with words alone; the body's own wisdom to submit; that primal pulse to create something new from within the dark womb that is emptiness.  A Scorpio full moon often leads to submitting  to our most base desires as we try to distract ourselves with mindless sex,  impulsive, reckless one night stands, or drowning ourselves in our past with all that could have been. I'm sure you can see some of these options are probably not a great ideas, but adults will do what they are going to do (who am I to judge?). But, since we do have a little time to prepare, there are some considerations for a more evolved use of this energy, if you're interested. For example, from now until the full moon phase, starting on the 21st of April, consider contemplating the "why" behind your sexual desires and drives. Why you feel the need to communicate on such a primal, whole body experience with this person, is an important part of a deeper more potent connection to your partner, and the mysteries of the Universe at large. 

Stop and think about how much of our world, our own human body, and the human experience we don't understand. Many times, analytical thinking and scientific discovery leads to more questions than answers.  These are the basic lessons of Scorpio. How do you trust, when you're surrounded by so much that is unknown? What does it mean to fully move into your higher self, when you feel as if you'll never know who you really are? And, with Mars going retrograde, the need to turn around and face our inner dragons will be huge! What happens if we judge every single thought we have, and decide our own human experience is, by nature "bad", instead of simply natural and beyond understanding? If we stand paralyzed with fear over every part of this life we don't fully understand, we'll drive ourselves crazy! Stop and center yourself. Love yourself unconditionally, with passion and excited wonder. Be more interested in yourself, than in what it feels like when you drown yourself in someone else. And then, when we move into this three day full moon phase, if you are going to reach out and explore the most sacred of mysteries with someone else, know why. 

There're  some mysteries that can only be felt, and there will never be a way to change that as long as we're human. Those mysteries include the idea that every cell in our body once was stardust; the energy of who we are is bound by the same scientific law that energy can neither be created nor destroyed -meaning parts of us go on forever; the whole of who we are, reaches back through our ancestral lineage to the beginning of time; and we are connected to all that has created us. As part of the natural world, we belong here. We have the ability to reach back into our animal-instinct, and bridge that part of us that needs no education. We know how to lose ourselves in the ability to allow our bodies to submit, to act on pure instinct, and yet that connection often seem illusive as we allow our intellect to interfere. The sexual experience brings us as close as we can get to experiencing someone else's soul - that can be life changing, or it can be a fun distraction, and this Scorpio full moon is going to give us this chance if we want it. 

Whether you are on your own or in a relationship, the deep desire to contemplate and explore how you fit into the dance of life can be profound during this Scorpio Pink Moon. On a day to day level, Virgo is expanding our idea of the day to day living experience, and this will be continuing through September. I am encouraging everyone to connect with this Scorpio Full Moon and take them forward as part of your life. Bringing mystery and ceremony to the routine of your life is a pretty important part of a balanced life. Bringing a connection deeper than an orgasm, or the ability to blow off some steam with your partner, can be both a spiritual and primitive experience at once. That moment in time when you are out of your own head, and completely in the moment of surrender to life - that is the intense lesson of a Scorpio full moon; however, the blessing is that you can bring this connection to every aspect of your life. There 's a sacred and mysterious connection to every part of your life from sweeping the floor to loving your life partner. Being aware of this sacred ceremony and connection, helps you find joy in all the little unknown mysteries of life that surround us every day. If you get nothing else out of this post, I hope you find a reason to live your everyday life full of mystery, wonder and intent. Dream your dreams into reality by truly finding, and connecting, the things you do every day with your bliss. I guess I'm just saying, take a good nap because it's almost time to really wake up!