You are a deciduous tree in the forest. It is mid-March and your branches are bare and spindly. You creak and lean stiffly in the wind, but your roots are deep. They fan out beneath you searching for water and nutrients in the frost-hardened ground. Winter has slowed the conversation with mycelium, things are quiet above and below. But then, the sun breaks through and warms your bark. The longer it stays, the softer the ground becomes, and you feel your own thaw. Your roots are tickled, your form becomes more pliable and there’s an electricity between your layers. You begin to swell. Rich, sweet sap oozes, then flows, then courses through your system. It sings through your branches pushing buds out the tips and filling them with verdure. You are full of vitality that has yet to actually… spring.
We are days away from the Vernal Equinox, Ostara and Aries season. The energy right now is charged. It is pregnant with possibility and new life. Remember our conversation about decomposition during the New Moon? Now is the time of digestion and metabolism. What is broken down to the elements, becomes the energy behind what will be.
The Full Moon will peak tomorrow morning just after midnight Pacific time, at 27 degrees in Virgo. The late degrees of a sign usually give it extra oomph, which for the last full moon of the astrological year feels particularly appropriate. We are coming to the end of an imaginatively potent and transformative Pisces season. Piscean energy can get a little carried away in dream world—it is ruled by *NEPTUNE* after all—and after that Pisces New Moon where we were encouraged to plant the seeds for manifestation, a little status update and reassessment of tasks is in order.
A Full Moon in Virgo loves organization, structure, and purification. As things come into sharper focus, it’s time for an emotional detox.
Where have you been letting your emotional energy bleed into other areas of your life, versus feed other areas of your life?
You certainly don’t need to suppress your emotions, but redirecting the energy of our feelings into resolutions to do things differently will feel far more supportive than allowing ourselves to sink into the swamps of sadness. Yes, there are things we cannot control, but Virgo energy will show us what we can.
While Virgo loves to hold the reins, I think this metaphor deserves a quick revisit. Any horse-person will tell you that it’s imperative to hold the reins with a gentle touch. You don’t want to yank on a horse’s face unless you’re looking to get into a fight from the start. So when we “pick up the reins,” we are regaining control by creating an open line of communication between ourself and the horse, between ourself and our life. Virgo out of balance can become a control freak, so try not to identify with your expectations and practice tolerance for your process—and that of others.
This moon is trine Pluto in Capricorn giving us a boost of transformative pressure to work smarter not harder. And Mercury in Pisces will be sextile Uranus in Taurus which will offer some inspirational energy when it comes to exploring new technologies and the desire to share alternative ideas with others. If you aren’t seeing the sprouts of your New Moon manifestations yet, what needs to be done to amend the environment or the care of these seedlings?
FOR THE BODY
Virgo rules the digestive tract, the small intestine, the colon, the pancreas, and rectum.
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A meditation on sap within the body can feel really nice and cozy, but try some worm-like movement to bring energy to the gut. Cat/Cow poses supported by the hands and knees, seated or supine twists, and rolling the belly (like Shakira) help to stimulate the chi.
â—¦ Cook with dill, mint, and marjoram.
All excellent on white fish, eggplant, fennel or in Green Goddess dressing on asparagus or salad.
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Drink miso, ginger tea, or mashed ginger with honey as digestive aids.
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Work with Moss Agate and Sunstone.
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Tune into your belly brain and reconnect with your gut. (Especially if you have a defined Sacral center!)
On March 20 the sun will enter Aries beginning a new astrological year. When we think about Aries, we think of a headstrong, initiating energy. We light the fire, take the leap, and charge ahead. For some folks this can feel super liberating, but for others it can feel like getting hit by a freight train.
In Human Design you have a Strategy, the way your energy interacts with the rest of the world based on your definition.If you’re a Manifestor, your Strategy is to inform and initiate, but if you’re a Reflector, Manifesting Generator, Generator or Projector, you probably know that initiating results in more disappointment/frustration/anger/bitterness than it's worth.
But let’s reframe the idea that the other four types can't take advantage of Aries season! Strategy and Authority are important when you are dealing with others and with course-altering decisions. But we can all take action for ourselves, light a fire under our own butts, or try something new.
It’s helpful to know your Determination, Cognition, Environment and Sense. These variables all support your Strategy (and Authority) and make it so much easier to respond, find your neutral, be invited, or visualize/inform/respond. Use the combination of your Determination and Cognition to tap into your best learning style, how your nourish your body and mind; your Environment for contexts in which you'll feel the most energetically supported; and your Sense for how you will play it out with others. For example, if you are a Generator with Direct Determination and Smell Cognition, you take in information best during the day, you are attracted to sunlight and contrast, you like to see your food being made and know where things come from, and you understand something best when you face it head on. With Smell Cognition, you have an intuitive sense about things and people, you know what is healthy for you by the way it smells, and you can develop a keen awareness of your physical environment that supports your Sacral Response. This Aries season you could feel really satisfied by cooking for yourself with Southeast Asian, Caribbean or African flavors; trying a new sport or outdoor activity that requires you to think fast on your feet; learning about teas or perfume production; reading the latest “who dunnit?!” novel; or practicing wild-food foraging. Let your response guide your choices, and your Authority (whether it be Sacral or Emotional) make the bigger decisions that involve commitment, investment, and life course-altering.
While this full moon has many names including the Worm Moon (Dakota), Sugar Sap Moon (Ojibwe), and the Wind Strong Moon (Pueblo), I like to think of it as the Egg Moon. It is the moon closest to the celebration of Ostara, the vernal equinox.
On March 20, there will again be equal hours of light and darkness. A day of balance before the bursting forth of spring. The eventide of light, Ostara can also be a celebration of personal fertility.
What do you feel germinating within you that you would like to bring out into the world this year? Whether it be a creative project, a trip, a relationship, an investment, or something totally new, celebrate the seedling.
Save your egg shells and clean the halves.
Write an intention on each and place a tea light in the shell.
Light the candles with gratitude for things that came to pass since the Winter Solstice and let them burn completely.
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