When the road smooths out, do you notice how tightly you’ve been gripping the wheel?
When the trail levels, are you still marching at an inclined pace?
When you get to the overlook, do you pause to see from where you came and take in the span of how far you’ve yet to go?
Pisces energy lives in this pause, like an all-seeing eye able to scan the past and peer into the future. It is the marriage of direction and current, the resiliency in surrender, the moment of synergy. It is paradoxical, like the process of individuation through which we embody our intricate uniqueness as a necessary function to the unity of the Whole. We meet here in liminality, and how we proceed depends entirely on our softness and discretion.
In the northern hemisphere (particularly in the PNW) we are in the sweet, golden hour between summer and fall. From long afternoons in the sun, we eagerly unfold our flannels when we need an extra layer in the evening. Some folks are already drinking pumpkin spice lattes and some are still toasting on the beach. The trees are beginning to gild around the edges. The fields are going to seed. This in-between time holds the potential for mutation, once again, and the possibility to yield a whole new kind of bounty.
We have come to the Harvest Moon. The Full Moon in Pisces reaches its zenith at 2:58am PST tomorrow morning. A moon in Pisces can make us especially perceptive and sensitive to our environments—physically and energetically. And with this moon so close to dreamy, veiled Neptune, it could be tempting to get lost in our emotional worlds. A square to Mars could notch up any emotional tension. But a tight sextile to Uranus in Taurus could help to balance these aspects, offering emotional independence influenced by unexpected changes in finances and property.
Do remember: every planet from Jupiter outward is retrograde for now. We are being offered a deep period of introspection, just ahead of the environmental seasons of death, reflection, contemplation, and germination. Even outside of focused meditation, profound observations are happening in your non-conscious, in the background of life and in the mundane. During Virgo’s season of contraction, the illumination of a Piscean perspective invites us to reflect on the journey of our imaginations and our individuation in the last six months. We may also be revisiting themes of creativity and spirituality that have motivated us until now.
What great dreams have unfurled? What space have you made or claimed for yourself?
Mercury stations retrograde this evening until October 2. You may have already been feeling the shadow period in terms of slower communication, or minor mix-ups and misunderstandings. With everything else stationed retrograde, Mercury Rx may feel significantly stronger over the next couple weeks than it has previously. However, I’m no alarmist nor a fear-monger. This reminder to read the fine print, tune our communication, and practice patience with the human inclination for error is all in step with the seasonal slow-down. Some folks may even start to feel more motivated through a favorable trine with Mars. Mercury retrograde doesn’t mean a total halt to business and relationships, but an active reassessment and adjustment to the changes that have inevitably put pressure around the edges. The next two weeks are actually a great time for revising current plans, and after the new moon, apply that energy to brainstorming and mind-mapping the next steps ahead.
FOR THE BODY
Pisces rules the feet, toes, bodily fluids and the pineal gland.
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Take some long barefoot walks to ground yourself through this transitional season.
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Treat yourself to a pedicure, or create a ritual of washing your feet when you come home or before bed. Imagine all the challenges of the day flowing out the soles of your feet and down the drain.
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Take milky oats or passion flower as a tonic, or addition to nighttime tea to soothe the nervous system*
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Work with amethyst, aquamarine and lepidolite to amplify your connection to your spirituality and keep your psychic energy clear.
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Be mindful of your boundaries, physical, emotional and spiritual.
*I am not a doctor nor registered dietician. Please consult your PCP to make sure that any changes are correct for you and your body.
This Full Harvest Moon will refresh the way we think about abundance. As we turn to reap what we’ve sown this year, what crop was unexpected? With whom do you want to share this gain? The Harvest Moon has traditionally been a time where you could squeeze in a few extra hours of tending to the fields. With one last exhale, we make the final push on our plans from this spring. We turn the soil, plant hardy little winter crops, and polish the tools that have served us well these last two seasons.
September 17th is St. Hildegard’s Feast Day. St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a Benedictine nun and a leader of her own all-female monastery. Although it wasn’t officially recognized as a convent, her monastery drew attention across Europe from women who wished to join and study under Hildegard to wealthy families eager to solidify their social position through support, to nobles, court members, even archbishops who sought her visionary and medicinal gifts. She was a brilliant polymath; one of the earliest recorded female composers and playwrights, author of two encyclopedias of the flora and fauna of the local geography, an illuminator of complex mandalas that represented her visions, and building an apothecary and early hospital at her monastery.
“We cannot live in a world that is not our own, in a world that is interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a home. Part of the terror is to take back our own listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light.” St. Hildegard von Bingen
Despite the fact that I wasn’t raised in the church, St. Hildegard became one of my most trusted guides in my early twenties. She believed in beauty, that feminine power was divine, and the intricate relationship between humans and nature. She was a brazen pioneer for medieval women during a dark and oppressive time, and she turned the influence of the church on its head. Read more about St. Hildegard here.
On September 17, I go out into the woods. I get intimate with the divinity in nature. I bake spelt bread and meditate on her art and watch my favorite movie about her life, Vision. I share this with you, First name / my dear friend, because she’s one of my Helpers, and it is important that we recognize our Helpers in order to keep the lines of communication open.
I’m curious, who do you resonate with? Who do you consider a Helper or a guide?
Office Hours, INITIATION, and Counsel will still be available for virtual clients, and next year the Moonsletter will be growing into a membership space with extended offerings.
This move has been a long time coming and I am thrilled to be in private practice—to combine the work that I love and welcome you into a sacred space.
Booking for in-person sessions will open up next week at www.honoredbody.com
As always First name / my dear friend, I hope that this resonated with you and I am so excited to share more about what's to come. I'm happy to answer any questions via email or DM (@honoredbody). If you want to share the Moonsletter with others, feel free to pass it along! And if you're reading this and you haven't signed up,join here!
