I was telling my sister the other day how I feel like I’ve been in the wash cycle.

 

Things are getting churned, inside and out. And while old patterns are scrubbed away, new relationships and new creative ideas have been added to the mix, but the dye doesn’t feel quite set.

 

From this corner of the world, where the lush green is encroaching with every hour of lingering sun and ripening berries bear the skins of soggy browning petals, the continuous spin of the wheel is palpable. Summer, with her nostalgic promise of sweet bounty, is unfolding under the last dregs of an expended spring. I welcome the rain now in the hopes that it will diffuse fire season later. 

 

The many stages of the world are full and frenzied with their proceeding and progressing, and by no means is that metaphor a reduction of the horrors and atrocities that are occuring on the collective scale. And I, the individual standing on my own platform with the agency of choice—of my attention and of my energy—face the task of taking action every day amidst an unstable climate. It is decidedly important for me to be informed to edify my values and my choices. I can let myself be moved to sadness, to anger, to grief, to rage and still have the autonomy to respond with intention vs reacting just to release the pressure.  

 

One thing I know to be true in the coming seasons, natural and allegorical, is that we have more power in connection and community-building than division. As we move through our days, through the rhythms of work and life, choosing to be in community and to build networks of aid where we can will be the material that pulls us through. Networks of aid can look like collaboration between providers to meet the varied needs of a client’s wellness plan, or it can look like small business owners organizing an educational community event. It can look like your book club signing up for the local CSA. When we invest in our neighbors and our neighborhood, we sow seeds of trust and commonality. When we gather over food, over the exchange of ideas—think markets and potlucks and block parties—we enrich our relationship to the collective. There are and have been a lot of folks moving out toward extremes, driven at their core by hurt, by a sense of not belonging. Violence and madness are inherent, uncomfortable, and necessary qualities of revolution and transmutation, but when they are motivated by the desire for connection versus opposition we’ll see a distinct change in the collective quality. 

 

 

 

This morning’s New Moon in Gemini peaks at 5:37am PDT conjunct Venus. A new moon in Gemini is not only the beginning of the next lunation, or lunar month, but it can be a new beginning for our relationships with our immediate and chosen community. The sign of Gemini is playful and needs intellectual stimulation, so go ahead and use your voice to create connection. Exchange ideas and be open to lively discussion. If you can, meet others with a sense of curiosity and try not to take too much too seriously in these exchanges. It’s more about the banter, the word play, and the flexibility of perspective.

 

There is a strong element of “newness” this Gemini season and we could do with being a little more gentle with one another, especially as we encounter volatile subjects. Be aware that Gemini can flip the script. And remember to check in with your own nervous system before responding.

 

During the last full moon, a new door was opened with the Jupiter-Venus conjunction and now with the New Moon in Gemini conjunct Venus, we are invited to take the initiatory action toward a new love, action aligned with our new values. Step through the doorway and move in the direction ahead of you.

 

The new moon is also square Saturn, which may provide some friction, a sense of a growth edge. There may be something a little uncomfortable about taking this new action. Of course there is. You are allowed to feel “new” when you are trying something for the first time. You may not get it perfect, you may always ask for a do-over. As we were told in acting school, “Do it scared. Do it shy. Do it sad or unsure, but do the thing.” And I tell you what, not only was that helpful advice for character development, but it has helped me develop my real life character more than anything else. To give myself the permission to do something imperfectly, ungracefully.

 

Our fortuitous friend Jupiter will be making some promising transits. Trine Pluto and sextile Neptune, he will be offering us some compassion, meditative ease and perhaps even visionary gifts while we fulfill our desire for self-actualization and embody our decisiveness. Standing firmly in our truth has never been more attractive and supported. 

When the Sun, Moon and Venus are conjunct for the new moon, they will all be in Gate 35—Progress, the Gate of Change. This is one of my favorite Hexagrams in the IChing, not only because I love the idea that things just keep moving on an infinite spiral of time, but because it liberates us from the concept of despair.  I read a post the other day that said, “Despair is historically unfounded.” And it is true. If families who have lost homes, and mothers and fathers who have lost children, and children who have lost parents wake to meet the sun in the morning with the will and heart to face what the day will bring, then I can damn-well wish a good morning to my barista and spend a minute chatting with the elderly lady smoking outside the building. These are not great acts to change the course of our dystopian systems, but they may inspire someone to keep trying, to pass a kind gesture along, or to have the hard conversation they were avoiding. 

 

Gate 35 holds the energy to explore a new experience, but specifically one that can be shared with others. Progress depends on interaction, no change occurs in a vacuum. With Gate 35’s sights set on the horizon, we are driven to engage with the experience, to share within the experience, and in the recounting of it. This gate holds a strong curiosity for “what’s on the other side,” but it can also hold up unrealistic expectations or waive things away, jaded by past experiences. Allow the “newness” of the moment to illuminate the experience in a way you may not have thought of before.

 

I recently shared about a week-long CranioSacral seminar that I attended in Truth of Consequences, NM on Instagram. An exercise in sharing more of my self as I'm moving through this world with you. I received so much loving support for the little bit that I shared in the last Moonsletter about my personal journey to this work and I'm more inspired than ever to share deeper. There's a longer piece I've been working on for a couple of years now detailing my psychological experience in my 20's. It's been difficult to write, and I've wrestled with creating a different project out of it entirely, but I look forward to sharing those words with you soon.

@honoredbody

alexandra@honoredbody.com