The new year is not something before us, it is something hidden within us trying to find the right light. Don’t wait for the right gift to be given to you. Look inside instead and find the Holy message trying to be opened.
~Michael Meade
Photo and Quote courtesy of Jack Leishman
You and I both know that life is a circle. And the cycle is comforting. Even in the depths of a bitterly cold winter we know that Spring will, one day, come. We know that on the hottest of summer days that the heat will subside with sun and we will look into the vast night sky and be reminded that we are but a speck in a spiral galaxy in a black universe.
And yet in our culture we only celebrate and embrace one part of the cycle – the growth of Spring and Summer. We love goals, growth and development, enlightenment, ascension, expansion, action, the visible, the known, and talking. And all those things are useful, valuable, and beautiful. But they are only half of the cycle and dangerously incomplete. It is like the words on this page without a background contrast. Things that only grow, expand, and consume are destructive like cancer cells.
What lacks appreciation and honor in our culture is decay, death, the unknown, gestation and the birthing process – the Rest and Regeneration of Fall and Winter. In the U.S., we do all we can to stop the appearance of aging, push our elders into nursing homes, sanitize death, tell the grieving that they should move on, schedule cesaereans and induced deliveries, make midwifery very hard to practice in most states, and legislate reproductive rights. And yet, this part of the cycle has many gifts to give us and is essential for healthy and productive growth.
This year, I am exploring the power and gifts of the quiet part of the cycle - Dark Moon energies.
I feel called to do it and it seems resonant for our times. Since taking an astronomy class at Cornell years ago, I’ve been intrigued by the fact that our 95% of universe is comprised of dark matter and dark energy and only 5% ordinary matter/energy.
The Dark Moon is the vast eternal embrace of the universal womb.
Just like the light, the dark is eternal and universal. It is the space in which the starlight within ourselves and others can be seen and distinguished.
The Dark is the pause between actions, space to reflect on what has past that we cherish and what we are ready to decay in the dark compost of the universe, the ability to look deep within and discern desires, listening to our soul, the chance to really see what is true about ourselves and the world, using our instinctive intuitive intelligence to guide us through the unknown territories when logic, rationality and reason fail us, honoring and working with all that is non-manifest that is around us – collective psyche, energy beings that support and guide our lives, and superconsciousness, our second senses, the warm watery womb in which we can rest in the formlessness and regenerate before reemerging ready to live the days ahead feeling whole, grounded, and nourished.
Sometimes we choose to explore the dark so that we can more fully experience harmony, wholeness and balance. Taking time to rest, nourish, and listen deeply to our souls gives us the chance to see the starlight within us and see what we do that makes life sparkle for others.
We often find ourselves in the dark when we come to a crossroads in life. We usually want to move through them as fast as we can. Our culture tells to push through, make a choice, move on through the fear, get into action. To avoid the formless, dark unknown. But if you have ever given birth or been through the grief process, you know that life has its own imperative. The birth process starts when it is ready and can last minutes or days. Grieving also has its own timeline, is not linear but washes over us in waves for weeks, months, years and decades and for some grief is short. Both gestation and grieving are messy transitional processes - that are not easily controlled by the rational mind. BUT, when they are witnessed and supported by loving wisdom they are powerful, majestic, and life-affirming.
Our world is collectively in a messy transitional process of regenerating life on Earth. Many people are at a personal crossroads and our world is at a global crossroads. We simply cannot continue with the same beliefs, actions, and reactions and have life on Earth continue sustainably. As Charles Eisenstein so eloquently says, there is a more beautiful world that our hearts knows is possible and we are currently in a space between stories. We can bring power to this time by authentically listening to the pulse of the circle of life within ourselves and all beings. I feel called to support people who are gestating a new story and new way of living on the Earth that is in harmony with our soul’s deepest calling.
It’s my honor to work with gifts of the Dark Moon to support you when you are at a personal crossroads or support your work in re-envisioning the world.
If this resonates with you and you want to expand your capacity for bringing your starlight to the ground in 2017 with grace, there are four ways to work together -
1. A custom Dark Moon Program to work with me 1:1
2. A Dark Moon: Rebirthing Beauty Circle Program for those who want community beginning in late January
3. I’ll be writing a series of blog posts and gift meditations about Rebirthing Beauty using the power of the Dark over the course of the year for those who just want to walk alongside.
4. I am also offering a circle for the Ithaca community.
I'm super excited to say that Katie Hess of Lotus Wei has generously put together a series of her exceptionally powerful flower elixirs tailored specifically for this Dark Moon:Rebirthing Beauty Program.
This May, I will be walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela with my daughter. (Compostela means field of stars).
If you are not familiar with it, it is a 480 mile walk from the French Pyrenees across the Northern Coast of Spain. There are images of the Black Madonna all along the route, some bought by the Templars. It's believed that the earliest pilgrimages were made to the "Black Madonna of Compostela", a very ancient effigy housed in the church. I’m really looking forward to undertaking this with my own daughter and deepening my relationship with and understanding of the beauty and gifts of the Dark Feminine to share with you upon my return.
I’d love to hear from you – your reactions, thoughts, artwork, poetry, or musings. And, if you’ve done the Camino, I’d welcome your suggestions.
With love for you for this New Year,
Jana