The Radiant Self in an Intertwined World

The Full Moon in Leo reflects the Sun in Aquarius

Hello radiant ones,

Welcome to the first full moon of the year! A special welcome to all you new readers- thanks so much for reading and subscribing. I’m so happy you’re here.

The Lion and the Moon in Rousseau’s The Sleeping Gypsy.

The Sun has just recently entered Aquarius, and today the moon, on the opposite side of the sky in Leo, is entirely illuminated by the sun’s rays. The Leo full moon is popularly known as the Wolf Moon, and in other indigenous cultures is alternately named the Center Moon (Assiniboine), the Canada Goose Moon (Tlingit), Greetings Moon (Western Abenaki), and Spirit Moon (Ojibwe).

This moon, shining bright in the coldest and darkest part of the year, highlights the polarity between the collective-minded sign of the Water Bearer and the individual-focused sign of the Lion. This is the axis of Expression & Creativity: the lion’s radiant self-expression vs. the water-bearer’s creation of systems that affect the greater whole. In the body, Leo is the ruler of the heart, and Aquarius is the ruler of the circulatory system;’ the health and rhythm of the center affects the distribution to the larger web, and the health of the network affects the strength of the beating hub. The Center Moon.

Wolves, howling together in the freezing nights this time of year, weave their strong individual voices into a collective siren song, reaching out to their pack, reinforcing their social bonds. The Greeting Moon. While the lobos live in packs, each know their independent role and place within the family group.

The Howling by Richard de Wolff

On a similar note, Canada Geese, flying in a V formation, flap their wings and create lift for their fellow birds, which allows them all to fly further with less effort. They take turns leading and following; the tiring yet important position of front-goose rotates among all members of the flock. In these dark winter months (…Cold Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Moon (Cree), Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin), and Severe Moon (Dakota), it has always been imperative to recognize that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And that each part within the whole must hold its own, take its turn in the rotation to lead.

Who -and what - composes your pack, your flock?

This Leo Moon in Aquarius season encourages you to reflect on how you- as a distinct, powerful, important, and independent individual- connect with the places and people you live among. Who is your pack, your flock? How are you showing up for others, for the environment that holds you beyond the boundaries of your skin? This question includes not only how you’re showing strength and generosity within the group, but also how you’re showing up with authenticity, vulnerability, and truth about your needs. Truly sustainable connections are always a two way street. Outward strength is a result of strength inside.

“Look at the anatomy of trees as one of nature’s examples of successful organizing that realizes that our power is in our ability to both be fiercely centered and grounded but also infinitely reaching towards our unique sources of energy, light, and growth.

Each tree’s elements are reliant on one another but totally unique in form and function. There is no competition or pressure to be the root or the trunk or the buds that bloom. Each tree is a universe, a master delegator, a puzzle and a puzzle piece. Trees have encouraged me to not worry so much about making everyone ‘feel important’ and to focus on how to create systems and support efforts where everyone is important and clear on how their work is unique, crucial and totally interconnected.”

—Morgan Mann Willis, from adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy

The sun represents the conscious, and consciously it feels like a good assignment to take stock of the Aquarian social and community channels that you’re circulating in. As an individual, think about what you desire to contribute to the groups you walk within, and also what you desire to receive from your social connections. The clearer you can be about these desires, the more authentically you’ll be able to interact with them.

In taking stock of these interconnections, I encourage you to extend beyond the realm of the human, and also pay attention to the more-than-human realms that you are intertwined with. The planet of depth, Pluto, is copresent with the sun in Aquarius and and opposite the full moon this week, and thus the question “What does it mean to be human?” is likely to keep showing up. (I highly recommend David Abram’s essay “On Being Human in a More-Than-Human World” and The Emerald podcast’s episode “Animism is Normative Consciousness” to get started down this track of contemplation!)

Buddha head in Banyan tree in Ayutthaya, Thailand, by © edusma7256 / Pixabay

Your Unique & Differentiated Radiance

While the sun represents our conscious attention and intention, we all know that the moon- the full moon especially- centers on our feelings, our emotions, our body. So while you contemplate your Aquarian interrelations, also pay attention to what this full moon illuminates within your body- especially your strong, beautiful Lion-heart.

Pluto’s activation of this lunation (conjunct the sun and opposite the moon) could unearth some deep-rooted sentiments and have you feeling a bit obsessive or fixated on a pain-point from your past- Leo and Aquarius are fixed signs, after all. On the other hand, the moon and sun are also making a T- square to expansive Jupiter in earthy Taurus, so it’s a beautiful moon to feel into what blossoming flowers could grow out of any pain or trauma you’re feeling.

It’s not easy to change your feels on a dime- we all ride our own emotional waves. But knowing that Pluto and Jupiter are showing up in this emotional full moon chart to help transmute and reveal hidden gold beneath difficult feelings can be a salve. Personal evolution is a key theme of this moon, urging us to discover our own unique, weird, and differentiated radiance. By doing so, by owning our truest, most authentic, quirky, and sometimes cringe selves, we are fare more able to participate in the collaborative, reciprocal society we dream of, without giving our power away.

This full moon, I’m making a list of my inner, lion-hearted desires for the year, and saying f*-you to my deep fears about being an impostor or “too much”. As a sensitive Leo Rising, this inquiry into boundaries of selfhood within the larger web of community can be a difficult one. It’s not always easy for me to find the membranes of my own skin, to cultivate energy and fire within myself, unless I’m situated up on Pride Rock, physically distant from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Practicing how to maintain personal sovereignty while also being attuned to the needs and wants of others in community is a fine line, a tightrope that I’m sure I’ll be walking my entire life. And it is exactly what this full moon (and also this upcoming 20-year period of Pluto in Aquarius) is asking of us:

How do I show up for myself more authentically- how do I be more me- so that I can also show up as a better community member?

This question isn’t rhetorical…I’d love to hear what practices you use to show up for yourself as your most authentic you!

The Global Strike for a Permanent Ceasefire

This week, January 21-28, activists, led by Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda, have called for a global strike to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

In Bisan’s words: “Strike from the economic movements, work and your normal life because nothing is normal in this life. Strike as much as you can and protest…for a whole week or until this madness ends! You can disrupt the economies that support genocide and make your voices and our voices heard!”

This global strike is a perfect opportunity to practice how showing up as your authentic self, guided by your heart and your feelings, can contribute to changes on the interconnected whole. While it could be tempting to lean into apathy and question how a strike like this could actually change things on a global level, this full moon in Leo encourages us to remember the heart’s integral place within the circulatory system- each singular beat matters.

You don’t need to know everything or have the perfect words to speak up. You can stand firm on a couple of key principles, such as that it is wrong to murder children, no matter who they are. It is wrong to bomb hospitals, mosques, universities, and refugee camps. It is wrong to kill doctors, aid workers, and journalists. No atrocities against civilians are ever justified, no matter who is committing them.

Heere are some things you can do this week:

• Stay home from work, if you have the privilege to do so (not everyone does)

• Spend time reading, watching documentaries, and educating yourself on the history of Palestine

• Also spend time integrating this information, meditating, being in silence, feeling into your values and truths

• Use that time at home to continue calling, emailing, and otherwise contacting your elected officials and demanding they support a permanent ceasefire. Contact your state and federal reps, and also your local leaders (city council members, school boards, etc.)

• Join a protest in support of Palestine

• Avoid buying anything or spending money at all if possible

• Don’t go to the bank or make online bank transactions

• Don’t post about anything on social media unless it’s related to ceasefire.

• Lift up Palestinian voices by sharing articles, posts, poems, etc. by Palestinians

• Sign a petition demanding a ceasefire

• Talk to your friends and family and ask them to join in the strike

• If you are going out, wear something that shows support for Palestine.

• Encourage the company you work for to issue a statement in support of a ceasefire

It is never too late to join the fight for justice, to take actions and have hard conversations. Freeze and overwhelm are just the internal states that the powers-that-be want the populace to stay in. It is much easier to govern and control a citizenship that is distracted, overwhelmed, and thus remaining complacent, believing that their individual voices don’t contain the potential to cast spells, influence the world, and make change.

This week, however you choose to act, remember that any conscious attention you direct toward the creation of a more just world is truly important. There is no such thing as perfect action, and you don’t have to label yourself “an activist” to contemplate and engage with the ways your selfhood intersects with the web of humanity.

This is the first time in human history that we’ve been able to witness atrocities of genocide in real-time, through the palms of our hands. It is beyond difficult to be confronted with the reality of mass-scale human suffering in this way. It is helpful because it shows us how small the world is, how interconnected we all are, and doesn’t allow us to turn the other cheek. But the burnout potential of holding this level of constant crisis in our bodies is real, and as our empathy is activated, there’s no turning it off.

So, in addition to any outer actions you’re doing this week and beyond to make change and show solidarity, remember to resource yourself internally and take care of your heart, so that the blood that pumps from that space is oxygenated and not depleted.

Somatics of the Heart-Center

In the body, Leo rules the heart-area (along with the spine, gall bladder and back), with each beat contributing to the energetics of the larger system. This full moon, it’s important to show love for your heart as the keeper of your essential life force, and to help with this, I recommend a coherent breathing practice.

Lately I’ve been reading studies done by the HeartMath Institute, who for 30 years has been researching heart coherence. Coherence refers to a synchronized and harmonious state of being- physically, emotionally, and mentally- that allows people to manage stress and find alignment in their mind and body. These studies have shown that the heart sends more information to the nervous system and brain than the other way around, and that the heart has a huge impact on our brain function and feelings of anxiety and overwhelm.

The coolest part about coherence is that we have the ability to change our heart rate, which then influences our mental state, much easier than simply deciding to ‘change our mind’ about something. The heart, as an organ, rests upon and is interlinked with the lungs and diaphragm, the main organs of breath. It makes sense, then, that through breath practices, we can easily influence our heart coherence, and thus also our feelings, thoughts, and sense of flow with the world around us.

The breath pattern used to increase heart coherence and rise out of feelings of stress and overwhelm is super simple: a 5.5 second inhale and a 5.5 second exhale, with no pauses in between. This breath pattern beautifully works out to 5.5 breaths per minute, and it leads to our heart sending messages to our brain that improve brain function and reduce negative emotions, syncing up our hearts, nervous systems, and circulatory systems. Syncing up the axis of Leo and Aquarius, the singular within the systemic.

Coherent Breathing = Prayer

One of my favorite facts about this breath pattern is that this exact same frequency has been used throughout human history in prayer and mantra. An extensive 2001 study at the University of Pavia in Italy showed that praying the Rosary in traditional Latin and speaking the Buddhist mantra Om Mani Padme Hum takes the same amount of time: about 5.5 seconds. The prayer acts as a vocal exhale, which is then followed by a 5.5 second inhale before 211`the next repetition. The sa ta na ma chant from Kundalini yoga also takes about six seconds to vocally exhale, followed by six seconds to inhale. So does the Zen chant of Om, the Catholic prayer cycle of the Ave Maria, and the Hindi khechari mudra practices.

“We believe that the rosary may have partly evolved because it synchronized with the inherent cardiovascular (Mayer) rhythms, and thus gave a feeling of wellbeing, and perhaps an increased responsiveness to the religious message,” the Pavia researchers write.

It’s easy to find coherent breathing practices online- just search for Coherent or Resonant Breathing and you’ll find music composed to the 5.5 second intervals with nice animations to guide you through the breath.

I went a little further and purchased the Inner Balance Coherence Monitor that HeartMath produces (no affiliate relationship, I just like what they do, and am excited to utilize it with breath coaching clients!). It’s a little device that clips onto your earlobe and connects to an app with heart centered coherence breath practices, so that you can practice and monitor your coherence over time. Although it’s definitely not a necessary tool, it’s been fun to see the results over time and has helped me return to this breath pattern more frequently in my daily life. Coherent breathing is something you can easily and safely practice while working or scrolling or driving, and after only a few minutes of it I definitely do feel a change in my state of mind, especially reducing anxiety and overwhelm.

the heart is a front line, and the fight is to feel in a world of distraction

With my hand on my heart, I’ll close today with a quote from Adrienne Maree Brown that I recently wrote down after re-reading her book Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds:

“Remember you are water. Of course you leave salt trails. Of course you are crying. Flow.

If there happens to be a multitude of griefs upon you, individual and collective, or fast and slow, or small and large, add equal parts of these considerations:

• that the broken heart can cover more territory.

• that perhaps love can only be as large as grief demands. that grief is the growing up of the heart that bursts boundaries like an old skin or a finished life.

• that grief is gratitude.

• that water seeks scale, that even your tears seek the recognition of community.

• that the heart is a front line and the fight is to feel in a world of distraction.

• that death might be the only freedom.

• that your grief is a worthwhile use of your time.

• that your body will feel only as much as it is able to.

• that the ones you grieve may be grieving you.

• that the sacred comes from the limitations. that you are excellent at loving.”

All my love to you, dear readers, on this Lion-Wolf-Canada Goose-Center-Greetings full moon. Give your heart some love and send that love out into the channels of the world. I’ll see you for the new moon in Aquarius in a couple weeks.

<3 <3 <3

Alison

P.S. If you are resonating with my musings, please consider sharing this post with a friend. I have a lot of fun projects planned for the year ahead (astro-breathwork group sessions, a podcast, and beyond…), and I hope to connect with the people who may benefit from them. You support means the world to me <3.