Make it an inside job around your state of mind these next two weeks to get the best results. The results will be visible, in spite of the internal focus. In fact it may be hard to hide the changes. It’s just that they start from a fresh place inside of you for those who are willing. A new origination point affects all the day to day decisions that come from the changed view. And those decisions include approval, respect and the calling card of blame.
Let’s touch on basic brain biology. We are wired as newborns to crave belonging and then as we move into walking and talking, we crave a way to stand out. This is survival instinct and it’s in each human alive. Then based on family dynamics, one or the other is highlighted and emerges as a primary response pattern. You’ve heard me say all this before. The difference is humanity is moving into interconnected space like never before. We are the wired world.
The virus traveled the globe in fairly short order, illustrating the interconnection that exists now. So we are reliving the original family dynamic from an interesting, very expansive place. There are empowered adults all over this blue marble with vast amounts of subject matter expertise and even influence, that when collectively put together could solve almost anything. Yet we have a more fragmented world and bitter power struggles every where you look.
You can help with that. Yes, you. The change right now comes from the ground floor up, not the top down. When you shift your inner dialogue with yourself, right now, then everything shifts around you and others may follow suit. This is why I started with the belonging and standing out piece. Belonging first registers with us as approval. It reinforces that you and another are in alignment. You are valid, accepted, aligned with another. It’s not easy to understand that you can belong and still disagree when you are in a young or vulnerable place. In fact much of the dissonance we see around us comes from that misunderstanding.
That young place doesn’t know its own power. So it relies more heavily on social cues to say what is safe or survivable versus what is not. (Hint, pay close attention to the media you feed yourself right now – fear based reporting of any kind does NOT help you). You can get hooked on seeking approval to belong and therefore feel safer.
Then it becomes a bargaining chip of withholding or seeking approval. The needier or more destabilized you feel, the more you seek reassurance from belonging. When you know that, you can become your own self reinforcing trauma loop. You make it and you can break that closed circuit.
One good practice that has impact on your brain is to self sooth by running your hands down your opposite arms at the same time. Cross your hands over you chest and soothe yourself with physical touch. The Breath of Love is also good when anxiety is running through your body. Anxious is not a good look or a place to make decisions from, especially if you want to enjoy your world. Each conscious choice to care well for our anxiety is an act of self empowerment.
When we feel anxious, blame is always a hallmark of feeling disempowered. The minute you (or anyone else) is blaming, there is a disconnect between their perceived world and their actual world. Let blame (also it’s cousin criticism) be a red flag to give yourself a few moments of quality reassurance that differences can be workable.
Right size yourself in the picture of what happens. Oftne fear has us feeling smaller and less impactful than we are. If you have a mental work out buddy, even better. Reinforce yourself together. Then you can applaud the other’s efforts and further reinforce better treatment.
Then once you recognize and normalize the reaction, it can soothe your nervous system. Add in the Breath of Love or the Self Soothing Touch and you rewire your nervous system for all the uncertainty around you. When you interact with all that happens from a this kind of space, the real shifts show up like drops of rain that build into a river that empties into the sea. The Cards and Stars will help.
Thank you,
Lisa Greenfield
September 6th New moon Nine of Swords
The right kind of constraint changes everything. When we manage our emotional storms they no longer drag us behind them like an out of control horse that threw you off but you still have one foot in the stirrup. The next two weeks can help you get free of that feeling. It requires a mix of effort, perspective taking, patience and above all curiosity. We get an ‘ease’ factor with this New Moon that is like greasing the wheels of change. It’s not such a struggle when you realize there is a purpose here. When you know what’s happening you can get the best out of it.
Your body has feedback for you. It tells you when you are doing something that is in your best interest and it tells you when you are forcing a fit. Tune in to you. Where you’ve been ‘shoulding’ on yourself to your detriment may be obvious this way. There are options that suit you better – and you have to find them so you can align with them. It may create disagreements for those who felt their survival was tied to sameness. It’s time to stretch and grow into the space of allowing differences to be there without disconnecting from the other. This Nine of Swords reminds us that most of what we fear never happens! Truth also feels differently in our body than a lie. Learn how to hear what your body is saying.
In these polarized times, we need small radical acts of kindness that allow us to agree to disagree and move forward anyway. Explore how to integrate opposite or conflicting points of view – even within your own head. A solution gets better when a little patience is applied to the process. Start from wherever you start and find your authentic yes. Explore where it fits with others and where it doesn’t. When you feel unsafe, give yourself a pat on the back for stretching into unfamiliar territory. Then do it a little more. The results may delight you in time. The Nine of Swords stands for needless worry, so lighten the load when your brain piles on too much worst case scenario. It is just your fear overestimating the threat and underestimating you.
September 7th the magician
Mars trines Pluto today, bringing a halt to behavior that doesn’t serve you. Now if you are rushing in head first (as Mars can do)let me map out what you may be navigating. Mars in Libra is squaring Pluto in Capricorn. So what needs to shift is where there is too much or too little structure in negotiations for approval or respect. This is a goldilocks hunt for ‘just right’ when it comes to agreeing and disagreeing on things that really matter. The other side of the cravings is the one of standing out. If you trade your authentic self away for belonging, today those places are likely to get your attention.
To stand in your own truth and honor your unique self is self respect. When you can do that even when you crave approval or when you can offer it when you differ with another is to own your power. This empowered place offers you a whole world of options not available when there is unconscious craving to belong that drives unhealthy compromises. This isn’t something you fix; it is a habit you unlearn. That’s where the Magician comes in to play. Start by lovingly allowing where those dark spots exist in your life. Then set an intention to be both your own respect source and your own approval source. What comes out of that place has real magic in it.
September 8th Queen of wands
The energy today is curiouser and curiouser, to steal Lewis Carrol’s line. Pay attention to what you attract. This fiery Queen reminds us that what comes into your life is feedback for you, like a report card. It reveals what our tuning is, like a channel on the TV. Notice where you are tuned in and adjust accordingly. No doubt there are good things that come your way. You can inventory what you like about them and fuel your inner fire with some recognition for what a good match they are, what a good job you did.
You want positive feedback for yourself because by evening old sore points may pop in for a retune. It’s a healthy balance to fuel yourself with positive feedback so when the bits that need an edit show up, you can do it without feeling victimized. How you treat yourself matters. Have a kind conversation in your head today and adjustments go smoother and faster than you fear. Once you see how well you can adjust, you aren’t worried about doing more of it. In fact you may go looking for it.
September 9th Ten of pentacles
This ten announces you have to take it to the next level. Tempers may flare today. Are you an imploder or and exploder? While my hat’s off to those who can hold those tempers in check, you still need to find healthy ways to work out the inner power struggle. Healthy boundaries are required. That is a receptive skill. When people push in past your comfort zone, can you say no and hold it? What’s the story in your head when you do or when you don’t? Take it up a notch. Anger consolidates you helps you say no, which as Annie Lamott pointed out, is a complete sentence.
If you are an exploder it’s harder to reign that in then it is to integrate the implosion. Sorry but you are going to have to put some healthy checks in place to help channel that rage into real power. Explosions mostly come from a place of trying force or control an outcome because you don’t see your impact. The problem is the collateral damage is longer term and costs you real connection and growth. Rituals help. Figure out which one works for you when the rage hits. Give yourself a physical grounding response. Breathing can help. So can beating a pillow flat. You decide. Rage is a powerless response and your next level requires you be in command of what you feel. Start where you start and take a step.
September 10th five of cups
Today’s balancing act calls on your courage and patience. With challenges on both a feeling and speaking level both, it’s too easy to let our mouth shoot cannonballs at flies. It’s a day to do strong self inventory and pause before you speak. What you react to is more likely to be old wounds than real situations. Your complaints or triggers offer a lot of insight into what you traded away to be in connection. Where do you need more approval, where do you need more self respect? Take time to find it yourself, then you can work on the debris from cannonballs.
September 11th Three of swords
You cannot escape the difficult truth in this Three of Swords, there are delays, difficulties and separate paths in life. However, you absolutely can change how you see these things. Are you willing to take a closer look at where your fear of pain and loss causes you more pain, just a different kind. This three and the aspects today are about where too many options can overwhelm our brain stem. It likes one and done or maybe choice of two, not a whole world of options. When you rush to reduce things to the simplest choice to bring down anxiety, you miss out on a range of choices that promise abundance. Take it one choice at a time, feel your body agree or disagree and learn how to expand beyond the straight, narrow selection you are used to settling for in life.
September 12th two of cups
Today the Moon moves out of the dark depths of Scorpio into the light of Sagittarius, bringing relief from deep scrutiny of the last couple days. Restore your balance with kindness, gentleness, soft words or space. This sweet two encourages hanging out with those who happily add to the softness of the space. If it feels good, and isn’t bad for you, do it. It’s the perfect day for a little healthy indulgence. What will yours be??
September 13th Ace of wands
Can you trust what you instinctively know ahead of results? Can you trust your knowing when the results don’t match what you aimed for as an outcome? This Ace offers up a testing day with the transits. Your intuition is good. And it won’t turn out the way you think it will. That’s because your job is to start the fire and keep it fueled. What Spirit does with it is for the greater good, not just our own benefit. Like Christopher Columbus, you are meant to go right when others go left. (Without the genocide, though, please). Your intuition pulls you into the unknown. Trust the reasons may be personal for you, but there is a bigger story here and you play a role when you act on it and honor what is yours to contribute. Then make room for others to do the same.
September 14th five of pentacles
This pesky five is a reminder that scarcity mentality shows up in our reality when we believe that we are alone. When you investigate where you secretly keep control by doing it all yourself, then complain no one else shows up, you do it to yourself. Others show up. They just don’t always do it the way YOU would do it. They don’t do it when you want them to and you can’t wait for their contribution. We have a lot of clever ways we talk ourselves into the space of being the only one you can count on, and it’s not accurate in the big picture. Where can you take in a broader view and what changes when you do?
September 15th The tower
The game has changed and part of you already knows that. Today you feel it. Control is not your friend today. It’s more likely to cause drastic upheaval than it is to help you. Relaxed presence is the sweet spot. If you find that elusive, breathe. Remember all the parts of you contribute to the whole. Let your emotions be a dashboard to guide you as to how to best get on down the road.
You are in the school zone, so no speeding unless you want a ticket. If you are angry, own and let it help you draw healthy boundaries rather than blood. Fear means you are expanding and fear always goes to work to get you to doubt your greatest strength. Investigate what you fear and trust it will open doors. You can do this, you are ready, you are stronger than your fear brain wants you to know.
September 16th eight of pentacles
Ah, the school zone is clearly marked today. Both the big picture and the details require integration. Feelings and logic may want to duke it out, when both are necessary. Be mindful of giving other people answers without being sure you’ve tended to your own questions. It’s a great distractor to start directing mental traffic for someone else. Your own flow is where your efforts pay the biggest dividends. It’s not what to do that needs investigation, it’s why we choose what we do and whether or not it really fits who we are now. Why not be a student of who you are now today?
september 17th Ace of pentacles
Ah, the promise in this second Ace of the Moon cycle. Two aces highlight union. This is the promise that you can integrate head and heart, action and intention, individual and partner. With the aspects today, don’t be afraid if you wander off road mentally with possibilities. Feel your way back to what resonates in your body.
The body is the last place to change and the most quiet of conversations, unless we ignore it too long. Then it speaks in all capital letters. It’s a good day to map out what yes feels like in your body, what no feels like in your body. No or not now usually shows up as tension and/or contraction. Yes tends to feel more open, maybe even relaxed. Once you know your body’s language, your intuition can come through even more clearly. What a gift if we just tune in and give it time to answer.
September 18th Seven of swords
This tricky little Seven of Swords highlights where our fear shows up as lies. The lies we tell ourselves, the lies we take in from those around us, all kinds of untruth. There are massive celestial influences to help each individual come clean about the price we each pay to belong. The energy today is one of unavoidable conflicts between people. It may not be personal for you, it exists in the world.
There is not one right idea, one right way, one right belief. There are the two non negotiable longings to belong and to stand out. Compromises have been human nature since community began to grow. Religious conflict, territorial conflict, idealogical conflict. The goal is not to solve the differences but rather to learn how to incorporate them and let something bigger emerge. Time well spent today is digging into where you bought peace at too high a price or demanded peace at great cost from those you love.
No quick fix is possible. Only the chance to discover the Truth of you. Then you get to learn who to collaborate with and how to do it in a way that respects both sides, whether there is agreement or not. Know your Truth, own it, discover where and when to share it in a way that invites others to do the same. The world is that much the better for you when you do.
September 19 Two of swords
This is the second two in this Moon cycle which builds on the theme of yesterday. When you own your desires, your drives and your actions then you can see how well they serve you in connection with who’s in your world now. There may be some separation of paths that doesn’t necessarily mean disconnection. Then again, some disconnect may be required. Feel your way. With Pluto in the mix, what’s changing is your filter on how you see and understand yourself in the world. This is not a simple equation. It has complexity that is worth your time. Work it out step by step, interaction by interaction. Don’t decide to separate. Stand for what is yours in a way that doesn’t bully or sacrifice your individuality or belonging. Fine tuning is a good thing. And that happens over time.
