We have an energetic Sagittarius Full Moon Wednesday. The the Sun stands opposite both the Moon and that Mars retrograde in Gemini. Which means we’ve reached the mid point of the long six month trek Mars makes through Gemini and it marks a turning point. Our martial nature is our defense, courage and the ability to act on our behalf. So, it’s time for a check in on what you do, why you do it and how that changes going forward.
Let me give you an example. A dear client was here this week and she confessed that she was holding healthier boundaries around what charitable support she offers. She has said no or simply hasn’t said yes unless it felt right. It was a brave admission. Because like many who enjoy success, there is guilt that has trouble receiving unless they give on great magnitude, too. We are wired to belong. So there’s an instinct to give away love, power, money to connect and to improve the community. It’s a survival impulse to keep connection, even at high cost.
That high cost goes for the other end of the spectrum as well. The drive to accumulate all they can no matter the consequences in order to feel safe. Neither extreme is sustainable, not for individuals, not for our planet. Well for my client, she listened to a subtle shift inside of her. Clearly as she did, she became mindful of her time and energy. Especially after several years of ceaseless output for aging family along with community work and creative work. It sounded organic, this shift in her.
The way she looked and felt when she spoke from a place of aligned giving was dramatic. So memorable it informed this post! It wasn’t driven by unconscious need to belong or be a ‘good person’. Or conversely, she isn’t afraid that she is a bad person for letting someone else do some of the heavy lifting. It isn’t sustainable for anyone to do too much. Still, how do we reconcile all that needs to be done for those struggling in today’s world? How do we balance fear, belonging and ego to come up with a healthier balance. And balance is necessary. There is too much that needs to be done and it can cause overwhelm and shut down to see it. But see it we must. Because we are just a couple months away from Saturn moving into Pisces.
What does that have to do with this, you might ask? Bear with me, I’ll try to be succinct. Pisces is the place where we recognize we are all part of the whole. Saturn is the planet of wisdom learned through limitations and boundaries. One very long era is ending. You get to help put things in place to build the next long cycle. Which means what you do and how you do it matters. The last couple years have yanked us out of muscle memory and forced us to consider new options. But people who relied on the systems that are failing are in crisis. What happens next matters to each of us. While it’s tempting to hunker down and avoid as much as you can, there’s another option.
While you may feel overwhelmed, this Full Moon offers you a simple authentic path forward that YOU can do. Although this Mars has us bouncing around all the possibilities without knowing which one to choose, try one on please. See if it feels right. When you find what’s right for you, it will feel differently. It lights you up like my client did. It both fills you in and expands your edges. It feels more like an adventure, too. No one said healing the world couldn’t feel good along with all the other emotions. Like shoe shopping, enjoy the experience. Then as your body intelligence gives you more feedback on what is best for you, let it lead you down unexplored pathways that are your unique contribution to the world. The Cards and Stars will help.
Thank you,
Lisa Greenfield
TruthinHand.com
12/7 sagittarius full moon – Princess of cups
You cannot heal what you do not feel. This Princess represents our inner emotional state that precedes action. So this Moon cycle has Mars with the Moon which means a sharp poke for old wounds. But the Universe is not cruel. It is not stirring up old wounds for the fun of it. Rather we are going to meet places and spaces that call up the old story so we can take quality time to get to know what we feel NOW.
Since August Mars has been retrograde in Gemini presenting a lot of different ideas, concepts and information about what you do and what drives those actions. How many of us were taught that listening and being curious was a powerful kind of action? Yet this time is an especially fertile time to take in a wider perspective on our world. Yes, that perspective includes people in pain that you may not know what to do to help. And there is a way to see suffering and retrain yourself on how you respond to it. We need a world that cares about each other. How you handle it matters.
Which is why I gave you the image of my client. That solid yet open energy means she is doing what is hers to do. This way her effort energizes her. She’s less focused on the result and more interested in how she contributes. Bring things down to bite size. If everyone does just what feels aligned with them, rather than overdoing or shutting down, things shift. We forget that it only takes five percent of the population to shift to change direction for the whole. You doing what feels authentically caring, easily generous, is part of that tipping point. When you can see others in pain, wish them the perfect match for support if it’s not a fit for you in that moment. Rather than trying to be what you are not, see them finding their perfect support. Then everyone benefits.
When you do your part to feel all of what you feel in that bigger view of the world, you heal. With Mars retrograde in Gemini so close to this Full Moon, pay attention to what pokes, provokes and confronts you. Where do you bring that energy to whatever you are doing? The emotional spikes exist to bring you a fuller range of emotion. Your job is to master the work of shaping what you feel into something constructive rather than destructive. Be angry and simply notice you probably need to hold a boundary rather than invade someone else’s space. If you feel sad where can you be present for what wants to be comforted in you right now. Don’t get too lost in the history of the feeling. Let your actions be sufficient to the moment. Try that this Moon Cycle and see where it takes you…
12/8 four of swords
Rest is required when this four shows up. Our minds have been tired out with all the mental activity of Mars retrograde in Mercury’s domain. It’s time to let the body decide what needs to be done. The Moon trines Saturn to help us ground all those thoughts early in the morning. But then the stars offer up more and more and more input once you do. This is not cruelty, it’s training. How can you move out of mind and into your body? Do an activity that is the opposite of muscle memory.
Try a new dance step, take a different route for your walk, have your dog walk you for a change. Now notice your body as you do something unfamiliar. What part of your body leans into it, what part struggles with it. Just notice. Don’t attach meaning just yet. Tell your mind you can analyze later. For now your body’s intuition is getting center stage without too many words or concepts attached. Did your body feel more open or closed. How does your body signal resistance? Get to know your body language a bit better today. That’s all you have to do, be curious and pay attention. Good to know, right?
12/9 Queen of swords
This brilliant Queen is our Air Traffic Controller mind. With a growth opportunity aspect to Venus, we need to be careful of that harsh inner critic. The mind likes to separate things, sort them out and label them neatly. This is good, that is bad. Except that the mind gets carried away. Instead of soft lines it takes on a razor edge. I’m good, you’re bad. Or it can just as easily serve up I’m bad, you’re good. Take charge of that hard charging mind and find it a soft fleece lined pair of slippers.
Let’s start by noticing what purpose that judgement serves. Since we have two fundamental needs, to belong and then to stand out, it us usually in service of one of those two. If you’re to blame for a problem you can fix it and get back into connection. If the other person is to blame then you stand out because you impose structure on the connection. Remember, an angry complaint or tearful plea is less vulnerable than an honest request for what you want or need. See if you can map your way to what the ask might be for you. You may not be ready to make it yet. But find out what it is, so that critical judgement is not your primary tool.
12/10 ace of pentacles
Small steps today, my friend, take small steps. Because we are just on the back side of an intense eclipse season and your nervous system is still adjusting to change. How patient are you when your body needs a little more time? Do you rush yourself or blame yourself? Or perhaps you are frozen, afraid to take any step at all. Even if it is just closing your eyes and spinning in a circle of two, then letting your body decide when to stop, do it. Notice what the view is when you stop. Take in the information and don’t rush to make a story of it. Why not let it float up like leaves in water. This Ace and today’s transits promise big rewards with small steps. Like a mighty oak, what you plant today as acorns may one day give you great shade in a hot world.
12/11 seven of cups
This card of dreaming can also remind us that if we fail to act on our dreams we lose faith in ourselves. With Pluto opposite the Moon, this helps highlight where we’ve let the perfection of what ‘could be’ rob us of the true present. Which is also the only place that can make those wishes come true. What is one thing you can do today to bring some of your imagined perfect outcome in contact with you.
Be careful of rigidity. Some advise being as specific as possible on wishes to make them come to life. Except that locks out a lot of options. Instead of specifics, focus on the feeling. Good. Now do something in this moment that brings you a feeling like that. Hold it lightly, with an open hand, so the Universe can exceed your expectations. I like to add, “I want this or something better”. This way the upside is always possible, too.
12/12 seven of swords
One of the meanings for this trickster seven is that your priorities may need to shift to overcome opposition. Imagine rushing to get to a place but the road is washed out. If you value arriving on time the most, you dare to cross the flooded road. Except it may well carry you and your car to parts unknown. Perhaps you value your safety more than getting to a particular destination at an agreed upon time. This is the energy we have today. Two sevens in a row is an unexpected mental or spiritual event. Since the Moon squares the Great Awakener, Uranus, by nightfall you could be surprised. Something simple can help completely illuminate what matters most to you now and why. Just stay open to the insight. That’s all that is required just yet. Stay open and let your priorities now reveal themselves.
12/13 the tower
The Leo Moon is opposite Saturn today, in keeping with the shock changes of this card. The Tower levels old walls you think kept you safe, but probably just boxed you in small space. With the Moon and Sun in harmony and in fire signs, be prepared to discover you are more capable of dealing with life than you realized. Fire is Spirit and helps us go beyond our known limits to touch the realm of creativity. Like the Divine, the combination of fuel and spark gives off much more heat and light. Who you are is a contribution to the whole world. No matter if you take up a small space. It’s a valuable one. You have something to add and it will feel right and good to make that contribution.
When you recognize that and really feel the truth of that, suddenly your individual quirks take on new meaning. We are here to both belong and to stand out. This is a time to let your emotions give dimensions and color to your contribution. The Sun and Moon represent our inner and outer world. When they come together, we are an integrated self. That’s the most potent expression of you. Once you’ve felt it and operated from there, you will want to return again and again. So let the feelings come up, shape them with knowledge that what you feel matters and how you express does too. You are out of the box and on your way… Enjoy this sensation.
12/14 two of wands
Once you locate a newly expanded sense of self, like yesterday, the Universe then brings in resistance, to make sure you balance the energy. So today with the Sun square Neptune, it’s lovely to be inspired and dream, but don’t lose touch with the materials and processes that help make it real. Effort, patience, timing, collaboration all move things out of imaginal space and into day to day. Find your unique contribution to the whole process and not just the vision and the outcome. What story do you tell when you ‘have to’ do something? How do you justify avoiding what you dislike?
This is about mapping the distress or tension creation brings up in you. How do you create or how do you avoid creating, that is the question. We waste a lot of energy defending ourselves against what we dislike doing or who we resist instead of finding our solid yes or no for life. Consider this an invitation to replace defensive thinking with your own internal command to find your authentic path. With this two, call on your favorite story to help you locate the qualities you like. Then find the place inside of you that has its own version of what you admire. It may not be an exact match but it’s there. Now see how it wants to express itself.
12/15 ten of cups
This ten holds the promise of ‘happily ever after’ and is such a potent combination with today’s transits. Three different trines make it easy to consciously act in constructive ways for our long term goals. And those actions, small though they may be, build into a long lasting framework that both nourishes and shelters your dreams. It does need tweaking along the way. So it pays off to notice the story that fuels your actions or reactions. Even identifying when you react versus consciously act is a good use of the energy today.
Ten’s are an empowered one taken to the tenth level. So this is where you can go beyond what you’ve done before. You are in unfamiliar space so it’s likely the fear voices will come up. They may be sneaky and pose as common sense. But common sense helps you build, whereas fear separates you from what you love. It’s a misguided attempt to separate you from danger, but some risk is always present in unfamiliar space. Watch for walls going up instead of carefully mapped steps forward. Even noting when you do each of these is solid foundational growth. Then do pause and enjoy what you are doing on your way to the reward of a life well-lived.
12/16 eight of swords
Eight is always a reminder that what you put out into the world comes back to you. This mind-driven eight can actually help you see where you make choices based on old perceptions and meanings instead of the current state of things. With Jupiter opposite the Moon your feelings may spike into old territory but you also have support to comfort your fears ahead of making brave new interpretations. Once you see things differently you can head in fresh directions. The old story will not repeat because YOU are not the same anymore. Add in a little consciousness of where you compromise to belong or where you isolate in order to stand out. These ingredients will definitely make for a productive day and by night, you can feel the difference.
12/17 seven of pentacles
This Seven is a call for both patience and doing your own work. Chiron represents where we each are wounded. It’s in opposition to the Moon today. So old hurts are likely visible. This is the third Seven in the cycle and three together mean you need to get to the facts and not simple go by appearance or story. You have help in this as Moon trines Mars, energizing our ability to be brave and act courageously.
Face your fears and see them for what they are. The patient gardener in this card’s picture reminds us that we each have a job to do in what is growing. The seeds we plant do their job, the Sun does its job, the Earth its job and you are here to water, prune and keep the pesky fears from eating what’s growing before it can bloom. When you tend the day to day, everything flowers at the perfect time. No need to go pull the blossoms open before they are ready. It ruins them. Tend what you know and let everything else work with you.
12/18 three of swords
No doubt about it, today can test the patience of a saint. We get a solid dock to push off from thanks to a Moon/Saturn trine early morning. But there are emotional rough seas ahead. What a great reminder this Three of Swords offers. It can symbolize tears and sorrows or delay in results. This is one of those days to use your phone timer and give yourself ten minutes to feel what you feel. This helps contain the rough water with a beginning, middle and end. Let all those feelings come up and manage them! Go for a walk, punch a bag or a pillow, cry if you feel like it. You can’t heal what you won’t feel.
So today you get to practice letting the feelings come up and parenting yourself through them. Can you offer compassionate acceptance to whatever emotions shows up? That’s healthy mothering. You feel what you feel. Then can you find a healthy way to express it that preserves options? That’s healthy fathering. Letting your emotions have space and shaping them consciously is a powerful way to stay present and connected to abundant choices. No emotion is bad. But we have been taught to handle them badly. Do it another way. If you don’t feel provoked today, then help another who may. What you give another still anchors the changed approach in your nervous system. Bonus for you…
12/19 ten of wands
Thanks to tense aspects between Venus, Mars and Chiron you can find yourself paying emotional fines if you failed to hold clean emotional space yesterday. This Ten takes us up to the next level and announces that effort is required to get the results that satisfy. Burning bridges with other people because you failed to manage your emotions is a setback. While it may feel good in the moment, it narrows the options of what will improve your road ahead. If you find yourself in scorched earth territory it’s time to take stock of how you act on your own behalf. Be accountable and make amends.
While society has glorified the angry complaint, how useful is it? It is far more valuable to construct a circle where a vulnerable ask is possible instead of feeling either victimized or weaponized. We go through a bit of a roller coaster today to help us sort out where we land on healthy boundaries and requests. When you know and trust your boundaries you feel safer making that vulnerable request. So if you aren’t there yet, map some edges that feel strong but not rigid. Feel your way.
12/20 six of swords
Jupiter moves out of the last degrees of Pisces where we can feel quite out to sea with our feelings and into Aries. It is a whole new cycle beginning since Jupiter won’t be back in Pisces for another twelve years. This Six is the calm after the emotional storm. It signals we can sail into calmer waters. Congratulations on surviving the squalls of the last few days, few months, even few years! With the Scorpio Moon squaring airy Saturn, it can be hard to convince our nervous system to stand down on the high alert.
So you benefit by soothing yourself in whatever way feels right to you. What does your body, heart and mind long for today. What comforts you so you can relax and enjoy the smoother sailing? Jupiter meets up in sweet space with the Moon, encouraging us to take a bow for hard work. Fire requires fuel so that Sagittarius Moon and Jupiter in Aries welcome any praise, applause, recognition and reward you offer. Be sure to give yourself some. It’s a wonderful practice to make a habit of doing.
12/21 Temperance winter solstice
This card always speak to me in calm measured tones that says, “don’t push, don’t shove”. I also see my cousin the doctor explaining that it takes about 48 hours for a cut to make new skin over the wound. So there is no amount of rushing that is going help it heal any faster. It takes as long as it takes. The aspects today set the stage for a winter of adjustments. Expect the unexpected, which can bring up anxiety. Breathe into the feeling. Our brains light up in the same region for both anxiety and excitement. Breath and social cues help you turn a contraction into an expansion.
Because fear has us tense up when we are anxious, we tend to be more brittle and less able to respond well. This can increase our shock when the unexpected happens. Which is why breathing is a handy little tool especially the next 90 days. If you notice anxiety rising, exhale all the way out. Wring your lungs out like a wash cloth. Now on the inhale, breathe in while you soothe yourself saying ‘I am safe, I am safe’. I recommend at least five mental repetitions of it. Give one more very slow exhale, not emptying your lungs this time. But do mentally repeat ‘I am loved, I am loved’ at least seven times while you breathe out. Because oxygenating your body is one of the most loving things you can do for yourself.
This simple three step process helps when your limbic system has gone offline due to stress. Wringing your lungs out makes the frontal lobe the boss instead of your brain stem. You want the smartest part of your brain making decisions and from an oxygenated state. Do this whenever you feel that tight chest or notice you are breathing from the top half of your lungs only. You can turn stress about the unknown into a resilient, prepared body that can adapt to whatever happens – with a little support. Your own support is always available and can become second nature. Change has wonderful opportunity in it, if you can relax enough to see it. Breathe and let the good opportunities that come with the unexpected reveal themselves.
12/22 Strength
There is the tension woven through the day that helps build strength as we work with it to help shape whatever happens. This card reminds us that part of our anger is consolidating ourselves to do the difficult task. It’s also a reminder to persuade others instead of compel them. Like water wears down a rock, we need to remember that softness is not weakness. Kindness is never wasted. Begin by being kind to yourself. With the Sun in hard aspect to Ceres, we may try to soothe ourselves with food that really doesn’t agree with us. Or sometimes we devour old stories of helplessness and hopelessness. Nothing like an uncomfortable result to help us remember to make better choices in the present.
The Moon moves into Capricorn early tomorrow morning and promptly squares Jupiter. There is a process unfolding, you learning the new expanded boundaries of you. From this understanding the world offers abundance even in difficult times. Yet we have to be willing to see what happens as part of that process. Make small moves, little corrections, kindness coupled with courage to act when you don’t know the results will turn out, that is what you are doing right now. This means you are learning to trust yourself in the changing world. You have a part to play and it matters. Celebrate you and all your ‘youness’. Then bring forth what is all yours to do and it will both feel good and ensure it is safe to belong. What better use of your time can there be?
