Priestess in Blue Jeans

Pisces Full Moon & the Open Heart

"If you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy or good within you, it will all come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have."

~ John O'Donahue (Anam Cara)

Wow! The last month has just been wild in the energetic realms, and no doubt some of that 'wild' has found its way into each of our lives.The call to return to our wild hearts.

If we haven't realized it by now, a key 'lesson' of our times is that really learning to 'let go, let be', to trust the flow and unfolding of Life, is the essence of navigating perpetual change. That means reconnecting to inner Wisdom, to intuition.

That's a lot easier to do when we're cultivating an open heart, a strong heart connection. I'm not talking about greeting-card, romance-novel, chick-flick 'little love'. I'm talking about the fill-your-heart, overflowing Big Love. The Love that mystics and sages from many traditions say banishes fear. The cultivated Heart that shines with intuitive knowing, connection, empathy, and compassion.

This is the perfect focus for the Pisces Full Moon: a big, shining full moon, reflecting back the brilliance of the sun, and super-powering connection, psychic capacity, intuition, and compassion. (On the toxic side, if you're spiraling that way, it can be addiction (to numb the sensitivity) and unhealthy (or nonexistent) boundaries.)

As strange as it sounds, cultivating a strong, open, Big Love heart takes practice, even though it's so much who we truly are. We live in a culture whose machines are fueled by (and thus cultivate, very effectively) fear, to which the opened heart is a threat because a cultivated heart, flowing the Big Love, is more powerful than we might imagine.

I remember 5 or 6 years ago, receiving a vision of how the power of the heart field worked, and how it radiated outward from us and affected -- or alchemized -- all around us. I didn't, then, have the words for what that meant. And I was just in the midst of a journey from head to heart (a journey that continues, and which I'll share more about in upcoming posts here or in my Sophia's Children blog). But for now...

With more recent research on consciousness and the power of the heart field and 'emotional intelligence', we know and can articulate a lot more.

The electromagnetic field of the heart, for example, is 5000 times more powerful than that of the brain, according to research by Heartmath. 'Heart intelligence' includes a potent magnetizing or alchemy potential, as my own experience has shown me, and also a powerful intuitive and empathic capacity. We see more easily 'through the eyes of the Divine'. Our inspiration and creativity flow more easily. We're more well. And on, and on.

When we're fearful and anxious, we constrict, and tend to 'be in the head', in the past or future -- anywhere but the present, anywhere but the heart. Oh the chatter, the judgments, the fear-inducing 'what ifs'! The mind is pretty good at that; it's been well-trained and is well-maintained by the Fear Machine that makes us good, if somewhat mindless, consumers and drones.

I'm guessing that we're on the planet for a whole lot more than that. You?

When we relax and bring our awareness to our heart center, breathing into it like a gentle bellows stoking the spark to fire, we can easily begin to feel the difference between the fear-full mind and the powerful heart-center. We begin to get an inkling -- we're remembering something we deeply know but have been conditioned into forgetting -- that Love really is the most powerful force.

Don't take my word for it; try it yourself and see, feel and know. Mmmmmm, the Big Love, the open heart. Perfect practice for this Pisces full moon.

Blessings and Lots of Heart-Full Juju,

Jamie

To explore and dive into Heart, the Mystery, and the gifts of the Feminine, join me for the Autumn season of the new Feminine Mojo Mystery School.

Image Credits: creative-commons Heart from Clker; public-domain full moon rising from NASA.

HeArtful, Passionate Leo New Moon

We're in the dark of the moon, hours before the Leo new moon (11:08 p.m. Eastern Time, U.S.). The new moon is a time of planting seeds, and each Lunar cycle is ruled by an archetype - in this case Leo and it's planetary archetype, the Sun.

According to Steve Nelson, Mythic Astrologer, this new moon, following the Lammas power-portal (August 6-8),is powerful -- it is "...a bridge is created between the old world and the new and a channel is opened for knowledge of the past to flow through and combine with the new spirit of the time to meld the consciousness of a new world."

It also, Nelson says, falls at the beginning of a particularly powerful two-year-period ruled by the High Priestess archetype -- think Mary Magdalene, Persephone, the Goddess, the Feminine. More on that in another post, coming soon. In the meanwhile...

Our Leo-Sun new moon seeds, intentions, or desires center around the qualities and themes of love, heartfulness, creativity, and 'shining our authentic self'.

Think of the Sun, radiating its light and warmth, calling the plants to stand up in their fullness. The Sun is also the center of our solar system, having been the 'attractor' that drew the rest of the planets into its field.

Out of balance, entrenched in ego-personality, Leo can be unhealthily self-centered, forgetting the generosity of spreading light, inspiration, creativity, and warmth.

In Taoist Five Elements, this is the Yang element of fire, the catalyzing element of alchemy and transformation, inspiration, Spirit, and vision. It's a highly creative element, since it transforms the idea (wood) into manifested form (earth). Fire is also the only element that helps to thaw what is frozen and transform what might have become too rigid (metal) into a more liquid, flowing, malleable state.

Generosity, grace, and graciousness are qualities of fire-element types, as are passion and joy. We might think of the benevolent, magnanimous, generous-of-Spirit leader as one embodiment of these traits.

Of course, fire with too much fuel and not enough fire-tending can quickly burn out of control, engulfing everything in its path. While this transforms, it also burns itself out and scorches more than a few things along the way! Unchecked anger falls into this category as well. We think of 'burning bridges' as an example of this manifesting in our life, or 'burning out' when we've not allowed the wise, rebalancing, and nourishing of Yin.

Not enough fire, though, and we feel as if 'the fire has gone out' or we've lost that 'fire in our bellies'. Fire, in whatever form it expresses in our lives, needs tending -- that means in love, creativity, purpose, inspiration, or otherwise.

In ancient Celtic traditions, these qualities were the realm of the fire goddess, Brigid -- the cauldrons of creativity, Love, inspiration, Spirit, and transformation. As in Taoist Five Elements, Brigid's cauldron or hearth fed inspiration to the poets, craftspeople, artists, and smiths. And there were always Brigid's sacred wells nearby for that nourishing Yin energy to balance the fire.

So these are some of the themes we can work with as we plant our Leo New Moon seeds and reflect on our intentions for the coming cycle:

* Your purpose - your own unique way of shining

* Heartfulness and Spirit within yourself, and in your experience

* Creativity, Love, inspiration, graciousness, inspiration, joy, and alchemical transformation

* Your unique magic (or mojo), and shining more brightly and joyfully

* What of these (and other Leonine-Sun-Fire qualities) would you like to experience more of?

* What needs to be alchemized and transformed in the creative cauldrons of fire?

Consider doing a simple fire ritual (candles work nicely) or visualization before the new moon to transform the energies of what needs releasing, and then working with the freed energy to feed your Leo new moon seeds and intentions.

As with everything, what we perceive and experience begins within us, and this new moon begins a cycle that is ripe for cultivating, embodying, and expressing these fine Leo-Sun-Fire qualities.

Happy Leo new moon! Here's to all heartful, artful, inspired, passionate, and Big-Loving pursuits!

Blessings,

Jamie

Find inspiration on purpose and power in the Ivy Sea VIP collection (there's a Leo New Moon and Leo Sun special going on right now), or schedule an individual session on bringing forth your own Leo-Fire qualities and purpose.

* Image Credits: Majestic Leo the Lion thanks to Vegetarian Friends & the Peaceable Table; fire photo thanks to Public Domain Pictures.

It's all about the Love

With Monday's new moon in Leo coming right up, we're reminded to reorganize around and touch into the Big Love, one of the big-hearted Leo's qualities. How do we let our big Love-Light shine more fully, so it warms and energizes everything we do?

I've just started reading Paulo Coelho's book, The Witch of Portobello. My partner gave the book to me as a gift, and when I was moved to put it on the top of my reading list this week, I knew it contained messages that are timely. That's so often how it works these days!

In keeping with the upcoming Leo new moon, an excerpt in the book leapt out at me. The wisdom is shared through one of the story's characters, Father Giancarlo Fontana. He was talking about the book's protagonist, and how she had a gift for "possession by the sacred."

"...to a greater or lesser extent, all creative human beings have such experiences, which are known as "possession by the sacred." Suddenly, for a fraction of a second, we feel that our whole life is justified, our sins forgiven, and that love is still the strongest force, one that can transform us forever."

He continues, "But at the same time we feel afraid. Surrendering completely to love, be it human or divine, means giving up everything, including our own well-being or our ability to make decisions. It means loving in the deepest sense of the word. The truth is that we don't want to be saved in the way God has chosen; we want to keep absolute control over our every step, to be fully conscious of our decisions, to be capable of choosing the object of our devotion. It isn't like that with love -- it arrives, moves in, and starts directing everything. Only very strong souls allow themselves to be swept along..." (p. 30-31)

I had to laugh a bit at that; it's been so true for me, recovering 'control freak' that I am. I know that I've yearned deeply for things, desired or wanted something, and of course had my own agenda for what that would look like and when and how it would arrive. Often, more and more, things take shape and unfold in quite a different way!

As Father Fontana says, though, "It isn't like that with love...".  Often, more and more, things take shape and unfold in quite a different way that I might have planned. Such is life in the Via Feminina during times of shapeshift and transformation.

It's a mighty practice to allow ourselves to be swept along by it, or, let Life and Love lead ... to let the Mystery move us.

At least in my experience, Life, Love, and the Mystery have a much more elegant way of unfolding things, so far beyond my expectations, so much more alive and creative. Yet it's a true 'thrill ride' to let go of the reins and trust amidst the uncertainty, to watch the signs, follow the guidance and clues, step by step.

How about you?

I'll explore more musings on the Leo new moon over the next few days - it's a great time to plant Big Love seeds.

Love,

Jamie

Spark your own Big Love - Check out the wisdom and inspiration in the Ivy Sea-Sophialon VIP collection (there's a special going on now).

* Image Credits: NASA public-domain photo of our Sun, and Antonio Canova's Psyche & Eros (The Louvre)

And it's a mighty practice to allow ourselves to be swept along by it, or, let Life and Love lead ... let the Mystery move us.

At least in my experience, Life, Love, and the Mystery have a much more elegant way of unfolding things, so far beyond my expectations. Yet it's a true 'thrill ride' to let go of the reins and trust amidst the uncertainty, to watch the signs, follow the guidance and clues, step by step.

How about you?

I'll explore more musings on the Leo new moon over the next few days - it's a great time to plant Big Love seeds.

Love,

Jamie

Spark your own Big Love - Check out the wisdom and inspiration in the Ivy Sea-Sophialon VIP collection (there's a special going on now).

* Image Credits: NASA public-domain photo of our Sun, and Antonio Canova's Psyche & Eros (The Louvre)