MOONSPIRED: New Moon Light

The wheel of life keeps turning, the world keeps spinning, and the clock keeps ticking, all spiraling around. Tonight is the darkest time of the month at the darkest time of the year. And yet, at this new moon phase, we are likely inundated by a snow flurry of activities. So often, it’s a time of big expectations, so, for many of us the wintry holiday season can feel stressful. This last new moon of 2023 occurs in Sagittarius and begins a full month of the waxing and waning moon cycle lasting from here into New Year. We remain thankful; gratitude can be especially useful as December can be frenzied. As the moon grows from new to full over the next two weeks, there will be many various celebrations including but not limited to parties, gifts, cookies, and hopefully, peace on Earth. It’s hard to miss the shiny lights. But because it can be a time of mixed feelings during colder, darker weather, and in many ways, this year is heavier than ever, we may need to make more of an effort to lighten up. It’s worth it to get in the spirit of the season in whatever capacity we can find within our comfort zone. Giving ourselves the gift of joy, no matter how fleeting, is precious.

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and other holy happenings are everywhere we turn through this moon cycle. What we are all truly celebrating is the Winter Solstice. Solar rather than lunar celebrations mark the change of seasons, now from autumn to winter in the northern hemisphere. It’s an actual transitional moment that dawns on the shortest day of the year. All of the above holidays occur this year during this yuletide moon cycle. Humanity acknowledges the darkness in order to rejoice in the return of the light. It has been observed that certain spiritual myths, sacred texts, and ancient buildings, across centuries and cultures spanning the entire globe, have stored within them common and repeating numerical values and dimensions that relate to the astronomical phenomena of solstices and equinoxes. It’s cosmic, dude! But seriously, cosmologically speaking, when we humans look to the sky for wisdom, we find it. The sun and moon, the months and seasons, instruct our actions. Cosmology is a word for the belief in how our world began, where we come from, where we are going, and why?! It is the basis for our world’s religious traditions. But what does it all mean? Only time will tell for sure. My advice is to go forward with unconditional love.

This new moon phase also coincides with Mercury retrograde spinning into the mix, albeit appearing to spin backward, intensifying everything even more. This astrologically significant retrograde cycle will last until January 1, 2024. It’s a planetary alignment that can make us feel a little extra out of alignment. There may be communication breakdowns, technological surges, or other mix-ups or mess-ups, considered par for the course during what seems to have recently become the infamous retrograde of Mercurial glitches in the matrix. And it may feel more intense this time around, as life often tends to feel like it both speeds up and slows down around the end of the year. All planets cycle into retrogrades, but Mercury does it most frequently and may have the most noticeable impact on our lives. The unsettling nature of mishaps, missteps, and mistakes reminds us to make the time to calm our minds. And to exercise caution in our reactions to any flawed human interactions. Meditate, contemplate, pray, rest, and chill. Do what it takes to create an inner strength of composure that comes with a focused presence.

Sustainability is the ability to sustain ourselves through any and all of life’s situations. Rituals give us the gift of a self-soothing compassion that comes naturally with familiar habits. Traditions serve as markers for our progress. So what shall we do? Favorite winter pastimes often include fire ceremonies. Light up the night! Tonight, take a moment to light a candle and set a new moon intention (a wish, a hope, a dream, a desire, a blessing, a prayer, an idea, a promise…). Light is nurturing, balancing, and hopeful, helping humans cook, see, and grow. We can light the fire in the hearth, and in our hearts. We can start by imagining a tiny point of light. Bring it forth from the heart, and then allow the light to encircle our body, our home, our community, our world, and beyond. We can expand our consciousness and beam light into the molecular level and out to deep space at the same time. It’s an exercise about the all-embracing nature of unconditional love. And that starts with loving ourselves. It’s up to us to live in the light. Burning away residual negativity with fire, purifying inspiration with light, and bringing ourselves into our full power is healing. A simple mantra I use regularly, and I find it works wonders to calm my especially hyper-sensitive nervous system: “Breathe in Light. Breathe out Love. (repeat)” Once our hearts are lit from within the center of ourselves, IMHO, aka the center of the universe, we can radiate the warmth outward, illuminating everything.

Winterizing our farm with compost mulch and spreading seed for cover crops to grow during this time of cold rain and snow is our main focus right now. We’ve also made sure the animals have dry, warm safe shelter. It’s the off-season for our annual cannabis crops. By planting a mix of mustard, clover, vetch, and more, we nurture the soil naturally, putting back in minerals and more that were depleted by growing the vegetable and cannabis plants. It’s a less glamorous but incredibly important part of our sustainable farming practices. We do it in our home garden as well. And while we allow the winter grasses to grow, we hold seeds of intention in our hearts and minds until spring, when the time comes to become the inspired work of our hands. Right now always creates the future. Filling ourselves with the purpose of tending our land and providing clean food and herbal medicine to people is our way of immersing ourselves in service to the planet. It’s been a hard choice to keep going in such an insecure regulatory environment, yet we are grateful for the opportunity to keep growing. It’s a true gift. Let’s learn from this moon phase to shine like starlight, to be merry and bright, even and especially on darker nights. Creating balance through positive perspectives based on continued learning and growing is a blessing.

Find all the ways possible to chill. Want to make people happy? I highly recommend normalizing giving weed like wine. Let’s light up to light up the night. Shameless plug: We have already begun to stock the shelves with the latest harvest of Martyjuana™ flowers in select stores throughout California. We’re all already in the midst of this holiday season, and, as intense as any full moon, this particular new moon is at both the darkest time of the month and year. Don’t forget to look at the holiday lights in your neighborhood tonight. And look up to see the stars shining extra bright; the Geminids meteor showers peak with their best viewing the next few nights if it’s clear out. Light that candle, fireplace, Christmas tree, bong (you get the idea), and it will be the warmth needed now. No matter our personal preference or spiritual belief, we can turn toward the twinkling light tonight. Greet this time as a wondrous and magical experience because it really is a time when we can indeed create light out of the dark. And once we’ve lit our individual lamps, let’s all bring one bit of light into this world with a random act of kindness. This is by far the most important seasonal energy to tap into. Spread the word!!! One flame can light the dark;  sometimes, that can make all the difference. May soul-stirring Solstice light bless us in each and every moment…

Presenting: PRESENT PRESENTS PRESENCE Miracles are possible!!!
Take This Time! Share Your Gifts! Focus On Love! Shine Your Light!

All photos by Martyjuana™ unless otherwise credited

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