09.03.24: New Moon in Pisces
When I was the stream, when I was the forest, when I was still the field when I was every hoof, foot, fin and wing, when I
was the sky itself, no one ever asked me did I have a purpose, no one ever wondered was there anything I might need, for there was nothing
I could not love. It was when I left all we once were that the agony began, the fear and questions came, and I wept, I wept. And tears
I had never known before. So I returned to the river, I returned to the mountains. I asked for their hand in marriage again,
I begged - I begged to wed every object and creature,
and when they accepted,
God was ever present in my arms.
And He did not say, "Where have you
been?" For then I knew my soul - every soul -
has always held
God.
– Meister Eckhart
Hello sweet soul,
what a wonderful poem this is, isn't it? Carrying the compassion and depth that only a New Moon in Pisces can ignite.
This will be the last New Moon that we will experience this year because, on the 19th of March, we're already going to celebrate the beginning of a new year – the Equinox.
On that day, day and night will be of equal length and we can look forward to the light increasing.
This last half of a year has certainly taught us something in the dark and the dirt about our shadows and roots. But remember, in nature, almost every seed grows underground, in darkness, until the time is right to be exposed to the light.
We're at that final stage of darkness now, already feeling that some big illumination is about to happen soon.
But, before we can shine bright like a diamond, we still have some time to contemplate this last year and to dwell in the ocean of Pisces where everything is possible and nothing needs to be achieved.
The Moon is New Moon occurs on March 10, 2024, at 5:00 AM EDT at 20 degrees and 17 minutes of Pisces. If you have personal planets and points at approximately 16 to 24 degrees of the Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces) then chances are you'll feel its influence strongly.
AN ENDING IS A NEW BEGINNING
New Moons mark new beginnings. A new cycle lies ahead, and within this new cycle, Aries is being born on the 19th of March. So it's almost like Pisces is pregnant with a new vision, knowing the baby is about to pop – and yet we're invited to take it slow and hold the promise of a new beginning.
When we look at the zodiac as a representation of human consciousness, then Pisces is the moment when we come back to Source.
After the energy was born in Aries, we learned about our limitations in Taurus, discovered our word and thought in Gemini, got in touch with our emotional body and ego in Cancer, presented ourselves to the world in Leo, drew balance in Virgo, met “the other” in Libra, dived deep in Scorpio, found our truth in Sagittarius, built a society on our values in Capricorn, found our uniqueness in Aquarius, we're now ready to get back to the point where we came from and become one with the universe again.
Pisces is the moment when we come to realize that we're not separated but one with the whole universe – and probably beyond.
And I know, it's so easy to say – but really – how many people have you met that are embodying this in their daily life? How many people do you know that truly feel a connection to the tree in their garden or a stranger that they've looked into the eyes?
AS ABOVE SO BELOW: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Astrologers mainly believe that the cosmos is a reflection of our human path. That's where the saying “as above so below” comes from.
I don't believe that the planets have an influence on us but rather that the planets function as mirrors of the things that happen on Earth – when all is connected, then there's no separation between humans and the cosmos.
The same goes for our birth moment: Rather than the planets having an impact on you, have you ever thought about you choosing the exact right time in space to incarnate so that the cosmos is mirroring your choice and is saying something about your path on planet Earth? I know, crazy stuff – and, deep Pisces wisdom.
PISCES MEDICINE: WHOLE-HEARTED PRESENCE
I became a big fan of the guided meditations and talks of Tara Brach (all to be found on Spotify) and recently listened to one of them that's called “Embodied Presence: Portal to the Sacred” and I thought: “Yes, to get in touch with the sacred, is to be present and don't let ourselves be distracted by the daily stress and all the temptations of this world”.
I know, that seems to have become a mastery, looking at the world and how much it aims at distracting us with all the technology. Nowadays, being able to be truly present is indeed a mastery.
Many of my friends I recently talked to, are fighting overwhelm – myself often included. So much to see, so much to learn and so many to connect to.
In a world where people expect you to answer within a few hours (or minutes!), where most of us wake up grabbing our phone and looking at it and where there's no space for stillness and silence anymore, feelings of overwhelm, lostness, and burnout seem to have become normal.
DISCONNECTION BETWEEN ME AND THE WORLD
I think that one of the major problems is that we've become disconnected from the world and perceive ourselves as little silos without any connection to the tree in our garden, the stranger in front of us in the supermarket, or the wind that's blowing on our cheeks every day.
I recently had a lecture called “Think With Our Hearts” led by Jeanne Lacourt at the C.G. Jung Institute of L.A.
She being an an Indigenous Woman, shared that most tribes don't have chiefs. They make decisions by consensus. By people talking to each other and interacting. This way of living doesn't need a leader or a chief.
Very similar to the murmurations of birds that fly together. Did you know that there's no leader? The fact that they're in sync with each other and that they know what to do, is fascinating to me. Maybe we could too? But then, we would need to start remembering that we're not isolated and that the whole world belongs to us and we're in sync with “the outside” at all times.
WHEN THE HEAD IS IN CHARGE
In our Western culture, the head has clearly taken over. It does all the jobs, it makes all the decisions. But what about the body, the heart, the feet (connected to Pisces)? Furthermore: What about the perceived outside? Since when is that not a part of us anymore?
Philip Shepherd writes in his book "Radical Wholeness":
“The Story of Western culture asserts through those particulars a range of messages: that humans stand as independent of nature as our skyscrapers do; that the head should be in charge of the body, just a CEO is in charge of a corporation; that we can own trees, lands, and animals; that self-mastery is the means to success; that what we feel as „the self“ lies within the boundary of the skin; that the pursuit of happiness is the primary goal of our lives; and that money buys security.”
He compares that to an African tribe and their way of “sensing”:
„Seselelame (an Anlo-Ewe term) includes what we could call exteroception and proprioception. Every sense is felt in the body's resonance. The Anglo-Ewe don't just hear sounds, they feel them through the body. They don't just see sights; they feel them in the body. So while we have only the Chosen Five (senses) – each an exteroceptor that imputes a boundary around the self – the Anlo-Ewe have seselelame, an inner realm in which all the world is felt.“
The question remains: Why do we have defined senses that all lie within the boundary of our perceived “Selfs”? And: Might there be another way to live?
PARTICIPATION MYSTIQUE: WHEN THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN PERCEIVED OUTSIDE AND INSIDE MELT
Coming back to the lecture of Jeanne Lacourt, she made me think about the way we perceive the world. She, being a Jung analyst, drew comparisons to C.G. Jung and his view on this.
In 1925, he visited an indigenous tribe that made him think about a term that came from Lévy-Bruhl: “Participation Mystique”. He describes it as the following:
“It denotes a peculiar kind of psychological connection with objects, and consists in the fact that the subject cannot clearly distinguish himself from the object but is bound to it by a direct relationship which amounts to partial identity. This identity results from an a priori oneness of subject and object.”
I was thinking of my personal moments of “Participation Mystique” and realized quickly that I had some of them. A particular one I'm happy to share with you here:
After being estranged from my father for two years without talking, one day, a beautiful bird hit my window in the jungle and fell on my balcony. I tried to help it recover, but it died. I took it and buried it in the jungle, with a strange feeling in my stomach that this must have been a sign that was connected to my father.
Only a day later, I got a message from my cousin telling me that my father had a very tragic accident and is currently in the hospital, between life and death.
Of course, some could argue, this has been a coincidence but I know that it has been my moment of “Participation Mystique” – when the “outer” world and my “inner” world melted and everything was in sync.
That's how some tribes used to communicate: If a certain butterfly would cross their path, they knew it was a message from their uncle (I totally made that example up btw), but you get the idea. Since when does everything around us have nothing to do with us anymore and why do we truly believe that?
I think that this belief is one of the reasons why our society is getting mentally sicker and sicker – although economically safe.
NEPTUNE AND MOON FLIRTING
Hupsi, I got carried away with this topic but that's what Pisces does: It carries you away and makes you forget about time and word counts.
Coming back to the Pisces New Moon, I think it's wonderful if we use the remaining time we have in this archetype (until March 19), to contemplate our perceived separateness and how we might be able to soften it to understand that the outside is part of the inside. That our experience doesn't end with our skin and that we're part of something bigger.
Later this day, the Moon will form a conjunction (being very close) with Neptune which is its ruler and also the planet of illusion, dreams, and a divine connection.
If Neptune could, it would take the moon close to its heart and whisper: “My dear Moon, it's time to be your most romantic self. I want to hear about all your hopeless dreams and romantic fantasies. Today is the day.”
WHAT THE PISCES MOON WOULD DARE TO ASK
If the New Moon in the heavens could speak, it would ask you today:
How could you become a little more present today? And if it's even 15 seconds that you take to walk, breathe, or do the dishes consciously?
How could you – for a moment – let the boundaries melt between you and “the outside”?
Can you relax into the mystery and the unknown for a few minutes today?
Could you offer a problem to the world and see what answer you'll get back?
Is it possible for these last days of the year to let your intuition and the connection to the world around you lead rather than your head?
URANUS IN TOUCH WITH THE MOON TODAY
When it comes to another influence on this New Moon today – Uranus, one of my favorite planets (ups, that was my Aquarius Moon speaking), is in the game.
Whenever Uranus is active, we can expect the unexpected and open to new possibilities we've never thought would be possible. This can be a bit irritating for our nervous system since Uranus is associated with it, but if we manage to remain open, we can find new perspectives and become more conscious of the surprise called life.
If Uranus had a voice, it might pinch the Moon in the heavens today and say: “Come on Moon, let me deliver some spice. You know that true freedom comes from being open to the mystery and not getting stuck in your head. Don't let life become boring. Dare to dream wildly.”
WHEN THE WORLD ANSWERS BACK
I remember a therapy session I had with my wonderful therapist some time ago and how lost I felt for not having the answers and not knowing what to do. After our session, I felt so much more relieved and said to her: “Thank you, I feel much better and I think I can find the answers."
And she answered: "…I not only hope that it's you who finds the answers but that you let the world help you. Maybe you have a walk and sit down next to a tree, gaze into some stranger's eyes, or witness a butterfly flying by – and you just feel the answer in your gut through their presence.”
What might sound cheesy, has a profound depth and medicine that I connect more and more to in my life.
If you have any of those magical experiences, please don't hold back from sharing them with me. This Pisces New Moon is the perfect moment. I promise.
And maybe – together – we can experience that when the head is not in charge, magical things happen.
When we don't have the answers and offer our worries to the world, sometimes it answers back – in a more beautiful way than we could have ever imagined. Maybe – and only maybe – today is the day to take that risk.
With love,
Karina
** header graphic from GIPHY.com
