We are pleased to announce that we’ve teamed up with one of our favorite astrologists (and talented yoga pro), Chani Nicholas, to bring you weekly horoscope readings. Check back each Monday to see what’s in the stars for your week!
Seeing as this week there is a new Moon in Gemini, heavily influenced by the dreamy and meditative Neptune, I thought I would cut right to the chase. Here are some meditations to work with as the week unfolds! New Moon Blessings!
Aries & Aries Rising New Moon Meditation
I ask my higher Self to think for me. I connect my mind to Source energy. I ask that all of my thoughts, my speech and my actions be aligned with Wisdom, Beauty, Kindness and Understanding. Gossip and needless chatter disperse my energy and inhibit my ability to move forward with integrity. Instead I choose to offer information only when it’s necessary, kind and correct. My movements throughout my days are meditations-I am not moving merely to stay in motion. I liberate myself daily through the actions that I take and the laws I choose to adhere to. I know that liberation is nothing to take for granted and is not granted by anyone but myself. I may live in an unjust world, one that criminalizes who I am and what I do but I do not do that to myself. I choose my freedom every day via my actions, words, thoughts, prayers and deeds. I know that language is imbued with sacred sounds; the language of my ancestors most likely carried this kind of weight. I am aware and in awe of the complex, layered and even paradoxical ways of speaking that have found their way into modern English and the creative and empowered ways in which we keep invigorating language to reflect complex identities. I research and am interested in my families connection to language. If in my recent history there are stories of abusing this powerful act of creation I acknowledge those memories but I definitively call myself back from those instances and I disempower the words that were used against me by telling myself the Truth. Today I use my words heal myself and my world.
Taurus & Taurus Rising New Moon Meditation
We have produced enough stuff. I know down to my bones that everything that is good, everything that is worth fighting for, everything that actually holds value is FREE (or should be). I withdraw my energy and my focus from desiring things and place it where it really matters-on connecting with the material world around me in a way that helps me feel connected to my life. I do so by appreciating my body and the food it receives as a sacred offering from the earth to me. I take in the nourishment as a direct infusion of light into my cells because everything I eat contains some connection to the sun. As I do this I remember the connection that my ancestors felt as they worked the fields, sun on their skin, moonlight in their eyes and dirt under their fingernails. I plant seeds in the soil that I stand on so I can feel like I am a part of sustaining life on this planet. Some may have lost this right, it has not yet been taken from me and so I plant seeds as an act of resistance for myself and for all that cannot. I use the material realm to explore my creativity: I reuse materials in inspirational ways as an act of affirmation that exclaims I am not a vapid bi-product of The Machine! I live and breathe and think for myself! I am here as a testament to being in communion with the physical world around me because it is a reflection of something much greater than my little eyes can see. I am acutely aware of how much suffering I experience when I am attached to outcome and so I remain conscious of my attachments so that I may work at unfurling my grip around people, places and things.
Gemini & Gemini Rising New Moon Meditations
I am approaching an important portal of dreamtime and a time of dreams becoming made manifest. I am aware that my waking “reality”is mostly a delusion. One that is very real to my senses but one that, most times, is also not at all emblematic of the spirit realm. I take this moment to take my fantasies seriously. I choose to not waste my mental energy on merely daydreaming the same old reality into existence but I engage in it, study it and consider where my mind wanders to. Is it loss? Is it hopelessness or despair? Is it fantasies of not having? Can I change this by stepping in-between the tracks of this train and divert the caboose towards life affirming thoughts? Yes, I can. Yes I do. I recognize the misery that consumerism leads me to and I reclaim the direction of my energy toward creating visions of sustenance. I consider what makes me feel alive, what makes me feel like getting out of bed in the morning, what I do that makes me feel like my life has meaning. I use my mind to bring more of that into being. This is the start of my new year and I take time out of busy “doing”to listen to the softer sounds of my soul’s song and then I sing it back to myself. I know that loss is a part of being in the physical world and so I am OK with releasing what is not mine to have without self-pity, without self-righteousness or a fear of not having. I work with what is here now and because of this willingness to embrace my life as is I need not look into the future or dwell in the past. This moment is enough and I fill myself with it.
Cancer & Cancer Rising New Moon Meditation
My dreamtime is sacred and activated by this new moon. I make sure to keep one foot in the real world by double, triple checking my day planner. The currents want to keep me under the sea and away with the mermaids but I refuse to lose consciousness, flake or forget my duties. My imagination is at an all time high while my relationship to “ambition”may be transforming. Ambition just for the sake of itself is not as interesting as aligning with the actions that keep me inspired and ignited. Fame is for the frightened. What I am after is a relationship with my work that will sustain me and the people it serves for a long time to come. The new moon symbolizes my relationship to renewal. It symbolizes the struggles and the triumphs that I have seen come to pass as well as those of my ancestors. Being in harmony with this monthly cycle reminds me that part of renewing means letting go and metaphorically shedding a layer of ego that has built up over the last year. Hubris doesn’t fit into my birthday suit. I rejoice in how significantly insignificant my life really is while also staying connected to the importance of every action I take. Instead of evading my responsibilities I show up without any need for personal recognition. I show up because I am in integrity not because I am in need of praise.
Leo & Leo Rising New Moon Meditation
I am not tricked by my own fantasies of what I wish others to be. I am fully aware that when it is convenient for me I can see people as saviors or as perpetrators. My ego has a difficult time understanding nuance and loves to blame others for my hurt feelings. The fact of the matter is that when I look away from the complexities of the humans that I share space with I am being unfair to them and to myself. Mostly, what others do, unless it is done directly to me or is directly doing harm to another, really is none of my business. Until someone says something to me or in front of me, it is just a rumor that holds no weight. I cannot afford to waste my energy on policing others when that energy can be spent on cultivating community. I do not look away from the heartbreaking situations that are in front of me. I look into them, knowing that I have something to offer others, even if it is just my attention. I do this freely when it is appropriate to do so. What others think about me is absolutely, without a doubt, none of my business. When I make it my business I end up contorting myself in some large or small way. When I make it my business I end up outside of my experience: I worry, wonder and guess instead of living, learning and healing. My business is to consider what I think of myself. I consciously direct my mind towards my own actions and remember the golden rule of friendship; no matter what goes down I don’t take it personally. I give everyone the space that they need to sort themselves out, myself included.
Virgo & Virgo Rising New Moon Meditation
It’s OK if clarity about my exact purpose evades me right now. I know enough to know that if I follow the clues layer before me I will arrive at my (temporary) destination without fretting or worrying (too much) about if I am in the right place. I choose to trust what is occurring. I choose to see that it is occurring for good reason. Not everything that occurs is good, but if it occurs in front of me I trusty that it is mine to walk with for a time and I will know when to release it. I trust my innate intelligence to strategize, inquire and crowd source when necessary. Because Mercury is about to go retrograde I am willing to be reflective about how I show up in my friendships and my career without being seduced by praise or my need to please. I am extra cautious about all the ways in which I am overly attached to outcomes especially when it comes to my reputation and ways in which I make money. Bearing this in mind I actively start the process of mentally letting go of what I think should happen and instead focus on doing what needs to be done (knowing it might not get done in a linear fashion). This new moon is a moment of creative potential that is coming to fruition in my house of career, but more than career this is about the way in which my soul’s greatest desire meets the world’s greets need. I do whatever I can this week to honor that intersection by meditating at it.
Libra & Libra Rising New Moon Meditation
If I am willing to know my Creator then I am willing to come face to face with Truth. I offer my entire being to the Truth as it appears to me in this moment. I want nothing but this Truth even though the mere sight of it may smash my small self into a million tiny pieces. I am ready for this awakening; I am ready for the lies to surface so that I may know my true nature. My true nature is to be in complete awe of what is. My true nature doesn’t need to figure out a miracle in order to believe it; my true nature recognizes, validates and trusts the miracles that occur naturally and all of the time. My true nature is to trust this moment not because I feel like trusting but because I decide to do so. I am in control of my mind every time I am conscious of its workings and so I cease the opportunity to be conscious right now and redirect my thoughts towards understanding what is true. What is true is that my body is here and I can draw my awareness towards feeling its vast spaciousness. I affirm the space it takes up. What is true is that I am turning my conscious awareness towards being present for myself in this moment. No matter how confusing, challenging, awkward or exciting; I do not leave myself. I know that I am my best source of information and the more I focus on what is happening here and now the more open I am to knowing my own spiritual value.
Scorpio & Scorpio Rising New Moon Meditation
If I can let go I will experience much more ease. I scan my body regularly to see where I am holding tension, expectations and resentments. It does me no good to be in denial of these more difficult feelings and so I am willing to watch them arise and fall away. I notice my reactions to dealing with arising fears. I notice the subtle ways I might distract myself to ease my anxiety. I also notice that it doesn’t work for long. So I take action by writing down all the things that I am afraid of, all of the things that go bump in the night causing me to jump out of the skin I am in. Once these little gems are written down on paper I take a good long look at them and ask myself if they are really true. I then ask myself what the opposite of that statement would be and I wait until a statement arises within me that excites my every cell. I wait for a phrase that wakes me up and then I write that down and repeat it aloud to myself. Then I record it and play it back to myself every morning and every evening. I do this because I believe in the power of my subconscious mind and I would rather that it be filled with loving self talk than filled with whatever junk is floating around out there in the hysteric, collective, consumeristic cacophony. I let go of narratives that people “like me”can’t do A, B or C. I reclaim my right to be a self defining, dynamic being while being aware of my privilege, my blind spots and my short sightedness.
Sagittarius & Sagittarius New Moon Meditation
Before moving in the direction of any partnership I first stop and consider who I am, how I feel about myself and my inherent spiritual worth. I do not devalue myself because to do that would be to devalue the embodiment of Source energy that I am. I speak to myself in a positive and compassionate manner as an affirmation of the stuff I am made of. I may make mistakes in relationships and when I do I see these as potent learning opportunities to understand how I cheat myself out of experiencing all that life has to offer. I choose to see all of my partnerships as spiritual in nature. When they are particularly difficult I don’t evade the issue, check out or lie. I take the opportunity to face my fears and speak in a way that makes my intentions transparent because I want to know myself better. I am not here to take care of or manage anyone else’s spiritual growth; I have enough work on my plate managing my own and I do not care to rob anyone of their own adventure. I have boundaries in my relationships because I care enough to. Being messy and all up in other peoples business is not caring for them; its evading my own growth and I know what a waste of energy that is. I partner with the people that love me for all that I am. I do not have to change myself for them. I do not have to hide parts of myself from them. I do not have to beg, borrow or steal to have their love. I do not have to wait, like a sullen child for their return. Honest partnership, spiritual partnership, welcomes each person as they are and I say yes! to such unions.
Capricorn & Capricorn Rising New Moon Meditation
The most practical thing that I can do is meditate. In order to be more efficient and constructive with my days it is time to reset and recommit to the various routines that keep my motor running. I pour only the cleanest fuel into my tank and I make sure that no impurities (like self-doubt and fear) get in the mix. I sit down and write the story of my success. I use only empowering phrases and images. I see the big picture and then I work backwards to understand all of the small tasks needed to get me there. I tell and retell myself this story of success and I see how my little success is linked to a much larger vision of equality and justice for all. I take time this week to consider how to restructure my days so that I can be in full support of this unfolding vision. I reclaim my relationship to the unfolding of my day because every aspect of it can be filled with a higher purpose. Simply opening my eyes in the morning is a miracle that I can be grateful for. Wherever my soul travelled to during the night, it has returned come morning and that is something to pause and consider giving thanks for. It is easy to become burdened by the duties of the day if I do not see them as opportunities to marvel at the mystery of being in human form. These daily tasks actually give me a reason to connect my little human life to some larger understanding of the cosmos at work. The mundane opens me to the mystery and for that I say: Thank You.
Aquarius & Aquarius Rising New Moon Meditation
It’s time to renew my faith in the power of my creative and intuitive capacities. I know that to compare myself to anyone else is to dishonor myself and the energy that runs through me. I also know that creativity is meant to draw me into closer relationship with the people around me. There is a great love affair that I enter into with my audience when I allow myself to be vulnerable without being self-indulgent. I ask myself, “Am I using my creative life energy to connect to the people around me? Am I afraid of their loneliness for fear that it will reflect my own? Do I stand apart from others so that I don’t have to risk intimacy? Can I come down from high-horses and soap boxes long enough to be looked squarely in the eye? When I am seen can I withstand the desire to squirm? Can I see the seer?”Good art is risky. Great art is risks everything for the truth. The truth is that I am a fragile human capable of great feats, great mistakes and a great willingness to grow from both experiences.
Pisces & Pisces Rising New Moon Meditation
Because I know how powerful images are I take an active part in constructing affirming ones of my present self. However, I do not stop here. I go back to my former self; my childhood self, my teenage self and offer images to that aspect of me that was lost in a matrix of false identities and disempowering fairytale fantasies. I write, draw and sing about myself as a central character of my life story as I am and as I was. What is seen to the outside world as flawed becomes a source of my strength in the tale I tell. My difference is my superpower. Nothing about me needs to change to fit into a narrative because I am the narrator. The story I tell myself has a powerful impact on the outcome of my daily interactions so I choose my narration style wisely. This is my secret life. My secret life is the source of my well-being and I honor it by cultivating healing, motivational and inspiring self-talk. This is my home, this is my place of refuge, this is my sanity. I use this new moon and its symbol of renewal to reflect on my own ability to renew myself. I see my history as one of many triumphs. I see my life as a testament to my strength. Even when life is unjust I choose to remain a victor of my inner world by keeping the focus on what I can do in any given situation. Doing this opens me up to all the creative thinking that I would ever need in order to strategically move through the many obstacles this world might try to put in my way.
For more information please visit Chani’s personal blog, UntilTheStarsFallFromTheSky, or for personal astrology readings please contact Chani directly at chani [at] chaninicholas.com.
