Unravelling the mystery that is you

Make Room for Compassion & Objectivity

How are things going for you? We're still in the midst of some Extreme Astrology, not easy to go through, but incredible opportunities for transformation abound. So if things have been especially challenging (i.e. every encounter triggering some buried hurt/scar) and intense (a la 'why haven't I done X yet?' where X is an endless list of items) lately, know that you're not alone.

The rule of thumb from now till mid-April: be alert to your natural fight-or-flight response, and choose to do neither. Instead, let in whatever it is, whether it's a feeling, a person, or a situation, and meet it with compassion and objectivity. Brutal honesty with yourself, plus a whole-hearted intention to transform towards greater authenticity for everyone/thing involved.

Btw, brutal honesty does not mean being hard on yourself. Think of it this way: if a friend I care deeply about were in this situation and asked for a little bit of tough love, what would I share with them?

The Positive Side of Unravelling

The nice thing is that the New Moon this month is in Neptune-ruled Pisces. The essence of Neptune, if I could only pick one word, is unravelling. We tend to associate unravelling with only the bad stuff—coming apart at the seams and all that.

That element is definitely at play, which is why you need to be aware of the pitfalls of Neptune. Skip delusion and denial, and avoid any slippery downward slopes that take you away from what you want to create in your life. The planet is in charge of things like procrastination, illusion, and addiction after all.

On the flip side, Neptune also takes care of spirituality, imagination, and dreams. Nebulous subjects, but when given form, they can take on soul-deep resonance (think music, film, photography) that words cannot express. This is the part of the Neptune playground you want to unravel. Articulating things that are in your un/sub-conscious, bringing them into your consciousness, giving life to them.

Use this energy to unravel mysteries in your life, your unconscious, and your creativity. Use it to manage the intensity and challenges that you're facing. If you were considering an in-depth exploration of your inner world, or starting a mindfulness practice such as meditation, this New Moon is a good time to start. 

Now's also a good time to re-connect with your intuition if you've been feeling out of touch. Here's something simple to try:

1. As you go through your day, try to catch yourself choosing the "default" option, i.e. the one you automatically choose.
2. Try to also catch the moments when your response is, "Anything will do" or "I don't mind, you decide."
3. Check in with yourself if your default or 'anything' is really what you want, or if there's something else. 
4. If your default or 'anything' is what you truly want, go for it. If not, ask yourself what you really want, and go with the first thing that comes to mind. 

When you do this, you become aware of choices that you're making out of habit or convenience, and are practising the act of conscious decision-making. When you don't have a default mode, when you start checking in with yourself, it gives room to allow intuition to come in.

One point to note: This works best for the myriad of tiny choices we make every day (what to eat, what to do etc.), not so much for major decisions.

The Pisces New Moon is the last one of the astrological year, so if you've been feeling that you missed out on a chance to look back on the year gone by, here's your chance, because the next New Moon, which is in Aries, is the start of the astrological new year. Which I think is more cosmically powerful than January 1 anytime. 

Getting to Know You

I thought it'd be fun to get to know you better, so am going to ask you a question at the end of each missive, which may or may not be related to the main content.

So here's the first one! Think of the past week and pick the one that you feel matches you best, and when did you feel it the most?

1. I tended to have strong emotions.
2. I tended to feel fairly centred / balanced.
3. I tended to think, rather than feel.
4. I tended to over-think things.

All you need to do is hit reply with your answer. And feel free to make up your own answer and elaborate! I'll read all your replies.

Till the next New Moon! :)

Blessings,
Julia