For people who follow tropical astrological or solstice-equinox-type of calendars (ie. people in Iran), the spring equinox on March 21st heralds the new year, so by those systems, we are now in the deep dark of the end, where everything dissolves and unwinds and dies to make way for the new.
I love the dark moon chaos stillness so much that I can find the dark moon everywhere: the end of every lunation (every 28 days); the end of the Gregorian year; the end of the Chinese year; the end of each project; the onset of blood time…
With every new life form there exists death and decay.
Maybe it’s because our world doesn’t look too kindly upon the dark moon needs that I hungrily carve out my dark moon time – defending my alone time, fending off social engagements, being elusive about my schedule. Demetra George shares enlightening (or should I say darkly illuminating…) truths about the dark moon wisdom in her multiple books and these writings helped me understand that cyclical nature of my own life, as well as the absolute need to take time to let things unfurl and fade away from time to time.
In an achievement-based world, it can be extra difficult to accept times of non-progress, of loss, of fatigue, of missing muses, but I promise you from the depths of my womanly wisdoms that it’s not only enriching, it’s essential.
Feminine spirituality is earthly – inviting the Goddess to enliven your life involves feeling into and surrendering to cycles of nature and creation. For something new to burst forth, there needs to be SPACE for its emergence. Allowing parts of your life, self, work, and relationships to die, rot, decay, and disappear regularly is part of that process.
It’s not a luxury to sit around and do nothing but daydream, rest, and renew – though capitalist-colonialist-patriarchal structures may say so- it’s crucial to our wellbeing, to our creative fortitude.
The upcoming new moon solar eclipse in Pisces has extra powerful dark moon vibes – even though new moons are new seeds and fresh starts, they involve dark skies – Luna eats the Sun. Inside of us this is like the chaos of our emotions, the blurry emotional depths and urges swimming up to flood and drown us. Alone in a dark forest at night can be terrifying but sometimes you just have to curl up beside a tree and trust that you’ll still be in one piece when the Sun returns…
Because this is the final eclipse of the Virgo-Pisces axis for a while and because it occurs on the South Node (the past, spiritualizing, the dragon’s tail, digestion & release), this new moon is both a beginning and an end.
Look to Hekate, the keeper of crossroads where 3 paths wind in multiple directions: past; present; future. In the dark of the upcoming eclipse, these three directions can swirl and whirl us into the core of our center, the protected, juicy center where we are strong and unique and unwavering in our purpose.
Let her dogs devour you with faith that you’ll come out a little more trim for the journey ahead.
Let the void, the womb, space, the dark, the night bathe you and renew you. Give yourself permission to stop doing and acting and rest: simply be for a day or two this weekend.
***Blog art by Milorad Bata Mihailovic***