We are reaching the endpoint of this eclipse cycle, yet the reverberations will echo for some time. This has been a quest of heart-opening wisdom, purpose and authentic expression of inner fire. A time to recognize our oneness instead of our separation. For some, it has been gentle invigoration and expansion. For others, it has been a turbulent, tempestuous and unsettling experience where our hearts felt more shattered than uncluttered. No doubt the last few weeks starting with the Leo New Moon and Aquarius Full Moon, culminating with the New Moon Solar Eclipse, and highlighted by Mercury Retrograde (which ends a day before this Full Moon) has been stirring the mud of your shadow layers.
It is only by embracing our shadow, can we unlock our light.
It is only by perceiving the truth of our vulnerability, can we become empowered.
The door has been cracked to our inner world, and our fire ignited.
Now that the door is open, it is up to us to walk through it.
As Rumi so eloquently reminds us,
“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you
Don’t go back to sleep!”
The Full Moon in Pisces whispers this message to both the seen and unseen edges of our soul. We have been offered a choice point, a not so gentle nudging to awaken. The breezes of our shadow have compelling stories to tell. The situations, experiences, and feelings (even and especially the difficult ones) that have arisen during this time are saturated with divine intelligence. They reveal the technical truths regarding our collective reality which may not be at all convenient to our comfort zone.
What secrets have been unearthed in your life?
This wisdom offers the key to unlocking significant change.
“You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep!”
It is time to own it, be it, know it and do what it takes to integrate this knowledge into our lives.
Pisces, the ruler of paradox, reminds us real healing means we must go back to move forward, we must go beyond to find presence, we must release to gain, and we must lean into uncertainty to find certainty.
Pisces reminds us our history is important because through it we remember our triumphs as well as our battle scars and mistakes. We see what is healthy and what is not- illuminating both our grit and resiliency.
It is only when we see our past clearly, without the fog of denial, that we can LIVE that wisdom in the present. If we circumvent or deny the ground we stand on, we run the risk of re-enacting old patterns as we react in habitual ways. If we renounce accountability of our deepest layers, we run the risk of projecting it outward becoming the victim of our own circumstances.
In its highest light, Pisces reveals our dis-illusionment. Without the facade of illusion, we SEE clearly for the first time. We see we are not separate, but elaborate and intricate mirrors of the whole. We are one world whether we want to believe that or not.
When the veil of illusion is lifted in your life, what truths are revealed?
That is where we start.
That has been the theme of this whole year. The uncovering, the disintegration, and evaporation of illusion to illuminate the wholeness of reality. We can only release what we can compassionately acknowledge and let go of what we can somehow include. It is time to get real about what is and what is not working in our lives, and where we do and do not have control. That dynamic balance, that delicate dance between action and surrender, is the alchemy of change.
The last sign of the zodiac, Pisces is said to encompass the archetypal energy of all other signs. Thus, this Piscean time is symbolic of the synergy between both endings and beginnings, as it bridges the gap between heaven and earth.
“People are going back and forth
across the doorsill where the two worlds touch,”
Ultimately, Pisces is keeper of the great cosmic joke life is not happening to us but for us. Each of us has chosen to know grace in specific ways and to be here now to realize it. This means we cannot understand the whole movie by one scene alone. We must trust there is more to the story, even if it makes little sense at the time.
And trust isn’t always easy in this world of hard edges and finite spaces. We can easily fall into avoidance, fantasy or spiritually bypass the truth of our fear by whitewashing the presence of our own darkness.
The secret is not to fall deeper into the illusion of division, but to seek the meaning of our own reflection in the world around us.
That means we MUST feel, we must dive deeper, we must lean into our pain and doubt. It means we must allow our sorrow to sweep away the old making room for the new- even if the new is not what we have consciously asked for or even want. It means we can even learn to take refuge in the uncertainty itself.
The only way to expand into the unseen places is to harness the Piscean quality of surrender. With quiet acceptance, we simply let go of our need to have things different than they are. This doesn’t mean we passively wait for someone else to fix our problems. It doesn’t mean we sit in blame or judgment. In fact, the act of surrender is a minute by minute, often breath by breathe practice, of inwardly questioning “what is this for?” and “what is my real learning here?”. We must trust something more walks beside us with these answers.
A grace, a god, a force, a totem… it matters not what we call it just that we call on it.
We call it forth, and we simply sacrifice the limits of our own control trusting in the mystery itself. Because when we let go, we make space in the field of potential. Without our story, we open to new possibilities without the confines of expectation. Release and rebirth go hand in hand. There is never one without the other.
What are we being asked to surrender?
Anything that keeps the illusion going.
- Anything that blocks our truth, radiance, love, and authenticity in our lives.
- Ways in which we serve, express our energy that does not serve us in return.
- Habits of giving too much of ourselves.
- Issues that cannot be solved in the logical mind and must be surrendered to the very real force of intuition.
- Excuses to honoring personal accountability.
- Ways we block receiving.
- Habits or patterns that create dis-ease in our bodies.
“The door is round and open
Don’t go back to sleep!”
The last sign of the zodiac, Pisces is symbolic of what needs to end so something else can begin.
Maybe you simply need to sob, letting yourself stand in your own dynamic storm and allowing your tears to initiate you into a new tribe.
Maybe this looks like powerful grief work as you navigate the journey of a sudden and shocking loss. (For more on that check out the Alchemy of Grief podcast)
Maybe you have discovered new layers of your shadow all around you and need to do the compassionate and courageous work of shadow integration. (For more on that check out the Projection and Integration podcast)
Maybe you need a prayer or mantra to get you through the gap of change.
Maybe you are called to harness the sacredness of surrender in the form of a release ritual. (For more on that check out the blog post Release and Rebirth)
Maybe it is time for some deep forgiveness work as you undo or untie the binds that keep you stuck.
Yet, letting go isn’t always easy. Though we are spiritual beings our ego, in fact, feels very real. The most spiritual of all signs, Pisces reminds us when we make our pain sacred we welcome transformation in a powerful way. Like the water element it represents Pisces reminds us when we lean in, we allow its waves to carve the coastline of our very being.
Water has been said to be the most powerful of all elements. Stealthy or obvious, water can take any form. Its strength is perseverance and patience, the ability to etch whole mountains drip by drip. Water cleanses and purifies our outer world, and it can do the same to our inner world with the emotion of sadness. Sadness, letting go, baptizes us in the wisdom and energy of surrender and thus rebirth.
“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you
Don’t go back to sleep!”
“You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep!”
“People are going back and forth
across the doorsill where the two worlds touch,”
“The door is round and open
Don’t go back to sleep!”
~Rumi