Image by John Fowler

Full Moon: July 16 – 19

Key Words: Eclipse, release, reset, intense emotions, feminist energy, acknowledgement of our needs, clearing baggage and old thought patterns, intuition, authority, seat of power

July’s full moon aligns with a lunar eclipse, working to amplify the potency of the energies around us. It’s like a regular full moon only stronger and more intense. If you are feeling a bit sluggish, heady, unsettled, hungry, creative, jumpy and are having difficulty focusing, you are experiencing the effects of the moon and the eclipse. Don’t fight it. Acknowledge what is happening on a physical level so that you can embrace the opportunities for growth and empowerment that are happening on a deeper level.

In fact, your emotions and physical reactions in general may have been more intense since the beginning of July with the new moon, which started with a solar eclipse and took us right into Mercury Retrograde. Sensations of feeling scattered and ungrounded are normal, as well as frustrations with human-made products and processes such as technology and transportation.

Expect to feel the reverberations of this astrological activity. The best way to deal with it is to understand what is happening and leveraging it to your advantage.

The Potential For Power Struggles

Have you been confronted with power struggles these past 6 months or so? With the Lunar Eclipse in close conjunction with the planet Pluto, there is an opportunity that the struggles we have been having within our various relationships may come to a head. In fact, expect confrontation, causing uncomfortable situations with less than desirable outcomes. And these power struggles may not only be with others. The astrological activities have our fight or flight reactions cued and our egos are working in overdrive, so it isn’t uncommon if you have been facing off with yourself lately either. You could be reverting to habits and self-destructive thoughts.

Ride the wave of your emotions, that are likely to be more sensitive this full moon. Practice mindfulness in your reactions to others and frustrating situations as well as in your reaction to yourself. Be kind to yourself. Don’t get mad if an action has not resulted in the desired outcome. Don’t start kicking yourself for missing a work out or a high pressure deadline. This full moon brings with it an excellent opportunity to release old imbalances and thought patterns. If you look hard enough, you might find that the battles you have been fighting with others or your ego the past six months are actually only hurting you. Is it worth it to hang on to bad energy?

But Take That Personal Power Back!

While we should work to avoid unnecessary and unproductive power struggles with others, this is an excellent full moon for taking back our personal power in whatever method best serves you. Part of taking back our personal power means letting go of people, situations, thought processes and bad habits that simply do no serve. When we no longer allow external forces to cause tension within our souls, we are on our way to reclaiming our personal power that may have been too caught up in our egos, ultimately holding us back from our proper purposes and full potentials.

The Ultimate Release and Reset

As the moon will be physically eclipsed, we on earth will go dark. During this darkness, we are called to release old ideas and behaviours and rebirth ourselves with a promising reset. This is actually an incredibly exciting opportunity to reset our paths and re-align ourselves with new goals, new possibilities and embark on a journey that feeds our souls deeper than before.

This Is A Turning Point, A True Opportunity

July’s full moon is truly a magical one. That said, it is also one in which we are called to be present and focused on ourselves rather than peering too much into the future. The potential for growth by shedding the past is so potent at the moment. It is important we remain grounded in our feelings and take the time to acknowledge and recognized anything you want to leave behind, so that you can make space for the new and exciting things that making their way to you.

Today on June 19th, the planets Mercury and Mars team up and directly oppose Pluto in a galactic face off that has tension, fire, volatile energy and conflict written all over it for us here on earth. It’s kind of the Sons of Anarchy gang confrontation equivalent of the planets. Things have the potential to go south and fast.

Mercury rules communication, technology and travel (you know how it goes when Mercury is in retrograde right?) so be prepared for short fuses, bad drivers, traffic delays and misunderstandings. Mars is an actionable planet that is ready to fight at the first call, so this puts our reactionary impulses in overgear. Everyone is stepping on everyone’s toes today and the energy of Mars is pushing us to stake our boundaries with strong defences, fists and fighting words.

Pluto governs our sense of power and domination throwing an actual time bomb in the midst, along with misplaced ambition and ego. This planetary confrontation is intensified by this week’s full moon with a light at the end of the tunnel on Friday as we welcome Summer Solstice.

In short, things could get ugly quickly today. If you’ve felt the energy around you or within intensifying, situations between you and friends or co-workers or your partner getting a bit elevated, or people overstepping their mark on your space both physically and metaphorically (at work, or in the coffee line at Starbucks) you are not alone. The planets are facing off and we’re all feeling the consequences.

Here are some quick tips and tricks for getting through today with grace.

Embrace the Fire and Repurpose It

While we tend to try to push our intense energies down, try leaning into them. With a mindful approach and understanding that how you are feeling today is not really in your control, nor can you do anything about the actions of others, embrace your intensity and put that fire towards accomplishing something great. Lock yourself in your room, avoid others and crush your deadlines. It’s safer inside today anyways, so why not cross some items off your list as your energies are burning inside? Clean your house with gusto. Go for a killer sweaty run.

Avoid Triggers and Reschedule That Meeting 

We always say alignment before hustle right? Sometimes recognizing that you are simply not in a proper mindset to address certain matters, tasks or conversations is the most mindful and responsible thing you can do for yourself. If you are feeling intensely off today, or that there is potential that a certain meeting, phone call, sales pitch or discussion with your client, relationship partner, co-worker or friend is not going to go the way you want it too, then reschedule it. Being mindful of where we are at internally at any given moment and honour it. If we listen to our internal energies and strive to find alignment before action, we will see better results.

Embrace Woo Woo

There are certain practices in the New Age belief system that will help you get grounded and find your centre fast. Turquoise is the perfect stone to have in your presence today for its grounding qualities as well as its connection to the throat chakra, which will aid in communication and confidence. Burning palo santo regularly throughout the day will work to clear any overly intense energies, while the scent will help get you grounded quickly and back in your body if you find your mind is getting carried away with unproductive stories and thoughts.

In short, a bit of mindfulness goes a long way. If you feel tensions and situations are getting out of hand, put a pin in them and come back to them when the planets aren’t at each other’s throats.

Moon Cycle: From September 9th – October 7th

Full Moon: September 24th 

Keywords: Harvest, Practicality, Health, Self-Care, Simplification, Integrity, Opportunity, Success, Flexibility

This Sunday, we are welcoming the new moon in Virgo. While this new cycle puts a final stamp on the summer, many of us may find ourselves looking toward the next phase in our journeys with a certain wisdom and newfound understanding of ourselves. This summer, it seemed as though the universe did everything in its cosmic powers to give us the tools we needed to go deep within ourselves, and to help us come out of the heat and confusion with a bit more clarity about who we are and what we want. It’s only natural that we are now passed on to the practical and meticulous hands of Virgo to help us sift through what was uncovered and go into the next phase with a bit more insight as to who we want to be.

Virgo invites us to find our deepest and purest emotions to help us set truthful intentions for this next phase. Essentially, we will uncover our own secrets, if they have not been revealed to us already this summer. Virgo helps us determine who we are and what we want to call in to our experience, as well as shows us everything we no longer need. This practical new moon, we are called to unapologetically cut out everything that is keeping us from being our best selves. This can mean old habits and negative thought-patterns or even people who are dragging you down.

Harvest for 2019

The new moon in Virgo is when we harvest opportunities and work to translate them in to future successes and triumphs. In fact, opportunities will be abundant during this time. The various angles of this new moon in relation to Jupiter and Pluto mean that we are open to good luck as well as opportunities for happiness and success. Good fortune is on its way, and it is up to us to sift through the noise and time-wasters that won’t serve you. Because opportunities will be coming at you in more abundance, it will be important to tap into the practical nature of Virgo to determine what is a real opportunity and what isn’t a good use of your valuable energy and resources.

Neptune’s a Bitch 

That said, beware of any feelings of insecurity or discouragement. This new moon is opposite Neptune which means we may face challenges dealing with feelings of competition or assertive people. These feelings may put our ego on overdrive and have us puffing out our chests to show who we are and what we can do. Don’t give in to the games of others. If you are focusing on them, you cannot focus on your own path. Remember, the universe is effecting everyone the same way. Expect other people to be hustling to achieve their own goals. Let them move in their own lives. Cheer on the success of your competitors. There is enough success and abundance for everyone and their success can’t effect yours.  .

And Finally, Self-Care 

Nourish your body, your sacred temple this moon cycle. Life will be picking up pace after a dozy summer, but that’s no reason to let your self-care rituals slide. Make time for yoga, for sleep, for washing your face and making a cup of herbal tea. Make time to meditate, to sit and do nothing and to rest. Your body is your earthly vehicle to create the experiences you want. The new moon in Virgo reminds us to honour our health and peace of mind.