The New Moon in PISCES will grace the sky on March 10th reaching peak illumination at 5am EST.
This blog post covers all you need to know about the New Moon in Pisces along with a simple eco-somatic ritual for you to explore.
In this blog post you will find:
Introduction: Moon 101
The sun and moon are in a cyclical relationship as they weave through the seasons of the zodiac. This celestial dance provides us with an intuitive road map to explore our own inner/outer journey as we too make our way through the ebb and flow of nature's seasons and come into new and ever-changing dimensions of our lives.
While the sun is ruler of the day and influences our "outer" expression in the world, it is to no surprise that as ruler of the tides and queen of the night the moon is also ruler of our emotions and "inner" felt experience. Our emotions have long been associated with representations of water and the sea: fluid, ever-changing, ebbing and flowing. As the moon pulls at the tides, we also experience this influencing force on our emotions, desires, shadow realms, fears/worries, psyche, and dreams.
Self-knowledge arises through a process of uncovering hidden layers of self through revelation and integration. This process is mirrored in the ebb and flow of the moon which is why it's something we learn to observe and track. As the light of the moon waxes, more of what lies hidden becomes revealed - our deeper motivations, mechanisms, and feelings. As the light of the moon wanes, we are given time to integrate these new learnings and discoveries.
This New Moon falls within the sign of Pisces. Keep reading to learn how you can use this moon portal to explore new dimensions of self seeking expression in the world.
New Moon Energy
The New Moon in Pisces marks the beginning of a new lunar cycle. The Aquarius New Moon cycle ends and the Pisces New Moon cycle begins. Since the moon is the closest "planet" to Earth, this satellite zips around the zodiac very quickly, completing its round in less than a month. Actually, the entire trip takes 29.53 days, to be exact, and is measured from one “New Moon” to the next. We call this a lunation or lunar cycle.
During a New Moon, the moon is sitting between the Earth and the Sun, hence the Sun is shining on the side of the moon we never see. Both the Moon and Sun are in the same Zodiac sign during a New Moon forming a conjunction, which means that the influencing energies are united and enhance the other. In this case, both the Sun and Moon are conjunct in the sign of ScorpPiscesio.
You can think of the New Moon phase as the point of beginning again or returning to the conception stage of the lunar cycle. The darkness of the new moon represents fertile ground. New moon energy is a time for introspection, heightened intuition, surrendering to the unknown, releasing what no longer serves you, opening to magic and conjuring visions. At this time, you can plant your dream seeds or set intentions by consciously focusing on the "feeling' of your hearts' desires.
Pisces Insights
SYMBOL: TWO FISH // tethered by an invisible thread swimming in a vast ocean of interbeing. The ocean is mother / source of life, we are the child, forever bonded by an invisible thread that can never be broken
PLANETARY RULER: NEPTUNE // God of the Sea, planet of inspiration, dreams, intuition, psychic receptivity, illusion, and confusion, spiritual enlightenment.
ELEMENT: WATER // element of psyche & emotions.
HOUSE: 12th HOUSE // rules soul growth, karma, self undoing, hidden strengths, private matters, spirituality
MODALITY: MUTABLE // represents the changing nature of life through shifting adaptable forces.
We continue our journey through Nature's Arc of Change and now find ourselves on the cusp of the Spring Equinox. It is a time for putting dreams into action guided by our values-based longings. The theme of this Pisces season is all about WAKING UP to the water we're swimming in, reckoning with the colonial illusions of separation we have inherited, and realizing that our liberation is bound with one another.
Two weeks ago the Virgo Full New Moon was helping us to remember that bonds of kinship are forged through shared struggle and that relationship building IS the work of liberation; that being with each other, helping each other survive on a day-to-day basis, engaging in communal cultural rituals, and building/ deepening/ sustaining reciprocal relationships is the HEART of resistance + worldmaking. It’s what allows you to do the work with integrity, accountability and sustainability.
Now with the New Moon in Pisces, we are beginning another Lunar cycle which will carry us through the gate of Spring Equinox and into the light half of the year. As the sign associated to mother ocean and concepts of oneness, Pisces is one of the most counter-cultural signs of the zodiac because she fills in the cracks of separation. She spans across time carrying all that has come before; lifetimes and epochs of memory live in her waters. She is the great flood that destroys civilizations, reminding us of our proper place among all beings.
Pisces does not seek for herself, rather she seeks a cause. With the wisdom of ages behind her, she will not be deceived. She sees beyond the stories and structures in place that serve to limit and confine her power. Pisces refuses to be contained by the exploitation of individualism within consumer capitalism. She rejects the shackled dreams of the status quo which attempt exhaust and reduce her value to efficiency and production. Pisces helps us breaks free from self-doubts and ideas of who we should be to embrace who we truly are. Pisces reminds us of our interdependent wholeness and encourages us toward communal thriving. Pisces is the dream we enact with every choice we make that moves us closer to our collective longing and liberation.
What you need to know about Pisces
THE MUTABLE CROSS
PISCES - VIRGO AXIS
GEMINI-SAGITTARIUS AXIS
Anticipation, movement, change, adaptability, flexibility
This Mutable Cross is one of the three zodiacal crosses. Following the determined stable forces of the Fixed Cross comes the changing nature of life in its mutable form. The purpose of this cross defines the shifting adaptable natural forces of the elements.
"Mutable signs are represented by sattva in the Hindu system. Geometrically, they are expressed by a spiral, which combines the inwardness of a circle and the thrust of a straight line." - Vicki Noble, Motherpeace
Pisces is the mutable Water sign (circled in the diagram here), opposing it is the mutable Earth sign of Virgo which creates one axis of the Fixed Cross. The two feminine elements (Water and Earth) always create an axis and the two masculine elements (Air and Fire) create the other axis. Each cross contains each of the four elements. In this case the mutable signs are represented by: Sagittarius (fire), Gemini (air), Virgo (earth), and Pisces (water).
ELEMENT: WATER
WATER: PSYCHE / EMOTION
SCORPIO, CANCER, PISCES
Water is the element of emotions, instinct and the mysterious realm of the psyche. It is the element of the dream world, adaptability, fertility, receiving, healing, fluidity and change.
"We can see water’s unique ability to change form as it ranges from liquid to ice to gas. Water flows and adapts to the space it’s in. Water is also the element of cleansing and purification, and is often used for spiritual purposes to cleanse the soul and other spaces —physical or otherwise. The ‘wave of emotions’ reminds us of the watery realms of our emotions that can transform and change like the element of water." - Kayla White
Water signs feel at home in depths of emotion and have a strong connection to the unseen. They are highly intuitive and have strong ties to the lunar currents, thus dreamscapes may be particularly vivid. As deep feelers they are emotionally moved to action.
RULING PLANET: NEPTUNE
Qualities: creativity, sensitivity, dreams, imagination, illusion, escapism, psychic receptivity, compassion, confusion, naivity
Neptune is one of the "modern" planets, together with Uranus and Pluto (although pluto is no longer considered a planet). This expression refers to planets that were unknown in antiquity, at a time when it was not possible to glimpse them with the naked eye.
Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun, so it receives little light and cannot heat its atmosphere. Its intense blue color is due to methane and an as-yet-unknown compound. Neptune has the fastest winds in the solar system.
CONSTELLATION
Pisces the Fish is a constellations of the zodiac, which means that it lies on the ecliptic, or path of the sun and planets through our sky. Currently, Jupiter lies within the constellation’s borders and will remain there until mid-May 2023.
According to EarthSky:
Generally, the best time to view constellations in the night sky is when they’re opposite the sun in the sky. They rise at sunset and are up all night. So, if the sun is in Pisces in March, then the opposite side of the calendar, October and the following months, is a good time for observing Pisces. Indeed, in December, by the time the sky is dark, Pisces is already high in the southern sky for us in the Northern Hemisphere. Pisces is at its highest for the evening at about 8 p.m. local time in December. (Source)
Ritual Elements
Pisces New Moon Ritual
What You'll Need
1. Elements for your altar. Drawing on the Pisces Ritual Elements above, consider what you might want to bring to your altar. Start simple. There is absolutely no need to go out and "buy" altar items. This is something that we encourage you to unlearn. Everything we need is within us and can be found around us. A simple candle will do, or a yellow flower for example.
2. Candle & lighter for the eco-somatic practice
3. Journal & something to write with for the journaling portion.
Important Considerations & Prep
1. RIGHT RELATIONSHIP: being in right relationship with your spiritual practice means approaching each aspect with humility, curiosity and reverence. This includes checking yourself on the nature of how you relate to "objects" as things and the process itself.
For example, if you feel called to stones as part of your ritual, consider WHY first. Then contemplate the impact of whatever action comes next. For example, instead of mindlessly purchasing cheap precious stones from somewhere like amazon (which have more than likely been harmfully mined/extracted and then shipped across the world as part of the consumer machine that's destroying our planet), perhaps part of your spiritual practice is to resist such a prompting and instead take the time to go for a mindful walk in your backyard, or a nearby stream and see if the right stone presents itself to you.
2. CLEANSE & PURIFY YOUR SPACE: Cleansing, also known as purification, is the practice of clearing out and releasing negative energy from your space, as well as energy that’s just old, stale, stagnant, or no longer serving you. Here are a few different methods:
Physical cleaning: dusting, vacuuming, opening windows for fresh air
Salt: a common element used for purification and protection in many different cultures. To use, simply sprinkle salt along doorways and windowsills to protect them from negative energy entering or just keep a small bowl of salt on your altar or nearby surface.
Smoke cleansing: light incense or burn a bundle of dried herbs such as rosemary, cedar, or mugwort. Choose plants that you have grown yourself or that grow abundantly wild nearby, plants that you have ancestral tied to or just those that have been grown and harvested ethically.
NOTE: If you do not have meaningful/authentic relationships to Indigenous culture and customs, "smudging" with white sage cultural appropriation and is dishonoring to Indigenous nations across Turtle island. It is important to understand that smudging is not just about burning sage to purify the negative energy from your space but is a sacred ritual that is culturally specific to tribes such as the Lakota Sioux, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Navajo. If you have been gifted sage by an Indigenous friend, use to your discretion in how to engage with this medicine. This sacred plant is being abused, exploited and mass-harvested for commercial and consumer use which perpetuates the violence of white supremacy and settler colonialism. Take some time to locate yourself within a settler-colonial context interwoven with the land you currently occupy. Check out Native Land to learn the name and more about the territories you occupy.
3. CLEANSE & PURIFY YOUR BODY-MIND
Take a shower our bath; visualize any negative energy that has accumulated in your auric field to be washed away as the water goes down the drain.
Meditate, center and take some time to ground in stillness and embodied presence.
Write or speak your intentions for your ritual out loud
4. BE MINDFUL & STRIVE FOR INTEGRITY ALWAYS.
Altar Creation
Creating an altar is optional. Altar tending is a beautiful practice, especially if you have a designated area in your home that you can tend to over the course of each moon and seasonal cycle.
Tending to an altar is an intentional practice that supports your exploration of nature spirituality and carries the potential to deepen your relationship to the energetic archetypes of the unfolding seasonal & moon cycles.
To set up your altar, simply play with any number of the ritual elements offered above in the chart by using symbols, colors, precious gemstones, symbolism, etc.
There is no right or wrong way to go about creating, tending or being with your altar, however we do not condone cultural appropriation or theft of any kind.
Eco-Somatic Practice: Still Waters
For this eco-somatic practice we will be drawing upon the element of WATER since this new moon falls within the sign of PISCES.
MATERIALS: no materials needed.
ABOUT THE PRACTICE: Pisces is the sign of oneness and wholeness whose element is water which is associated to realms of emotion, dream, fluidity and intuition.
The purpose of this practice is to still your inner waters which will support you to drop into the eternal now and the ocean of oneness within you. This practice appears very simple, though it will require a deep inner softening as you settle into a state of quiet stillness.
You may wish to explore this practice while sitting in a bath to submerge yourself in the unity that is water. Otherwise you can simply find a comfortable position seated in an area where you won't be disturbed.
STEPS:
As you begin the practice find a place to sit where you can turn your gaze inward to the felt sense. Sense your feet on the ground and the connection you have with earth and gravity. Now sense the crown of your head as it reaches toward the sky, lengthening the spine.
Sense these two polarities as you allow your muscles to relax while keeping the strength and structure of the spine.
From here, bring your awareness to the ebb and flow of the breath, allowing it to be soft like gentle waves lapping against your inner short. Take some time to find deep pleasure in this oscillating movement, as though you were sitting next to an ocean.
Now imagine dropping a single anchor into the waters of your inner being. Watch the anchor sink all the way down to the ground, settling at your sit bones. As you exhale, let your weight settle into the base of your posture as you rest in the sensation of being held.
Keep your awareness on your sit bones while imagining the line of the anchor traveling up your channel of your spine. Sense your inner stability and come into complete inner stillness.
Notice any tendency to move or itch. See if you can just notice the sensation without acting on it. Continue to relax and soften. If thoughts come, just notice them in the same way.
Be here for as long as you need to until you finally let go and settle into a deep sense of inner peace.
Journaling
What came up for you during the eco-somatic practice? Take some time to reflect on anything you'd like to hold onto.
You may also wish to reflect on any or all of the following questions:
Do you find it hard to settle your mind and nervous system?
What supports you to relax and settle into stillness?
How often do you incorporate quiet, stillness or contemplation into your daily life?
In what ways do you cultivate inner self awareness?
Why do you think stillness is an important practice, if at all?
Finish the following sentences:
A habits of thought or behavior that I am releasing is....
A new practice that I would like to incorporate into my routine is...
Something that I am letting go of is...
Something I am welcoming in is...
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