The new moon.......letting go to the darkness

Dear Yogis,

First of all I have to start by apologizing to the moon. 

Month after month I have talked about the beautiful cooling, feminine energy of the moon.  Month after month I check the calendar to note the date of the full moon and remind you all as it approaches so we can pull down her energy.   And as she approaches I am watchful to the night sky to see her in all of her glory and bask in her beams.  Anticipating.

But that is only one side of the moon.  Just as important and just as beautiful in its own way is the new moon.  The night she is dark.  The night she rests. 

But somehow I hadn’t noticed. 

 

Last night as I lit the candles and turned on the music for my Friday evening “time for me”, I did as I always do….. glancing out to the night sky to find the shine of the moon to spend time with her.  But I found only darkness, and remembered that we are approaching the new moon. That I would not be able to find her with my eyes.  That I needed to look inward. 

Where the full moon is the peak, the new moon is the valley.  Where the full moon is the abundance of summer, the new moon is the naked bareness of winter.   The full moon is time to celebrate and dance, while the new moon is time to retreat and take stock.   For women, the  full moon is the time of ovulation, where the new moon is the time to bleed.  The inhale, and the exhale. 

I tend to grasp for the peaks, and am still  not quite as comfortable in the lows.  I easily become addicted to the big bursts of growth, and struggle when things just simmer.  I love expansion.  I resist contraction.   But she reminded me last night that we need it all.    It is all part of the flow…..of the hum. 

So Monday night is the new moon.  The quiet darkness.  Time to retreat and journey inward.  To shed.  To reflect.  To feel where you are.  Taking time to nurture and pamper yourself.  Perhaps lighting a candle in her honor, or soaking in the tub.  Honoring yourself exactly the way that you are. 

And then Tuesday the moon will begin to wax back toward full again.  And this is the time of new beginnings, and of change.  Perfect as we move into our third chakra….Manipura…. our place of transformation.  Beginning to “see” what it is we want with an unwavering focus. 

But for the next few days, just soak.

Learning to become comfortable in the dark,

SARAH