Today & tomorrow all of us will be experiencing the balsamic phase of the moon ending on Wednesday at 3;27 EDT when the New Moon cycle at 26Taurus begins. It’s time to dive in again and clean out the internal clutter.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to meet Wayne Muller who is an ordained minister, therapist and author of Sabbath, Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives. He definitly understood the symbolic meaning of the balsamic phase of the moon. He agrees that, without this time of introverted activity we are doomed to remain a stressed out, disease-ridden, self-centered culture showing little compassion or understanding for others. Whew. It stressed me out just writing that sentence!
The balsamic phase of the moon as I have previously written about here and here is the time to direct our attention to our inner world and our inner life. Many people don’t have a clue what that means which illustrates the need to educate and encourage this practice. Wayne Muller writes about Sabbath from both the Jewish & the Christian perspective. One celebrates this restful time on Saturday, the other on Sunday. I have personally discovered as an astrologer/yogini that using the balsamic time of the moon for my inward journeys to be extrodinarily auspicious.
We on this planet Earth are intimately connected to the cycle & phases of the Moon, our closest neighbor in the sky. We know that the moon affects the tides thru it’s gravitational pull on Earth. We know that we are more than 80% water. It’s not a gigantic leap to realize that we too are affected by that same gravitational pull. And, finally, we know that since the dawning of mankind we have watched and scheduled our lives by the consistent rhythms of the sun & moon. Afterall, isn’t that where our calendar came from? But, I digress.
It does make it somewhat challenging to withdraw from our daily lives if the balsamic phase falls on a Monday & Tuesday! Our contemporary worklife does not have a flexible enough schedule to accomodate the fluctuations of the lunar cycle. We are a solar based society, unlike some of the other cultures on our planet. (See this article on East vs. West astrology)
However, where there’s a will there’s a way. One of the ways I make sure that I acknowledge my balsamic tasks is to step up my yoga & meditation practice during these days. You might want to do the same and attend a class or two. Taking time out to be in nature is another way to celebrate this time. Journaling, napping, day-dreaming, are some other ways to honor yourself and build up your internal bank account. Practice ‘not doing’ as the yogi’s would say. Just Be. You will find that you are even more productive when the new moon comes back around if you take out some time for yourself now.
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