I have been working with the section in Donna Cunningham’s book Moon Signs on “Meditations on the Daily Moon Signs.” For each sign she includes affirmations and visualizations related to the presence of the moon in that sign. This is a useful way to zero in on the feeling of the signs during the course of the month and the year – and what better planetary body than the moon to help with feelings?
I have been making it part of my practice to chant a few of these affirmations most days. At first I was doing this for the sign of each day, but since that changes every 2.5 days I found myself wanting to slow things down a bit, and focus instead the most recent new moon and full moon. So at any given time I acknowledge the moon’s gifts in the current cycle of emptying (the full moon and the 28 days thereafter) and in the current cycle of filling (the new moon and the 28 days thereafter).
So for example, for the past four weeks I have been working with Aquarius new moon; for the past two weeks I have been working with Virgo full moon. This week the moon becomes new in Pisces (it’s actually a full solar eclipse) so it’s time for some new affirmations.
Cunningham’s moon-in-Pisces affirmations are:
I release my addiction to people, places and things
I give myself permission to experience my feelings
I meditate easily, willingly, and regularly
I cherish and express my creative abilities
I experience my connection with the divine
The style of this type of affirmation is useful in a few ways:
- Good old-fashioned new-age style spirituality – it’s healthy to think good thoughts!
- The qualities of the sign are framed in personally meaningful, concrete ways
- Typically there are letting-go affirmations and letting-in affirmations – it’s a nice balance
As it happens, I am teaching a new class for the first time this week, starting on Tuesday when the new moon/eclipse happens. My approach is not to expect anything in particular to happen or not happen as a result of what the moon or any planet does – reality is a dense tissue of causes and consequences – instead I take this opportunity to clarify my own intentions.
I release my addiction to people, places and things
It has been a while since I’ve taught anything, and many years since I’ve taught a class anything like Soul Cartography. It reminds me a lot of my days teaching high school English in the late 80’s. I had to stop teaching high school after 4 years because of serious heartbreak due to my expectations for connection with my students being seriously compromised (teenagers will do that to you, as my dad can attest regarding my own adolescence). So my intention going into this class is to let go of outcomes and focus on the work I need to do. The transcendent qualities of Pisces can help me bring this intention to fruition in this situation, and help heal some long-standing sadness about things in my past teaching experience that didn’t work out as I had hoped.
I give myself permission to experience my feelings
As a leader it is easy to put on a mask and not be overly expressive. My intention is to hold the responsibilities of a leader but allow the fluidity of my inner self to be visible in a way that is useful to me and others.
I cherish and express my creative abilities
In this period of my life I am “coming out of the closet” as a creative person, starting to share my Works, writing poetry, thinking again about performing, and not least producing this blog. I love “cherish and express” because it means both honoring my interior process as well as having the courage to show myself to others. During the Aquarius new moon cycle just completing I have been working with the affirmation “I affirm my oneness with the human community” – and have used that energy to plan, design, and draft my first set of blog posts. I’m using this Pisces new moon cycle to “officially” launch the blog, which is the perfect manifestation of the intention to cherish and express my creative abilities.
