Last year I found a book in my collection titled, “The Moon.” Its copyright is 1946 and it is written by an author I’ve never heard of until last night (more on that in a bit). I probably picked it up from a tag sale or my yearly summer trip to Block Island where I always stop by the local library to peruse the used books for sale they have outside. It was marked down from a dollar to 75 cents. It’s a dark, bluish-green hardcover book that fit in with my other old hardcover books that I’ve collected over the years.
The book has recently moved from its original spot in my bookshelf to being displayed on the new shelf in my bedroom. Yesterday as I was reaching for my perfume, the book fell forward into my hands. I didn’t have time to set it back right, so I set it aside.
Yesterday rained most of the day. It’s been quite dreary and I couldn’t wait to take my tea and climb into bed with the book I’ve been reading. It’s an old astrology book by Alice Bailey called the Labours of Hercules. It is a captivating story about the cosmic Christ, the ancient son of God, and the travels, lessons and progression of the soul through each of the twelve signs of the zodiac. It is a little difficult to read but the story is profound. In the section I read last night, the footnote referenced the work of an author named Dane Rudhyar.
This is going somewhere, I promise!
This morning, I grabbed my little “The Moon” book for my new moon meditation. I began to read it. This wasn’t a dry, scientific book about the moon at all like I had assumed. This was a book about the lunation cycles of the moon in relation to human consciousness. This is a book about illumination. This is a book about the cosmos and divinity. This is the book about the moon and sun and the deep significance of that relationship. This was a book written by Dane Rudhyar. What!? The very author referenced in the book I was reading last night!
So maybe this post is only for moon geeks like me. But I am talking about a book that I’ve had for God knows how many years. This is a book that I barely remember buying. Had I opened it and tried to read it years ago (like I probably did), it would have been foreign to me. But now, it is everything that is coming into focus on my path. This book literally moved from my bookshelf in my living room, nearer to me in physical space and consciousness, until it literally fell into my hands! I couldn’t put it down.
“And that the sun and moon represent two defiantly antagonistic and irreconcilable orders of life is the great illusion. It is the illusion of separateness which sets mind (moon) against spirit (sun) and the ego against the spiritual self. The illusion of separateness destroys the vital essence of all relationships.”
In other words, the way we create separation causes pain. In nature, you cannot separate light and darkness. In our life, our relationships, as with the sun and moon, duality serves a purpose. It offers a contrast through which we experience the world. There is power once you understand that within that duality you can still choose happiness.
I think I am finally beginning to understand the connection to my source. A connection that doesn’t necessitate that you ignore the emotional forces of life, the duality that exists. The source that has been without a name for so long. But not because I was too confused, or flaky or not faithful enough, but because I believed it too big to name!
The more I observe my life unfold I notice that my growth is a spiral kind of growth and whenever I make the mistake of believing that it is linear, unhealed to healed, I find myself in a lot of pain. Can you imagine how sad it would be if a tree sprouted from a seed, grew tall and died. If the source of what moves and flows through nature also flows through us, wouldn’t it make sense that we are constantly reemerging.
I sat on my mediation rug last month and looked up to see an owl fly and perch itself on the branch right in front of me. I thought, had I not made this time to be present and meditate I would not have seen this beauty. If I had gone with the narrative (that I am always fighting) that I have to do this and accomplish that, I would have missed it. Before getting out of the car this morning I was hoping that I would see an owl again. I laughed as I talked aloud to spirit: I don’t need signs you exist, I just love signs that you exist! Yes, I’d really love to see an owl again today. As I began writing this post I heard the “hoot hoot” and headed outside. I looked up in my yard surrounded by trees and I laughed at myself. What are the odds that the owl would fly again to a branch right in front of me. Pretty good apparently! I stared at the owl and it stared back and it felt like magic.
The moon and sun and stars, the trees and birds are all cosmic extensions of divinity. This is the magic that makes life, well, livable. Life can be painful, boring, overwhelming. How about cleaning up the kitchen for third time in one the day? Or nagging my son to brush his teeth even though he knows it is something he has to do every single night. There is a lot of work to do in the living and let’s be honest, it’s not always magical.
I follow the phases of the moon because it serves as a gentle reminder of the rhythm and cyclical nature that is all of life, my life included. It is a reminder of my place here within it all: divine and human and not separated from anything.
The more I go into the flow of what speaks to the spark within me, the more the right books fall into my hands and owls show up in branches. I don’t know when or why I began to believe that feeling powerful and worthy was against divine law. Or that the “not knowing for sure” has to be painful. I am beginning a process of opening, just enough, to see what happens. It feels pretty good to be surprised!
If any of this magic interests you, you can go online and find out what phase of the moon you were born under. Believe me, it’s pretty enlightening stuff, especially when it makes total sense. If your curious, the Taurus new moon tells us to slow down just a bit and move slowly toward your goals. Ask yourself what could make your life more enjoyable. Simple pleasures. Eat well, sleep well and treat your body. It goes against the busyness that is the law of the land, but hey, sometimes you have to slow way down to notice the wonder!