|
 On
March 13th at 6:03 PM (PST) the Moon will conjoin the Sun at 23 degrees
Pisces. This marks the last few days of winter in the northern hemisphere
before the Spring Equinox on March 20th. Astrologically, the Sun moves
out of the sign of Pisces and into the sign of Aries at this time. As
the first sign of the zodiac, Aries is associated with new beginnings,
new energy and new possibilities for renewal and growth. In the last few
days of winter, you may want to prepare for the change by meditating on
your dreams and plans for the coming year. A Spring Equinox ritual can
be helpful for channeling your visions and helping them to manifest.
One idea
for an equinox ritual is to start by making an altar that honors the new
spring energy. Find a space in your house where you can place fresh new
spring blossoms, a few white candles, a few bird feathers and some bells
or chimes to ring in the new season. You may want to add other items to
the altar that remind you of this new season. For the ritual, take some
time to clean your house and bathe yourself and put on fresh new clothes.
This helps to purify the energy in preparation for the ritual. Then take
some time to light the candles and honor the coming season with some words
of welcome. Then make your thoughts and intentions clear by saying them
aloud and asking for assistance in this coming time. This is a time to
cleanse and rejuvenate. Your intentions will carry strongly if you speak
them aloud and from the heart during the equinox.
The
Virgo-Pisces Polarity
In my last
article, I focused on the Full Moon in Virgo. Virgo is associated with
releasing our need for self gratification in order to be of service to
others. Through daily tasks such as cleaning the house, taking care of
children or preparing meals, we can give of ourselves in acts of compassion
to the people around us. The simple tasks that we perform in day to day
life can then be seen as a vehicle for spiritual growth and opening our
hearts.
Astrologically,
Virgo sits at the other end of the zodiac from Pisces. Two signs opposite
each other are called a polarity and often their mythologies are entwined.
As an earth sign, Virgo is associated with the more basic and mundane
aspects of service and as a water sign, Pisces is associated more with
the emotional and spiritual aspects of service. Spiritual service is a
concept common to many religions. Through worship of the divine, we gain
a deeper sense of our own inherent divinity and our essential spiritual
nature.
Devotion,
Surrender and Transcendence
In Indian
Philosophy there are numerous branches of yoga. In the West, we are most
familiar with the branch known as hatha yoga, the physical branch in which
we perform asanas or postures. We are less familiar with the form of yoga
known as bhakti. Bhakti yoga is associated with the practice of devotion
or worship, in which practitioners open themselves up completely from
their heart towards divinity. Through complete surrender and adoration
of the divine, the adept becomes enraptured with the sacred and seeks
to ecstatically merge with the divine. Hundreds of years ago in India,
devotional poetry was written in honor of Krishna. The poetry was more
than simply words describing Krishna and his life. These odes were deeply
felt poems filled with love and adoration for Krishna. Through complete
devotion and surrender, these poets described how to love fully and deeply
from the heart.
The practice
of bhakti yoga is found in many different spiritual traditions. In the
Sufi tradition, practitioners dance and twirl ecstatically in order to
find communion with Allah. In the Lakota Indian tradition, Sun dances
are performed in which adherents pierce their nipples with sharp hooks
attached to rope from a center post and then dance around the post for
days until they have transcended a sense of themselves in service to the
Great Spirit. In certain Christian sects, churchgoers sing and pray with
such fervor that they lose themselves completely in their adoration of
Christ.
For many
of us in a modern, rational world, it can be difficult to release our
need for control and logic and become completely immersed in adoration
of the divine. This is also not a practice that is suited to everyone.
There are dangers inherent in this practice if one becomes too wrapped
up in spiritual devotion and loses track of one's basic necessities. But
for many of us, techniques of devotion and surrender can offer a way to
transcend our petty concerns, and to open our hearts to blissfully merge
with the divine. Spiritual techniques such as prayer, chanting, meditation,
yoga and dance are all time honored methods of connecting with a spiritual
source. Heartfelt devotion and service to the sacred is a powerful way
to develop ourselves spiritually.
In the great
wheel of the zodiac, Pisces is the last sign before the wheel begins again
with Aries. Pisces symbolizes endings and also a return to the Source
point. Pisces beckons us to leave the concerns of the world behind and
to return home, to return to Spirit. Techniques of spiritual service are
vehicles for returning to that Source. May this New Moon be a time of
spiritual reconnection. Blessings!
|
