©2016 Lynn M. Keefer
New Moon in Aquarius
February 8, 2016
I Know
Do you ever get the feeling that God/The Universe/The Divine Beloved is conspiring for your greater good? That you are being pulled and pushed, encouraged, wooed and nudged by an unseen force towards the Luscious Life that Spirit desires for you?
Something had been brewing in me for some time. I had entered the “I don’t care zone” – which is never good and always has negative consequences always in my body and sometimes in my relationships. I had gained weight, had little energy for anything and FLC Syndrome was in full swing. (FLC stands for Feel Like Crap). It was during this cycle that I came to know the source of my emotional pain. I was beginning to feel the emptiness and the loss of two important people in my life who in the next year will leave the area. My youngest is going off to college and my friend is moving to another state. My life is changing and will never again be the same. Questions of “What next?” “How will I fill my days?” “Who/what am I now that ‘Mother’ is no longer my dominant character?” And, of course, the feeling of how much I will miss them.
On a beautiful day, about mid-cycle, high above were a pair of eagles circling. I was drawn upward, entranced in their soft circles and knew in that moment the energy was about to shift.
The Mandala
©2016 Lynn M. Keefer
The color of the spectrum for Aquarius is purple. Purple for me symbolizes “know who you are and Whose you are.” It is also the color for Lent, which began on the second day of the cycle. From the outside in then:
20 golden ribbons of energy
20 represents: “The Force”, the source of all energy in the world;
It is also the solar God for the Mayas.
I associate gold with wisdom, knowledge.
11 yellow half circles in the next ring
Eleven = Revelation; along with the half circles which look to me to be suns peeking out over the horizon, they represent light or rather perhaps enlightenment. It’s a new dawn… It’s a new day… It’s a new life! (And yes, I’m feeling good! 😉
Next we find, what appears to me to be the top view of a diamond. “Clarity” comes to mind… sparkling like snow and now that it’s warmer the sparkle is in the dew. How appropriate that the “20” of The Force – the source of all energy in the world – should also be represented by a diamond – precious, beauty beyond beauty, clarity, priceless, indestructible. Diamonds are forever.
12 more half circles in the next ring.
Twelve = wholeness
I decided to go rainbow in this ring – every color of the spectrum is represented but more pastel for the tenderness of this budding spring season. There is such potential here… The possibilities are limitless. Wholeness. Completeness. It’s all here.
3 additional ribbons of energy – again (3) divine energy.
6 lotus petals
Pink for me represents unconditional love and in the lotus shape represents divine consciousness, such purity and love beyond anything we can experience or express in the material world. There are truly no words to describe being in this Presence.
5 hearts – Can you find them? They are hard to see…
These hearts create the star and the lovely violet at the center.
Five pointed star = incarnation, the Epiphany star.
Something is manifesting.
With purple in the theme, how could you not go with the lovely violet:
Violets are associated with Mary – Viola ordorata or Our Lady’s Modesty.
Violets denote spiritual wisdom, humility and faithfulness. ~www.gardenguides.com
8 concentric circles in total. Eight typically represents, for me, the cosmic Christ.
This is the perfect mandala for Lent – it is just so sweet. Lent is a season of repentance, which literally means to change the direction in which one looks for happiness. In this mandala I see an awakening… manifesting gentleness, humility, enlightenment, wisdom, which are encouraged by the things that endure, limitless possibility, and, of course, The Force…the energy that binds it all together – a love beyond, beyond. In this we know the wildly unimaginable love God has for us and the love we are called to manifest. We know who we are, and Whose we are.
The Month
As this cycle began, The Inspiring Year Retreat had just ended and the Fat Summit the week before. I began reading Dr. Mark David’s book The Slow Down Diet and enjoyed getting back into aromatherapy. The seeds of those events were being tossed around in my head as I experimented with how to incorporate it all into my routine. Lent began two days later and I decided to stay the course. Lent had come early for me during the Inspiring Year Retreat where I had implemented some wonderful morning and evening routines that I found very nourishing. I also decided to extend my Centering Prayer Practice.
About mid-cycle, I caught the eagles I mentioned earlier. I may have shared that my maiden name is Adler, which in German means “eagle” so the bird is very important in my family history. When Eagle shows up, I pay attention!
“As rulers of the sky, eagle meaning is connected with the air element, which symbolizes communication and thought. All bird totems speak to us about higher thinking, dreams, and mental liberation. As king of the birds, the eagle’s message of mental acuity is super-dominant.”
~whats-your-sign
I also associate Eagle with the things of heaven. As I mentioned, in that moment, watching them circle so high above, I knew the energy was about to shift and I was invited to elevate and get moving again.
The Tapping Summit came next with many examples of EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique. I started walking again – 30 minutes, every morning first thing. In addition, I was invited to facilitate a retreat experience for the 7th level Confirmation Candidates and their Sponsors. We prayed and colored mandalas – SO relaxing – and I could see myself doing that more often, perhaps offering it at my parish next fall. ?
On the first day of the balsamic phase, during my morning walk, I was so vividly aware of all the singing in the air. It was a bright, beautiful Saturday morning. The male birds had arrived a week earlier. The males are always the first to arrive. They pick out spot and start singing to attract a mate. There was one song in particular that caught my attention. It was like a homing beacon that just cut through all the other songs – so prominent, so distinct. He never let up. The song was constant. He just kept singing away and it made me think of how God, the Hound of Heaven, continually sings to us and draws us to in. Intoxicating…
In addition to the “homing beacon/song” of the singing bird, the word “Home” popped up all over the place. It was in the homily at church that weekend and in the last line at the end of chapter 14 in Eat Fat, Get Thin by Dr. Mark Hyman. This line really struck a chord with me:
“Veering off course is easily fixable, because now you know the way back home.”
Home. You know the way.
As Oprah would say, “What I know for sure is:”
that we are never alone; that we are loved beyond our wildest imagining; and that if we give ourselves over to this great love, our lives will be all the richer – far more rich and luscious than we, ourselves, can dream or bring about. And, in those times when we enter that “I don’t care zone,” or when we can barely put one foot in front of the other much less get out of bed, God is there, holding us, cradling us, loving us with a love that cannot be fathomed. And when it is time, God will every so gently and lovingly pull and push, encourage, woo and nudge us back into life. This. I know.
Love, Hugs and Blessings,
Lynn xoxx
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