Cancer New Moon
June 28, 2022~July 27, 2022
To What We are Becoming
(To live deliberately) We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of [people] to elevate [their] life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.
~Henry David Thoreau
Walden, Cht. 2: Where I lived and What I lived for
Copied and edited from literaturepage.com
Shared many times through Donna Drozda’s 8 Day Challenges
“Are you a stranger in your own life?
What are you hiding behind those eyes?
Is no one looking for you there?”
Your Song Saved My Life
U2, Lyrics: Bono
Sing 2
“Well you know, our perceptions are always colored by
what we hope, and what we fear… what we love.
We’re doing the best we can. “
Officer Seely Booth
Bones S2 E10
After lighting my meditation candle for the first time this cycle, the wax dripped down the back which suggested a search for “something hidden.” Come to find through realizations throughout the cycle, the Witness seeing and revealing, two archetypes that were active in the my life that were not life giving. Gentle, aha moments that gave me pause.
The Sabian Symbol for this cycle is: RABBITS IN FAULTLESS HUMAN ATTIRE PARADE WITH DIGNITY. The Sabian Symbols, first written in 1953, are 360 short descriptions about the energy of each degree of the astrological circle. This symbol invites us “to a participation in a higher order through imitative behavior… a willingness to grow.” (Dane Rudyahr). There is a ‘fake it till you make it’ quality… much like an affirmation that is stated in present tense as if the goal… the desire… what one wishes to accomplish in the future… has already been achieved.
The Celtic Tree for this cycle is Tinne or Holly, which means holy.
This cycle I visited the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake City. They had a beautiful exhibit entitled the History of Color. In it I learned that the eye only sees light so in essence “everything we see is a perception.”
Five is the primary energy of this cycle. Five for me is typically about a new path… getting out of a rut. At the center of this mandala is a new symbol for me. It is a downward facing pentagram with an elongated bottom ray. The pentagram dates back to the Hellenistic world, a popular symbol with the function of warding off evil. The Pentagram was found at the time of the Hebrew Scriptures as well. One source tells me each point of the pentagram was interpreted as referring to the five books of the Pentateuch, the Torah, and represented as a whole the concept of truth. Another describes the five pointed star on the Jaffa Gate as an emblem of the city, and yet another talks about a stamp with the letters spelling YRSLM, Jerusalem without the vowels, that was used as a fiscal stamp on pottery and other vessels in Judea, perhaps as a governmental approval of the contents of the vessel or other certification.
As for Christians, before the cross was established, the pentagram, in existence up until medieval times, symbolized the Savior, each point representing the 5 wounds of Christ The pentagram can be drawn in one continuous movement, symbolizing the Alpha and the Omega. The five-pointed star symbolized ‘the Morning Star’ which is a title of the Lord we often hear especially at the Easter Vigil as the Morning Star that never sets. Another source states pentagram with with an elongated bottom ray indicates that the Savior has descended from heaven to earth. This last depiction was chosen for the center of the mandala.
Moons were, of course, included as well as the Moon rules the sign of Cancer… and the lotus, a symbol of purity, rebirth and strength. There is an unveiling quality to this mandala… a peeling of the onion, if you will. If it were meant as a work of art the orange might have been green to better offset the Lotus petals so as to see them more clearly. But orange was called for… and from a chakra perspective could symbolize something that is in need of healing. The dark blue then for the night sky… the darkness… where the moon and the stars, or in this case, the star and the moons reside. One cannot help but think of the shadows that occur when the moon casts her glow to the earth.
I have enjoyed praying through ‘Birthing the Holy: Wisdom from Mary to Nurture Creativity and Renewal’ by Christine Valters Painter. I will be finishing up the book in the early days of the next cycle. Cancer is also the sign of the Diving Feminine… The Mother archetype. I could think of no better companion for this cycle than Mary. The book is a wonderful tool for exploring and praying with all the many faces, facets and archetypes of Mary. In addition, I have been praying the rosary, one decade each morning. Over 20 days, the entire rosary is prayed… all four mysteries. I typically pray the Our Father with hands raised heavenward, as if to catch the grace that flows. I then bring my hands to a prayer position in front of the heart and pray 10 Hail Mary’s using my fingers to count them. Then with hands once again extended I conclude the decade by praying the Doxology or the Glory Be finishing by resting my hands on my heart. It’s a wonderful way to bring this ancient prayer into a busy life and contemplate its mysteries.
In addition, this year I am working my way through ‘Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism.’ The author is unknown, the afterword is by Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar. The tarot card associated with Cancer is The Chariot. The writer warns that found in each of the Major Arcana are two paths… one of love and life… and the other of death and destruction. There are so many wonderful quotes in this chapter it’s hard for me to choose… so many wonderful and significant scriptural elements that it is hard for me to distill. My take away… are we to be megalomaniacs? Or humble co-creators with God Who is love?
A new friend has been sharing some beautiful work. Check out Stephanie Swafford on Facebook:
For fun I have been rewatching the detective show Bones. The final lines of the first season sum this cycle up beautifully. Having reunited with her long lost brother, Bones/Dr. Brennan, her brother Russ and Officer Seely Booth raise their beers in a toast:
“Booth: To us!
Russ: Whoever the hell we are.
Bones: To what we’re becoming. “
The work of this cycle has brought clearer vision into the shadowlands of my own way of being. Yes indeed, dear Bones and beloved reader, this cycle for certain… To what we are becoming. Time will tell.. and we shall see. Cheers!
Love, Hugs and Blessings,
L xoxxx