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| time passes, things change |
The Balsamic Moon is the last bit of the lunar cycle. We're moving into the darkness now, feeling the approach of the Dark Moon. This is a time of nostalgia, a word that means "yearning for the past" but at its root means feeling homesick.
The Balsamic Moon, in steady, peaceful Taurus, is keeping company with Pluto in Capricorn, Chiron in Pisces and Mercury in Cancer, offering a sense of calm acceptance of necessary change, even as we feel the sadness of loss.
Every lunar month, we're offered this time of letting go, which is good, because it's something most of us are not very good at.
Couldn't we just have the things we long for––peace, prosperity, love, health––without losing something else in the process? And this whole aging thing: Are decay and decline really necessary?
Well, no ... and yes. Our world is physical; matter doesn't maintain its form indefinitely. Change is the only constant, and while we know this intellectually, it can be hard to embrace fully.
We look ahead to the promise of the New Moon, but to get there, we have to go through this first. What is getting in the way? Can we manage, this time, to loosen our grip on it?
Health psychologist Kelly McGonigal studies how we change right down to the neuroscience. It turns out that most efforts to change behavior fail, which is not really a surprise and brings on a bit more balsamic melancholy.
But the cravings we know are bad for us, are hard-wired into our ancient brains, the ones that developed in times of scarcity. Advertisers know exactly how to push those primitive buttons, too.
Are we doomed, then? No, we're not. Change is possible.
As this Taurean Moon makes an edgy semisquare to the energetic Gemini Sun, with the support of Pluto, Chiron and Mercury in embodied Cancer, we're invited to let go of thoughts, habits and behaviors that no longer serve us ... slowly, with understanding, and with compassion.
Kelly McGonigal's work shows that hard-and-fast rules (No more sugar, ever!) and harsh self criticism (I suck at self control) are ineffective, and in fact counterproductive, in making lasting changes. Approaching our lives with gentle, calm, compassion works better.
Yes, our first tries at changing an unhealthy habit are likely to fail. So are our second, third, fourth and fifth tries. And yet, if we watch what happens each time, approaching our lives with curiosity and awareness, we gain insight and also strength. Each small adjustment leads to more change, and changes approached in this way are far more likely to become permanent.
At this Balsamic Moon, we're aware of how massive some of the changes we need to make in ourselves and our world really are (Pluto in Capricorn). We're aware of how damaging some situations are, even as we're offered healing (Chiron in Pisces). Thoughts and emotions are connected, allowing us to explore left and right brain, mind and body, thought and feeling (Mercury in Cancer). The Taurus Moon is slow and steady, willing to wait for natural unfolding, all in good time.
It's time to let go, release, and prepare the way for new things. And if we don't get it quite right this time, that's OK. The Moon moves gently through her phases; another chance will come.
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