(The flower above is a pink Hibiscus. Considered one of the flowers of forgiveness, it is a powerful flower encouraging openness of the heart and release of old wounds, especially around relationships.)
Things are getting more and more quiet, aren’t they? A little more restrictive perhaps…
The Libra Full Moon is coming up on April 7th and becomes exact at 10:35pm (Eastern time). The energy of this Libra Full Moon will pass by the evening of April 10th and in the absence of other activity, some of you may feel it quite keenly.
Usually, this full moon is a reminder for us to look at everything we take on and to start prioritizing or balancing our activity lists. Libra’s symbol is the scales of justice and its key theme/energy is that of balance. Whenever the Libra (Pink) Moon lights up the sky, we are invited to restore balance in our lives.
But come this Libra Full Moon, balance is not achieved by removing things off our plates, right? Across the world, activity is restricted and could potentially earn you a fine or even jail time…
So, in the great expanse of nothingness that sprawls before us for an indeterminate amount of time, the question is:
How does one achieve balance in a vacuum of inactivity?
Of course, I wrote a few days ago about the Saturn – Pluto conjunction and its connections to our current world-wide COVID-19 predicament. As we near the Libra Full Moon, we also have been trying to contend with a Mars – Saturn conjunction which is waning and close to its end (luckily). The hard part about a Mars – Saturn conjunction though is that it stimulates and creates frustration at the restrictions we experience. If you’ve found yourself ill-tempered, frustrated and just about ready to face a pandemic just so you can get out and move, you are definitely feeling the effects of this Mars – Saturn conjunction.
So, here’s the irony – for most of us, modern life is full of activity and usually life is too full! There are more items on our to-do list than there is time to accomplish them all. This is the norm for most of us…until now. Now, we contend with the frustration of inactivity and the Libra Full Moon sending waves prompting us to restore balance. The irony is that for the first time in many of our lives, balance looks like having more to do and not less!
In a time where the scales aren’t settled about what’s to come and making future decision-making difficult, perhaps its time to address how the scales have sat in the past.
What do I mean by that exactly? It’s time to bring balance back to things of the past so that you can heal, adjust your foundations and rectify wrongdoings. Mars and Saturn are the planets associated with negative karma and their conjunction can be a great reminder of the things we need to correct in our lives. This concept of the heart being weighed down by wrongdoing was actually a central theme in the ancient Egyptian tradition. Maat, the Goddess of Justice (one of the deities of Libra) was said to weight the heart of the newly dead against the feather of truth to assess whether they could pass on to the golden-grained fields of Amenti (their version of heaven).
As Full Moons are a time of reflection, you may find your minds and emotions gravitating towards these themes:
1) Are there meaningful relationships that need a bit of care and readjustment right now?
2) Am I involved in any situations where I feel unbalanced and/or injustice? Is there anything I can do to rectify my piece in these situations?
3) Do I have any old lingering feelings of guilt or wrongdoing that I would like absolved?
The beautiful things about this Libra Full Moon is that it also holds the energy of freedom through humility and forgiveness. Whenever true justice is achieved, there is balance and freedom. To achieve that balance, here’s a little ceremony you can do to help get into that mode of forgiveness and to lighten the burdens of the heart.
Personal Forgiveness Ceremony
1) Light a candle of any kind. White, soft blue, soft pink or lavender colours are all good.
2) Anoint your hands and heart with lavender, vetiver, frankincense, myrrh, rosewood or bergamot oils. All these oils help open the heart to forgiveness and release of old pain. If you have any of these as incense, you may use an incense stick instead.
3) If you don’t have oils or incense, you can have a small dish of herbs for forgiveness with the candle. Herbs you can use include lavender, thyme, calendula, chamomile, basil or hibiscus.
4) Sit in meditation for 10 – 15 minutes (or longer) and allow yourself to gently bring to consciousness situations you are ready to forgive.
5) Once you have brought these situations to the surface, place your hands in prayer position by your heart. Begin praying with your heart and to your heart. Be honest and tell your heart about the role you have played in these situations and ask your heart to forgive you and let go of old wounds. Spend as much time here as you need.
6) Visualize your heart on a scale and the feather of truth on another, see and feel your heart becoming lighter and lighter until the scales are balanced.
7) When complete, smudge yourself with sage, sweet grass or palo santo.
In the uncertainty of future activity, allow yourself this time to heal from the past. You may be surprised at how strong, free and balanced you feel afterwards! Lightness of heart is especially important in hard times. It’s difficult to make decisions and take action when guilt and old pain weight you down. The important thing to make sure of is that you heal yourself during this time instead of dwelling, weighing and rehashing these old stories to yourself.
Wishing you all balance, peace and lightness of heart in these odd times!
Blessings,
Aleks