October comes in with a nectar, a salve to sooth our frayed and tattered hearts. But not because we’ve crossed the finish line and the hard is behind us. Quite the opposite. There is a stillness in the air, a crispness that harkens to the armor of the warrior. We are being called to quiet. Perhaps even the calm before the storm. But we won’t know until we’ve gone all the way in to define and clarify our purpose, our reason for being, the line upon which we bare our whole hearts. This stillness requires deep listening, a kind you may not even yet be familiar with. It’s the kind of space that opens in meditation, but in order to hear it, you have to get yourself to meditation in the first place. And so definition is also called for; the clean knife that defines space. In order to hold space, you must have the thing that allows it to be held. In order to hold water, you must have a container or it spills on the floor in all directions. Even the river, sea, lake, or pond, must have something it bumps up against in order to keep it contained, no matter how large that container is. The land can not be the land without the sea washing up against it. The river can not be the river without the rocks that keep it flowing in one direction.
In the tarot, the suit of swords refers to the mental plane, the element of air. If the mind is still, so is the air. If the air is still, so is the vision; the ability to see is made possible. And so discipline is being called for this month. It may help to get down to black and white here. Exercise, or no exercise. Meditation, or no meditation. Healthy diet, or poor diet. Which thing is what you want? We have to get clear in order to know. We have to get silent in order to get clear. But regardless of your choice, you are making one all the time. Clear or muddy, it is still a choice. Which reminds me of the last line in William Staffords’ poem A Ritual to Read to Each Other: “The signals we give — yes or no, or maybe —should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.” This is the battle we are fighting. And it’s no accident that this month falls right at the beginning of Mercury Retrograde in Libra. Mercury, the planet of communication, the messenger. Libra, the sign of relationships, balance, justice, ruled by Venus, the planet of love, relating, bonding, forces of attraction. The magnet has to be polarized in order to come together. Opposites attract. The same magnets repel. We must have all the people at the table, not just the ones that agree with you. This is where silence, deep listening, and the muscle that is developed in meditation, exercise, and routine. The Libran scales must hold equal weight on both sides to be balanced. The masculine and feminine are opposites that must lay down enough of their differences in order to meet in the middle. An ego death must occur. A curiosity about each other must be present enough stay in relationship.
You can’t bring it all with you. You can only bring what is important: the clarity of what you value most; the truth of who you are. If you don’t know this truth of who you are, you won’t be able to share it with others and you won’t be able to get to a middle; a compromise of both sides. So the sword, the definition requires of cutting out in order to make space for what does remain. A couple can have wildly different beliefs, experiences, behaviors, but if they don’t land on the same truth that they desire to understand one another, the whole thing falls apart. We have to get clear about what is us, and what is not us, in order to see the way forward.
The image I was shown this month is a shell, a hollow shell. It appears empty, but when we place that shell up to our ear we discover a whole ocean lives inside that silence. At the last New Moon Ceremony a message came through about this listening. We have three eyes (two physical and one intuitive eye), two ears and one mouth, and so this is the order in which we are guided to use our senses. First we must look, we have three eyes after all. We must be brave enough to look with all of them. “All the better to see with, my child,” the message of Little Red Riding Hood. Next we must listen with our two ears. Listen carefully and steadfastly. Listen with discerning and precise ears. And lastly, we may speak, but not before we’ve looked and listened. Our anatomy shows us this lesson. And what are we listening to? We must also define this. Are we listening to the call of our souls, the messages from our guides, the truth that pipes in from our crown? Or are we listening to the madness of men, the stirring of the pot, the drama theater that would take us way off course and fight with our neighbors unnecessarily.
This will call us to things we don’t want to look at, don’t want to listen to, and definitely don’t want to say. It will call our body into full congruence, because the more you know, the more you can’t claim you didn’t know. The choices you make against yourself will get louder and more painful when they don’t align. This is the path of the warrior. It’s not about fighting others, it’s about braving and risking on the journey to self discovery. The judgements you have of yourself are far more important than the judgements others have of you. Be proud of you, knowing you are wielding your sword for truth, whatever that truth is for you. Freedom lies on the other side. When you know who you are, you know who you are not, and that is pure liberation.
Things to consider this month:
Define space — Carve out time, physical space, meditation to get right with yourself. What are your absolutes? Live by them. Do not let yourself off the hook. This is not at all about self flagellation. This is about deep commitment to your spiritual path; the warrior inside that wants to make you proud of yourself. To live fully the truth of who you are.
Listen — Meditation is huge here, but also deep listening to others. Meditation is just a tool that hones your ability to listen to all — deeply, profoundly all the way through without judgement.
Allow all the feelings — Silence is often avoided because the sounds within it can be so painful. We busy ourselves to avoid this song that is always being sung underneath the distractions. What are your pain points? What are they trying to tell you? If you never listen, you can never get there. And the feelings, they are the teachers; they are the ones that have truths about you that without them you’re just operating on autopilot without your sword properly poised.
Oil of the Month — Awaken — Absolutely incredible how this one came this month. It almost was the oil last month, but it felt as if we weren’t quite ready. Dream Catcher needed to come in to give us space to space out, to not yet know. And now Awaken arrives with clarity and discernment, and this blend actually has Dream Catcher in it, as well as Joy, Present Time, Harmony and Forgiveness, all needed this month. So we still have to presence of Dream Catcher with us. There is still time to include it all. I love how this process works.
Be kind and gentle with yourselves always. As Ram Dass said “we’re all just walking each other home.”
All my love, Heidi