Water and Fire

 

We live in a world that is oriented towards action, and too often we judge our value by what we have accomplished.  We emphasize doing over being. When we meet someone new, we ask what they do rather than who they are or how they experience life.  We honor the energy of fire, yang energy and the energy of will and action.  We tend to devalue the energy of water, yin energy and the energy of receiving and of rest. 

 

 

Even in our spiritual practices, we tend to emphasize our striving for spiritual awakening, for raising our vibration or activating the fire energy of kundalini up our spines to gain enlightenment.  How often to do we value resting and opening to Spirit, to our intuition and to allowing the soothing waters of the Cosmos to bath us in unconditional love and grace and compassion?

 

Ancient cultures knew the importance of balancing the energies of yang and yin and of fire and water.  In prehistoric times, the Sacred Feminine sacred sites were associated with the elements of water and of earth and were rivers, springs, wells and caves. We remembered that all life on Earth emerged from the sea and that we are conceived and held for nine months in the waters of the womb.  The sites honoring the Sacred Masculine were associated with the elements of fire and air and involved fire ceremonies or were sacred sites on mountains or hills.  Ceremonies throughout the year honored the balance of the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Masculine. 

 

From a Chinese medicine perspective, our health and well being require that we hold these energies in balance. Our energy and health are primarily governed and held in balance by the central meridians that encircle the center of our bodies — the Conception Vessel and the Governing Vessel.  The Governing Vessel is dominant in the back of the body, carrying the energy of fire up the spine and then dropping down the front of the body.  The Conception Vessel is more dominant in the front of the body and runs from the uterus for women and the lower abdomen for men up to below the mouth and then running behind the Governing Vessel down the back.  

 

The Conception Vessel is yin and carries the energy of water.  The fire energy of the Governing Vessel is yang and activates our will and helps us to regulate our thoughts and emotions (our psyche or aquired mind).  The water energy of the Conception Vessel strengthens our intuition and our connection to Source, to the spiritual consciousness that we are born with.  

 

New Moon: This new lunar cycle beginning on March 17 (9:11 am EDT) is about the dance of fire and water.  The primary energy of the New Moon is about water.  As we begin this lunar cycle, the New Moon, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Uranus are all in the stars of Pisces in the part of the sky know as “The Water” or “Sea” (with the constellations of Pisces, Cetus, Aquarius and others). Neptune is in the stars of the Water-Bearer, who pours the living waters of wisdom and compassion to the Earth. Mars, Saturn and Pluto are in the stars of Sagittarius, of fire, close to the Galactic Center.  And Jupiter is in the center of the scales of Libra, reminding us of the importance of balancing these energies and of honoring yin and yang, action and rest, the Sacred Feminine and Sacred Masculine.  The focus of the New Moon is about the element of water, the energy of the Sacred Feminine and of yin energy.

 

 

Allow yourself at this time of the New Moon to rest, to meditate and to open to the wisdom and compassion of Source, of the Cosmos.  Remember that we all have come from Source, this Sea of unconditional and limitless love.  Take a bath, allowing it to be a sacred time for nurturing yourself.  Spend time by the ocean or meditate on the element of water. Release the expectations that you put on yourself to get things done and allow yourself to just be.  Drop into the waters of your emotions and hold all that you feel with compassion.  Use the Water Microcosmic orbit to strengthen your Conception Vessel, allowing the energy to flow from your uterus or abdomen up your midline and gently circling down your back.  If you are a woman, honor your uterus, this watery womb that is the source of life and of creativity and remember that this mirrors the Source, that cosmic Sea of Oneness and love that is our true home.  

 

On March 20th, we honor the time of spring equinox, when the day and night are in perfect balance and harmony.  We are reminded again to balance yang and yin, doing and being, activity and rest.  

 

On March 22nd, Mercury goes retrograde for three weeks through April 14th. Again, this is a reminder to go within, to take time for reflection and honor more right-brained ways of being and knowing rather than focusing on your intellect and left-brain linear thinking.

 

Full Moon: We move into the time of the Full Moon on March 31st (8:36 am EDT).  The Sun in the tropical zodiac has now moved into the fire sign, Aries.  In the sky, the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Uranus are still in the stars of Pisces.  The Full Moon is in the center, the womb of the Great Goddess, in the stars of Virgo.  We are held in the grace and love of the Great Mother who gifts us with nurturance and compassion. Allow yourself to open to this love and compassion with gratitude.  Remember that you are held in this unconditional love and grace. We are never separate from Source.  We are like the drop of the ocean that rises up and then falls back into the oneness of the sea.  

 

Mars and Saturn are still in the stars of Sagittarius and are in a square with the Full Moon and Sun.  We are reminded to honor the energy of fire, but to let this energy of action, of will, and of striving to arise from our experience of being nurtured, held and at One with the Great Mother, with the Source of all that is.  Then our actions will not be governed by ego or by our drivenness but come from “effortless effort” as we allow the energy of love and light to flow through us as we draw our deep nurturance from the Source of all that is.