The first New Moon of the new natural year was actually Sunday, but today belongs to Mars (Tyr in the Norse naming, which is why it’s Tyr’s Day) and so does this New Moon of the New Year. Therefore, today I begin, under the auspices of the Great Beginner.
The most important quality of newness is innocence. This is what allows us to attempt the most outrageous things, take the greatest risks, pursue the most out-of-reach goals – we have no past experience to tell us we can’t. As regular human beings, of course, we have plenty of that, but this is the season when we can remember some glimpse of how that newness feels. We become giddy with spring, the warmer temperatures and longer daylight seducing even the most sedate of us into a moment of seasonal wildness. (You know you have, somewhere in one tiny moment, and if you truly haven’t, you’re worrying me.)
The next most important quality of the natural new year, this time of spring, is desire. There’s a reason this is mating season for an enormous number of species in the Northern Hemisphere – circumstances are optimum for that desire to be fulfilled, and instinct knows that. Think about that for a minute – desire arises when it has the best chance of fulfillment. Off the top of your head, you’re probably thinking about a dozen objections to this. That’s part of the fun of being human, in that we’re able to deviate from (and often completely ignore) instinct. When desire arises from something other than instinct, it’s a different story. When it’s straight from the gut, though – and that means the soul as well as the body – that desire is like a seed stretching towards the warm, moist earth that nourishes it best.
Now consider what happens when desire and innocence join forces.
Things HAPPEN.
We want, from that most basic and powerful place inside us, and the softening of the cold, dry, dark pressure of winter becomes the newness of possibility. We forget why we should fear, even for a moment, and the desire leaps up towards its beloved in an unimpeded rush of pure life force.
This is the energy that set the stage for April. The Sun, giver of light and warmth, met the Moon, mistress of moist arising, in the energy of birth – the sign of Aries. Spring is erupting all around us, life bursting into scent and sound and flesh and sap. Things, as they say, are HAPPENING!
It’s just a breath or a few, as spring already ripens towards summer, so embrace it. Let the blood rush in your veins, leaping towards the object of its desire, even if only for a moment. Remember – your body will tell you how – what it feels like to want without fear. See it, hear it, feel it all around you, and BEGIN.
Leave a Reply