A New Moon in Aquarius on February 1, 2022 aligns with the same date as the Chinese New Year of the Tiger. It is also the Imbolc/Groundhog Day on February 2nd. Our ancestors honored the Imbolc because it is the approximate midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. At this time, we are reminded that, in spite of the colder temperatures outside, daylight is gaining, and Spring is on its way. This is a complicated time with emotions, as there is a strong need for emotional freedom now. We are in the early stages of the Age of Aquarius, and this transition into a New Age and Paradigm is not without the experience of labor pains. Can’t you feel the contractions on the Planet right now? Life is always with its tension of opposites, or duality. As we have discussed, the Chinese symbol of the Yin and Yang reflects this. Meditation on the energy of Duality helps you feel at peace with your own inner duality. It helps you live in balance, in oneness and harmony, so that you may continue your path in a cosmic consciousness. It helps you discover life through enjoyment and play.

Truly, the energy of Aquarius has an assertive need for being an individual with a fiercely independent streak. But Aquarius also begs the question of how do I be my authentic self, and at the same time, fit in to group consciousness? As such, among groups, it can be easier to understand your feelings and free yourself from negative emotions such as fear, anger and jealousy. Linking up to the right groups can support us in accessing our inner genius, to think in new ways, even divergent from what we have been taught by family/societal conditioning. Getting in touch with inner freedom can be liberating for a soul in a way that transcends rules and defiance of them. Diversity in Unity is the Aquarian mantra. Gone are the days of the Lone Wolf.

Also, a Full Snow Moon arrives on February 16th. The Ojibwe called this moon the Bear Moon, while the Algonquin called it the Groundhog Moon. Winter is a good time for human forms of hibernation and nurturing our inner cubs before they are ready to come out into the sunlight for the spring thaw and begin manifestation on the Spring Equinox.

Artwork by Barbara Merlotti

When Turtle swims into your stream of thoughts

Remember to picture Mother Earth

loving you with patience and kindness

The river does not need to be pushed

Slow down and take it one step, one breath, and one

moment at a time

How does slowing down help you stop and smell the roses?

What happens to the river’s rapids, when we go with

the flow instead of pushing the river?

Do you need to curl up in your shell and hide, or do you need to come out

into the sunlight and be with people?

Our ancestors celebrated the Full Snow Moon as the peak snowfall accumulation.

Beneath Winter’s dirge,

stirrings of Spring are beginning to think about coming out of Plato’s Cave.

Picture a Turtle protected by an invincible shell,

securely anchored deeply into Mother Earth.

Turtle’s spirit is an ancient reminder of our soulful connection to our living planet.

Our ancestors celebrated the Imbolc,

the mid-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

Also, this February brings the Chinese-Lunar year of the Tiger.

Now more than ever, meditation on Tiger can inspire a deep freedom for

cultivating our passions, power, devotion and sensuality.

Running a hurried up offense is a popular way to live on Earth today . . .

Might as well wise up to Turtle’s wisdom to remember

Do you need to escape from the worries of the world for a spell?

Mother Earth’s ancient wisdom to slow down our tempo and anchor in Her ground

Or do you need to come out of your of your shell and be more social?

Meditate on Turtle for a deeper understanding of 

patience and planetary connection

A Chinese-Lunar New Year reminds us that Spring is arriving energetically 

In spite of probable peaks in snowfall accumulation . . .

Do you feel the seeds underground starting to think about waking up?

Time to bury your ideas in the ground and let the sunlight do its business . . .

So that they may organically blossom in the Spring

Turtle’s age-old shell symbolizes soulful protection –

In these hard times . . .

May we weather Climate Change with mindful wisdom

Commentary:

Turtles are older than dinosaurs and carry an ancient wisdom on their backs. If there are any spirit guides to help us open up to the idea of Karma, Turtle is a good role model. Karma can easily be understood as the law of cause and effect. If you are paying attention to the big picture, you start noticing how cause and effect impacts your life and then have ability to transcend it. Have you ever noticed that the more you hurry or try to expedite a process, the more your hurried pace slows you down in the long run? Through patience and compassion, we become equipped to harmonize with our conflicts. T’ai Chi is often practiced in slow motion. The idea behind this slow and meditative internal martial art is that if you practice it at a slow pace, you will be fast if and when the situation calls for fast action. When we slow down, observe the moments as they come without judgment and learn to be with what is. May we cultivate energy gradually and powerfully like water.

In my orientation, I came into this realm strongly aligned with the energy of Rabbit. I remember Grandmother taking me to see story hour at the local library in my Preschool years. I had a hard time understanding the story of the tortoise and the hare. But that makes sense to me now, especially because I was raised in a culture that did not teach us about opposites. We were taught that it’s either this, or that . . . just say no, just do it. Living in America was a sea full of mixed messages that mirrors growing up as a child in a psychotic household. Meditating on Turtle helps relax any pressures of the cultural river we might feel we are pushing against. Just knowing that these creatures are older than dinosaurs helps me appreciate a long range perspective. Rome wasn’t built in a day. All we really have is right now. Might as well take it in. If you need to, go within your shell to take refuge from the worries of the world, or you can come out of your shell and congregate with others. Knowing when to turn inward, and when to socialize is about knowing balance within yourself. Some people are naturally more monkish and hermit like, while others are more pod oriented, and thrive on others to feed them. Nature just reflects to us where we are at and what we need to work with. Let Turtle guide you in wise council.

Like many, I have been in a place of wishing the weather was different from what it was. After I was a child, back when enjoyed being outside regardless of climate, I started to internalize an adult-centric perspective about certain weather being preferable to others, namely complaints about the cold, dark and stormy, and the like. For many people, it doesn’t really matter – it’s too hot, bright, buggy, windy, the laundry list is endless. But for those of you who live in a northern climate, and really hate winter – knowing the half way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox happens this month may help you appreciate that the sunlight is rising, and warmer temperatures are on their way. I remember being up in the Andean mountain range in South America, and the little Indigenous children were trying to sell us rotten berries for a buck or two. It was a sobering reflection for me to see such a pristine, natural habitat, and yet such abject poverty. Privileged first world people were traveling here to appreciate the natural riches of this land, and yet the Indigenous people who lived in this natural treasure were fighting for survival.

I remember some of my old football coaches telling us that we should play every down like it’s our last. It was a good metaphor for life. Like the Hopi say, we are in the 11^th hour, and we are the one’s we have been waiting for. The time is now. We are at a point in our current experience that we have the power to make ourselves go extinct or awaken to a massive shift in our collective consciousness. The reality is that an old world is dying, while the trumpet of a new world sounds its call. Out of the ashes, a phoenix rises. May we become beacons of light in a world of darkness. Mindfulness isn’t a cure. It is a way of paying attention to the present moment, and noticing what it is, without getting sucked in to labels or judgment. 

Take care of yourselves everyone,

Ari