A new moon in Cancer invites us into the waters of rejuvenation. Half the year is over, and we are pausing to see where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re headed. The cards I pulled for this lunation are all about attending to ourselves with honesty and grace.
What to Release
Someone once told me that love is a choice, not a feeling, and I believe that applies most keenly to self-love. We don’t wake up one day, suddenly awash with feelings of unconditional love for ourselves after years of self-hatred and internal criticism. The lights do not come on and stay on automatically. We have to make the decision, every single day, to flip the switch, even when it’s difficult and more tempting to stay in the darkness of our own pain and suffering.
Releasing whatever stands in the way of loving ourselves unconditionally is a process, and this New Moon is an invitation to begin that work or rededicate ourselves to it.
What rituals or practices make you love yourself more? What gets in the way of doing them consistently? How and why do you talk yourself out of doing what nourishes you?
As a Reiki teacher, one thing I try to impress upon my students is the necessity of giving themselves a full self-treatment daily. If they cannot allow the energy to guide and heal them first, then they will be less effective and more susceptible to burnout when working with others. Much like cleaning a house, it is far easier to do a little tidying every day than to delay it until the mess is colossal.
Think of the mantra on this card as a broom, gently sweeping away all the debris from your aura until all you can feel is the radiance of your soul shining through.
What to Embrace
Valuing yourself as a woman is a rebellious act in a society that constantly reminds you of what you are not worth. It loves to tell you what you cannot do, what you will not be paid, where you shouldn’t go, what you must not wear, with whom you can’t have relationships, and on and on. It’s exhausting and maddening.
Cold truth: No one will deem you worthy. You can try to hustle for it by earning more degrees, working more hours, doing more projects, creating more art, busting out more reps at the gym, raising more kids, or whatever your thing is, but none of that stuff will make you worthy. It’s something you have to own for yourself, as you are, today.
If your inner critic is especially bitchy and rude, just notice her. Acknowledge that she’s there, but don’t let her have the spotlight. Kick her off stage, and start replacing her monologue with kinder, more compassionate words and phrases. Every time you do this, you’re rewriting old scripts, and eventually, your inner critic will stop showing up so often with the same old lines. She will start to sound boring and ridiculous. Trust me.
What to Work With
This last card represents a tool that you can use throughout the lunar cycle for support, inspiration, and guidance. The name of the card is Sanctuary, so the idea is to create space for yourself that feels comforting and sacred to you. (What could be more Cancerian, right?)
I keep an altar in my home, but there are also places out in nature that help me recharge. I have some gorgeous climbing roses in my back yard, for example, so I like to spend some time with them every day. Roses have a high vibrational frequency, and it’s quite healing just to be near them.
So take a good look around your living space, and feel into every room. Cleanse, clear, and change it up if that’s what your soul needs. With as much time as we’re all spending at home these days, it’s more important than ever that it be the most loving, supportive reflection of who we are inside.
If you would like a personal oracle reading, I do offer those on a limited basis. You can reach me at jen@quillofthegoddess.com.
Lunar Blessings,
The oracle used in this reading is The Moon Deck by Aarona Lea and Andrea Keh.