A new moon, an eclipse and a reflection...

Yesterday's total eclipse of the sun was only visible for those in the South Pacific and yet it was on my mind for much of the day. 

Like the ouroboros serpent - with its tail in its mouth - the new moon eclipse brought a renewed sense of the self-reflexivity and cyclical nature embedded within everything we do. 

 This time last year I was celebrating finishing my teacher training with a trip to Geneva and was vividly aware, as I acknowledged the eclipse falling while sailing on the lake, that it would bring great change to my life.

A year later and I am about to celebrate my first anniversary with B, a time tinged with sadness as it carries with it the memory of first learning that my Dad was ill. Two events coincided in my life with that eclipse and yet I believe with my whole heart that they are far from 'coincidence'. B was led into my life at a moment when the gods knew I would need him most; and so my dad could see how happy I was before he left this world.

So, yesterday's eclipse led me to a reflection on how much has changed in my life over the course of just twelve moons and where I am standing right now.

The last new moon which eclipsed the sun was six months ago and I marked it with this blog's inception.

And here I am...still writing, taking more photographs than ever (which my dad would be thrilled about) and enjoying the small rewards that each day provides me. 

Today I celebrate...

Having successfully completed my first year of teaching.

Finding a home.

Eating food that I have grown in the garden.

Loving a man for all the right reasons.

Standing on the doorstep to my future.

Lunacy

I get a bit jittery at this time of the month. The new moon quite literally brings out my dark side and I’m prone to feeling anxious and on-edge. I have several friends – women in particular – who claim a similar effect at this point in the cycle. One, without fail, is inconsolable each month and then every time claims surprise when I tell her – yet again – that the moon is dark. It’s a powerful thing, our little satellite. The magnetism between her and Earth is such that she pulls our tides. Somehow that makes it not so hard to imagine her pulling little me.

Here she will rise, reborn, in the early hours of the morning and this month she does so audaciously and conspicuously, blocking the sun. Our first solar eclipse of 2010. Historically, eclipses were considered bad omens but whilst this isn’t a commonly held belief today, I find many magickal practitioners are reluctant to use these days for casting. The energies are unpredictable and the new moon is perhaps best used as a time to reflect.

To me, an eclipse often marks significant change and I like to contemplate quietly the things I am thankful for and the personal growth I hope to make with the waxing moon over the forthcoming month.  Whether you consider the meeting of these astral bodies as symbolic of the god and goddess embracing, the balance of masculine and feminine energies or the combination of light and dark in everything; whether you cast, pray or simply give thanks, I hope the day is an auspicious one for all.

With brightest blessings...