New Moon in Libra
Solar Eclipse 2023. by Chris Schmidt
To Thine own Self be true.
The New Moon in Libra is opening Autumn’s Eclipse season with an invitation to revolutionize our relationships and step out on a New Path. But there is a catch: You should not set out by force, will, or your old programming, but navigate into the wilderness of your heart and feel your way forward from there.
Every six months, the Eclipse season facilitates quantum leaps in our personal and collective evolutionary journey.
During Solar Eclipses, the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth align in a way that allows the shadow of the Moon to cover the Sun and prevent the sunlight from reaching the Earth.
Since ancient times, Eclipses have been equally feared and revered, as the ancients soon realized, that they mark times of key historical events and correspond to periods of intense pressure, shifts of fate, and accelerated growth.
New Moons are all about beginnings, and Solar Eclipses are supercharged New Moons that come with a potent energy of renewal.They open gateways of change, portals of intense transformation and invite us to let go of our attachment to the past in order to welcome the future in and make space for the new.
During a Solar Eclipse where the light of the Sun is prevented from reaching us, we are invited to turn inward and find the guiding light within ourselves. Solar Eclipses are an opportunity to practice the shamanic art of sitting in the dark and allowing the darkness to teach us what we need to learn.
BALANCING THE SCALES
The New Moon in Libra brings up unresolved issues from our past, unhealed wounds, and anything that needs to be purged, as it offers us opportunities for release and healing. The Libra archetype is the Goddess, who is here to balance the scales, and as she is connected to Venus, the planet of Love and Beauty, everything she does is always in the name of Love.
This New Moon Solar Eclipse in Libra marks a dramatic shift in our relating patterns and in our awareness of relational dynamics. The upcoming weeks and months will offer us opportunities to gain a clearer understanding of our beliefs and assumptions about relationships and of the inner mechanics at play in our attachment processes.
During the upcoming weeks and months, we will be reminded of how misunderstandings, assumptions, and lack of clear communication are the root of many of the relationship issues we experience. We are also given opportunities to observe how our emotions and emotional state impact our thinking habits and choice of words and work on gaining a better awareness of how our communication and active listening skills can be refined.
The New Moon Eclipse brings us the opportunity to learn the valuable lesson of how it’s impossible to form healthy relationships with others before we have established a healthy relationship with ourselves. How it’s impossible to form authentic, healthy, and nourishing relationships with others, if we don’t love ourselves: If we feel we don’t have the right to exist, to desire, to take space, if we don’t have a separate sense of self, if we aren’t in touch with our true needs and desires, and if we are afraid of investing in ourselves and in our personal actualization.
We are entering a lunar month filled with opportunities to gain better awareness of the subconscious patterns, needs, beliefs, and fears that influence our relational choices. Nevertheless, we have to keep in mind that the transformational processes set in motion by Eclipses take six months to fully unfold.
SET OUT ON A NEW PATH
When we set out on uncharted territory or take any first steps into the unknown, it makes total sense to be aware of any danger or pitfalls. At least, this is what our mind tells us, this is what our body tells us. We are programmed to fear the unknown, and most of us carry a heavy backpack of past experiences, as we grow older: We have been betrayed, we have been hurt and disappointed, and we have learned how to take precautions on our path in life.
But some times the very same precautions that we take for protection, can also block the path to what we really long for or dream of.
The Libra New Moon is here as a tender Wanderlust companion to take the first baby steps with you out into the Wilderness of your own heart. And she will ask you to do something that is completely brave and completely beyond your current path and your current experiences.
As the most tender nurse, she will first caress your sorrows and wounds and then give you a well-meaning push in the form of a whisper. She will soften you, as she asks you to surrender to the most vulnerable self and allow whatever chaos there is to just be.
“The pathway to your next chapter goes through CREATING what you want, not PROTECTING, what you don’t want to lose.”
THE ART OF SURRENDER
The New Moon in Libra is here to teach you to look at every corner of your Life with the tender eyes of a Mother upon her child, as she whispers: Lay down your weapons for now. You don’t need to fight anything or sort anything out. You don’t need to correct or improve or fix anything at this moment. You just need to surrender yourself to the idea, that you are loved exactly like you are in this moment in time. And then feel your way forward from there.
Be as tender to yourself and the whole spectrum of conflicting emotions, as you would be to a newborn baby and love yourself in the midst of the beautiful mess we call Life.
Then, see if you can feel or find a little twinkle in the corner of your soul. And if you do, ask it, ‘where would you want to go from here?’
Remember that stars need a little bit of darkness to find their spark, and the Moon is right there next you in her New Moon robe, as she gives you all of her love and support and leaves the space for you to come out and Shine.
New Moon Blessings,
New Moon Eclipse Practices
BALANCE GIVING & RECEIVING
This New Moon is a good time to work with opening your heart and find a balance between giving and receiving in life. During the next two weeks, try to observe your energy around your interactions with other people, and notice the response from your heart. Are they nourishing or draining? Are you setting boundaries and communicating your needs? Is is yours/not yours to carry?
PRACTICE emotional diplomacy
Use the opportunities that arise during the next moon cycle, to practice your communication skills. The New Moon in Libra is giving you the best learning lab to find a better balance between thinking and feeling, as you practice your personal responses. Take this time as a crash-source in mastering emotional diplomacy. Ask questions like how can I contribute to the collective without compromising myself? How can I practice active listening without forgetting my own point-of-view?
WALK YOUR OWN PATH
More than ever, this is the time to find the courage to walk your own path. Each and every person’s life path is unique, and many of the problems, that arise in our lives and relationships, are linked to the fact, that we are living someone else’s dream or reality. The next two weeks, try to set time aside every day to reflect upon your personal life path. Try to silence outside voices and media and tap into the source that is coming from inside you. What are your longings and dreams? What did you forget about. What did you override? And where are you (honestly) living someone else’s dream or idea of life?
TRUST
Eclipses are as uncomfortable as they are powerful. When things are overwhelming, try to practice your trust muscles. Trust that what is unfolding is for the greater good - and your greater good. Trust that any change of plan or relationship is happening in Libra season, is happening in the name of Love. This is the time to practice your inner Faithkeeper as your strengthen your Trust in the Universe.
The Ritual
SOUL VITAMIN
May your Heart run
Wild,
so it can lead the Way.
Heart Opener
Heart openers expand your chest and rib cage, making them more receptive and free. On an emotional level, the Heart Opener will assist you in allowing your heart to stay open to receive the blessings in your life.