What I Know About Balance - Embodied Astrology for the Libra New Moon - September 28, 2019
Portrait of the new moon
What I know about balance is that it’s temporary and dependent upon the circumstances.
I know that balance isn’t absolute. Balance is relative.
Relative means re/orienting in relationship.
Because things change. They change subtly and drastically all of the time. They will never not change.
So balance has to be a practice of listening, attuning, responding.
As a balancing practice becomes more familiar, one’s awareness has to move from gross to subtle. From superficial to deep. But it has to begin somewhere.
A good place to begin is by noticing what’s out of balance. Sometimes this is easy:
Because there’s pain, agitation, fear, distress
Because something is about to fall/collapse
Because something is being starved, erased, depleted, killed
Because the warning sirens have gone off
Because it feels/looks/sounds/smells like a breaking point
When imbalances become obvious, they have already become extreme. It’s much harder to notice when something is out of balance when there aren’t immediately obvious symptoms. It’s more challenging to:
Notice what leaves a residue of remorse on the surface of your spirit
Sense the first instincts to own, compete, dominate, and then choose not to
Recognize and then release what’s been gripping for so long that it feels “normal”
Become aware of when your own temporary balance is propped upon another’s imbalance
Move beyond passivity and the easiness of ignorance
Some ideas/suggestions:
It’s uncomfortable to change. Try to meditate on the possibility of discomfort. The possibility is that after the distress of leaving behind what’s familiar, change will be exhilarating and freeing. Letting go of what is known might actually be easier than holding onto it. Don’t fight to stay the same.
Balance is not a straight line. It’s more like a vine circling around a center. What is your center? What you center in your awareness is a commitment. You’re going to grow around this intention over time.
Work with your resources and values. Work intentionally and diligently to become aware of your true needs. If you have more than you need, find ways to share. Release resources to those whose needs are not met and to that which is depleted. Consider what you accumulate and “save” for yourself. Remember that life is a system of give and take. When you let go, you are also opening space to receive. What/who you give to may flourish in a way that ultimately sustains you more than if you had held on.
Prioritize sustainable relationships by valuing change and evolution. Don’t try to keep anything or anyone as it is/was, allow change to happen. Nurture change that nurtures you by extending trust, goodwill and friendly reflection.
Today is a new moon. The new moon is a symbol, it’s a marker of time. The new moon is an energetic of light passing through channels of relationship, like an acupuncture needle. The new moon is a time to infuse action with intention.
Today’s new moon comes at a season of balance. But everywhere, all of us, are moving towards (and already living in) extremes. Extremes can’t be avoided, they are inevitable. Oscillation between them is part of how balance works.
How will you honor today’s new moon, and this moment of precarious balance, when the small shifts might not even be felt, but they might also mean everything?