Finding the Strength to Sustain Us All {Full Moon in Leo & Beyond}

Welcome to this Moonletter - where we orbit around a focused theme of a cyclical archetype, highlighted during, but not limited to this transit/time & space.

Ground into Now

I've been finding it hard to pause and feel grounded, and maybe that's just to be expected right now (especially on strike). It's still important to try, but I'm trying to give myself credit for doing my best and not compare it to others or how I am at other times.

For me, this fiery full moon is hilighting the grief-filled rage that I feel as unfair violence continues in Gaza and beyond, and as I am reminded that I am not solely an individual. I finally feel this not in a disempowering way or a way that negates personal responsibility, but in a sense of shared care and interdependence.

"Nobody's free until everybody's free." - Fannie Lou Hamer

I feel this deeply. I am aware of and grateful for my personal privileges, but am simultaneously wildly aware of our collective limitations when so many of our species do not even have their basic needs met.

I want to care deeply for my personal needs while also fiercely advocating for the needs of others.

This is the tension and potential for better balance within the Leo/Aquarius personal/collective polarity - which we always are interacting with like all the signs/archetypes, and yet this week is highlighted with our full moon opposition on the 25th.

The card/archetype of Leo is STRENGTH. It's the warm flame that envelops your grieving heart. It's the energy of the unapologetic nurturer and advocate. It's the embers that remain ignited when we feel . It is our creative vision for the world we seek to change and recreate, together, with all considered.

As we're now in the year of 2024, the numerological card for this time period is Strength, because of the reduced number 8 that comes from the year. So this is a big theme that isn't going away anytime soon - we are invited to be immersed in this energy of creativity, compassion and where the heart leads us for the rest of this year and beyond.

Strength is trusting that we are enough - each one of us individually & together. and through this, not giving up.

Notice the Cycles

Zooming out from this transit within this season...

In the midst of the Aquarius archetype, I feel we are currently being asked to face our fears of losing ourselves in the collective or rocking the boat when neat and tidy just isn't possible or realistic. There are of course valid reasons to fear a lack of autonomy and the dangers of a group mentality. But this is about ethical coexistence and community - what we will and will not allow in the witness of one another.

The STAR is the archetypal card of Aquarius - HOPE. This is our numerological counterpart in the tarot and in real life, as it's the 17th card and 1+7 is reduced to 8.

Shit, Hope can feel so distant these days. But when I look at this card in any deck or even just feel the energy of the star (the north star, the star of Bethlehem, the light we follow home...) I get a sense for what it really is - not always some exuberant feeling of positivity... but often (at least for me) it's a droplet falling into the deep, dark well of my heart... rippling out into a potential I can't ignore.

On top of all this, Pluto has just entered Aquarius, where it will stay (aside from a short retrograde back) for the next 20 years. The dwarf planet of transformation & the underbelly of all things we cannot ignore was in Capricorn (except for a few short retrogrades in 2023) since 2008. These are big generational themes that span decades.

So the revolution of remembrance isn't coming, it's here. We're in the midst of it all. Every day, whether the sun comes out or not, whether we feel progress is being made or it seems like we're backtracking, no matter how you feel... things are changing - for the collective, for all. And I'm determined to make it for the betterment of all.

This is big picture stuff AKA long-term stuff. It's not happening overnight, but thankfully we're in this together with all our internal and external resources, big and small.

Allow Connection to Reflect & Respond

So what of the individuals within this collective experience? You and I are still oh so valid...

While we can of course impact others directly at times, but we cannot choose for anyone but ourselves.

We can affect others through our actions and ripple out inspiration, but it always starts with us.

Practices that ground and re-center us in these ever-changing times.

This is where I lean on a practice for exactly when I feel I'm in this full moon mood(s)...

I'm sharing this Collective Care practice again because it's still relevant.

I hope it brings you some support, and if you'd like to go deeper and learn more about Cyclical Mindfulness Foundations, I've updated the course to include a workbook and more for endless use. 30% of proceeds will continue to be redistributed to the Palestine Fund to get essential resources such as food, water, blankets, etc. into the hands of civilians.

I also invite you to directly support how you can! I found this amazing list by this wonderful organization here: https://scienceandnonduality.com/roots-run-deep-resources/.

By far the easiest way to make your voice count is using the 5 Calls app/website. I'm SO grateful to the volunteers who made this - if nothing else, this made it doable on days I had low spoons.

Check your local activist organizations for demonstrations, calls to actions, and call/email scripts to your local representatives - every bit of help counts.

Even if you can only send one email, it counts. <3 Together, step by step, we can persist & Respond from a grounded place.

Gratefully connected,
Rachael Amber (they/she)
Creator of Cycles Journal / Cyclical Roots

P.S. {This is all throwing me back to the New Moon in Leo letter I wrote in August post-retreat with Lama Rod. It was life-changing and it's more and more relevant every day... I invite you to (re)visit that post too if you'd like on my notes from him & more.)