“As long as we expect the changes to come only from the outside or from political systems, then we are bound to feel helpless, to feel sometimes that reality is bigger and stronger than we are. But if suddenly we begin to feel that there is one person we can change, simultaneously we change many people around us…I’m talking about equalizing the pressure between outer actions and events which are shattering and devastating to us and then the place we recompose and reconstruct ourselves…called the second birth. The second birth we are entirely responsible for; it’s a self-creation.” —Anais Nïn

Today, 11 days after the Vernal Equinox and the start of the Zodiacal year, we greet our second New Moon of the month, known as a seasonal Black Moon. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the light has returned. This is the New Moon of New Moons: it is in Aries, an energy thought to embody fresh starts and dormant sparks. If you do nothing else this weekend, feel how the fire of the Sun activates; let yourself wake up.

This is also the time of year when we can start to see the themes of our Card of the Year, the Lovers, crop up clearly. (If you need a refresher, revisit this planner's introduction.) Patterns in the collective, as well as in the news and developments in our personal worlds offer us opportunities to connect. One theme we’ve seen pop up increasingly are the moves towards more nuanced and rhizomatic* conversations, exchanges, and ways of existence: beyond either/or and into both/and or yes/and. The knowledge that we don’t have to be at odds with anything in our ideologies and choices frees up so much. Being “pro”something does not mean one is automatically “anti”anything else. Humanity is not a monolith and there is no one right way to live. Our growth is dependent on unorthodox combinations and experimentation. The extreme of this proliferates as well. People’s projections, provincial perspectives, narrow-mindedness—their defenses and trauma responses—are all in plain view. Under this New Moon, try not to get caught up in unnecessary suffering and in conflicts that follow the tired old trope of winners and losers.

Many truths exist at once. Let the acceptance of this release the need to prove ourselves in order to feel secure. Try connecting and understanding instead of forcing. Be curious, not judgmental. Commit to being in process; stop trying to resolve yourself just because it has become expected. Find constellations of meaning instead of forced reconciliations.

This rhizomatic* framework extends to ourselves. Humans are mini-universes. Echoes of our planet are inside of us: our fingerprints resemble tree rings, our veins are tiny networks of rivers. Our brain cells alone number at 171 billion. We contain so much complexity, we exist in so many irreconcilable different ways that can’t be captured on a screen or described on a resume. Our inherent multitudes are what makes us, us. Uniqueness is what makes us beautiful.

Alas, much of our overculture (caste systems and capitalism) weaponize our intersectional identities and gifts. Complexity and uniqueness are twisted into not enoughness and often, we internalize this. Or, there is anxiety around aspects of ourselves that don’t feel tidy, productive, or congruent with unanimous acceptance or monetization. Being lush, layered, and complex is where enchantment lies. But overculture can’t handle that—it needs to flatten and label. It’s harder to sell things to and control those who are empowered in their wholeness. The biggest tragedy is to see our inherent multidimensionality as a Bad and Shameful Thing. Beautiful, fractal you, somehow punished for your natural existence—pause on that insanity. Could you imagine trying to shame a tree for tilting one way or having unusual branches? Could you imagine trying to take away a peacock’s shimmer?

Complexities equal spaciousness
Spaciousness equals more time, choice, curiosity, and inspiration
Which creates more slowness and intuition
Which facilitates nervous system regulation and peace
This leads to greater acceptance of
Nuance
Original narratives, stories, and interpretation
Unruliness and expansion
Which facilities
Compassion
Intimacy
Connection
And authentic engagement

The process above is natural and nourishment-filled. I’d argue that’s what our spirits and souls and inclinations want and need. Diversity, freedom, and infinite possibilities. The space to see and be ourselves. I’d also posit that within this practice is our purpose. The meaning of our one true life leaps out when we are in conversation with it, not when we force it into a neat box that we think someone might buy.

Choose to be enough exactly as you are. We heal through the experience of trying something different. We learn by doing. Confidence comes when one learns how to seek. Under this Moon, and into this month, take inspired action around instigating at least one beginning that you previously put off because you thought you weren’t healed enough, or knowledgable enough, or confident enough to try. Follow one of the winding roots inside of you until it brushes up against an answer: explore how it can be a tether to your next adventure. It's time. You already have everything you need. Step forward and share a spark of your brilliance with the world.

*Rhizomatic is a term used by philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari to describe theory, research, and learning systems that allow for multiple, non-hierarchal entry points in interpretation and representation.

—Excerpt from the 2022 Many Moons Lunar Planner. Read Sarah's exclusive New Moon in Aries Spell for Self Creation by downloading the March guide or grabbing a copy of Many Moons.