November 2020 New Moon

No matter who becomes the president, we must continue to wake up. We cannot go back to sleep. We cannot get despondent; we must continue to gather our power, protect ourselves and others, and live like the exalted state of the Emperor. A bridge between the practical and the magical. A portal in-between the grit of the work and the imaginary

There are many layers of taking back our power. The first process usually involves some sort of shedding, some sort of death. Scorpio—the sacred and sexy season we are in now, the sign this New Moon is in—in the Tarot, corresponds to the Death card. In order to fully live, we must make peace with Death.

Let’s talk about ego death, shall we? Ego death feels very painful—disarming and uncomfortable. A lot of external change generally accompanies an ego death. Our nervous system, our mind, our identities do not want to engage with it. Often, we ignore it, and keep carrying on in the same old ways. Some folks do this for years. Some folks do this for generations.

Underneath the stirrings of our impulse to dissolve the harmful aspects of our ego is truth. Underneath it is an unlimited way to be—freedom. This freedom grants us more intimacy with ourselves, a wider perspective, and virtually no attachment to that which does not serve us. This is very terrifying to others—so there is less of an imperative to do this: to choose peace and expansion and not knowing, over the opposites of all of these. This is terrifying to us, and so often, it takes another type of pain, pain from the outside, to shake us into action, to get us into therapy, to get us moving into a more truthful way of living.

And also, there is the part of the ego dissolution that mirrors corporeal death. Death within life. Deaths that we must undergo multiple times in our lives if we are to grow, if we are to transform, if we are to attempt to even get in the same zip code as the authentic self of love and truth our souls know that we are.

The death of one thing is always the birth of another. And that might not be a living thing; it might not be a beautiful thing. But it could be a deeper experience, a different way to be with yourself. It might be the birth of grief, the birth of a liminal state, the birth of transformation. Humans don’t generally want to face death within life, as it will never conform to the linear. It is wild and pulls and bucks like a fish on a hook, a wild stallion breaking out of a fence. If we stay with this process, who we become is more equipped to deal with challenges, deal with the pain of ourselves and others, deal with the miracles and the blissful moments. Who we become is much more appreciative of life, sees the joy most easily in the smallest moments, and who values life much more than those who run from the smallest rumblings of discomfort.

This is an Emperor year, and we’ve seen these themes all around. Empires are built, and empires fall. It is inevitable. This is also a Fool year, and while Fool energy can be a bit more subtle to access at times, hopefully, you’ve been able to explore and experience the miracle of taking leaps, of becoming new again. Your world is will always change. It in inevitable.

So here we are. A year that is so much about the death of our ideas about power structures and hierarchies and what we thought we needed. A year that is a portal into new awakenings, vibrant new consciousness, and also, many deaths. How can working with the archetype of Death enable us to bring forth new life?

On this New Super Moon—so potent in the sign of the phoenix and the eagle and the scorpion, in the year 2020 which is also the year 1442 and the year 5780—in this time period so potent with burning lies and searing truths and joy and violence, pleasure and heartbreak so intertwined in our days and hearts: take the time to meditate on how to facilitate change, aka Death, with more grace.

Journaling questions:
You may wish to bring out the Emperor card, the Fool Card, the Death card, and your card of the year, or any archetypes of the year in the tarot that have been helpful to you. You can journal to these questions, or pull cards.

What part(s) of me is afraid to die?

Why?

How is that linked to external, societal expirations of how I should behave and what I should do?

What do I most value about life?

How am I living in accordance with those values?

What can the fool teach me about risks and openings?
What is my card of the year teaching me about myself?

What do I most need to birth?

What fears or anxieties need to die so I can do so joyfully?

—Excerpt is from the 2020 Many Moons Lunar Planner. Buy the 2021 Planner here.
—Sign up for Sarah’s class at Seagrape Soap.