What I Learned During the Eclipse Season: Traversing the Underworld with Ease
For those of you who are familiar with astrology, I'm writing this just after the "lion's gate," partial lunar eclipse, and total eclipse of the sun. Oh right, and in the middle of Mercury retrograde too! I don't know about you all, but I feel like my entire being has just been squeezed through a portal over the past 3 weeks. And I mean squeeeeeezed. (Unpleasant sensation!)
But now I am utterly and positively re-born. I can literally hear the song of my cells and I am singing and dancing along with the melody! I am filled to the brim with joy and ecstasy, but this was NOT the case just 3 days ago! So I want to share with you how I made it through the UNDERWORLD and how you can too!
What do I mean by "the underworld?" You might experience the "underworld" when you are in labor, when you become a mother, when you turn 28 (I'm looking at you Saturn return), when you end a relationship, when you're about to menstruate, or, in this case, when the stars, sun and moon align in a very particular way.
The underworld is generally uncomfortable. It is when you often yell, "I can't do this anymore!" And the thing about the underworld is that you typically get pulled down there, without much warning. It's the "space in between" when some part of your soul is ready to die so that it can be reborn into something new. So if you find yourself in that space as you're reading this right now, I hope these tools and perspectives can be of support:
1. Let it work its magic.
I just recently interviewed the wonderful Sarah Durham Wilson who speaks very eloquently about the underworld and she reminded me of this truth. This "space in between" knows what it's doing. It has an intelligence of its own. It is literally reshaping you, cleansing your cells of limiting beliefs and weird viral programming that was never yours to carry, and, just like the caterpillar who literally dissolves as she becomes a butterfly, so do you. The thought of dissolving is generally not a pleasant one for most people. But if you can, try to TRUST the process, and remind yourself of this trust constantly. If you find yourself yelling, "I have no idea what's going on! I am a complete mess!" Great! You're on the right track! When the caterpillar turns to liquid she has no idea she will soon sprout wings!
2. Gentleness is Queen.
The underworld generally points to all the of the parts of yourself that you have yet to fall in love with, that you are neglecting and that you really wish you didn't have to deal with anymore. You may find yourself weeping, lashing out at people or asking yourself, "What's wrong with me?" I find that this question is not helpful. Instead, see if you can ask yourself, "What is right with me right now?"
During the eclipse season I felt like a shitty person, a terrible wife, and a bad mother. But what didn't help was beating myself up for that. Try this instead: Massage yourself tenderly and repeat, "I love myself. I am worthy of gentleness." Invite your wild range of emotions into your caring heart like a mother would welcome a crying child. Your difficult feelings only want to be held, seen, loved and embraced. Once you embrace them, they dissolve into your beautiful core and you become stronger for this. All of those uncomfortable emotions hold pieces of your power wrapped up in them. But you can only access that power if you learn to love the seemingly unloveable (hint: this is the micro work required for moving our society into unity consciousness, starting with ourselves). So be gentle with yourself during your trips to the underworld. Move slowly. Do less. Be with what is.
3. Compassion is King.
As you journey to the underworld, you might be clearing something for the entire collective consciousness. We're all connected. Some of us feel much more than others. Maybe, just maybe (especially in times of intense astrological alignments), you're feeling the collective's rage too. Maybe you're feeling the collective's sadness. This being able to feel more doesn't make us better than anyone else, however, if we can match our capacity to feel with our capacity to cultivate compassion, we become a MASSIVE gift to society. I've said this before, but I'll say it again: compassion is the flower that grows out of the soil of composted judgment. We can become the transmuters and the ones who alchemize, creating new beautiful paradigms simply by allowing ourselves to feel and by bringing compassion to what we feel.
4. Get on social media just enough, but not too much.
In times of big collective changes and purges, it can be helpful to get on social media just long enough to check in with a few other sensitive empathic people to hear them say, "Oh my God this energy is nuts!" This will give you the feeling of community, and to remind you that you aren't crazy. But after that, sign back off. The energy that can be flying around during times like this is intense and not helpful as you're traversing the underworld.
5. Ground.
It's very easy to get all up in your head in times of change. It's easy to second guess yourself, doubt EVERYTHING about your future, and your past for that matter! The antidote to this is to GET BACK IN YOUR BODY! Exercise, massage, walks, swims- whatever your grounding medicine is- do it!
6. Always remember that you'll come back up for air.
Not only will you come back up for air after traversing the depths of your being, but you'll be better off for it. You'll have more space for joy. You'll have more space for peace. You'll have cultivated way more space for compassion. And the confusion that you felt under the surface will turn into clarity, guaranteed. The harvest of inner jewels will be bountiful upon returning when you surrender fully to your journey. Think of it like an upgrade to your human operating system. Not always pleasant. But always something that you truly want.
As we are dramatically shifting our consciousness as humanity, I have a feeling we're in for a few more trips to the underworld! May this serve as a gentle guide for us on the journeys.
Happy traveling!
xo,
Nancy