Headstrong

Anyone else still reeling from the full moon in Aries this past Sunday?  I could feel it revving up the week before and even now, the fallout is still crashing to the ground.   The sign of Aries is symbolized by the ram and rules the head, so many of you may feel as though you’ve been banging it against the wall.  Likewise, hotheads prevail this time of year so conversations, social interactions, and driving may be particularly precarious.  In any case, this is an intense time when it’s crucial to cultivate patience, focus, and an awareness that it will surely pass. 

There is no other time of the year when the full moon blasts its energy through our psyche than in October.  Like a sprinter jumping off the starting block, Aries is all about the launch.  When the moon is influenced by this energy, there’s a tendency for an overload of blow-torch firepower.  You may have gotten into more than your share of heated discussions or been the target of someone else’s wrath.  

Now that the moon has shifted away from this influence, it’s time to sift and sort what’s left behind. 

Full moons represent a culmination and a balance between the sun and moon.  We’re in the sun sign of Libra which strives for beauty and balance.  Libra energy seeks to be in harmonious relationship – with another person, with the earth, with the light and dark within itself.  The thinking here is How can I work with another energy and maintain harmony?  On the other hand, Aries energy is all about being number one.  As the first sign of the zodiac (March 21 – April 19), Aries is at the head of the line, so in its highest form, this energy creates dynamic leadership.  Yet the shadow of Aries (which is amplified by the full moon) is self-centeredness...and not in a good way.

My natal chart isn’t directly influenced by Aries as I have no significant aspects or planets connected with it.  Still, living on planet Earth means the rain falls on everyone, not just parched ground.  In the past two weeks I’ve been in two near-miss car accidents because the drivers were either speeding or darting across four lanes of traffic so they could be first in line at a stop light.  In both cases, because my car happened to be in their way, I was called a choice name with a malicious expletive in front of it.  And in both cases I was left shaking by the intensity of their anger which had nothing to do with me.

Lately, there have been more intense experiences in my personal life which demand I answer the question, How in the heck did I get here and what do I do next?  Sure, we can all laugh and blame it on the moon, but I beg to differ.  The change of seasons and astrological signs is designed to keep us from stagnating.  I’ve come to realize that the degree to which I suffer is directly related to the degree I resist change.  Transforming our lives can be truly difficult, harrowing, and unpredictable.  But as Anais Nin wrote, And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

The full moon in Aries asks each one of us to recognize times when we are headstrong or when we need to stand up for ourselves.   It can help us learn how to protect ourselves from others’ overwhelming intensity.  Because it’s so incredibly potent, Aries can force us recognize the need for consciously creating change by focusing our energy. 

To be sure, it’s a challenging influence, but if you think about the kind of energy the earth embodies to be reborn out of the bitter cold and frozen ground of winter, the ignition of Aries is vital for anything brand new.  In October, the earth  in our hemisphere may be slowly falling asleep, but we are now being asked to awaken to our highest potential.

If you’re interested in scheduling a private astrology session to discover your own strengths, challenges, and spiritual path, please contact me at ingersoll.katie@gmail.com.  I look forward to connecting with you.

All I really need to know I learned teaching first grade

Every month my friend and I meet at Panera by the mall for a long, leisurely lunch.  Christy and I used to teach together – she was a kindergarten expert and I was lucky to have her kids in my first grade classes until I left Greenwood in 1999.  Since then I’ve had the pleasure of working as a yoga instructor with kids from age three to eighteen.  Still, I’ve always thought that if I had to go back to formal education, I’d want to teach first grade again.
          This past Saturday I said as much to Christy (who now has moved up a grade herself) and we both agreed first grade is such a vital year for kids.   There’s nothing quite like watching a child’s eyes light up when they realized they can read…or discover how to subtract…or spell the word “school”.  Yet the lessons I remember most -- and the ones my former students recall whenever I run into them around town - aren’t the ones I wrote on the overhead projector or handed out for homework.  Robert Fulghum’s poem All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten graced the walls of many a classrooms at Greenwood, encouraging kids to Put things back where you found them and Be aware of wonder.   My person favorite is Live a balanced life.  

Now, in my early fifties, I’ve come to find that all I really needed to learn to navigate this ever-changing, ever-chaotic world in which we now live, I learned teaching first grade.   Feel free to add your own life lessons in the comment section below.  I look forward to hearing from you.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned Teaching First Grade

·         The world is full of people who come from vastly different home lives and histories.  Practice patience. 

·         Not everyone thinks or believes as you do…nor should they.   Be open-minded. 

·         Sometimes you’ll have to say or do something ten, twelve, or even one hundred times before it will sink in.   Be persistent.

·         On a rainy day, the most wonderful thing in the world is a cozy corner and good book.  Indulge for at least fifteen minutes every day, rain or shine.

·         The best way to remember something is to involve as many senses as possible.   Live a lush life and experiment with as many scents, tastes, sounds, and textures as possible. 

·         Learn a new poem every month…with sign language if possible.

·         Everyone is good at something.  Find your talent and while you’re at it, celebrate the gifts others bring to the world.

·         The greatest way to stay curious and creative is to discover the way in which you learn best. 

·         It’s okay to cry in front of other people, especially on the last day of school when you have to say good-bye.

·         Trust that even on the hardest days, what you’re doing moment by moment makes a difference. 

·         Be kind.

·         Be kind.

·         Be kind.

Gathering stones

Last Monday I spent the entire afternoon unearthing a rock garden that runs the length of my front yard.  When I moved in nearly thirty years ago, the craggy stones surrounded a bunch of ugly evergreens.  That first summer, I dug out the shrubs and dutifully hosed down the rocks every single time I cut the grass.  Those gorgeous pieces of shale made the garden stand out, even as the years went by when I planted everything from begonias to wildflowers.  But since I was sick a couple of years ago, I’ve been lax in weeding and with all the rain we had this spring and summer, the rocks eventually sunk beneath the ever-growing turf.  

October is one of my favorite times of the year, so I thought I’d wait until cooler weather set in before tacking what I imagined would be a tough job.  But with autumn’s late arrival, I figured I’d better get started.  Fall cleanup, while exhausting and seemingly never-ending, is vital if I want the following spring to be fruitful (and nearly effortless).  I’d much rather pull on a flannel shirt and jeans than bundle up in cold weather gear to clear the beds and cut back the trumpet vine.  Plus it’s super satisfying to enjoy the lush greens and late-blooming perennials of my garden in the fall.  

It didn’t take long to shovel up three layers of stone, but it was taxing, especially since it was a hot, humid day.  Yet the soil was moist and digging out the weeds proved to be easier than I thought.  A few hours later I marveled at how beautiful it looked and now every time I leave the house, I’ll pause and enjoy how beautifully the rock garden ties everything together.  

The ever-changing earth this time of year is a miracle.

In years past I’d be harvesting basil and tomatoes and squash, but this season I turned my raised bed into a nursery of sorts, transplanting lilacs and lily-of-the-valley and lovely Rose of Sharon.  I’ve gathered the best my garden can offer in one place so that when I move into a new home, I can easily unearth it all to take with me.  

In many ways, I wish I could take the rock garden with me, too, but it will stay for the next owner to enjoy.  In unearthing and refurbishing the garden, I used every single stone, and while I may not have put them back in the same order from which they were lifted from the ground, they all fit together perfectly…just like a puzzle.   It reminds me of all the times I rearranged the furniture in my house.  The elements were there, but in moving things around, the energy of the room was transformed.  

I suppose being a Virgo makes me more aware of the incredible power of change.  I was born then the earth begins it’s rapid transformation from summer to autumn, so it’s easy to embrace that which has outgrown one form and is ready to be recreated into something new.  2019 has been a year of tremendous upheaval.  In the past few months, my life has shifted significantly.  The way I work, the way I live, the way I spend my days has completely changed.  Sometimes it’s hard to remember what life was like pre-June, but in the midst of finding my feet, I feel incredibly blessed to have had the foundation of what the past twenty years have given me.

As I reflect on the season that came before this one, the harvest is only just beginning to reveal itself.  All the years I taught yoga have given me a centeredness that I can’t really describe in words.  The books and blogs I’ve written have given me faith in myself. 

In gathering the stones of all of the struggles I’ve had, the lessons I’ve learned, the blessings I’ve experienced, it’s a wonder to recognize what an enduring foundation they have created.  I’ve had to recently unearth it as well, but I trust it will give me the stability I need as I step once more into an unknown future.