Cancer Full Moon ~ Wednesday, January 15 @ 8:53 pm PST
With the auspicious Capricorn new moon on new year’s day this month/year, I was thinking that the best way to really initiate and align my energies and intentions, was to spend the winter cycle focusing on my Chakras. Chakra is a Sanskrit word for wheel and while the Chakras are a huge teaching, the system as a whole is not what this message is about; though I highly recommend learning more about them! Still, just to give some background to any who are newer to energetic anatomy, there are seven main Chakras that correspond with the spine.
The idea is that when these Chakras are aligned and spinning, our holistic health (body/mind/spirit/emotion) is more clear, bright and focused. We feel good, inside and out, and are able to easily release what we don’t need and draw in energy we want.
I started this journey last week and have been sharing it in my Yoga classes, as well. I didn’t realize how fitting it was that the week of the Cancer full moon would be dedicated to the second, or sacral Chakra.
Cancer is the home of the moon and during Cancer, we feel most at home with anything that feels like the moon: water, feminine, maternal, fluid, sensual, nourishing, yin. Where Capricorn and Saturn hold the strong father aspects, Cancer and Moon is the mama. I sense her like the ocean, beautiful, life giving, powerful, soothing.
The second Chakra, “Svadhisthana” is connected to the element of water. Physically, it vibrates in our hips, sacrum, pelvis, genitals, reproductive organs and the fluids of the body. Energetically, this center rules emotions, creativity, intimacy, sensuality and ability to immerse oneself in the flow.
We can work with this Chakra in many ways and I recommend trying at least one during this full moon week:
*wearing the color orange
*toning the sound “Vam”
*connecting to water via bath, swim, meditating by ocean, river, lake, etc
*taking a dance or flow based Yoga class
*doing deep hip stretches
*painting with water colors
*making love
Any or all of these practices will not only balance your second chakra, but they can help soften the experience of the potentially overwhelming emotional tides this full moon brings. Cancer full moon is one of the strongest full moons of the year because it is a double dose of the moon’s already heightened, watery, sensitive, feminine state.
Also on this full moon and with this Chakra, I like to honor the Goddess Lakshmi. She is the Hindu manifestation of the greek Aphrodite, born from the sea. There are many myths about her, but let me share my rendition of her birth:
The Hindu Gods were struggling with some demons. They went to one of the head deities, Vishnu, for help. Vishnu told the Gods there was an ocean of milk where weapons and treasures that might defeat the demons could be found, if they were willing to churn the sea.
They all went and started churning and churning. After a while, these jewels and weapons began to rise and they were claimed by the Gods. Finally, after even more effort, a beautiful Goddess emerged, Lakshmi, who brought love, abundance and beauty to all the world and who Vishnu claimed for his wife.
Please note I am not Hindu nor do I claim to be well versed in these myths or translations. But what this story always says to me speaks directly to the second chakra and to the spirit of this full moon.
The message Lakshmi inspires is that if we are willing to churn our ocean of milk, this watery, sacred center within, through movement, sound, meditation, creation, etc, we can bring forth the divine energy latent in us all that can connect us to creation, love, abundance and beauty every day.
Feel free to light a candle to Lakshmi on the full moon and maybe chant the mantras below; the first is for Lakshmi, the second for the sacral chakra and the third for the great element of water. The last line is a closing invocation asking for peace in all the realms and all we do.
Om Shreem Lakshmiya Namaha
Om Swadhisthana Namaha
Om Maha Apaya Namaha
Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi
Cancer full moon blessings to all,
Bekah
Bekah Finch Turner is a Yoga teacher, shamanic practitioner and moon devotee. For more information on her work and writing please visit www.sacredwayyoga.com .
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