Beauty matters.

Beauty matters.

This coming Saturday, April 16th brings with it a "Pink Moon". So, what exactly is a Pink Moon? Well, this lunar event is named after a pink wildflower, also known as creeping phlox or moss phlox, that tends to pop up around this time of the year. The pretty pink plant symbolizes rebirth, and this Pink Moon is likewise a doorway to our annual reemergence and renewal. 

This Pink Moon is in Libra, the sign of peacemaking, harmony, the heart chakra, romantic love, art, music, peace, aesthetics, partnership, and- most importantly- beauty. Beauty gets a bad rap in our modern society: some see it as superficial, jejune, childish, girlie, unnecessary, or shallow. This Pink Moon challenges these erroneous distortions, and urges us to bring a little real, substantive beauty back into our lives.

In Kabbalah, the heart chakra is correlated to the heart of the Tree of Life: Tiferet. Tiferet, from Hebrew, translates to "beauty". All of the other sefirot (i.e. branches of the Tree of Life) run their energy through Tiferet, indicating that our heart chakra- and beauty- is the crucial nexus of our spiritual existence. 

Ancient Kabbalists saw Tiferet as a mystical gateway to the divine. Unlike our society, which very much views beauty, art and aesthetics as a "nice to have", the ancient Kabbalists understood that beauty is a need to have. Without it, we are squarely focused on survival, utility, efficiency, and functionality. In Kabbalah, one of the core attributes that separates us from the "beasts in the field" is our proclivity towards artistic creation and expression, and our ability to observe and enjoy beauty as and when it emerges. After all, we don't eat art. We can't bank music like money in a checking account. Our society doesn't tend to reward spontaneous creation the way it rewards commodity trading or debt monetization or interest payments.

But, despite all of this, we expend resources to create and honor art. For the very sake of art. We are drawn to sculptures and museums and even scenes in nature, over and over again, to feed our heart chakras and our souls. 

Tiferet, the heart chakra, beauty, the sign of Libra: all of these things are crucial to our divine human experience. And, when we honor and invite in these elements, we really do experience a measurable, palpable spiritual ROI. We are more inspired, uplifted, energized. We are also kinder, softer, and naturally more compassionate and empathetic to others. 

As we move towards this Pink Moon on Saturday, I invite all of you to make an effort to bring some beauty back into your daily routine: 

• Gift yourself fresh cut flowers. Fresh cut flowers bring a powerfully uplifting and clearing yin energy into our homes. Symbolically, they also represent the transient, impermanent nature of life, and the importance of enjoying and honoring beauty in the small window we are given. Roses are particularly high vibration and smell incredible, and tuberose, gardenia, and peonies also bring beauty, naturally mood-shifting aromatherapy, and loving energy into your space. If you're feeling particularly sensitive and vulnerable or want to be especially kind to yourself, see if you can get some fresh cut pink sweet pea flowers: I'm growing these in our Flower Essence garden for our Starseed TOTEM Flower Essence, designed to help special, sensitive folks and indigo children and empaths feel like they actually belong and have value.

• Soften smells, sounds, sights and sensations. Our world is often loud and stinky and ugly and sensorially unpleasant. If you live in a city, you know the summer smell of hot garbage. The sights of warehouses with smoke stacks. The banging vibrations inside an Uber or on the train. The overwhelming sound of a low flying airplane landing at a nearby airport. Now, amplify all of this in the context of your daily grind: working, jumping from Zoom meeting to Zoom meeting, flying on airplanes, quickly eating a meal bar, driving your kids to after school events, and likely getting very little sleep. It's harsh, frenetic, and nothing but yang. So, this week, consider gifting yourself a little softness and check in on how it shifts your mood, sense of wellbeing, or even state of mind. Aromatherapy of rose, geranium and ylang-ylang will permeate your space with peaceful smells. Consider turning off the news, podcasts and even audiobooks and listen to a little classical music (at low volume). Pinks and soft peach colors elevate our heart chakras and can soothe our nervous systems. And soft fabrics, clean sheets, and long baths can nurture us in meaningful ways. Keep a journal as you incorporate these small changes to document the big shifts they can deliver.

• Let yourself have it. There are times for discipline and grit and structure, and there are times to unfold into softness and simply be in the present moment. This week is one of those time to just be. If you can, try to book some unstructured time in your calendar, planning nothing so that you can sit on your balcony, enjoy a nice glass of rose, take a nap, or even just walk around your neighborhood. Is there a pretty sundress you've been eyeing? A sparkling piece of jewelry? A beautiful painting at a local gallery? A nice solitary dining experience at a restaurant with a gorgeous interior? Let yourself have it (assuming it's in your budget and not totally irresponsible!). Our society indoctrinates us into the cult of utility, of planning for a future, of focusing on the "smart stuff" at the expense of the "fun stuff". This is doubly true for any of us that own our own businesses, as we have such a muscle memory to allocate any funds to our business fundamentals. This lack of balance teaches us to be unkind to ourselves in lieu of self-nurturing and, more importantly, caring for our inner child and our more yin aspects of self. Life isn't just work. It isn't just productivity. After all- what are we working so hard for? To simply retire when we're old and infirm and unable to fully enjoy our hard-earned freedom? F*ck that. Let yourself a little something right here and now, even if it's just an afternoon off of work to daydream in bed. 

Pink Light Meditation
If you're inclined to incorporate a new meditation into your Pink Moon week- or regular routine- I have designed one specifically for beauty, joy and artistic creation. We've used it in previous group guided meditation workshops and I've also incorporated it into our TOTEM Spiritual Transformation Coaching program. You can do this meditation listening to Shamanic Journeying Drumming Music or any beautiful instrumental music without words of your choosing.

If you like to use crystals in your meditations, consider using Lilac Rose Quartz (a slightly purple variation of the pinky rose quartz we're all used to seeing); this is the crystal of radical self-love and self-acceptance, and it supports a gentle, yin energy for the meditation. You can also use Dalmatian Jasper, an adorable, spotted stone that brings a sense of pure joy, playfulness and a childlike view of life. 

Begin by conjuring a joyful, happy and deeply poignant memory in your life. It doesn't have to be action packed- it could have just been a perfect, warm afternoon in your childhood, one in which you rode your bike around without any care or concern or worry of the past or the future.

Connect with the feeling of this memory and work to re-experience it in your senses. Then, visualize a luminescent pink light surrounding you and permeating the whole scene. 

You're going to take this pink light to other areas of your current life:

• Visualize it illuminating your workspace, whether virtual (i.e. home office) or in the corporate digs. Surround any difficult or negative coworkers or clients with this pink light and wish them well. Libra is a sign of forgiveness and diplomacy, so take advantage of this week's Pink Moon in Libra energy to diffuse negative or conflict-oriented energy with others. 

• Visualize it in your home, filling the rooms of your space with this beautiful pink light. Are there any areas that are hard to fill with this light? Take note of them. After you come out of the meditation, see if you can open windows and/or drapes or sage the area to move and clear any negative or stagnant energies.

• Visualize the pink light surrounding anyone that has hurt your feelings or done or said things that left you feeling betrayed, misunderstood, used or unwanted. I know, I know- the last thing you want to do is wish someonelike that well, but this is a powerful tool to soften the harsh edges of negative energy and help you to cut cords, recollect your energy, and move on without the echo of trauma in your energy body. 

After this meditation, keep notes on any shifts you notice in our mundane reality. Has the office bully chilled out a bit? Have you thought about the friend that betrayed you a little less? Does your home or office feel a bit lighter and brighter? 

I know- it seems silly...but I promise you: it works.

Pink Moon Ritual Magic
We are in the pagan season of the Spring Equinox, or Ostara (i.e. Easter), and ancient Celts used this time of the year to make spiritual decisions, to use magic relating to prophecy and divination, and get in touch with their intuitive processes and abilities. It is also the season of Fairy Magic, connecting us with TOTEM animals and nature spirits. 

If you're so inclined, April 16th- the day of the Pink Moon- is an ideal time to write out a magical manifestation spell. What do you want to draw down from the moon and pull into your life? What do you want to start enjoying more? Do you want more financial abundance? More time? More freedom to roam and wander and not be so scheduled and structured? Do you want to fall in love? Find a life partner? 

Go ahead and ask for it. 

In keeping with this Full Moon's theme, find some beautiful paper or stationary on which to write. Hell, I'm going to go literal and use PINK stationary on an altar with pink flowers. Start and end your "ask" with the phrase: "So long as it harms none, let it be done" to ensure optimal coordination with cosmic design. Then, get specific and focus on experiential elements: how will it feel, look, smell like to have the object of your wish? How will it change your life? What will you do with this gift?

Go ahead and seal this in an envelope, addressed to your Spirit Guide of choice. Mab, who is featured as the Empress card in our TOTEM Tarot Deck, is a great resource to ping for cultivating this kind of abundance and soft having-ness. Just make sure you approach Mab with a purity of spirit and intent: Fairy Gods and Goddesses don't screw around;)

And, as always, if you want a reading, some energy work, or just an answer to a question, reach out to me anytime: rachel@totemreadings.com. Fair warning, though: I'm going to try to take things slow this week, so give me a minute to respond. I gotta at least try to practice what I preach;)

-Rachel