If you have read my book , VisionCircle, you know that each new moon I journey to sit in a circle of dreamers–the dreamers of the Crystal Cave. Each dreamer brings a simple, sustaining vision of a renewed, awakened Earth. I see myself drinking from a mountain stream of pure water. My thought is that when pure water is be so easily available many larger things will have lined up.   

Our aim is not to direct planetary changes in a path we think is best, because we do not presume to know what that is. Nor could a single vision be sufficient. Rather, we seek to assist our planet, her children, and our human race at this time of transition and awakening.

In the circle of dreamers, called the Council, we hold an energy around those visions, around the earth, and occasionally around the entire solar system! Typically that energy is in the form of living light of various colors. Those colors are conscious energies with different qualities of wisdom, cleansing, healing, or stimulation. The colors change from month to month and flow synchronistically.

I am told that there has always been a Council, perhaps many, but now it is important for its efforts to be broadened. I invite you to assist–if you wish–by bringing your own pure vision, joining  us in holding a color-energy.

This is not channeled information, simply a suggestion from dream-time, where each of us walks in power and beauty. All you need to do is a brief visualization–when you think of it–during the new lunar cycle. You can do so in meditation, as a thought while driving, or even brushing your teeth. I do it on a daily basis, first thing in the morning.

Simply visualize and affirm it as so. The idea is to tip the balance a little more in the direction of ease and grace during the great changes each of us has chosen to witness and live.

Moon of the Twins

For the past two months we have stood before the sun, allowing its energy to fill us, bringing that energy into our lives and our planet. At this new moon and the powerful solar eclipse we are still in relation to the sun but in a way that builds on this beautiful work. The light of the new moon is love. But first we need to talk about shadow.

The Shadow Dance

During my daily journey-work this week, I found my inner landscape bathed in the strange light that comes only at solar eclipses. Perhaps you have been experiencing something similar. What my guides and teachers emphasize is that eclipses are about the shadow dance. The moon casts her shadow upon us. Then the Earth returns the favor at the next full moon.

Annular solar eclipse

Eclipses always come in pairs–or more. Solar and lunar events are joined. At such times shadows enter the twilight for recognition and release. While there is no astrological agreement on the nature and effect of eclipses, there is some consensus that eclipses cast a long shadow in both directions of linear time. Some call eclipses times of ending. It may be so, but better to think of this particular one in terms of unburdening. Coming as it does in Gemini, this solar eclipse further emphasizes the dual nature of being and shadow.

Duality is not polarity. Duality is two sides of one coin. It is you and your shadow, the earth and hers. From your second breath until your next to last breath, your shadow is always with you. When it comes to their own shadow, people tend to do two things. One is to load their most unpleasant aspects into shadow and then project it onto another person or a group. The other is to project our best qualities onto someone else. Sorry, but you cannot live without a shadow. It has a purpose, just like the ego. Neither one can be destroyed. Better learn to dance.

Ancient Burdens

 Remember that in this year we are at the bottom of a long, long cycle. Twenty-six thousand years. The planet groans under the accumulation of human-generated shadow. In this time of shadow play, burdens on the earth, ancient and almost nameless, may become evident or triggered. In the next month, recognize them as archaic projections and ways of being that no longer serve us or the living planet. Eclipse time is recognition and release time on personal and planetary levels. If you like, visualize a door in space through which the old shadows depart. Send your old shadows too.

Your shadow is always evolving. Eclipses just give it some breathing room, or help turn the page, if you work with it.

Sometimes the personal burden of the shadow dance can be overwhelming. Currently, something about the coming eclipses seems to be triggering more than the usual amount of shadow issues for people. It is important to remember that one never has to do this work alone. A shaman can help to unravel something that is coming up for recognition and release.

At the very least it is important for all of us during this period to do a sacred fire: blow into a burnable object such as a twig or pine cone whatever it is you wish to release. Place it in the flames. This can be a health issue, grief, personal issues, or even an issue with another person. Do as many as you wish. Others may join your fire to do the same, but it must be done in a spirit of support. It’s not a party, though you may feel pretty good afterward.

Light of the New Moon (and Venus)

In two weeks–at the full moon–the dance of shadows takes another turn with the lunar eclipse. The dance is not complete until the next new moon. Just after the full moon (June 4), there is a visible Venus transit across the Sun (Tuesday, June 5, near sunset). This relatively rare event is a reminder that there is a place for harmony and love in all this intense shadow-work.

What is the light energy of the new moon? It’s the love light. During the entire lunar cycle find the Earth–the whole planet–in your heart center. She’s there. Hold her in love. Add a dash of your personal vision of a transformed planet. That’s it. Simply look into the heart chakra at the center of your chest and see the entire planet. If you were as big as the Sun, you could easily do it. In fact this is where the work of the past two months comes in: filling yourself with all that solar energy enables you to hold the earth without effort.

 The love of the Sun for the Earth is legendary. Moreover, because you are filled with fine solar fire, you are well prepared to be a solar center in places of shadow. If you like, continue to stand before the Sun, continue to bring it to back to Earth and ground it. Don’t just keep it in your personal container. Enjoy.