Early in the morning, tomorrow morning, we have a lunar eclipse in the sign of Taurus.  A majority of the planets in the sky are involved with this eclipse, actually: with Mercury tightly conjunct the Sun, and Venus also nearby, in Scorpio; and the Moon tightly conjunct Uranus, in Taurus; and Saturn squaring all of these planets. 

What is notoriously absent is the element of fire, and also the weakening of the planet Mars (since he is currently retrograde in Gemini). 

And so, on a warm, sunny afternoon in Maryland, it suddenly occurred to me that I wanted to capture the essence of Sun and warmth, during the time.  I wanted to preserve and remember that.  After all, the light is waning, at this time of year (especially now that Daylight Savings time has ended!), and the fire element is missing, but today I reconnected with the need for warmth.  The need also for inspiration (fire). 

And so, before I began my late afternoon music teaching, I scrambled to find my collection of planetary herbs (recently sent to me by my best friend Roo), and also a few more that I associated with the Sun (thyme and ash), and I put them out on my porch to soak up the last few hours of warmth and sunlight.  I put my full moon candle out there too.  And they are out there still, now, soaking up some energy from the full moon, as also feels appropriate. 

Tonight, I plan to try my hand at a simple ritual.  Grinding and mixing some herbs associated with the Sun, Moon and Saturn, and mixing/preserving them in some oil tonight, to preserve the blend in a more permanent and healing form.  (If all goes well, I may make some small magical oil samples to share also with my friends.)  I want to invoke all of these planets tonight as well, using the Orphic hymns, and also writing my own intentional invocation for what I hope to manifest in the months to come.  (I may include Venus, Mercury and/or Uranus in my invocations as well.  I need to feel through that, but haven’t decided yet.) 

I am feeling inspired.  Earlier today, I was feeling a depression of energy, but connecting with this new intention and ritual brings me hope and confidence.  May this next six month cycle, as the Sun transits from the south to the north node, bring you clarity, cleansing and a re-infusing of purpose.

Much love,

Jen