Re-Committing to Mental Health & Empowerment - New Moon in Gemini

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​This June 13th marks the beginning of a new month! No, not a new calendar month, but a new lunar month. Long before we had the classic months of the Gregorian calendar, we marked the passage of roughly 30 days through the cycles of the Moon (and through the general menstrual cycles of women...but that's a conversation for another day!). 

The New Moon - also known as the Dark Moon as it is not visible to the naked eye from Earth at this phase - is the beginning lunar phase. The New Moon starts it all, and as such carries the energy of new beginnings, fresh starts and pure potentiality. This is a time to start over and re-commit to our goals and desires. 

This month, the New Moon appears in the month of Gemini. When you think of the sign of Gemini, what comes to mind for you? Yes, Gemini is the sign of the Twins, and as such many people think about people with dual natures. However, Gemini is traditionally a sign of high intellect, social activity, communication and enthusiasm. 

Reading, writing, composing, researching, problem solving, doing puzzles...all of these things come naturally to those born under this sign. Thinking and aspects of the mind are important parts of this sign. And directly related to thinking is questioning. 

This June, let's take advantage of the abundant Gemini energy and take a moment to reflect on our minds and our thinking. Have you ever given thought - true thought - to just how important your mind is? It governs everything, from your habits to your beliefs to the automatic functions of your body such as breathing and driving.

Researchers now believe that our minds are comprised of two levels: the conscious mind, the part of our mind that reasons, makes decisions and processes new information; and the subconscious mind, the older, stronger part that carries out the conscious mind's instructions obediently and automatically, no questions asked. These two parts of your mind are very different, but most people can't tell them apart. Yes, like Twins!

When your conscious mind makes decisions and judgments repeatedly, these judgments are then solidified in your subconscious mind as habits or beliefs. For example, let's say you are an incredible beauty. (You are, you know. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, especially after this story!) Let's say you live with someone who is intimidated by your beauty, so they are sure to tell you at every turn that you are ugly. At first, you may not believe them or shrug it off. However, if you hear "You are ugly!" enough times, your conscious mind - that part of your mind that reasons and questions and judges - will begin to ask "Am I ugly?" It will begin to look for validation at every turn. One day someone ELSE calls you ugly, and another day a person you ask out tells you they just want to be friends. Your conscious mind begins to slowly make the determination that you are, indeed, ugly. It begins to think "I am ugly" over and over. The subconscious mind will then absorb that information and imprint it on your identity. You now, despite being a gorgeous beauty, truly believe that you are ugly! (You may laugh, but the cosmetic surgery industry has pretty much done the same thing, planting repeated subconscious un-truths of ugliness to millions of naturally beautiful women for their financial gain...and they have been very successful at it!)

This is just one simplistic example of how our minds and thinking could have turned against us unknowingly. What "truths" about yourself do you harbor that are no longer serving you? What are you thinking that is not helping you to be how you want to be? Maybe you want to be wealthy, but have a deep subconscious belief that you "can't" or "don't deserve" to be wealthy because you're not smart enough/lucky enough/good enough. That is not the Truth. The Truth is that ANYONE can be wealthy, that YOU deserve to be if you want to be. 

This month, let's work on some mental re-wiring and use our minds FOR us and not against us. 

So how do we re-train our minds to have empowering, goal-oriented tactics? How do we know is a belief is our own belief, or if it was planted there by someone else, be it family, community or pop culture?

First question: Does it empower you? Does it lead to you being who you want to be? If you WANT to be healthy but BELIEVE you will never be health...if you WANT to find a soulmate but BELIEVE all the good ones are taken and you're destined to be alone...well, you have some subconscious re-wiring to do. That belief is both not true and completely useless to you. Replace it.

So how do we replace it?

#1. Observe yourself. Just like one Twin can observe the other, be conscious of your thinking and what you're telling yourself. Tie a string around your finger, or place a pretty, eye-catching rock or trinket on your desk that will remind you several times throughout the day to check in on what you're telling yourself. How often do you call yourself "Stupid/Dumb/Fat/Lazy/Poor"  etc? 

#2. Stop feeding your subconscious mind negative, useless thoughts.   Once you realize that you're feeding your mind garbage, stop doing it! When you catch yourself in the middle of saying something disempowering, stop, Say "Cancel that!" and then...

#3. Replace disempowering thoughts with positive, empowering ones.  Tell yourself exactly what you want to be, even if you are not there yet. With repetition, you will be there! Tell yourself you're thin/beautiful/brilliant/fascinating/deserving of all good things! 

#4. READ, READ and READ some more! The more empowering, truthful information you can cram into your brain, the better! You become what you consume, and this is true with your body (sugar and fat vs. water-filled and high nutrient foods) AND with your mind (empty and negative entertainment vs. useful and goal-attaining information). The more brain "nutrients" you put in, the more your brain will have to pull from when it gets stressed and depleted.

So let's journey into this just a bit deeper. Let's consult the Tarot and see how we can use the New Moon in Gemini energy to check in with our mental health and apply the power of our minds to four major areas of our lives:

1. Career/Self-Expression/Self-Fulfillment
2. Relationships and Love
3. Personal Ambition/Intellect/Conflict
4. Money/Assets/Property

The four cards, pulled in order from RIGHT to LEFT, are:

1. Career/Self-Expression/Self-Fulfillment: QUEEN OF COINS
The Queen of Coins is traditionally about the nurturing and deep and full appreciation of our physical assets. She is a very warm protectress and provider, a practical leader who rules over a wealthy kingdom of abundant, green pastures and blossoming fruit. When I see this card in this position, I think about how important it is to take care of your self-esteem and your own self-worth. The Queen is wise, and notice how she is beautifully adorned and well-taken care of herself. She knows that in order to take care of her kingdom, she first needs to take care of herself. You cannot take care of your family, your friends, your community, your charity/volunteer causes without taking care of YOUR needs first. Treat your own mind like the mind of a King or Queen and be selective in what you are feeding into it. The rest of your kingdom depends on you to do so.

2. Relationships and Love: THE TOWER
The Tower is a big card with a big message. It brings to mind the need for constructive destruction. Over the course of our lives, we have built up, layer by layer, ways of thinking and habits that we are so sure are truthful that we don't question them. "I can never be rich." "It is hard to find someone to love." "All men cheat." "All women are liars." We were not born with these disempowering beliefs. These beliefs were most likely given us by other well-meaning (and not-so well-meaning) people. The Tower in this position asks us to re-examine our relationships. Chances are that one or several of our relationships are mentally toxic. Are you catching the negative and disempowering energy from toxic relationships around you? Recent surveys have hinted that you are only as successful as the top 3 closest people to you. Would that be a good thing or a bad thing? If you are honest with yourself and feel that you could have toxic friends or family, perhaps it may be time to put more distance between yourself and those people and replace them with more successful and empowering individuals. It may be hard to completely disengage from toxic relationships, especially if they are family, but the first step is to just realize what they are and how they are effecting you. Once that has been determined, you can at least make a conscious effort to not absorb their negative and powerless beliefs as your own, and to decrease the time spent around them if possible.

3. Personal Ambition/Intellect: SIX OF WANDS REVERSED
We all have desires and high ambitions in life. The Six of Wands is traditionally about just that, public recognition and victory in matters of career and personal achievement. When I see this card coming up in reverse, I think about delayed victory. And that, I feel, is the crux of the problem. Many of us live and think in an eternal "One Day...One Day" dreaming of achieving our dream. We are always waiting to feel enough, waiting to be accomplished. Often the very things we chase - money, that killer career , that big house - is designed to give us this feeling of arrival, of accomplishment. I feel that the message of this card is to feel as though we have arrived NOW. This can be a very hard concept to grasp, and something that even the most practiced spiritual people may struggle with from time to time. Creative Visualization is an amazing tool for goal achievement (if you are unfamiliar with Creative Visualization, please look into it; it is an amazingly powerful manifestation tool!). It works by placing you into the emotional feelings of achieving your goal not tomorrow, not next week, but RIGHT NOW. This brings your goals to you sooner. 

4. Money/Assets/Property: TEMPERANCE REVERSED
We live in a capitalistic society, and money is important. Money buys freedom to do more of the things you were put here to do, and because of that it is okay to pursue money and wealth. The Temperance card is a message about spiritual balance, and when I see this card reversed, I think about a warning against spiritual imbalance. Money is so often on our minds. We can't help it. You drive to work, and you probably pass many reminders of wealth or lack of it - luxury cars, very poor-looking cars, convertibles, accidents, mansions, cars pulling boats, etc. The Temperance card reminds us, however, that before we get too carried away with thoughts of money manifestation and how to earn more and more money, that we need to think about what money actually is. Money is a means to get what you actually want. You can have what you want without necessarily having loads and loads of money. For example, if you want to travel the world and live the life of a nomad, you may be able to do that without getting super rich. A job opportunity may materialize where all your travel expenses are paid. You may be able to get rid of all your bills and therefore not need much income. When you meditate, ask the Universe for THAT - traveling the world - instead of asking to be rich, as THAT is actually what you want. They may be two different things. Furthermore, recognize that money is energy, and though it is physical, it can come to you as an extension of your spiritual energy. Do what moves your spirit, and money will follow. They do not need to be at odds with each other. The Universe desires that you be abundant in ALL aspects, both spiritually AND materially. You do not need to choose.

When I look at the spread in its entirety, one of the things that jumps out to me is the striking contrast between the composed and elegant Queen of Coins and the chaotic, violent scene of destruction in The Tower. She is the picture of grounded Earth, while a scene of raging Fire happens before her. She appears to be looking at it, yet is not at all affected, her hand calmly on her expectant belly, thinking of the promise of the future. When I see this, I think of the act and the emotional fallout of distancing yourself from negative and downward-pulling individuals. This may elicit ugly responses and less-than-desirable situations. Know this in advance, but do not allow yourself to be sucked into drama, vitriol and negativity, as people likely won't like the fact that you are pulling away from them. You are doing what you need to do for your good and the promise of the future. Calmly and regally move forward and keep to the High Ground, and don't be frightened by the ugliness of what may happen.

I also notice that the ruling element is Fire, as three of the four cards are ruled by this element. What that tells me is the importance of desire and taking action to increase the power and strength of your mind. Work on mental health and power NOW. Do something TODAY to implement mind power. Read a book about improving your mind power. Or watch a video on YouTube. Take action today to improve yourself!

Happy Manifesting!
 
With Love,
Kesha
kesha@newworldtarot.org
www.newworldtarot.org