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BY MAMA XANADU
The full moon on the 21st July is the second consecutive moon in Capricorn, making it an auspicious Blue Moon that amplifies the rays of transmission coming from this cycle. A Blue Moon occurs either when there are two full moons in the same calendar month, or, as is the case here, it is the third of four full moons in a season - between a solstice and an equinox. This full moon asks that we take the awakening of the previous moon and reflect upon our experience, to analyse and investigate resources, seek solutions and find ever more innovative ways to navigate a sacred path to freedom.
This month's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, signifying the new antlers that develop on the forehead of a deer buck at this time of year. This is reflected in our own internal antennas, how we attune ourselves as we move into the second half of year and our ability to receive and perceive information from our environment. It is the refinement and distillation of our intuition as we process the wider spheres and cosmic weather of the collective.
In Celtic tradition, this moon is also called the Claiming, Wyrt, Herb and Mead Moon, as it is the time to gather herbs (wyrts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Hay Moon after the hay harvest. Many North American indigenous groups, including the Haida and Tlingit, refer to it as the Salmon or Sturgeon Moon, since it marks the time when salmon return to spawn in their rivers.
With the moon in Capricorn and the sun in the sign of Cancer, this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Both deal with reflection on the past and traditional structures of industry and home respectively, so it may be a time for letting go of old ways, making room for new systems to emerge. The moon is conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, square Chiron in Aries and trine Uranus in Taurus - time unfix the fixed and channel these transformative energies. Neptune is retrograde until December, in the last degree of Pisces. A retrograde Neptune is a time to day dream our desires into reality and to go deep into our inner waters to dream. More than just the degree at the end of the sign, it is the Omega point of the whole zodiac as Neptune is coming to the end of a 165 year cycle through the signs. The psychic waters of Neptune and Pisces have the potential to erode the fixed beliefs and boundaries of Capricorn associated with capitalism.
The Lion's Gate portal opens between July 28th and August 12th annually, when the Leo Sun aligns to the star Sirius - or Spiritual Sun - moving closest to Earth, allowing new frequencies of cosmic understanding to enter into our earthbound consciousness. It reaches its peak on 8/8 [∞] shortly after the new moon in Leo on the 4th August. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. To find it, draw a line through Orion's Belt and toward the horizon. As we open our hearts, solar plexus and third eye to receive these light codes, our psychic sensitivity expands and we may experience shedding of outdated patterns and trauma - just breathe.
SUN IN CANCER, MOON IN CAPRICORN
BATH RITUAL
For deep holding:
Run a bath (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add 2 x cinnamon sticks, a couple of handfuls of fresh rose petals and 2x apples cut into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Spend the time connecting to your body and your inner waters. Seek out the parts of you that need nourishment. Massage the rose petals into your skin. Feed yourself the apples. Receive and release.
For uplifting:
Run a bath and (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add herbs such as lavender, mint, lemon balm and thyme, along with any aromatic wild or garden flowers such as sweet peas, daisies, red clover and cut 2 x oranges into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Take time to smell each herb and flowers, breathe in their abundance. Feed yourself the oranges. Vision and manifest.
*Patch test for any allergies and avoid the eyes.
The full moon on the 21st July is the second consecutive moon in Capricorn, making it an auspicious Blue Moon that amplifies the rays of transmission coming from this cycle. A Blue Moon occurs either when there are two full moons in the same calendar month, or, as is the case here, it is the third of four full moons in a season - between a solstice and an equinox. This full moon asks that we take the awakening of the previous moon and reflect upon our experience, to analyse and investigate resources, seek solutions and find ever more innovative ways to navigate a sacred path to freedom.
This month's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, signifying the new antlers that develop on the forehead of a deer buck at this time of year. This is reflected in our own internal antennas, how we attune ourselves as we move into the second half of year and our ability to receive and perceive information from our environment. It is the refinement and distillation of our intuition as we process the wider spheres and cosmic weather of the collective.
In Celtic tradition, this moon is also called the Claiming, Wyrt, Herb and Mead Moon, as it is the time to gather herbs (wyrts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Hay Moon after the hay harvest. Many North American indigenous groups, including the Haida and Tlingit, refer to it as the Salmon or Sturgeon Moon, since it marks the time when salmon return to spawn in their rivers.
With the moon in Capricorn and the sun in the sign of Cancer, this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Both deal with reflection on the past and traditional structures of industry and home respectively, so it may be a time for letting go of old ways, making room for new systems to emerge. The moon is conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, square Chiron in Aries and trine Uranus in Taurus - time unfix the fixed and channel these transformative energies. Neptune is retrograde until December, in the last degree of Pisces. A retrograde Neptune is a time to day dream our desires into reality and to go deep into our inner waters to dream. More than just the degree at the end of the sign, it is the Omega point of the whole zodiac as Neptune is coming to the end of a 165 year cycle through the signs. The psychic waters of Neptune and Pisces have the potential to erode the fixed beliefs and boundaries of Capricorn associated with capitalism.
The Lion's Gate portal opens between July 28th and August 12th annually, when the Leo Sun aligns to the star Sirius - or Spiritual Sun - moving closest to Earth, allowing new frequencies of cosmic understanding to enter into our earthbound consciousness. It reaches its peak on 8/8 [∞] shortly after the new moon in Leo on the 4th August. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. To find it, draw a line through Orion's Belt and toward the horizon. As we open our hearts, solar plexus and third eye to receive these light codes, our psychic sensitivity expands and we may experience shedding of outdated patterns and trauma - just breathe.
SUN IN CANCER, MOON IN CAPRICORN
BATH RITUAL
For deep holding:
Run a bath (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add 2 x cinnamon sticks, a couple of handfuls of fresh rose petals and 2x apples cut into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Spend the time connecting to your body and your inner waters. Seek out the parts of you that need nourishment. Massage the rose petals into your skin. Feed yourself the apples. Receive and release.
For uplifting:
Run a bath and (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add herbs such as lavender, mint, lemon balm and thyme, along with any aromatic wild or garden flowers such as sweet peas, daisies, red clover and cut 2 x oranges into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Take time to smell each herb and flowers, breathe in their abundance. Feed yourself the oranges. Vision and manifest.
*Patch test for any allergies and avoid the eyes.
Mama Xanadu is the experimental botanical studio led by Jemma Foster, who is the author of Wild Alchemy Lab: An Astro-Botanical Remedy Deck (Laurence King, 2023)
BY MAMA XANADU
The full moon on the 21st July is the second consecutive moon in Capricorn, making it an auspicious Blue Moon that amplifies the rays of transmission coming from this cycle. A Blue Moon occurs either when there are two full moons in the same calendar month, or, as is the case here, it is the third of four full moons in a season - between a solstice and an equinox. This full moon asks that we take the awakening of the previous moon and reflect upon our experience, to analyse and investigate resources, seek solutions and find ever more innovative ways to navigate a sacred path to freedom.
This month's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, signifying the new antlers that develop on the forehead of a deer buck at this time of year. This is reflected in our own internal antennas, how we attune ourselves as we move into the second half of year and our ability to receive and perceive information from our environment. It is the refinement and distillation of our intuition as we process the wider spheres and cosmic weather of the collective.
In Celtic tradition, this moon is also called the Claiming, Wyrt, Herb and Mead Moon, as it is the time to gather herbs (wyrts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Hay Moon after the hay harvest. Many North American indigenous groups, including the Haida and Tlingit, refer to it as the Salmon or Sturgeon Moon, since it marks the time when salmon return to spawn in their rivers.
With the moon in Capricorn and the sun in the sign of Cancer, this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Both deal with reflection on the past and traditional structures of industry and home respectively, so it may be a time for letting go of old ways, making room for new systems to emerge. The moon is conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, square Chiron in Aries and trine Uranus in Taurus - time unfix the fixed and channel these transformative energies. Neptune is retrograde until December, in the last degree of Pisces. A retrograde Neptune is a time to day dream our desires into reality and to go deep into our inner waters to dream. More than just the degree at the end of the sign, it is the Omega point of the whole zodiac as Neptune is coming to the end of a 165 year cycle through the signs. The psychic waters of Neptune and Pisces have the potential to erode the fixed beliefs and boundaries of Capricorn associated with capitalism.
The Lion's Gate portal opens between July 28th and August 12th annually, when the Leo Sun aligns to the star Sirius - or Spiritual Sun - moving closest to Earth, allowing new frequencies of cosmic understanding to enter into our earthbound consciousness. It reaches its peak on 8/8 [∞] shortly after the new moon in Leo on the 4th August. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. To find it, draw a line through Orion's Belt and toward the horizon. As we open our hearts, solar plexus and third eye to receive these light codes, our psychic sensitivity expands and we may experience shedding of outdated patterns and trauma - just breathe.
SUN IN CANCER, MOON IN CAPRICORN
BATH RITUAL
For deep holding:
Run a bath (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add 2 x cinnamon sticks, a couple of handfuls of fresh rose petals and 2x apples cut into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Spend the time connecting to your body and your inner waters. Seek out the parts of you that need nourishment. Massage the rose petals into your skin. Feed yourself the apples. Receive and release.
For uplifting:
Run a bath and (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add herbs such as lavender, mint, lemon balm and thyme, along with any aromatic wild or garden flowers such as sweet peas, daisies, red clover and cut 2 x oranges into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Take time to smell each herb and flowers, breathe in their abundance. Feed yourself the oranges. Vision and manifest.
*Patch test for any allergies and avoid the eyes.
The full moon on the 21st July is the second consecutive moon in Capricorn, making it an auspicious Blue Moon that amplifies the rays of transmission coming from this cycle. A Blue Moon occurs either when there are two full moons in the same calendar month, or, as is the case here, it is the third of four full moons in a season - between a solstice and an equinox. This full moon asks that we take the awakening of the previous moon and reflect upon our experience, to analyse and investigate resources, seek solutions and find ever more innovative ways to navigate a sacred path to freedom.
This month's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, signifying the new antlers that develop on the forehead of a deer buck at this time of year. This is reflected in our own internal antennas, how we attune ourselves as we move into the second half of year and our ability to receive and perceive information from our environment. It is the refinement and distillation of our intuition as we process the wider spheres and cosmic weather of the collective.
In Celtic tradition, this moon is also called the Claiming, Wyrt, Herb and Mead Moon, as it is the time to gather herbs (wyrts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Hay Moon after the hay harvest. Many North American indigenous groups, including the Haida and Tlingit, refer to it as the Salmon or Sturgeon Moon, since it marks the time when salmon return to spawn in their rivers.
With the moon in Capricorn and the sun in the sign of Cancer, this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Both deal with reflection on the past and traditional structures of industry and home respectively, so it may be a time for letting go of old ways, making room for new systems to emerge. The moon is conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, square Chiron in Aries and trine Uranus in Taurus - time unfix the fixed and channel these transformative energies. Neptune is retrograde until December, in the last degree of Pisces. A retrograde Neptune is a time to day dream our desires into reality and to go deep into our inner waters to dream. More than just the degree at the end of the sign, it is the Omega point of the whole zodiac as Neptune is coming to the end of a 165 year cycle through the signs. The psychic waters of Neptune and Pisces have the potential to erode the fixed beliefs and boundaries of Capricorn associated with capitalism.
The Lion's Gate portal opens between July 28th and August 12th annually, when the Leo Sun aligns to the star Sirius - or Spiritual Sun - moving closest to Earth, allowing new frequencies of cosmic understanding to enter into our earthbound consciousness. It reaches its peak on 8/8 [∞] shortly after the new moon in Leo on the 4th August. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. To find it, draw a line through Orion's Belt and toward the horizon. As we open our hearts, solar plexus and third eye to receive these light codes, our psychic sensitivity expands and we may experience shedding of outdated patterns and trauma - just breathe.
SUN IN CANCER, MOON IN CAPRICORN
BATH RITUAL
For deep holding:
Run a bath (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add 2 x cinnamon sticks, a couple of handfuls of fresh rose petals and 2x apples cut into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Spend the time connecting to your body and your inner waters. Seek out the parts of you that need nourishment. Massage the rose petals into your skin. Feed yourself the apples. Receive and release.
For uplifting:
Run a bath and (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add herbs such as lavender, mint, lemon balm and thyme, along with any aromatic wild or garden flowers such as sweet peas, daisies, red clover and cut 2 x oranges into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Take time to smell each herb and flowers, breathe in their abundance. Feed yourself the oranges. Vision and manifest.
*Patch test for any allergies and avoid the eyes.
Mama Xanadu is the experimental botanical studio led by Jemma Foster, who is the author of Wild Alchemy Lab: An Astro-Botanical Remedy Deck (Laurence King, 2023)
BY MAMA XANADU
The full moon on the 21st July is the second consecutive moon in Capricorn, making it an auspicious Blue Moon that amplifies the rays of transmission coming from this cycle. A Blue Moon occurs either when there are two full moons in the same calendar month, or, as is the case here, it is the third of four full moons in a season - between a solstice and an equinox. This full moon asks that we take the awakening of the previous moon and reflect upon our experience, to analyse and investigate resources, seek solutions and find ever more innovative ways to navigate a sacred path to freedom.
This month's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, signifying the new antlers that develop on the forehead of a deer buck at this time of year. This is reflected in our own internal antennas, how we attune ourselves as we move into the second half of year and our ability to receive and perceive information from our environment. It is the refinement and distillation of our intuition as we process the wider spheres and cosmic weather of the collective.
In Celtic tradition, this moon is also called the Claiming, Wyrt, Herb and Mead Moon, as it is the time to gather herbs (wyrts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Hay Moon after the hay harvest. Many North American indigenous groups, including the Haida and Tlingit, refer to it as the Salmon or Sturgeon Moon, since it marks the time when salmon return to spawn in their rivers.
With the moon in Capricorn and the sun in the sign of Cancer, this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Both deal with reflection on the past and traditional structures of industry and home respectively, so it may be a time for letting go of old ways, making room for new systems to emerge. The moon is conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, square Chiron in Aries and trine Uranus in Taurus - time unfix the fixed and channel these transformative energies. Neptune is retrograde until December, in the last degree of Pisces. A retrograde Neptune is a time to day dream our desires into reality and to go deep into our inner waters to dream. More than just the degree at the end of the sign, it is the Omega point of the whole zodiac as Neptune is coming to the end of a 165 year cycle through the signs. The psychic waters of Neptune and Pisces have the potential to erode the fixed beliefs and boundaries of Capricorn associated with capitalism.
The Lion's Gate portal opens between July 28th and August 12th annually, when the Leo Sun aligns to the star Sirius - or Spiritual Sun - moving closest to Earth, allowing new frequencies of cosmic understanding to enter into our earthbound consciousness. It reaches its peak on 8/8 [∞] shortly after the new moon in Leo on the 4th August. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. To find it, draw a line through Orion's Belt and toward the horizon. As we open our hearts, solar plexus and third eye to receive these light codes, our psychic sensitivity expands and we may experience shedding of outdated patterns and trauma - just breathe.
SUN IN CANCER, MOON IN CAPRICORN
BATH RITUAL
For deep holding:
Run a bath (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add 2 x cinnamon sticks, a couple of handfuls of fresh rose petals and 2x apples cut into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Spend the time connecting to your body and your inner waters. Seek out the parts of you that need nourishment. Massage the rose petals into your skin. Feed yourself the apples. Receive and release.
For uplifting:
Run a bath and (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add herbs such as lavender, mint, lemon balm and thyme, along with any aromatic wild or garden flowers such as sweet peas, daisies, red clover and cut 2 x oranges into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Take time to smell each herb and flowers, breathe in their abundance. Feed yourself the oranges. Vision and manifest.
*Patch test for any allergies and avoid the eyes.
The full moon on the 21st July is the second consecutive moon in Capricorn, making it an auspicious Blue Moon that amplifies the rays of transmission coming from this cycle. A Blue Moon occurs either when there are two full moons in the same calendar month, or, as is the case here, it is the third of four full moons in a season - between a solstice and an equinox. This full moon asks that we take the awakening of the previous moon and reflect upon our experience, to analyse and investigate resources, seek solutions and find ever more innovative ways to navigate a sacred path to freedom.
This month's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, signifying the new antlers that develop on the forehead of a deer buck at this time of year. This is reflected in our own internal antennas, how we attune ourselves as we move into the second half of year and our ability to receive and perceive information from our environment. It is the refinement and distillation of our intuition as we process the wider spheres and cosmic weather of the collective.
In Celtic tradition, this moon is also called the Claiming, Wyrt, Herb and Mead Moon, as it is the time to gather herbs (wyrts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Hay Moon after the hay harvest. Many North American indigenous groups, including the Haida and Tlingit, refer to it as the Salmon or Sturgeon Moon, since it marks the time when salmon return to spawn in their rivers.
With the moon in Capricorn and the sun in the sign of Cancer, this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Both deal with reflection on the past and traditional structures of industry and home respectively, so it may be a time for letting go of old ways, making room for new systems to emerge. The moon is conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, square Chiron in Aries and trine Uranus in Taurus - time unfix the fixed and channel these transformative energies. Neptune is retrograde until December, in the last degree of Pisces. A retrograde Neptune is a time to day dream our desires into reality and to go deep into our inner waters to dream. More than just the degree at the end of the sign, it is the Omega point of the whole zodiac as Neptune is coming to the end of a 165 year cycle through the signs. The psychic waters of Neptune and Pisces have the potential to erode the fixed beliefs and boundaries of Capricorn associated with capitalism.
The Lion's Gate portal opens between July 28th and August 12th annually, when the Leo Sun aligns to the star Sirius - or Spiritual Sun - moving closest to Earth, allowing new frequencies of cosmic understanding to enter into our earthbound consciousness. It reaches its peak on 8/8 [∞] shortly after the new moon in Leo on the 4th August. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. To find it, draw a line through Orion's Belt and toward the horizon. As we open our hearts, solar plexus and third eye to receive these light codes, our psychic sensitivity expands and we may experience shedding of outdated patterns and trauma - just breathe.
SUN IN CANCER, MOON IN CAPRICORN
BATH RITUAL
For deep holding:
Run a bath (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add 2 x cinnamon sticks, a couple of handfuls of fresh rose petals and 2x apples cut into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Spend the time connecting to your body and your inner waters. Seek out the parts of you that need nourishment. Massage the rose petals into your skin. Feed yourself the apples. Receive and release.
For uplifting:
Run a bath and (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add herbs such as lavender, mint, lemon balm and thyme, along with any aromatic wild or garden flowers such as sweet peas, daisies, red clover and cut 2 x oranges into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Take time to smell each herb and flowers, breathe in their abundance. Feed yourself the oranges. Vision and manifest.
*Patch test for any allergies and avoid the eyes.
Mama Xanadu is the experimental botanical studio led by Jemma Foster, who is the author of Wild Alchemy Lab: An Astro-Botanical Remedy Deck (Laurence King, 2023)
BY MAMA XANADU
The full moon on the 21st July is the second consecutive moon in Capricorn, making it an auspicious Blue Moon that amplifies the rays of transmission coming from this cycle. A Blue Moon occurs either when there are two full moons in the same calendar month, or, as is the case here, it is the third of four full moons in a season - between a solstice and an equinox. This full moon asks that we take the awakening of the previous moon and reflect upon our experience, to analyse and investigate resources, seek solutions and find ever more innovative ways to navigate a sacred path to freedom.
This month's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, signifying the new antlers that develop on the forehead of a deer buck at this time of year. This is reflected in our own internal antennas, how we attune ourselves as we move into the second half of year and our ability to receive and perceive information from our environment. It is the refinement and distillation of our intuition as we process the wider spheres and cosmic weather of the collective.
In Celtic tradition, this moon is also called the Claiming, Wyrt, Herb and Mead Moon, as it is the time to gather herbs (wyrts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Hay Moon after the hay harvest. Many North American indigenous groups, including the Haida and Tlingit, refer to it as the Salmon or Sturgeon Moon, since it marks the time when salmon return to spawn in their rivers.
With the moon in Capricorn and the sun in the sign of Cancer, this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Both deal with reflection on the past and traditional structures of industry and home respectively, so it may be a time for letting go of old ways, making room for new systems to emerge. The moon is conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, square Chiron in Aries and trine Uranus in Taurus - time unfix the fixed and channel these transformative energies. Neptune is retrograde until December, in the last degree of Pisces. A retrograde Neptune is a time to day dream our desires into reality and to go deep into our inner waters to dream. More than just the degree at the end of the sign, it is the Omega point of the whole zodiac as Neptune is coming to the end of a 165 year cycle through the signs. The psychic waters of Neptune and Pisces have the potential to erode the fixed beliefs and boundaries of Capricorn associated with capitalism.
The Lion's Gate portal opens between July 28th and August 12th annually, when the Leo Sun aligns to the star Sirius - or Spiritual Sun - moving closest to Earth, allowing new frequencies of cosmic understanding to enter into our earthbound consciousness. It reaches its peak on 8/8 [∞] shortly after the new moon in Leo on the 4th August. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. To find it, draw a line through Orion's Belt and toward the horizon. As we open our hearts, solar plexus and third eye to receive these light codes, our psychic sensitivity expands and we may experience shedding of outdated patterns and trauma - just breathe.
SUN IN CANCER, MOON IN CAPRICORN
BATH RITUAL
For deep holding:
Run a bath (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add 2 x cinnamon sticks, a couple of handfuls of fresh rose petals and 2x apples cut into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Spend the time connecting to your body and your inner waters. Seek out the parts of you that need nourishment. Massage the rose petals into your skin. Feed yourself the apples. Receive and release.
For uplifting:
Run a bath and (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add herbs such as lavender, mint, lemon balm and thyme, along with any aromatic wild or garden flowers such as sweet peas, daisies, red clover and cut 2 x oranges into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Take time to smell each herb and flowers, breathe in their abundance. Feed yourself the oranges. Vision and manifest.
*Patch test for any allergies and avoid the eyes.
The full moon on the 21st July is the second consecutive moon in Capricorn, making it an auspicious Blue Moon that amplifies the rays of transmission coming from this cycle. A Blue Moon occurs either when there are two full moons in the same calendar month, or, as is the case here, it is the third of four full moons in a season - between a solstice and an equinox. This full moon asks that we take the awakening of the previous moon and reflect upon our experience, to analyse and investigate resources, seek solutions and find ever more innovative ways to navigate a sacred path to freedom.
This month's full moon is known as the Buck Moon, signifying the new antlers that develop on the forehead of a deer buck at this time of year. This is reflected in our own internal antennas, how we attune ourselves as we move into the second half of year and our ability to receive and perceive information from our environment. It is the refinement and distillation of our intuition as we process the wider spheres and cosmic weather of the collective.
In Celtic tradition, this moon is also called the Claiming, Wyrt, Herb and Mead Moon, as it is the time to gather herbs (wyrts) to dry and use as spices and remedies. The Anglo-Saxons called it the Hay Moon after the hay harvest. Many North American indigenous groups, including the Haida and Tlingit, refer to it as the Salmon or Sturgeon Moon, since it marks the time when salmon return to spawn in their rivers.
With the moon in Capricorn and the sun in the sign of Cancer, this is a meeting of hearts and minds. Both deal with reflection on the past and traditional structures of industry and home respectively, so it may be a time for letting go of old ways, making room for new systems to emerge. The moon is conjunct Pluto in Aquarius, square Chiron in Aries and trine Uranus in Taurus - time unfix the fixed and channel these transformative energies. Neptune is retrograde until December, in the last degree of Pisces. A retrograde Neptune is a time to day dream our desires into reality and to go deep into our inner waters to dream. More than just the degree at the end of the sign, it is the Omega point of the whole zodiac as Neptune is coming to the end of a 165 year cycle through the signs. The psychic waters of Neptune and Pisces have the potential to erode the fixed beliefs and boundaries of Capricorn associated with capitalism.
The Lion's Gate portal opens between July 28th and August 12th annually, when the Leo Sun aligns to the star Sirius - or Spiritual Sun - moving closest to Earth, allowing new frequencies of cosmic understanding to enter into our earthbound consciousness. It reaches its peak on 8/8 [∞] shortly after the new moon in Leo on the 4th August. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. To find it, draw a line through Orion's Belt and toward the horizon. As we open our hearts, solar plexus and third eye to receive these light codes, our psychic sensitivity expands and we may experience shedding of outdated patterns and trauma - just breathe.
SUN IN CANCER, MOON IN CAPRICORN
BATH RITUAL
For deep holding:
Run a bath (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add 2 x cinnamon sticks, a couple of handfuls of fresh rose petals and 2x apples cut into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Spend the time connecting to your body and your inner waters. Seek out the parts of you that need nourishment. Massage the rose petals into your skin. Feed yourself the apples. Receive and release.
For uplifting:
Run a bath and (or foot bath if you have no tub) and add herbs such as lavender, mint, lemon balm and thyme, along with any aromatic wild or garden flowers such as sweet peas, daisies, red clover and cut 2 x oranges into quarters. Allow to brew for 15 minutes before getting in. Take time to smell each herb and flowers, breathe in their abundance. Feed yourself the oranges. Vision and manifest.
*Patch test for any allergies and avoid the eyes.
Mama Xanadu is the experimental botanical studio led by Jemma Foster, who is the author of Wild Alchemy Lab: An Astro-Botanical Remedy Deck (Laurence King, 2023)