Virgo New Moon

There are many narratives circling right now. You know these seemingly innocent little sayings that creep up on us and suddenly we’re all saying them without knowing why.  

One of my intentions for the Virgo New Moon today is to re-write the script. 

For example ‘these are uncertain times.’ 

Are they? When have times ever been certain? We may have lived under the illusion of ‘normality’ for our lifetime but really the only thing that is certain is death (and taxes, apparently but I’m not sure about that 😂)

Instead of resisting the ‘uncertainty’ or using it as an excuse to distract myself from doing my soul’s work, what if we celebrated this incredible opportunity we have to do things a different way. 

This is our chance to stop following the comfortable, boring paths that lead to a life of mediocracy, and forge out a new path. Yes it’s hard, but as Rilke says ‘the hard path leads to the ease-ful life. The easy path leads to the hard life’. Aint that the truth.

I take my teachings from the Earth. Her rhythms have not changed. The sun rises. I watch her from my sit spot. She emerges out of the ocean, a ball of flames hazy in the thick sea mist. She burns orange, she’s bright yellow for a moment before she turns the world to gold.

Every evening the sun sets. The light fades. The skies turn from clear blue, to lilac, to dark grey to black. The stars appear.

I get my news from the birds. The screech of the black cockatoos signal rain whilst the kookaburras remind me it’s time to play. The willie wagtail shakes his long tail and tells stories of ancient times when the fires were lit and we dreamed together into the night. 

The moon continues to wax and wane. The new moon is always a potent time for planting seeds and setting intentions. 

Virgo loves beauty. In honour of the virgo new moon I cleaned out ‘that’ drawer under the sink. You know the one where everything goes that doesn’t have a home. Random clothes pegs, pencils, lip balms, batteries, bookmarks, scissors. Essential oils I haven’t used for months. When I set an intention before I clean the process is sweet. I take out every item and give it a home, or give it away. Isn’t that what we all want? To be honoured? To have a purpose and a home?

Virgo is the sign of service. To live in service with love and without expectation. To serve is to be set free. At first glance that word ‘service’ may feel the opposite of free. We may imagine the martyr, filled with resentment. Only giving, never receiving. 

When I talk of service, I mean soul service. Service that lights me up and fills my cup to overflowing. I gift the overflow to the world. I cannot give from an empty cup.

I’ll tell you a story to illustrate this.

A couple of years ago, I set up ‘The Batemans Bay Street Kitchen’. Inspired by other local initiatives I had the idea of gathering all the food from restaurants and supermarkets that would normally be wasted and creating a volunteer led community hub where we would all cook together each week. 

I hoped the initiate would provide company, friendship and food for anyone who felt lonely or was struggling in any way.  I put a call out for volunteers on local Facebook groups and had an overwhelming response. I booked out the Batemans Bay Community Hall for the next 6 months, convinced this would work. I put posters all around town, spoke to the local papers and radio stations. Everyone loved the idea and it gained a lot of hype.

The first Saturday of the kitchen I was running a yoga teacher training. I’d somehow convinced myself I could do both (huge) projects simultaneously. 

I got to the community centre in the early morning, started setting up the food and spoke to a few volunteers. I realised very quickly I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know the answers to any of the questions I was being asked. I had no idea about how to run a kitchen.

I ducked out of the studio at lunch time, excited to see the huge success I’d built it up in my head to be. When I got there, everyone was standing around looking bored. There was mountains of food and no one to eat it. There were about 10 volunteers but absolutely no one else had come. I’d even arranged some musicians to play to a crowd of no-one. 

I couldn’t understand it. Free food, free live music, what else is there to do in Batemans Bay on a Saturday afternoon?

I told myself, it’s the first weekend, it will take a while to build, but something didn’t feel right. This was service, but it wasn’t coming from my heart. It was service, the desire to make others happy, but it was misguided. 

We then had the logistical nightmare of giving away all the food. We had to throw some away, which was the exact opposite outcome I’d envisaged. I was trying to reduce food waste, not create it. 

The volunteers who’d kindly donated their time and effort cooking were deflated. 

I kept this going for a few weeks. Every time was the same outcome. Maybe one or two people would come and eat and chat, but ultimately it didn’t work. Eventually I realised how uninspired I was by the whole thing and I pulled the plug. Funnily enough ‘on paper’ this got the most attention. I still get people calling me today saying ‘ oh hi, is this the Batemans Bay Street Kitchen? I want to interview you on homelessness in Batemans Bay.’ Now I answer, I’m a yoga teacher. I offer community yoga. I can talk to you about that!

There are many reasons why this project ‘failed’. I put that word in inverted commas because I’ve done a lot of things in my life. Some have worked, some haven’t. I’ve learned more from my ‘failures’ than I have from my successes, so really there’s no such thing as a failure, only growth. 

I learned a big lesson. Service is actually dis-service when you don’t enjoy it. Energy doesn’t lie, and if you’re hearts not in it, you suffer and everyone around you suffers. 

So I went back to following my heart and doing what lights me up. Teaching yoga! When I think about teaching, even now, after teaching 20 plus yoga classes every week since 2014 I still get butterflies. I feel excited. i feel inspired. Teaching yoga energises me! It makes me happy. AND it makes other people happy too!

I started offering 3 free community classes a week at the studio. These have been running ever since (every Monday, Wednesday & Friday 11:30am - 12:30pm if you’re keen!). These classes have been a huge ‘success’.  They are achieving everything I set out to do with the street kitchen. Build a community, cultivate connection, bring people together, support the wellbeing of others. 

This is how I can be in service, with love and without expectation.

I believe we are all here to learn how to give and receive. We cannot give if we don't know how to receive. When I paint a card and give it to a friend I feel a deep sense of happiness. When I send a bouquet of flowers, or give my beloved a massage or buy an unexpected gift for my friend I feel incredibly joyful, but only if it's coming from the heart.

If I force myself to do something, the resentment taints everything. 

It took me a LONG TIME to understand this.

For most of my life I said yes to things that were a no, because I didn’t want to hurt the other person in the moment. I can look back on every single one of these times and see how much unnecessary suffering I caused by not speaking up. To this day, whenever I have to tell someone something I believe they don’t want to hear, my breath shortens, my heart starts to beat faster, I am literally terrified of offending people, BUT I know that not having that conversation is so much worse. 

So this Virgo new moon I commit to service from my heart.

There’s a beautiful quote that says ‘don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive’.

As I sit here on my balcony in the sun, tapping away on these keys, I feel you all so deeply. Please know, it’s OK if you dont know what lights you up. Don’t fear the void. Dont be afraid of emptiness. Emptiness isn’t actually empty! It’s vibrating with limitless potential. 

The rhythms of nature are flowing. Follow them! 

Delight as winter turns into spring. Create rituals around the flow of your blood. Light a candle and give thanks for each day of increased wisdom. Get outside, especially in the transitions between night and day, day and night. Feel the magic of these liminal spaces. follow the moon, ask the stars for guidance. 

Remember, you are magic!