CHESHVAN: NEW MOON IN LIBRA 10.6.2021

the new moon in libra marks the beginning of cheshvan; a month of release. the deep breath at the end of summer & the fruitful harvest before the exhale, rest, & stillness of winter. i love autumn because of the the vibrance, colors, beauty. the way the air grows chilly & fills our lungs, the way we feel the cold, fresh renewal inside of us.

you can tell libra is ruled by venus by the way every tree and leaf adorns itself with new, reinvented beauty. like warming ourselves by a fire and staring deep into the embers, we see the last, brilliant flickers of light and life in every tree branch & meadow around us, before the sunset of the seasons.

libra draws our attention to the scales of balance within ourselves & all of our relationships.

just like the fiery bursts of autumn enveloping us, we have to look inward & ask ourselves what is lighting our inner fire. what embers will we feed, what will keep us warm in the winter months?

as the air grows colder, we inhale the discernment & wisdom of what serves us in this season, so that we can release and exhale what doesn't in the next.

just like air feeds the flame, our personal air--our visions, thoughts, words, & ideas--feeds our soul & inner fire. the hearth of our heart.

what do we need to breathe into the fire to protect it?

what leaves need to be released to preserve our branches, our energy, & our colors for next year?

“like the last moments of life, this month is a time of solitude and inwardness. bitterness itself is an essential part of the palette. just as bitter herbs help us digest a rich meal, the bracing solitude of Cheshvan helps us digest the abundant joy of Tishrei. likewise, getting to know death brings us closer to what is most important in life.

owning our mortality and sitting with the uncomfortable, uncontrollable nature of dying can be a profound spiritual practice for this season. drawing near to death is also drawing close to life.

it is accepting the essential wildness and finitude of our precious beautiful bodies which will eventually decay, as well as our inextricable connection to the untamed natural world." - Rabbi Elliot Kukla in ”Verdant Dreams of Olam haBa, The World to Come 5782”