Earthshine

There’s a particular phenomenon that occurs during the waxing crescent moon, where the light of Earth reflects back on the moon’s surface, illuminating the dark spaces and allowing us to see the entire circle. The sliver of the crescent shines brightly while the darker side of the Moon lays exposed to our eyes. Sometimes this is referred to as “the old moon in the new moon’s arms”.

It was under such a moon that I walked alongside a friend and a young couple, feet touching the cool gulf waters along a recovering Fort Myers Beach. We were digesting both our dinner and the events of the day. We had spent an afternoon together at a spiritual festival in Punta Gorda, about an hour north of where we were now. My friend had a booth there, and both this young couple and I had joined her there. The young woman was my friend’s daughter, and she and her boyfriend had recently come into town to start a new chapter of their lives, direction unknown.

I also felt that I was starting a new chapter. Something new had been awakening, or perhaps it was something old that was reawakening. An old moon in a new moon’s arms.

There was something inside me that I had put aside for a while, and now I was pulling it back out and re-igniting the flame. I am not sure if I had put it aside when I let go of some parts of my past, or when I had embraced another future. The past dozen years I had spent nurturing my career, marriage, children, friendships, political activism, outdoor pursuits- all these things had come before developing my craft and getting in touch with the creative aspects of my inner self. My inner self wanted to shine brightly at this time, and cast the rest of the lot into the darker shadows of the whole sphere of me.

I had some questions, though, going off into this foray into my Self, and I had come to the festival with a specific objective: to get some clarity through a reading from a medium. It turned out that my friend Vikki’s booth was right across from the booth of an empathic tarot card reader named Sarah, so shortly after my arrival, I found myself sitting down with her for a reading. She had me release energy while she shuffled the cards, then she asked me to shuffle and then cut the deck. Then she laid down the cards, starting with the Four of Pentacles and ending with the Nine of Cups. In between laid the Seven of Wands, an Inverted Fool, the King of Pentacles, The Stars and the Seven of Swords.

Essentially, her message was that I had potential within me, but something was holding me back. “You’ve done the work to get here, what’s holding you back?” She said that I needed to work on setting effective boundaries, which is something I am working on in therapy. She also warned me to stop giving, giving, giving and keep something back for myself. I needed to sit and be still, meditate more often. Also, she mentioned that there was someone working against me, bad-mouthing me in the background, someone I would not expect. Ultimately, though, I would be successful and my cups were going to run over, but I needed to take the steps now to manifest this future.

All of these messages were very similar to what I was told at another reading that I had gotten at the Lighthouse about two months prior. I know I should focus on the positive aspects of this reading, but I found myself preoccupied with the darker portion. Who WAS this person that was working against me? If this was someone I would not expect this from, were all my friends suspect? Is this someone who is jealous, vengeful, wants my talent for themselves, wants to ruin my name and my game? I ask Vikki, I text my friends, I ask my husband – who do you think this is?, all the whole knowing that we are just guessing , and the truth is still hidden in the shadows right now.

The rest of the afternoon unfolded after this reading. I got food for Vikki and I, but then went to listen to a speaker who used sound baths for healing and talked in a “light language”. The young couple (Kathy and Josh) had arrived, and soon after Vikki’s partner Chris. Chris had brought with him supplies to customize a necklace to a customer’s specifications. Vikki had started the work, but then Kathy had taken over and saw it to completion.

Vikki and I stepped out of the convention center for a mental break, eyes blinking in the hot sun. We sat in Chris’s truck for a few minutes listening to Deep Purple. I felt like I was suddenly back in the seventies with her, and I was HERE for it. Then we had a chance to cruise around the other booths together.

The festival was a living, breathing four dimensional experience. There was a constant ringing of sound baths in the background, the occasional trilling of a bell, the “uhms” of meditating monks, a slow drumming that occasionally sped up in a rising climax, a rise in action that caused one to feel a compulsion to buy something. There was a smell of incense, patchouli, scented candles, perfumed oils, hand crafted soaps and body butters. I applied some of the samples, feeling like I was getting buttered up for a sale. I put some of the cream on my feet and they got so soft I nearly tripped on my flip-flop. Several styles of mediums sat at booths and looked right into your eyes as you walked by, some asking, “are you ready for a reading?” I kept having to turn away to keep them from scanning into my soul. I needed to keep somethings to myself, like my money at this moment.

I did want something small, though, something that might spark joy or make a good reflective piece for my meditation area and prayer altar. I let the spirit move me, and finally ended up selecting three items. The first was a small crescent moon charm lined with blue lace agate with stars and a crystal hanging below. Blue lace agate is a stone of expression and tranquility, and this seemed to fit with my desire to meditate more often to tap into my creative expression. The second was a blue lace agate wand, topped with a little miniature terrarium, a tiny world in a bowl. This is said to help with public speaking. I have a plan to start reading and sharing some of my work, and this will help me in my journey. The third was a heart of Labradorite. This will provide clarity and insight on my transformational journey. I hadn’t carried a purse, so now I was weighted down pockets full of stones and phones.

Vikki also was letting the spirit move her, and she ended up being very attracted to some singing bowls. The particular bowl she wanted was for opening up the throat chakra. Interestingly the blue lace agate I had chosen was also suited for opening up that same chakra. I wondered if there was some significance to us both feeling that particular need.

As she worked with the vendor to learn how to work the bowl, I noticed that something was familiar about their merchandise. I picked up the card at their booth, and realized that this was the very same shop that had featured so prominently in our trip last month to St Petersburg. Pegah had been attracted to the very same bowls that day, and had debated on buying one. Now, on this day, Vikki bright Chris over and they ended up making that purchase that Pegah had stalled out on back in May. There was an invitation to come by the shop for a singing bowl experience, something Vikki wondered if we might do together in the future. You never know, we seem to be moving in bigger and bigger spiritual circles together.

Soon it was time for the festival to close down. It seemed that Vikki had not made the sales she wanted, but we were full of ideas on how she could improve the booth in the future. We parted ways for a bit. They needed to pack up and I needed to recharge my batteries.

We met up again a couple hours later at a diner near the shore. Afterwards, we made our way to the beach as the sun was starting to set. The sand was soft and cool under my bare feet. A dark pink color settled above the pier and lit up the gentle waves that lapped along the shore. We walked for a ways, looking for something sparkly under our feet, something I thought we didn’t find until I looked closely at the photos Vikki took of me there, noticing pools of phosphorescence in front of my toes. Finally, I suggested we head back, as the night was getting late and I had to get up for work early the next morning.

Once back at my hotel, I reconstructed the days events in my head. I reflected on one of the last cards the medium had shared with me, a Greek Goddess to reflect on during this next chapter: Demeter. Demeter was the mother of Persephone, and is thought of in an agricultural sense. She is a reminder to plant and nurture the seeds, and also to remind us to set boundaries. She helps us remember who we are, or the light and power inside ourselves and shows us a path to growth.

The waxing crescent moon is an auspicious time to consider this growth, as it is a time when hope and optimism is high. It is also a time when creative energy is flowing. It is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. I think of that young couple, ready to start a new chapter, and about my own current spiritual and creative journey. Demeter would appreciate that it is also the time to plant seeds and set intentions. My intention is to focus on developing my light, and allow it to illuminate all the surfaces around me, to help me see the entire picture of this circle. In my quest for cosmic understanding, I’m gonna need a little earthshine in my life.