Following in your own footsteps

Following in your own footsteps

The Great Mother does not tolerate childish dependence.

Cancer is the sign of the Great Mother archetype, and under today’s Full Moon in Cancer, co-present with Mars, the god of war, I can’t help but think of the Great Mother’s dual nature:

She has two aspects: in her light aspect she is compassionate, filled with maternal love and pity, and in her dark aspect she is fierce and terrible and will not tolerate childish dependence.” -M. Esther Harding

Harding reminds us that the Great Mother embodies both nurturing compassion and fierce demand for growth. This Cancer Full Moon highlights where we lean too heavily on others—or let others lean too heavily on us—hindering the balance she represents.

Mars in Cancer stirs up family karma — drama, conflict, and old patterns tied to parental complexes.

Rather than getting caught up in all that, how about pondering what you ask of others that you should instead do for yourself?

Also: do you take too much responsibility for the emotional well-being of others?

If you are a parent, this Cancer/Mars combo is a good time to remember Jung’s oft-quoted statement that a child’s greatest burden is the unlived life of the parent. Ouch!

This applies even if you aren’t a parent, as you likely mentor or take care of others in some way. There’s no Jungian author better than James Hollis on these points:

As parents, mentors, leaders of one kind or another, we are called to grow up, take care of business, gain our own authentic journeys, and thus lift this terrible distraction to the soul off those whom fate has brought into our care. That is how we are healed, our children healed, and their possibilities liberated. – James Hollis, Living an Examined Life

On the flip side, the assignment for adult children is to not just blame the parents and instead work with the Mars energy to become more conscious:

Being a grown-up means, essentially, that despite whatever formative things happened in my life, I am responsible for what spills into the world through me. I cannot just blame my personal parenting, however influential it might have been. I cannot blame ignorance. I cannot blame unconsciousness. In fact, Jung once said the unforgivable sin is to *choose* to remain unconscious. -James Hollis, The Broken Mirror

Mars in Cancer could find us saying “you can’t go home again,” but as Clarissa Pinkoloa Estés says, “While you cannot crawl back into the uterus again, you can return to the soul-home. It is not only possible, it is requisite.” Journaling, working with dreams, drawing mandalas, active imagination, and contemplation are a few ways to connect with your soul-home.

I shared the below quote on Instagram last week and a couple of people commented on how it is appropriate for Mars in Cancer:

For some, home is the taking up of an endeavor of some sort. Women begin to sing again after years of finding reason not to. They commit themselves to learn something they’ve been heartfelt about for a long time. They seek out the lost people and things in their lives. They take back their voices and write. They rest. They make some corner of the world their own. They execute immense or intense decisions. They do something that leaves footprints. – Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves

As the Full Moon casts it light, leave your footprints boldly, and follow them with courage and curiosity to your soul-home.

_____________________

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Saturn’s rain and repenting dragons

Saturn’s rain and repenting dragons

Saturn is raining!

Specifically, Saturn is losing its rings; water particles are leaking out of its rings at a “worst-case scenario rate.” That sounds alarming, but it will be a hundred million years before the rings completely vanish as a result of the”ring rain.” (source: The New Yorker)

That’s a slow pace even for Saturn. Due to the way Saturn will tilt in 2025, however, it will create the illusion that the rings are invisible (which sounds Saturn-Neptune-ish, too, but I digress). We’ll get a sneak peek of how Saturn will look a hundred million years from now.

This cosmic phenomenon, with its slow pace and inevitable transformation, feels aligned with the reflective wisdom of the I Ching, which also speaks to cycles of change and decisive action.

At sunrise today, New Year’s Day, I asked the I Ching oracle for wisdom for the new year to share here on the blog.

Creative Power, the first Hexagram, was the reply.

Its energy is all yang (masculine). It correlates with the beginning of summer. It advises that what has been hidden is now on the rise but we should pause before proceeding:

Know who you are. Know where you came from. Be humble and modest. Be above reproach—then those who seek to harm will be rendered harmless. You will become the dragon that emerges from the depths, visible and rising above your peers. A pillar of beneficent astral light guides your movements. You face a moment of choice: the temporal or the spiritual. Endurance and patience will be required of you, as what is to unfold shall do so for a prolonged length of time. – Benebell Wen, I Ching, The Oracle

The dragon, a symbol of power and wisdom, emerges from the depths to guide us; Saturn helps provide the endurance and patience. Although it sounds awesome to be like a dragon guided by astral light, changing line six echoes the caution to remember where you came from. If creative powers are misused, they will be retracted. “The arrogant and reckless dragon will repent.”

Decisive Action (Hexagram 43) is the follow up hexagram to this, suggesting the possible future state. Its image is of an impending flood and having to plan and act decisively.

Instead of all yang energy, there is now a hint of yin (feminine) added to the mix, as one of the six lines is yin.

After a long period of tension, there will be a breakthrough. Be careful, as there may be risks ahead. Your interests are not the only ones at stake in the endeavor; be sure to warn others about the risks involved, but do not yet reveal your intentions. No gains from reactive combat. You intuit that you must take decisive action, but how? In which direction will you go? Send a prayer upward to Heaven. Place full faith in the Divine that blesses your path, and your prayer shall be answered. The solution will be a different path from the one initially conceived. – Benebell Wen, I Ching, The Oracle

It correlates with late spring, before summer’s Creative Power, and is referred to as Grain Rain in the I Ching calendar. Grain rain is rain that brings forth a hundred grains. Whereas Saturn’s ring rain reminds us of the impermanence and cycles within the cosmos.

May we, like dragons following astral light, rise with the wisdom to navigate life’s impermanent yet fertile cycles, sowing the seeds of transformation in the new year and for generations to come.

_____________________

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Leave deep footprints because you can

Leave deep footprints because you can

One of my favorite childhood games at family gatherings was playing hide and seek outdoors at night. The thrill of hiding in the dark, listening for the familiar refrain of “come out, come out wherever you are” still lingers in my memory.

We are now at a turning point following the winter solstice. Previously there was the increasing darkness and a tendency to hide and ignore the calls of “come out, come out wherever you are.”

The Return (Turning Point) hexagram, symbolizing the energy shift at the winter solstice, marks a time for renewal and reflection:

It is a time of repose. Conserve your strength. And yet Thunder at the base means the way to conserve your strength is through movement. Auspicious to undertake action. When you move the body, the mind will move with it…The action to understand is to recharge the body, mind, and spirit. Focus not on the grim world around you, but on the brilliant charge within. – I Ching: The Oracle, Benebell Wen

Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ words, which resonated deeply with me and many others this year (it was the most popular quote I shared on Instagram this year), perfectly encapsulate this moment:

Let us keep in mind that the best cannot and must not hide. Meditation, education, all the dream analysis, all the knowledge of God’s green acre is of no value if one keeps it all to oneself or one’s chosen few. So come out, come out wherever you are. Leave deep footprints because you can. – Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves

As we step into the turning point of this season, may we answer the call to emerge with purpose. Let us move with the energy of Thunder, leaving footprints that resonate with authenticity and courage, knowing that even the smallest steps can carry profound meaning.

_____________________

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The best Jungian psychology books I read in 2024

The best Jungian psychology books I read in 2024

What a great day to talk about books! There’s a full Moon in Gemini and Mercury stations direct today. I appreciate this dose of Gemini energy as we enter our final week of Sagittarius season before the winter solstice.

My approach to reading is much like what Simone Weil describes, as I don’t follow a syllabus or structure in selecting the books I read and write about:

In reading, as in other things, I have always striven to practice obedience. There is nothing more favorable to intellectual progress, for as far as possible I only read what I am hungry for at the moment when I have an appetite for it, and then I do not read, I eat.

The selections here are my favorite Jungian books that I read in 2024 (for visuals, and fun Jon Baptiste music in the background, here is a Reel I made of the books):

  1. Life and Ideas of James Hillman: Volume 1: The Making of a Psychologist by Dick Russell This covers Hillman’s life from childhood through his years running the Jung Institute in Zurich. I look forward to reading volume 2 in 2025.
  2. The Faithful Gardener: A Wise Talk About That Which Can Never Die by Clarissa Pinkola Estés Estés grew up in a foster family and says she learned more from those family members about grief, rebirth, and nature than she did in all her years of psychoanalytic training. The stories about the trees in this book have stayed with me all these months later. It is less than 100 pages and a book one can easily reread many times.
  3. Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill: Using Dreams to Tap the Wisdom of the Unconscious by Jeremy Taylor This book gives you all the information you need to work dreams in a group. Note that this isn’t group therapy but any gathering of individuals who want to work through dream material together. Taylor shares his experiences running dreams groups in the local community and in prisons. A major theme of this book is that dreams come in the service of health and wholeness. All dreams reflect society as a whole as well as the dreamer’s relationship to it.
  4. Tracking the Gods by James Hollis This is one of Hollis’ earliest works and a favorite of his. Hollis explains myths using real world examples, which is very helpful. He defines depth psychology as care of the soul and “a process whereby the fractured psyche may heal, whereby one may achieve a personal myth to supplant the bankrupt cultural ideologies. It is not a dogma, but rather a methodology that seeks to facilitate one’s encounter with inner transforming powers. It is not New Age but Old Age, as old as the archetypes.”  Overall this book reminded me of why I love depth psychology and it would be a great one for astrologers to read as well, as astrologers essentially engage in tracking the gods.
  5. Coming Home to Myself: Reflections for Nurturing a Woman’s Body and Soul by Marion Woodman and Jill Mellick This is like a daily devotional/day book of Marion Woodman passages that have been reworked into poetry. I started most every day in 2024 with one of these passages and highly recommend it.
  6. Addiction to Perfection by Marion Woodman Woodman shows how body movements can be understood as a waking dream. Perfectionism inhibits us in taking responsibility for our bodies and keeps us trapped in our heads. She was the daughter of a minister and is also brilliant on the topic of Christianity and religion in this book.
  7. Labyrinths: Emma Jung, Her Marriage to Carl, and the Early Years of Psychoanalysis by Catrine Clay It is clear when reading this book that Jung’s work and legacy wouldn’t have endured without Emma, who, in addition to being a mother of five children, was an analyst and scholar in her own right. The book also provides a birds-eye view of the early years of Jung’s career and his relationship with Freud.
  8. Dream Wise: Unlocking the Meaning of Your Dreams by Lisa Marchiana, Deborah Stewart, and Joseph Lee This book was released just a month ago. I’ll have more to say about it in my December newsletter, but it is a much-needed practical and accessible guide for working with your dreams. James Hollis wrote the foreword and the book is written by the three Jungian analysts of the This Jungian Life podcast.

Every month I write about the Jungian books I read in my Reading in Depth newsletter. Would love to have you as a subscriber! I also weave in quotes from these books into my blog posts and post quotes on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky. I cross-post my blog posts onto Substack.

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. Talk to you soon!

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Portals to wonder: letting go of certainty

Portals to wonder: letting go of certainty

The neutral color palette of this season can remind us that the most vivid colors often emerge from times of stillness and reflection.

The last few colorful autumn leaves have fallen. A few pink petunia flowers are still barely there but are now wilted and dark purple. The orange pumpkin remains are now barely visible in the soil.

We are in the two week period of Lesser Snow per the I Ching calendar and today is the New Moon in Sagittarius, with Mercury currently retrograde in Sagittarius.

This period remains under the guidance of The Receptive. The amount of darkness in each day is increasing until the Winter Solstice. The Receptive energy encourages us to “embrace the power of yielding, and you shall receive…A heart receptive to faith will never fear darkness or uncertainty.” (Benebell Wen, I Ching: The Book of Changes)

Because it is Jupiter’s domain, Sagittarius season might find us occasionally too preoccupied with opinions and lofty ideals as a way, perhaps, to fend off fear of the darkness. Yet Jupiter, the planet of expansion of wisdom, also reminds us that wonder—an openness to what lies beyond certainty—can be the antidote to fear.

Saturn is keeping a sharp eye on Mercury and this New Moon, offering opportunities to get more grounded. Perhaps we could choose to focus on wonder instead of opinions.

I think the most interesting things are the things that light us up, the things that are portals to wonder for us. And the thing about opinion is that it’s based on certainty. To have an opinion is to have a certainty about something. And wonder is the opposite of certainty. Wonder is this openness to reality, whatever it may bring, and without fear, right? — Maria Popova | 3 Books Podcast

I came across a portal of my own today when, in true Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius fashion, I suddenly remembered a book about wonder that I enjoyed many years ago in a much different phase of life. Dusting off an old shelf to find it I was happy to be reminded of this story:

“There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one candle….

“This inscription was found on a small, new grave stone after a devastating air raid on Britain in World War II. Some thought it must be a famous quotation, but it wasn’t. The words were written by a lonely old woman whose pet had been killed by a Nazi bomb.

“I have always remembered those words, not so much for their poetry and imagery as for the truth they contain. In moments of discouragement, defeat or even despair, there are always certain things to cling to. Little things, usually: remembered laughter, the face of a sleeping child, a tree in the wind—in fact, any reminder of something deeply felt or dearly loved.

“No man is so poor as not to have many of these small candles. When they are lighted, darkness goes away…and a touch of wonder remains.” —A Touch of Wonder by Arthur Gordon

In yielding to stillness and reflecting on the small lights in our lives, we may find that wonder continues to guide us, even in the darkest days.

_____________________

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A boon of wild provisions from the soul

A boon of wild provisions from the soul

We are in a transitional space that invites us to enter into a state of receptivity, grace, and openness.

November 7 marked the halfway point between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. In the Chinese calendar, this date signals the start of a two-week period referred to as the “beginning of winter,” which we are now in the midst of.

The Receptive is associated with the beginning of winter:

To receive, be receptive. Embrace the power of yielding, and you shall receive. … Supportive power is the blessing of finishing to completion….A heart receptive to faith will never fear darkness or uncertainty. You are blessed with knowledge and intuition…you are a vessel for healing and receiving sustenance. —Benebell Wen, I Ching: The Book of Changes

This weekend’s full Moon in Taurus happens to fall during this time. Taurus is receptive earth and seeks stability.

This is a good time to follow the recommendation of Clarissa Pinkola Estés regarding “intentional solitude:”

Solitude is not an absence of energy or action, as some believe, but is rather a boon of wild provisions transmitted to us from the soul. In ancient times, as recorded by physician-healers, religious and mystics, purposeful solitude was both palliative and preventative. It was used to heal fatigue and to prevent weariness. It was also used as an oracle, as a way of listening to the inner self to solicit advice and guidance otherwise impossible to hear in the din of daily life.” —Clarissa Pinkola Estés

I love that phrase “boon of wild provisions transmitted to us from the soul.” I sometimes call it to mind whenever I observe the squirrels in my backyard as they gather wild provisions almost constantly. (Fun fact: squirrels have an association with Hermes/Mercury because of their ability to go up and down trees and cross difficult terrain).

Estés says that the only thing needed for intentional solitude is the ability to tune out distractions. This can be practiced anywhere, even in the middle of a contentious meeting, in the crowd at a loud sporting event, or in a cluttered home where children make constant messes.

“It is not hard to do, it is just hard to remember to do.”

Estés says that the word alone was once treated as two words, all one. This means to be wholly one and is the goal of solitude.

With the chaotic and distracting energy of Uranus involved with this full Moon in stable Taurus, being all one will be more difficult. I can’t help but note, however, that Uranus energy can also relieve the tension of opposites. From that, not only do we have the ability to be all one as individuals, but an opportunity to see that, ultimately, we are all connected and participants together in the Great Round.

_____________________

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We are all feeling types

We are all feeling types

One of the biggest misconceptions in personality typology is that the feeling function is about feelings. 

Feeling is about feeling into what we perceive through our intuition or sensation, and then accepting or rejecting it. It is a rational process, like thinking, because it is about evaluating.

To make it even more confusing (or fun!), Jung said that extraverted feeling types can “sometimes be the coldest person on earth.” As Marie-Louise von Franz says in Lectures on Jung’s Typology: “people who have differentiated feeling are, in a hidden way, calculating.”

Introverted feeling types, per von Franz, are “difficult to understand…Feeling is very strong, but it does not flow towards the object. It is rather like being in a state of love with oneself.” She also compares it to the “flow of hot lava from a volcano” that moves very slowly “but it devastates everything in its way.”

There’s definitely an edge to being a feeling type!

Anyway, here is something I’ve been pondering lately: Since none of the four functions (intuition, sensation, thinking, and feeling) are directly about emotions themselves, how do we understand type in relation to emotions?

If we can reconcile the thinking/feeling polarity within each of us, that could help us develop what Chinese philosophy calls the “heart-mind.” 

I recently learned about the heart-mind from The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Michael Puett. Chinese philosophy—especially Taoism—influenced Jung, so I was eager to read this book after hearing about how Puett’s classes are among the most popular at Harvard.

In Chinese, the word xin refers to both mind and heart. Those who cultivate their heart-mind are able to navigate life well, balancing reason and feeling. As Puett explains, wise decisions don’t come from intellect alone—they come from an integration of both mind and heart.

How can we develop this heart-mind? 

Pay attention to your physical sensations during acts of kindness. That’s the “sprout of goodness” within you. 

“In this way, you are not growing your goodness in the abstract: you are learning through every step of this process how to sow the conditions in which it can thrive,” according to Puett.

That’s easier said than done for those of us who aren’t sensation types and forget to pay attention to our bodies.

Think of yourself as a farmer. Rather that focusing on setting long term goals and five-year plans, you cultivate different parts of yourself:

You can’t plan out how everything in your life will play out. But you can think in terms of creating the conditions in which things will likely move in certain directions: the conditions that allow for the possibility of rich growth. By doing all this, you are not just being a farmer. You are also the results of the farmer’s work. You become the fruit of your labor.

That’s easier said than done for those of us who are intuitive types and like to begin with the end in mind.

Become aware of what triggers your emotions on a daily basis. Then strive to change them for the better.

What are the patterned habits, the entrenched narratives, through which you perceive the world? Does your partner’s criticizing you for the way you load the dishwasher trigger memories of your own childhood, when you were constantly made to feel inept? Do you tend to placate friends instead of being assertive because you feel unworthy of expressing a strong opinion?

Become more comfortable with ambiguity. When we let go of rigid expectations and don’t have “cherished outcomes,” what’s left is the heart-mind to guide us through life’s complexities.

Just like individuation isn’t a solo effort, cultivating the heart-mind isn’t only about inner balance—it’s about engaging more deeply with the world and others.

It teaches us that both feeling and thinking work best when they are aligned. Although some of us identify more strongly with the feeling function than others, the capacity for heart-mind wisdom resides in all of us.

_____________________

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Finding Ground: The need for contemplation and a dash of humor in astrology

Finding Ground: The need for contemplation and a dash of humor in astrology

As someone who contemplates astrology every day, I’ve noticed how astrology can sometimes feel like a disembodied experience — lost in theory rather than grounded in reality. I found myself in one of those moments just last week.

While driving to the grocery store I was listening to a podcast episode about the October astrology forecast. They were discussing the upcoming Mars-Pluto opposition in early November in grim terms, as Mars’ intensity clashes with Pluto’s transformative force, a potent recipe for upheaval.

Before I knew it, a wave of anxiety overwhelmed me for a few minutes.

To find balance, I turned to reading, seeking something to ground my thoughts. A few days later I stumbled upon the essay An Urban Farmer’s Almanac: A Twenty-First-Century Reflection on Benjamin Banneker’s Almanacs and Other Astronomical Phenomena by Erin Sharkey (from this book). It was a wonderfully grounding experience to read it.

Sharkey said “I was uninterested in astrology until I learned that farmers had used it.” Farming! What a great entry point into astrology.

She made references to the The Old Farmer’s Almanac in clever ways throughout the essay, so I went to the library yesterday and picked up a copy of the 2024 Farmer’s Almanac.

Of course I took a look at what it said for the first day of the dreaded Mars-Pluto opposition. “On the 1st, Mars, now a brilliant magnitude 0, rises at midnight just below the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux, with dazzling Jupiter high above them.”

Confession: I didn’t know what “magnitude 0” meant so I asked ChatGPT. It turns out magnitude measures the brightness of celestial objects. The sun is the brightest, at -26. A full moon is -12.7.

“Mars, at magnitude 0, would be bright but not as overwhelmingly luminous as Jupiter.”

Overwhelmingly luminous Jupiter! It’s too easy to forget that Jupiter is still in Gemini, adding magnitude to our collective astrological garden.

With Jupiter here we would do well to consider that the founding editor of the Almanac said back in the 18th century that his mission was to be “useful, with a pleasant degree of humor.”

I can’t help but take a fun jab at Pluto by noting that Pluto’s magnitude will only be +14.6 on November 1, which means it will be “incredibly faint.” Take that, Mars-Pluto!

In the the astrology section of the alamanc, called Best Days of 2024, while Mars and Pluto stir cosmic drama November 1-3, the Almanac urges us to “brew,” “demolish,” and “straighten hair” – down-to-earth tasks that remind us to stay present in our bodies.

My preference to focus on astrology as an embodied experience is why I like weaving in nature references from the Book of Changes/I Ching when writing about astrology and avoid writing typical horoscopes. I find there is a lot of value in focusing on the simpler things like the Moon and Sun and going deeper in learning more about the zodiac signs.

According to the I Ching calendar, we are near the end of the 15 day solar term that began with the fall equinox and are in the five day micro-season called “water begins to dry up.”

Per this calendar, which is similar to a farmer’s almanac, the Contemplation hexagram is the one presented to us:

A wind rustles the earth. Watching, observing.

Kings past call upon the four guardians of the universe to aid them toward the correct guidance of their people. You must see and also be seen. Others will then put their trust and faith in you.

…There is a need for contemplation. Reevaluate your motivations… Observe. Observe the wind. Observe the earth. — I Ching: The Oracle by Benebell Wen

As we move toward potent astrological shifts, the I Ching offers a timely message: contemplate, observe, and be seen.

Much like the wind rustling the earth, this Mars-Pluto opposition will be an opportunity to watch closely, not react hastily. There is wisdom in letting things unfold while staying rooted.

In astrology, as in farming, timing and observation are everything. Whether it’s the magnitude of planets or the rhythm of seasons, both systems remind us to stay grounded and to approach life with contemplation—and, when possible, with a little humor.

_____________________

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Growing with the Flow: Pumpkins and the Psyche

Growing with the Flow: Pumpkins and the Psyche

Virgo season is associated with the harvest, and around here, we’re getting ready to gather seven pumpkins from our little patch.

We planted three pumpkin plants during a rainstorm on the last weekend of May. I’m no expert gardener, and I’ve never tended to pumpkins before.

I searched for a “Pumpkin Gardening for Dummies” book but found nothing, so I ended up having more than a few ChatGPT consultations about pumpkin care. In the end, I mostly left it to Mother Nature, trusting her to handle what I couldn’t.

Before long, the vines outgrew the space I had set aside for them. They stretched into the front lawn and claimed half of the porch. The result? A bit chaotic, and not very Virgo-like!

Speaking of which, with today’s full moon in Pisces, I’m reminded that Pisces sits opposite Virgo in the zodiac.

If you were to add a hint of Pisces to Virgo, it might resemble this beautiful description of the virgin archetype from Marion Woodman: “As I understand the virgin archetype, it is that aspect of the feminine, in man or in woman, that has the courage to Be and the flexibility to be always Becoming.”

One of the things I love about depth psychology is Jung’s idea that we often outgrow our problems rather than solve them. As James Hollis puts it, “This capacity of the psyche to enlarge is what makes healing possible.”

Fittingly, some of our pumpkins are the Big Moon variety. They remind me that, much like the psyche, true growth rarely follows a strict design. Instead, it often requires giving nature—and ourselves—the freedom to expand beyond the limits we first imagined.

_______________________

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Devout preoccupation on the court of Virgo

Devout preoccupation on the court of Virgo

After the brisk square dance of energies in August, I re-evaluated my astrological macro diet and realized that I didn’t help myself to enough servings of Jupiter in Gemini in August.

Maybe we need a MyFitnessPal app equivalent for astrology!

While playing pickleball this morning, on this day of a New Moon in Virgo, it suddenly occurred to me that I was actually having fun.

Pickleball, like tennis and other back and forth games, is the domain of Mercury, the planetary host of Virgo and Gemini. (A fun aside: Roger Federer has Virgo rising and Steffi Graf is a triple Gemini).

I also remembered that the New Moon is happening in a section in Virgo that has an association with Deliverance in the Book of Changes (I Ching). “The obstacle has been removed, the difficulties are being resolved.” Whew!

Jupiter in Gemini also happens to be in a relationship with this New Moon.

For me pickleball is mindfulness disguised as a sport. Everything I try to do on the court is just as applicable off the court. Pickleball, like any other sport, is a microcosm of all of life.

While preparing to serve the ball I focus on my breathing and have an inner and outer routine I follow that is a form of active meditation.

After the ball is in play, practicing that old maxim of “keep your eye on the ball” is another form of meditation that keeps me in the now perhaps more than any other activity I engage in.

Because I always play doubles, the game also requires taking others into account. Sometimes mindfulness takes a hit as a result and is replaced with shadow work! Ideally playing with others should help us attune ourselves to the energies around us.

If my partner is not coming up to the kitchen line when they are supposed to, which is a common court position error, it leaves us vulnerable to losing the point. It is always best if I adapt and reposition myself to help fill in the gap rather than think about how they are playing “incorrectly.” It goes without saying that my partners have to deal with my court position errors, too.

When I notice that the players opposite me are new to the game, I will slow down the pace on my serve most of the time. But not all of the time, because learning how to return faster services is important, and I also don’t want them to feel like I am dumbing down my game for them.

It’s always best practice to say things like “good shot” or “nice effort” and never give unsolicited feedback to a player about how to correct their shot.

“Bangers” are a common type of player in recreational pickleball. They focus on hitting the ball hard all the time. Admittedly, I sometimes get triggered by them. It works best if I focus on counteracting that energy with finesse, gracefulness, and a soft game. It also motivates me to be attentive to stretching my muscles regularly and work on hand-eye-coordination exercises off the court.

I was going to close with a quote about tennis by Jungian therapist Thomas Moore, but then found this in my stash of quotes and was happy with how well it fit with the theme:

In tennis, I am happiest when I am surprised by focus. When the concentration falls over me like the shadow of a bird overhead. Maddeningly, when I try to narrow my mind to a single outcome—hitting early, following through, footwork, even breathing correctly—I fumble. When I urge myself to just “enjoy” the contact, something clicks. I can see the ball spiraling toward me, and I hit it however I feel like. It is closer to forgetting than remembering, closer to “devout preoccupation” than “planning.”

And isn’t this our own plight, as adults at play? That we are at once trying to “cultivate” a skill, even as we seek that elusive “gladness”? What if we dared to replace the mindfulness paradigm with playfulness?

Racquet magazine, Issue #15

I’m up for such a dare.

Practical, earthy Virgo—rooted in planning, cultivating, and service—blended with a dash of Jupiter in Gemini, might just help us embrace playfulness and devout preoccupation as the ultimate mindfulness.

Continue ReadingDevout preoccupation on the court of Virgo