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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