An Ode to Center
mood swings, mercury retrograde, and the spirit of late summer // august 10 - 16
It often surprises me how quickly I can change my mood. It also often surprises me how closely my mood is tied to my menstrual cycle, although by now this shouldn’t surprise me. It’s like going from as heavy and dark as the bottom of the ocean to smiling at the warm sun in the span of one single day. It’s wild. Last week, in addition to the tides of the full moon, I experienced those emotional swings. I swung from being too hard on myself, to feeling radiant, back to overthinking things, then to feeling a heart full of gratitude and peace. I tried not to ‘manage’ these experiences too much, but rather just watch them.
I finished up my September (!) horoscopes for The Retreat Newspaper, and I contemplated the arrival of late summer and the Taoist connection to the earth element and the idea of ‘center’. Rather than letting my ego ride the waves of my emotions and thoughts, I sat neutrally in the center of the wheel, watching the spokes turn around me. It became easier once I realized how much less stressful it was.
In Lori Dechar’s incredible book Kigo, she writes:
“Yi [the spirit of center] does not have an allegiance to Above or Below. Rather, it is the balance point, the place where opposites meet in service of transformation. The yi holds the position of the central axis between idea and action. Earth’s spirit asks, “Are my words and actions in integrity with each other?”
This week, as mercury retrograde ends and we begin to integrate any lessons from that period, maybe we can also contemplate remaining ‘center’ as things rise and fall, wax and wane, or spiral in circles around us.
xx
