Which "spells" are you here to break?

We’ve just moved through the new moon in Scorpio season, a time for clean breaks. This week in particular offers something more than a clear space; it’s more like a void, in the highest sense. Or maybe a newly opened door...

Recently, I've been reminded again and again - we often fear endings, the bigger changes in life, and wondering what could happen when there is space left unfilled. I think this is why we continue to perpetuate old cycles of suffering and pain: we’re so conditioned to them that we struggle to know what could lie beyond them.

I was having a conversation the other evening with an older gentleman. He was talking at me a bit, about how in his day, people just "got on with it". I agreed that this is often what has happened, AND that as people "got on with it", they probably suffered a great deal. Just because things were done a certain way before does not mean they should be done that way now.

Many of you will be cycle breakers within your families and communities. You’re the ones who have woken up enough to hear the discord and disharmony, to witness the conflict and suffering that has become the status quo, but should never really have been the “norm.”

For those who are still “sleeping,” it can appear that they are under a spell. They’re running on programs, conditioning, and foundations that were built within collectives formed by others who were also still asleep. When we reach moments of awakening and clarity, it can feel like a cold splash of water: pretty unpleasant, and quite sobering.

I believe many within the spiritual/conscious community have romanticised the idea of awakening, imagining it as some comfortable, dreamy rise from slumber. A little light, some time to stretch and remember our surroundings, much like waking after a good night’s sleep. More often, I’ve found, these moments follow an act of injustice or conflict, something that catches our attention and our breath. We feel shocked at how a person or group has been mistreated or abused, and then we feel shame or blame that we (or our ancestors) may have been complicit for a period of time. These moments of awareness often make us feel sicker, sadder, angrier, because we are finally witnessing a bigger story as it plays out.

As difficult as they can be, these moments also give us a choice: continue to be complicit in the old story and conditioning, or choose another way?

Many will feel bad in the moment, become afraid of what change would entail, and choose, often unconsciously, to slip back to sleep. Living with eyes closed and ears covered can be tempting.

At some point, many will decide to face the more difficult aspects of life and of themselves, and instead of being dragged down by them, they’ll stand a little taller and summon the courage to become more aware.

And so, with all of the “spells,” conditioning, and “norms” we operate within, I ask you: which spells are you here to break?

You might start with your family, choosing to be more open-minded, less reactive, and deeply curious about what could be.

You might look within your industry, at where greed, corruption, or manipulation tend to lie, making sure you don’t fall into the same traps, and showing others that they too can operate differently.

You may address the way you treat your mind and body, choosing to feed it well, move it often, rest when you need to, stretch, dance, create, and play, instead of punishing or denying it what nourishes.

Or you may simply see what is lacking in the world and decide to cultivate it within yourself and your life: more love, compassion, peace, joy, fun, adventure, sincerity, grace.

I share this in the hope that you will look back at the times you were asleep without shame or embarrassment; we are all awakening in our own time and in our own ways. I hope you will honour what is currently awakening within you, and pursue it with passion, care, and dignity, honouring yourself and those within your reach.

Take some time this week to ponder the causes, conflicts, missions, and movements that have ignited something within you. Sometimes we awaken through suffering, but it is also possible to awaken through deep care and compassion. Now is a beautiful time to choose an area, a path, a way to awaken awareness that speaks to you. (I’d love to know what these are, please feel free to share!)

In the meantime, sending blessings for graceful awakenings, and for resolution of the spells and karmic cycles that have perpetuated suffering, for all of us.

- Jennifer