Independent, Co-dependent or Interdependent?
July is the month of Independence for both of the countries I live in – the US on the 4th and France on the 14th… and the transits we are spending time in this month is reflective of the call for liberation from the things that aren’t working in our lives, aka change.
But change is something our brain encourages to avoid at all costs. Change is unknown - even known pain is preferable - to your brain - than change for the better.
For example -
I never knew the journey I began in August of 2016 would turn into a bi- cultural Life. My sisters apparently did and cried almost as much as I did the night before I left.
The intention was to live in Paris for nine months, master French in an all-day immersion program while I finished my second book and built my business.. oh, and, started a new relationship with the man I would end up marrying..
I had a few changes going on..Surprise!
So, if you are wondering why I’m sharing this, it is because July 2024 is continuing the energy of this entire year, Change with a Capital C.
It kicks off with the transit into the Gate of Provocation, Gate 39- technically named the Gate of Obstruction (the Provocateur.) Told you we were being given the nudge here - LOL.
Gate 39 pokes us, often uncomfortably. It gets in the way of business as usual, pushing us to see what stops us from having connection and abundance. It’s here to bring emotional awareness into expression, whether we like them or have planned for them or not. Much like the spectrum of emotions I felt on that plane over the Atlantic.
Stepping into that new, very new life for me, was something I had been working toward - but once I landed in Paris, it all converged for me to get clear about where I was going with my life.
This transit does much the same thing. It prods us to stop sitting on the fence talking about one day, by stubbornly refusing to accept surface level interactions with others - or ourselves.
And the ride can be a bit bumpy. But here’s the thing. If what we are doing and how we are living and loving isn’t working…. Don’t we want to change it?
How much? Are we willing to go deep, get real, invest in ourselves for our own betterment, and everyone and everything we care about?
Whether we want it, believe it or not, it’s still happening. Choosing how it impacts us is the gift of knowing.
Pay attention to your interactions - with yourself and others. Decide how you want to feel. Notice your energy in conversation.
This may be just the catalyst needed to give you that extra little nudge to seek out support. Because none of us do it alone. Step into the deep.
To get a clear vision of what that might look like for you, check out this month’s blog on choosing with confidence here.
To understand more about what this prodding looks like, keep reading.
Gate 39 connects the Root Center (one of the two pressure centers in the body) to the Solar Plexus (The center for emotions) in Gate 55 to create the emotional wave channel of, well, Emoting. And it is just what its name says… intensely felt, dark perhaps, dramatic, moody and rich like a Bronte or Du Maurier novel. And - it is this depth that takes us into the realm of emotions that most of us spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to avoid.
That is what makes it so beautiful and powerful - it is here to show us who we get to be. So, whether you have this Gate or Channel defined or undefined, you will feel its energy. Seeing it as a guide, here to support us, (and yeah, in a pokey kind of way,) allows us to come to clarity aboutt what’s standing between us and what we want.
Because it takes us into the New Moon on the 5th,
And the New Moon is always all about deepening our alignment with our intentions. So,yes, this transit during the New Moon will call us into clarity and require patience, with ourselves and those around us. We will have the beautiful opportunity to check in with our emotions, and pause, to ask are we running toward something, or running away from something, especially if/when we feel triggered. Because triggers are all about us.
So buckle your seat belts and enjoy the show. Watch the reels of your life, notice what you judge and label “good” and “bad.”
Ask yourself if these assessments are 100% freaking true. (Hint, most of them are stories.)
Embody the great freedom you have to act on our truth, and know you are not alone by deepening your connection to God, however you define that. Ask for support and use this energetic boost to get really clear on your direction.
Thoughts for Contemplation or Journaling:
How is your emotional well being tied into your faith? Do you believe you are worthy of love? Can you trust that your emotions are nothing to fear or hide or dismiss?
If you’ve been told you are “too sensitive” or “too emotional” you may feel you need to hide your emotions. But pushing them down only intensifies them. What might happen if you allowed them room to flow through you?
Especially if you have Emotional Authority, riding the emotional wave, that will come no matter what is going on outside of you, supports you to see how natural and beautiful your emotions are.
Byron Katie has an excellent exercise to bring awareness to what you are feeling, without the fear of getting lost in them. It’s a simple exercise where you take the thoughts that are creating emotions and simply put them on a cloud and watch them float away.
And Martha Beck teaches the body compass method where you identify what you are feeling. Where do you feel it? Does it have a color? Temperature? Shape? Can you give it a name? By locating and identifying the actual physical sensation you feel, you stop the runaway thoughts that perpetuate the emotion.
Emotions come in 90 second waves. Can you spend 90 seconds either allowing your thoughts to float away on a cloud or identifying the physical sensation? Both exercises will allow you to feel and lessen the intensity of the emotion.
If you have emotional authority, trust that you have everything you need to allow your emotions to flow through you like water.
If you have an open or undefined Solar Plexus, pause to determine if what you are feeling is actually yours. We are constantly exchanging energy. If the energy center is defined we are broadcasting our energy. If is undefined or open we are amplifying the energy we are absorbing from others.
Being clear on what we are feeling, while managing our thoughts around them builds confidence and self trust.
To read more about my personal story of what this might look like, check out the July blog on Self Confidence. I share how to navigate, not run from, conflict.
On July 7th Gate 53, the Gate of Starting shows up. This is the Gate (also know as the Gate of Development) that calls us to new Beginnings, to be prepared, but not rush or stress. It brings an energy that invites us to slow down, find our center, do our homework, and trust in divine timing…
Are you preparing for something new?
This transit energy is asking us not to rush into anything from an emotional place of fear or worry. If you are struggling in your relationship, can you go back to one of the exercises above and let go of trying to control what you feel?
This is a transit of preparation, leaning into knowing yourself rather than reacting and taking rash action. Practice using your strategy and diving into your authority
When July 13th arrives we find ourselves in Gate 63 The Preponderance of the Small. This transit is about noticing the details to trust that you are ready for the next step. It connects the Throat Center to Gate 17 in the Ajna to form the Channel of Organization or Acceptance. This channel calls us to pay attention to the small things. If you have this Channel defined empty controversy is not inherent. You probably have little interest or energy in entertaining unnecessary conflict.
Notice during this time how you engage in conversations or the daily routine of your life.
Do you find yourself overanalyzing?
This transit is energetically asking us to trust that we will be prepared for the next step, just the next step.
The tendency to want to make sense of things, especially if you are struggling in your relationship, can take you out of the present. Although you may feel that is what you want, it can create unwanted fear projecting the past into the future.
Asking ourselves what we can do to trust that we know what we need to know to take the next best step, just the next step.
What do you need to plan for that will support you not to carry worry into the day?
So much preparation, the urge to start new things and move into action. It should be no surprise to discover that on the 19th we move into Gate 56, the Gate of Expansion, The Wanderer.
This transit is all about stability through movement. It perpetuates the truth that the idea is never the solution, it is always a journey. This is the gate of stimulation, The Storyteller.
It invites you to share your stories and inspirations with the right people – those open to growth and expansion, when the time is right.
Maybe a good time to “collect” positive evidence about your life that can inspire others, and by virtue, yourself into seeing what is possible. To relate your life’s experiences in a way that encourages other.
You are unique. Whether you have this Gate defined or undefined, only you can share your life and your story. And your story has the power to inspire.
The Full Moon on July 21st invites us to explore what we need to release that no longer serves us.
Growth follows in cycles of disruption and upheaval. This year has seen a lot of transformation and change. And there is more to come. Again, the same message - letting go of old stories to make room for a transition into new life.
It doesn’t mean we throw everything out and start from scratch, but change is always fraught with uncertainty, even if it is exciting change, like my move to Paris. I’ve already shared that the night before I left I was sobbing, wondering what in the world I had done. Fear and excitement feel the same way in the body. Get to know your body. Practice using your Strategy and Authority. If you want to know more about that, run a free chart on my website.
Use the energy of this Full Moon to evaluate what is working and what isn’t. Gate 60 the Gate of Limitation – or Conservation – is pulling us to step into transcendence. It is the opportunity to shift the focus on lighter side.
Notice what IS working in your life and relationship, not just what isn’t.
Asking yourself what might happen if you spent time in gratitude for what is good in your life?
A gratitude practice has multi benefits –
creating love that may have gone by the wayside under the scrutiny of “what isn’t working.”
It enhances contentment and joy;
it inspires creativity and
actually programs your brain to look for the good.
Can you expand your gratitude consciousness?
How might that enhance your life?
And finally, rounding out July, being prepared, clear and grateful we move into. Gate 31 The Leader – the Gate of Influence. Taking what you’ve learned through experience, awareness and practice and out to the world, beginning with home and loved ones first.
Leadership applies to all areas of our life, not just government officials or CEO’s. Leadership is way of being that begins with choice, again. Choosing who we want to be in our relationships, whether we choose to stay or leave them.
One of the most beautiful examples can be felt in the writings of Anne Frank. Published posthumously by her father after not surviving the Holocaust, the diary writing of this young woman/girl show us that at any age, under any circumstance, we can lead our lives in love, with dignity and confidence.
So, consider what you know about yourself right now that you didn’t know when this month began?
How can you share that? How can you be a love leader in your home? (Hint - it begins with loving yourself first. Only then, do any of us have love to offer to others. And you don't have to do that work alone.)
Because July 30th the Gate 33 Retelling is all about the energy of authenticity. It is the calling to go inside, alone, to spend time understanding what you’ve experienced and how it has shaped you.
It becomes the time of reflection to know what your values are? To see and own your worth in the world, and share from a place of confidence.
Challenge for this month is to ask yourself:
How you can share your life, your experiences, your values in an empowering way, first for yourself, and then for the world that desperately needs what only you can bring to it?
Exercise:
If you have never stopped to consider your top five values, take 30 minutes to explore what guides your life. You can go to my website for a list of Values if you need support.
Print it out and circle all the ones that resonate.
Go through the ones you have circled, keeping only those you have the strongest affinity for, eliminating the others until you have your top five.
What do you feel when you read them?
Share you using a narrative around these words.