Make a cup of tea, and sit down and take a few minute to read this article & listen to the 5 minute video for this very important, auspicious and serious full moon. Your soul will thank you.
This August 2023 brings two full moons – the second of which is referred to by some as a “blue” moon. This moon also happens to be very close to the Earth, making it a “super” moon.
From the Vedic Viewpoint, this big luminous & auspicious blue moon invokes:
- Karmas coming up to the surface and faced with commitment to resolve
- The blessing of healing & healers of the physical, psychological, and karmic matters
- Śiva, the auspicious one, and lord of yogic and austerities
- Seriousness & Solemnity
- New beginning in a positive direction for your soul
- Taking a vow about healing your mental patterns and taking action toward achieving it.
The Moon
The moon is profoundly connected to the manas, or mind. A full moon, close to the earth has an incredibly strong pull on your mind. So what to do with this? It can cause emotions, anxiety, overthinking, excess mental activity, and drama to take over… OR we can harness that influence for good. How to harness the influence of the full moon?
- Live simply on full moon days
- Go out into nature as a portal to the divine
- Do devotional practices to Shiva or Feminine divine
- Do meditative practices
- Do quiet reflection or journaling
- Hydrate with teas, pure water, and elixirs
- Take flower essences or herbal nervines that calm or heal the mind and heart
Śiva's Month of Śravana
This second Full Moon of August 2023 is considered to be a “Śravana Full Moon” because the other full moon that occurred this month was in the lunar constellation of śravana.
Śravana means “to listen” and is symbolized by the ear. This constellation is closely connected to lord Śiva.
- Śiva sits quietly in front of the sacred fire, in deep meditative states
- Śiva listens intently to devotees and blesses them
- Śiva listens to nature, the animals, and even the strange beings – the ganas – which means he listens to all of our idiosyncratic, strange, embarrassing, shameful, hidden places
- Śiva can hear that which is not heard by “normal” people
- Śiva is the original teacher of yoga, a tradition that is conveyed primarily orally – through sound and listening. Yoga prizes sacred sound above all other sensory pathways.
What are you choosing to fill your ears, mind & heart with? Rather than listen to the replays of old hurts and scripts, can you make the choice to listen within, to listen to wisdom, to listen to sacred sounds and teachings, and to listen to the long-term vision and path that you are on as a soul?
"Salutation to the lord of all secrets - for what is most valuable is held secret and dear. Salutations to the one who is revealed through sound to those who can listen. Salutation to the lord of inaccessible places. I bow to you" - Sri Rudram, Sanskrit Hymn to Śiva in his Rudrā form
“For the divine, there is no secret, for the divine witnesses all. To the lord, your unconscious is not hidden. He is the lord of all secrets – both the secrets that you wish to hide, and the secrets you wish to discover. The lord sees all that may still be hidden or concealed, and chooses the right time for you to know that which you should know, and when you should access that which you should access” – Pujya Swami Dayānanda on this line from the Sri Rudram
Full Moon in Śatabhiṣa
Śatabhiṣa is a constellation whose name means “100 healers”. This segment of Aquarius is ruled by Varuna, the lord of the deep sea. Śatabhiṣa rules healing, karma, hidden realms, secrets, deep places, healing, and the deep-seated patterns that have been buried for a long time – even lifetimes. – Kaya
Though this moon occurs in the month of Śravana and carries the meanings of that constellation, it technically takes place in the constellation of Śatabhiṣa.
Let’s look at the meaning and significance of this!
This full moon in Śatabhiṣa is VERY powerful for a few reasons, the first is that Saturn [Śani Maharaj in Sanskrit] is ALSO in this constellation.
So the moon and Saturn are together, in the deep dark blue watery realm of Śatabhiṣa, which is a segment of the deep dark blue watery realm of the sign of Aquarius, which is the home of Saturn.
Again, Saturn is in its own home, Aquarius, in the constellation of Śatabhiṣa, and the moon is right there with it.
Saturn happens to also be deeply connected to Śiva & to the Indian and Vedic tradition overall! And BOTH Saturn and Śiva [known as Nīla Kantha, the blue throated] are connected to the color blue.
This is a SERIOUS super blue blue blue Saturn-Shiva-Shatabhisha-Shravana Moon!
Saturn is connected to seriousness, tradition, personal responsibility, hard work, and secrets.
The moon in Śatabhisha brings our painful, difficult karmic mental patterns to the surface, forcing us to see them and INVITING us to take action to heal.
When Saturn & the Moon are together we can experience more vāta disturbance, insomnia, anxiety, phobias, and feelings of wanting to “die” or get away from it all. BUT… we can also experience incredible traditional devotion, connection to lord Śiva, and mental commitment to the responsibilities of Life and spiritual sādhana. This particular coming together of Saturn & the Moon invokes healing of the mind in particular.
This moon is saying, “Get serious now. See these karmic patterns of your mind, and do what is to be done to heal. Start today.”
Suggestions for today:
- Keep a simple day
- Allow space & time for some deep listening – to scripture, to wise counsel, to nature, to your body, to mantra
- Go into or near sacred waters – the see, a lake, a river… or even take a bath filled with herbs, flowers, or flower essences
- Start a healing RITUAL, practice, a commitment that you plan to continue for the next 40 days – particularly one that heals your mind.
- Reflect, journal: What mental pattern or karma are you aware of? What can you LET go of? What habit or new way of being can you begin?
- Do mantra sādhana or sing kirtan to lord Śiva
- Take nervine herbs, teasans or flower essences [psycho-spiritual-therapy in a bottle] to support mental healing. Nectar of Time members can try these floral infusion recipes.
- Calm vāta – this means, don’t over-do or over-strain yourself. Be gentle, stay warm, and stick to routines.
- Get VERY serious about releasing or healing a stubborn pattern or habit
"Don't ask how, just do it. Start in a simple way, it will take you all the way, the way you learned to walk by walking and to talk by talking" - Swami Tattvavidānanda
5-minute clip on committing to deepening & healing by being the champion of your own journey! Though this tradition emphasizes the necessity of scripture & teacher to guide us, ultimately no one can “do it for you”. This is a good full moon to launch this champion attitude! [clipped from a recent program].
Upcoming with Kaya
Yoga Resolution begins next week and is an opportunity to get help from Śiva’s son Gaṇapati in your endeavor to heal the hidden karmas and patterns of the body, mind, and heart. This series comes in time for the annual Vedic celebration of the god who removes obstacles and opens doorways.
In mid-September the “new year” of the Nectar of Time begins, also with a celebration and teachings of Ganesha and a year filled with Vedic Astrology insights, lifestyle practices, Sacred stories of Gods and Goddesses, and more – all attuned to the vedic calendar.
Many students do both – Supreme Release Yoga for the direct embodied experience and Nectar of Time for attuning to divine timing in life & practice along the way.
Yoga Resolution
Opening Deeper Doorways within
True freedom and joy are revealed when inner obstacles are resolved. But what to do when you feel stuck, or those obstacles seem stubborn?
This series invokes subtle spinal sequencing, subtle prāṇa, refined opening of the doorways of the sacred through both supported stillness and dynamic yogic action.
Along the way, we will contemplate the deeper meanings and power of Lord Ganesha from the Ganesha Upanishad. We connect with the one who offers the blessing of either blocking or opening deeper doorways to the divine within!
This series comes in time for the Vedic Celebration of Ganesha. Celebrate with us inside Kaya’s Nectar of Time program.
Nectar of Time, Doors are Now Open!
Sacred Stories, Astrological Insight & Yogic Lifestyle. New Round begins Mid September
Experience life organized by the sacred.
Each month of the year Kaya offers guidance based on the vedic calendar, astrology, festivals & deities of the month.
Listen to Vedic stories of the purānas, exclusive “Tea & Jyotish” vedic astrology insights to guide your attitude and choices, spiritual teachings to inspire your path, supportive yogic practices & self-care rituals from special guest stewards of the vedic tradition.