On Wednesday, January 29th we will welcome the New Moon in Aquarius, whose Tarot card is The Star. This is also the first day of the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year.
The New Year and the New Moon provide opportunities to set new intentions, making the Lunar New Year a powerful moment to align with nature's rhythms and enhance your manifestations.
Since this is a New Moon in Aquarius, and we're in Aquarius season, The Star is the perfect vehicle to ground this moon ritual.
Naturally, during the New Moon phase, the Moon is not visible, allowing us to plant our intentions among the celestial stars tonight.
You can read more about manifesting with The Moon here, but in short, we set our new intentions at the New Moon, and we work towards manifesting them until the Full Moon. We then receive and release our manifestations from the Full Moon to the next cycle.
For tonight, rather than concentrating on what you wish to manifest, I recommend directing your attention to the type of healing you most desire to receive.
The distinction between actively manifesting your desires and surrendering is subtle, but it speaks to the heart of The Star.
For example, let’s say your vision for 2025 is to manifest your soulmate. If you were using active manifestation techniques, you would state and then visualize exactly what you wanted in a soulmate and how your life would look and feel with that person.
For this ritual, I propose you connect with your highest self and receive all the healing that will aid you on your journey to partnership. There's nothing to do or fix; we're simply opening the channel to pure receptivity.
In The Star, we see a naked woman, standing on the land and the water, a physical impossibility. She's pouring out an endless stream of water from her jugs. Like the Aquarius, the water bearer, she is here to heal and support the world.
The Star is the most healing card in the deck.
You'd think that we'd all be excited to bask in this energy. But, think about the last time you had to heal from an injury. Were you excited to rest and accept help? More likely you wished things could go back to 'normal'.
When we reach The Star, it's after a long and often hard-fought journey. We can't go backward. Once you've learned a lesson, you'll never face that same challenge again. A new 'normal' is ahead, but for now, we are called to rest and receive.
It's the critic's voice that wants to go back to 'normal'. It tells us that we need to be doing to be valued. It demands sacrifice from us. It associates surrender with failure.
The voice of The Star is the voice of love - the only source of truth. It reminds us that we did not come here to be miserable. It reminds us that our joy is our greatest gift. It knows there is no 'payback' when it comes to health and receptivity.
In this New Moon manifestation, we'll connect with The Star to dissolve the critic's stories of separation.
TO BEGIN WITH THE STAR
This simple ritual is designed to help you effortlessly receive, so all you'll need is:
A blanket to lay on and warm clothes to stay comfortable
A hot beverage
An app with a star map.
Since we will be wishing upon a star for this exercise, you’ll want to be outdoors.
When you’ve found somewhere comfortable, lift your gaze to the stars. Since we're using The Star card as our anchor, you’ll want to be sure to select an actual star and not a planet for your wish. If your celestial object twinkles, you’ve found a star!
Take a moment to note the current time and your surroundings. If possible, try to return to this spot and track your star's progress throughout this month's lunation. There are apps that can help with identifying and navigating stars; I personally use a free app called SkyView and often recommend it, especially for this purpose.
When you have found your star, take a few deep centering breaths. It doesn’t take much imagination to become awed by how immense and vast the distance is from your eye to the surface of that enormous celestial object.
A vast solar system might revolve around it. Your star could be an exceptionally bright point within our Milky Way galaxy, yet it remains just one among a billion in this galaxy, which spans 100,000 light-years.
Not only did it take thousands of light years for this star’s expression to reach your consciousness, but it also took an incalculable number of factors for you to arrive at this moment.
A single point of light. That is your star, and that is you too.
The connection you feel to your body, your breath, to this moment and this star is not an illusion.
The physical solar object you are focused on may currently be transformed into a dwarf star or a supernova, but what you are seeing is also true of this star now. How can both things be true?
Because you are present to witness it.
Like your star, you have also already transformed. Your shape has changed since birth. You have inevitably experienced some wounding that contributes to the story of separation. To receive healing from your star, it is not necessary or even productive to identify any specific trauma or hurt.
Like your star, your energetic light is beaming out into the cosmos. Give yourself a moment to feel the quality of your light, your vibration.
Next, I want you to imagine that you are capable of offering that star all the positive healing energy that it could possibly receive. What loving energy are you sending? Say it aloud. Feel that the star is receiving your energy in real time, faster than the speed of light.
Now, it is your turn to receive. Visualize yourself taking a trust fall across the expanse of space and being caught by the caring energy of this cosmic entity.
Whatever love and hope you send with your vibration, imagine it being multiplied by a factor of star lumens. Know that you can actually receive this much love. If you have a warm beverage, drink it in and focus on that feeling of receptivity.
For many of us, it feels more comfortable to extend kindness and love, especially when it is generalized to the cosmos than to receive it. If you don’t already have a practice of receiving, now you know how easy it can be!
After fully extending loving kindness to yourself and the universe, return indoors and spend a few minutes journaling about your experience.
Surrendering to Manifest
Manifestation techniques can actively bring our specific desires to life. Equally valid is the ability to manifest through surrender.
In all manifestation work, we must practice receptivity. When we are in the energy of The Star, we are instructed only to receive!
As you check in with your star between now and the Full Moon on February 12th, notice how its position changes. As you orient your thoughts and feelings to reception, see what changes you notice in yourself.
As you feel healing energy supporting you, know that your health and happiness are benefiting everyone in your life.
I am beaming gratitude and thanking all my lucky stars for each of you. Happy New Year!