Mercury went back direct on November 29. It’s often a time that feels like the old Twilight Zone TV show to many people. Be kind to your mind during this transition, especially because it usually takes approximately 10 days before the mental fog clears up.

Are you listening to your dreams, decoding their symbols, and noticing the heightened synchronicities revealing themselves all around you?

A Full Cold Supermoon arrives on December 4th. Remember Supermoons are like Full Moons on steroids. This Full Moon will amplify universal energies at this time.

Paradoxically, these energies can soften our hearts and minds. When energies are amplified, it’s especially important to be gentle and soft on ourselves and each other.

When we are faced with the need for changes and spontaneity, we can find a sense of safety in thinking about our feelings and sharing them with other people. People are meant to come down into their souls more during the holidays, and particularly in December.

Try not to get sucked into running the hurry up offense during societal consumerist mania. A cool head can be an asset. But but a cold heart can cut you off from the spirit and magic of the season; as well as become a Grinch who steals this from others. Harmony of the head and the heart is a balanced way to be present at this time.

Like water, taichi is a friendly reminder that there is power in softening our edges. Because, like water, cultivating this energy builds gradually. Eventually, a slow drip gains momentum and cultivates power.

Surrender deeply to the river of life and allow it to flow with grace and ease through your body and soul.

And then a New Moon in Sagittarius on December 19 welcomes new beginnings to satiate the hunger of expansive souls. A positive outlook on life and belief that things will get better; even when confronted by challenges, is part of an effective transformation process.

After the New Moon, the Winter Solstice on December 21 will mark the darkest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere. This is the time when our ancestors coaxed back the light; which gently allows for shifts in our consciousness into a new dawn of awakening. Even in darkness, there is light.

The Winter Solstice is a good time for us to get in touch with and express our gratitude for what we have experienced over the past year. Tis the season to let go of anything that we are struggling with, have little or no control over or any resistances to what is persisting in our lives. The clinging and grasping is part of what we resist that persists. Let it all go. A ceremonial fire ritual, especially in a community of people is a powerful way to capture the sentiment.

I remember when a community of men stood around the fire and got real for over a decade around the Winter Solstice. It was a powerful time. Men often hurt in ways that we are not even aware. This can manifest in a garden variety of ways, like the way men often use humor as a way to approach, and then retreat. It’s hard not lose ourselves in work to do and bills to pay. In the old patriarchy, avoiding intimacy is just something you do. But thankfully, the times they are a changin’. By redefining masculinity, we see that being in touch with our feminine sides; such as listening and being sensitive are powerful ways to be men. Besides, it makes us better role models.

Let go of the shores and trust that you will be guided and taken to where you most need to be.

The New Year of the Fire Horse on February 17th will reflect many more big changes coming down the pike. In Shamanism, the energy of Horse symbolizes personal freedom. Consider perceiving the fire element as a blazing saddle that will facilitate the development of a further sense of personal freedom in our lives as we build new frontiers together.

Energetically, one of harbingers of big changes coming our way is the arriving mysterious interstellar comet that scientists are calling 3I/Atlas. It appears that there are mixed reviews about 3I/Atlas’ constitution. It seems that there is agreement among many that 3I/Atlas it is ancient; as in billions of years old, in linear time at least. And apparently, there is a high level of consciousness embodied within it. But as Indigenous people have long known; there is consciousness in everything.

Be mindful that with a deeper and higher sense of personal freedom, which is an Aquarian personality trait; comes the freedom to choose and responsibility to act on how we navigate these big changes we are facing.

As we have discussed in this blog, comets have historically been seen as harbingers of change. I don’t think its a coincidence that this ancient comet has associations with the Sun, and is moving through our neck of the woods into the Year of the Fire Horse. Our Solar Plexus Chakra is our inner sun or our personal will. And the Sun gives us sustenance.

We have been programmed to shy away from mystery, and fear the dark and unknown. But it really is the question that drives us. It’s hard to go wrong with a position of curiosity and empathy.

Allow your imagination to be free to see and feel beyond the veils of ‘normal’ reality into the unseen realms and mysteries of the soul.

Regardless of what exactly 3I/Atlas is, it already appears to be shifting our collective consciousness. There is no doubt in my mind that it has a role to play in awakening a more transcendental, expansive and open hearted and minded perception of the world we live in.

Ponder its universal energies as being a much needed upgrade to elevate our consciousness . . . So that we are equipped to effectively evolve into new ways of being spiritual beings having human experiences.

Of course there is always freewill and choice. If you look at this comet from the viewpoint of the lizard brain, then it will probably look ominous and perhaps seen as a threat.

Given past behavior, we can predict with a high level of confidence that the military-industrial complex looks at it that way, and the talking heads on the media will probably parrot the party line they are ordered to repeat. A real free press doesn’t do that, nor does a more free thinking, fair and just society foment that kind of deception.

Pun alert: Because of the aforementioned tendency, this writer wouldn’t be surprised if an elaborate Wizard of Oz like Wicked elaborate hoax is already being manufactured as we speak. Of course, their intent is to try to control the narrative by keeping people distracted, afraid and enslaved in devilishly repetitive and fixed ideas. The battle to control the public mind is nothing new.

Isn’t it insane to want to keep people asleep, when we are meant to awaken to our Better Angels?

But then again, you all know the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing, and expect different results.

Remember that every moment is a new moment, including another moment to be liberated from being driven to distraction.

That’s why is so important to be mindful of the living moment and the power to remember to breathe and focus on positive self talk. The living moment is always there for us to live and breathe in.

As we look back over the last year, December a powerful time where we can slow down and reflect on forgiveness and acceptance, and focus more on giving, peace, and joy.

Slow down, see the playing field, and welcome a gentle and soft approach with the energies at play right now. Allowing for openness and receptivity, and thinking about what you can do for others is the gift that keeps on giving.

May All Beings Be Free and Know Inner Peace,

Ari