Maybe it’s the fact that Aries is my 6th house, or that I’m basically all Mars & Moon ruled, but I consistently find that my body is my greatest teacher.
This week during my movement practice (Pilates <3) I kept noticing my shoulders creeping up towards my earlobes.
Something in me was determined to get the MOST out of the workout. And that determined tension slowly crawled up into my neck, my breath got shallow, my jaw clenched.
And because I’d just had dental work earlier in the day, that clenched jaw had a serious limit – and I was reminded, through a little jolt of light post-dentist pain, to take a beat, and soften.
I remembered the cues I often give my own students when they feel tense, overly gripping to the movements like something serious depended on it….
I reminded myself that in movement, grace comes from the right balance of tension and ease.
With too much tension, movements become brittle. Forced. Laborious.
But with too little tension, our movements become floppy and sloppy.
Grace is the meeting point between effort and ease.
And it made me think about all the places in my life I’ve been putting so much effort into that I’ve become rigid and tense.
All those things I grip and stress about, that make my neck disappear into my ears, not allowing for any grace, nor any space, nor any sense of flow or ease.
Most often, less force is required for gracefulness to emerge.
And this is a perfect metaphor for Mercury retrograde, which is around the corner (starts Monday!).
In last week’s Aries Season Workshop, someone asked a very poignant question about the confusing advice we hear for Mercury retrogrades.
Some astrologers say to slow down. Don’t do anything! Don’t make any moves! Don’t start anything! Don’t plan anything!
I was saying that sometimes Mercury retrogrades are great times to start things that we haven’t yet started.
Or are times when opportunities arrive, and new ideas emerge.
“So which one is it?” This brilliant student asked, “I’m getting mixed messages.”
The answer is that we have to be honest with ourselves about which side of the grace spectrum we’re on.
If there’s places in our life where we’ve been forcing, rushing, efforting to no avail… where our shoulders are up in our ears and we’re tensing and gripping and grinding our teeth in order to make something work…
Mercury retrograde will come in as a spicy reminder to slow down, breathe, drop the unnecessary effort, and find a little more ease.
But if there’s parts of our life that we haven’t put enough effort into, things we’ve been avoiding starting, or that we’ve been floppy and wet noodle-y about, then Mercury retrograde might help us find the spark, the engagement, or the push of effort we need to start.
As we go into this Mercury retrograde, you’ll definitely hear a whole lot of advice, a lot of do’s and don’ts, and superstitions.
So just continue coming back to what is true for you, and to what feels like it supports you moving with grace.
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Now available! Self Paced ARIES SEASON WORKSHOP
Tune into the Aries Season replay for a self-paced version of last week’s workshop!
It’s a 1 hour & 40 minute class complete with deep dive guided journaling for your rising sign, a full download on Aries energy and how to connect with it in your life, how to read your birth chart, and more :)
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Astrology readings now booking into April!
If you’ve been feeling all the cosmic shifts, and want insight into your current life moment / what’s coming up next, grab a session before they fill up!
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW.
xo Eden Sky
I acknowledge that I live and work on the stolen, ancestral lands of the Lenape people. I humbly give respect and reverence to those who have always been here.
Beautiful message in beautiful words, Eden 🌹