2. Embodying the Zodiac

Transcript

Take a deep breath and let it go as you find yourself a comfortable position to be in for this meditation. You can be sitting, lying down, or perhaps even walking as you listen. Whatever feels correct for your body in this moment is just right for you.

Take another deep breath in through your nose and sigh it out through your mouth. Breathing in through your nose, sighing out through your mouth, and seeing if you can engage this way of breathing that feels like a bellows, where the breath just drops in, moving your diaphragm down, your organs down, filling up your belly, and then exiting through the out-breath. Getting to this feeling sometimes means holding your breath at the top before your next inhale, which allows your body to receive the impulse to start that breath for you, rather than it coming from a mental place.

Play with the feeling of being breathed. Today we are going to explore the second set of signs in the zodiac. We're moving through the astrological wheel, which is a part of all of us.

Every sign is a part of us, even if you don't have any planets in that sign. So these are energies that are within you and around you. We'll explore how they apply to creation, showing up as yourself, and how you can move through life with the wisdom and energy of the zodiac behind you.

So after Aries, focused on the head and eyes, Taurus, focused on the neck and vocal cords, and Gemini, focused on the hands, arms, and lungs, we move into Cancer. Cancer is a cardinal water sign, ruled by the moon. Being ruled by the moon, which is associated with our inner selves and our feelings and astrology, Cancer connects to strong pulls of emotion.

It lives in this watery place of feelings and intuition. What's interesting about Cancer is that it is also a cardinal sign, which means we are leading, we are beginning something again. And this time, rather than beginning from the fire of passion and inspiration in Aries season, we are beginning through the heart.

We are either beginning again, or being renewed in our vision through emotional force. Deep emotions in your body can bring you a deeper sense of connection and purpose to what you are doing in the world. You can go beyond the initial excitement of starting something new and into the depths of why it is so important to you.

Let's explore this in your body. Cancer is a sign of nurturing and is associated with the chest, breasts, and stomach. So bring an intentional sense of nurturing yourself to these places in your body.

I invite you to connect your hands with these places of softness. The breasts, if you have them, and the stomach, and the chest, which can expand in a soft way, but is also inherently protective. Another trait of Cancer.

Our softness is what allows our breath to move, and allows us to feel so that we can be moved through emotion into the actions or protective measures that we need to take. The bones that make up your chest, your ribs and sternum, protect this most precious vessel of your heart. Protect this rhythm of life force that is yours in every moment.

Now breathing into your chest, breathing into your stomach, perhaps even breathing into the feeling, your deeper emotional connection to whatever it is that you are currently creating in life or career or relationships. What is the emotional force behind that? Allow the energy of Cancer to support you in honoring, being loyal to, and protecting your needs and desires.

As we move from Cancer into Leo season, our fire gets ignited again. Leo is ruled by the sun, this consistent source of light here for us in its daily rhythm. We know the sun will rise.

We know the sun will set. It illuminates our path and the light within us. Leo is a fixed sign, a determined sign, a sign that wants to see things through.

Leo knows who they are. We all have access to the Leo energy of passion, dynamism, and confidence. In the body, Leo links directly to the heart, the spine, spinal column, and upper back.

These are such large pieces of your structural integrity. The spine literally being the core of you, connecting the wisdom of your gut to the processing power of your brain. Your upper back creating the structure of your torso and the ability to open your heart.

Feel into your body as you notice your heart, your spine, and your upper back, allowing any collapse going on in these areas to realign into strength. The strength that Leo holds as these pieces of you truly support one another. The spine and spinal column support the heart, offering up space for the heart to be held, open yet protected.

The spine allowing the upper back to have a shape and be flexible yet strong. Feel these parts of yourself move into their aligned position. We are often hunched over our computers or our phones, so allow your spine to support the openness of your heart and your back to support the openness of your heart so that you can put yourself out there with drive and determination.

Leo helps support you in your endeavors. Once you have protected what's important to you through the energy of cancer, you can move into being more vibrant, more open with the world again, strong in your sense of self, having created those boundaries or measures that help you feel safe. Once you have that in place, you get to really shine.

Your message gets to really shine, your energy gets to really shine, and you get to let these core pieces of your frame support you in all that you do, all that you create. After Leo, we move into the earth sign of Virgo, which, like Gemini, is ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication. Virgo is interesting because it has the flexibility of a mutable sign with the groundedness of an earth sign.

You might like to think of it as earth that is available to be moved, perhaps reconstructed into a more supportive form. Virgo is often associated with healing one's own body, and also being a healing force for others. Virgo energy feels sensible, practical, meticulous, dedicated to what it is bringing forth in the world, to where it is giving its attention.

In the body, Virgo rules the digestive system, intestines, and spleen. The spleen and digestive system are organs of discernment. The spleen filters your blood, seeing which red blood cells are still healthy, and which ones need to be removed and cleansed from the body.

It's similar to your intestines and digestive system, discerning what is good for your vessel and what is waste. This applies to your body, but it's also for your project, whatever you are bringing forward in creativity, career, life, or relationships. What is healthy for this expression? And what is not part of this expression? These organs allow for letting go, cleansing and releasing what is not going to serve.

We can engage with the energy of Virgo to help us define what is supportive and what needs to go. I invite you to connect with your spleen. It's located on the upper left side of your body, under your left ribs, beside your stomach, which is actually higher up than most people think.

Bring a hand to this area, if you like, breathing into this part of your body and thanking it for the cleansing work it does on your behalf. I also invite you to consider your digestive system, focused on the intestines, but not forgetting that.