Rams, Wood, and Rebirth.
We begin this month with the astrological year in full swing, having begun on the vernal equinox of March 20. This is when daylight and nighttime are equal (12/12). Daylight hours will increase by 2-3 minutes a day now, until the full plenum of the summer solstice on June 21.
Spring is strongly in the air now in the Northern Hemisphere; literally with pollen, and energetically with the Wood Element (Liver/Gall Bladder). The Hebrew month of Nisan (Aries/Cardinal Fire) begins on April 1st, adding to the energy of growth and new beginnings.
The wood element corresponds to the liver and gall bladder in Chinese philosophy. It is the energy of plants pushing up through the soil and the the growth of new leaves and branches emerging. This upward, outward, pushing energy is like a natural stimulant, getting all of life moving into action, bustling with activity.
After the long in-door days of winter, humans and animals alike now put special attention on the integrity of their homes; birds build nests, mice clean burrows, and humans do their own spring cleaning . Now is a wonderful and natural time to clean out closets, dust the walls and corners, and create a fresh space for new goals and dreams.
We need less artificial stimulation to get moving now, and that extra cup of coffee can aggravate the Liver and make us more nervous and irritable. A great acupressure point for balancing irritability is Liver 3 (aka Happy Calm or Great Rushing). It can be found on the top of the foot, in the divot between the 1st and 2nd metatarsal. It may be sore when you press on it firmly. Find this point and massage it for 30 seconds to 3 minutes, multiple times a day, or when you want a “Great Rushing of Happy Calm.”
The First day of Nisan begins with the new moon, as always, and this energy will peak 14 days later with the full moon, which begins the holiday of Passover. This holiday commemorates the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt. They left civilization and headed into the wilderness in the middle of the night, under the light of the full moon. Jews and lovers of Jews around the world will have a seder (literally: order), which is a ritual meal where the story is retold with special foods being eaten along with four glasses of wine (or grape juice), giving a visceral experience of moving from slavery to freedom.
The land of Egypt is known as “Mitzrayim” in Hebrew, which literally means “narrow place”. The journey from slavery to freedom is a journey from the narrow, constricted places within us, to the Promised Land of our hopes and dreams. To get there, we must travel through the wilderness, facing many obstacles and wandering until a new generation of habits and beliefs are born, to carry us into the Promised Land.
This month, as you clean out your closets and make space for the new, think about what is truly important in your life. What do you love and desire so much that you would let go of the known and venture out into the wilderness to pursue? What would you carry with you? What would you leave behind? Who would you want by your side?
What constricted places inside of you are keeping you enslaved? What desires live inside of you that could propel you into the wilderness of new ways of being? Find those desires and fan their flames, as the energy of Nisan/Aries bursts forth into the world this month.
May you be blessed.
Energies of the Month
Element: Wood
Organ: Liver/Gallbladder
Emotion: Anger
Acupressure Point: Liver 3 (Happy Calm/Great Rushing)
Hebrew Holiday: Passover
Mazal/Sign: Nisan/Aries (Cardinal Fire)
Important Dates
New Moon of Nisan/Aries: April 1
Full Moon of Nisan/Aries: April 15
Passover: April 15 - 23
New Moon of Iyar/Taurus: April 30
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