Previewing the Biggest Moon Cycles of 2024

Transcript

 

Hey everyone, this is Adam Elenbaas from nightlight astrology. Today, we're going to take a look at the most dynamic moon cycles of 2024. So every year when I'm looking at the transits for the year ahead, I obviously take a look at the eclipses and all of the, you know, the big exciting transits for the year. But I also look at the moon cycles, and I generally will circle two or three of them that look particularly powerful. So, I'm going to tell you which moon cycles of 2024 I think are the most dynamic and interesting and why that will be the purpose of today's video. As we go along, I'm also going to tell you about our Roots and Spheres program, which is a community Moon circle that meets before the new and full moon.

So if you want to join us and, you know, go along for the moon circle ride, you can do so. We pair intentionally. We pair plants with the energies of each month, and we end up dieting together as a group. Then we have various journaling exercises and different spiritual rituals that we designed so that people can go as deeply as they want to, with the energies of each cycle, and then we get together in the community and talk and reflect about how the experience of every cycle is going. So, I'm going to be sort of telling you more about that as the video unfolds today as well.

Anyway, before we get into it, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share your comments and reflections. We'd love to hear from you guys.

Especially, you know, I'd love to hear what you guys are thinking about in the year ahead; what transits are you looking forward to? Maybe transits in your natal chart or transits in the sky would be interesting to hear how you guys are thinking about the year ahead; you can find a transcript of today's talk on the website nightlightastrology.com. Well, as you guys know, we are trying to reach our goal of 1777 backers in our annual Kickstarter campaign by New Year's Eve; as of the time that I am making this, we have 1073 backers, which means we still need the support of 704 by New Year's Eve, thank you so much to the 1073 people who have already donated, we deeply appreciate it for me, my family, my staff, this is how we earn our living. It's a huge part of how we end up providing all of the donation-based sliding scale and scholarship type of offerings that we have in all of our programs, and this is how we also make sure that all of the content is free and accessible, no subscriptions, or paywalls, or exclusive, paid content, all that kind of stuff.

We just keep it easy, and it comes from your generosity. So we thank you for that. For ten years now, this has been our model. We deeply believe in it, and we want to thank all of you who have also pitched in and shown your belief in us. If you have not yet donated and would like to, you can find the link to the Kickstarter pinned to the top of the comment section or in the description of this video. Go over there and pick up a pledge. There are all sorts of readings we offer different classes and recordings of different topics that you can pick up on from our masterclass series; the routes and spheres program will tell you about today is also available through the Kickstarter; pick up a class pass, come study with us, I would love to see some of you in classes, immersing yourself in astrology transforms your life. The programs are meant for people who want to go professional or for people who are just ready to take their love and interest in astrology to the next level, and when you do so, one of the most amazing things that happens is studying astrology is healing and is deeply transformational.

So anyway, I hope you'll consider picking up a class pass as well; we'd love to see you, and today, as a little get-to-know-you, I want to tell you three values that I have as a business owner, someone wrote in, and they said, Hey, I just contributed to your Kickstarter, I would love to hear you talk about the values that you have as a business owner and how they intersect with your spiritual approach to life and astrology and that's a great question and so sure.

I've talked a lot about the donation model and, you know, some of my philosophies, you know, when it comes to what I want Nightlight to create and stuff like that, but yeah, these are great questions. So here are three values that I have as a business owner, and I hope that by getting to know these things, you will feel more comfortable and confident in supporting us and our team.

So anyway, the number one value that I have as a business owner is to use any success that the company has, so to speak, to support myself and my family. I'm a Cancer. I'm a dad, I've got two kids, I've got a wife, and I have two dogs. I have a mortgage, you know, car payments, just like anyone else. I think we're all pretty similar in that space where, like, you know, the base value for me is not so much about having things as it is about providing security, and being a provider is something I strongly identify with as a Cancer Sun, I think. So. The success I have, the very first thing that's usually on my mind, is providing for their stability, providing for their future, providing for the current moment obviously like that, that takes the cake. That's the honest truth. That's my bottom line.

Number two is I want to use the success that we have to gradually build a strong community with increasingly useful services and offerings. That's the affordable reading service. That's our community garden, where we host free events, and that's the herbal medicine we give away for free to people in the community. You guys help us build all of that. These are our speaker series where we get to help build new professional astrologers, pay them really well, and make it totally free to the community. That's our speaker series.

You guys have created those things through the Kickstarter over the years. But it's always been our value to use our success to push a certain amount back into making cooler stuff and stuff that is super available. That also creates jobs and more experiences for people in the astrological industry. So, I take pride in being someone who supports staff and gives some people a livelihood in a field that they enjoy because not everyone is going to be a reader, a teacher, or a content creator of astrology. There are so many people who can help build cool stuff in the world of astrology, whose skills are not primarily sitting down and reading charts for people or teaching charts for people or having an Instagram account that, you know, espouses astrology all the time.

So I always pride myself on being a company that's in its growth, bringing more people in and giving them things to do, and feeling confident about a subject area that they also love with the skills they have that are unique to them, you know. So I love that, and in addition, obviously, my third value is to use success gradually and intelligently because it takes a lot of thought to figure out how to do this, in my humble opinion.

We keep thinking about it and keep growing in our ability to do this all the time. But it's to use the success as a company to build the careers of new astrologers and contribute positively to the overall collective legacy of astrology, which means we take pride in using our success to help build the careers of new astrologers, young astrologers, next-generation astrologers, and astrologers that are not going to be just successful financially or popular have big platforms. But the people who got a good education, who came from got education from a heart-centered place with good values, they can then go out and pay forward in the way that they do astrology, and we take it seriously at night, like to use the success that we have in any of our business, to put a certain amount of that back into helping build the careers of other astrologers. That's what this affordable reading service is also about. We want to give people who are really talented a space to go and get experience because it's really hard. Not everyone can go and just be on their own; you have the experience. This is a problem that a lot of spiritual practices, oh, you get an acupuncture degree, you're a fantastic acupuncturist, but you're not as skilled when it comes to just miraculously generating your own clientele.

So I want to use the success of this platform to give people like, hey, look, we have an audience, let me show you who's cool and building cool things that don't have a voice or a platform to share from or that needs a platform to get experience with as a reader. This is a good reader, right? I like stuff like that. So these are the things that I really care about, and the core values that I have, as a business owner, use the success, not so much to get things but to support my family and myself to build a strong community with increasingly valuable services and offerings and to create jobs for people through the success of the company to use success in the company to build the careers of new astrologers and contribute positively to the legacy of astrology that people look back and say Nightlight was a freaking cool place. That's what I value; that is, I always want a significant portion of what we're doing to go back into creating that kind of stuff. So that's where my values as a business owner intersect with my spiritual values. Anyway, thanks for asking. The question was really interesting. It's fun to, you know, kind of like sit and be like, Yeah, you know, cuz sometimes, you know, it's like the Oh, those are my values, but someone asked me to articulate it, and I have to write it out, and it really reinforces it gets me kind of fired up. So anyway, much love to you guys today. I hope you will enjoy this talk. Have a great rest of your day. Don't forget to go over to the Kickstarter to help us reach that goal we can get there. All right. Take it easy, everyone.

Adam Elenbaas
All right, so today we are taking a look at the most exciting the most dynamic lunar cycles of 2024. We're also going to take time today to preview our Roots and Spheres program, which is a program that meets before the new and full moons every cycle to break down the astrology to work with various rituals and plant allies that we pair with the moon cycles. So not only today are we going to be looking at the biggest lunar cycles of the year ahead and trying to give you some sense of what they include on an archetypal level.

Ashley is going to join me today; my wife Ashley, who's an herbalist, is going to join us to tell us a little bit about the plant allies that we will be working with during those cycles through our Roots and Spheres program. So you can learn something about these cycles and the plants; we're going to be pairing them with a little sneak preview of what the Roots and Spheres program is all about, in case you'd like to join us in January. On that note, I'm very glad to welcome Ashley back to the show. It's been a while, Hey.

Ashley
hey, good to be back.

Adam Elenbaas
Yeah, it's good to have you here. I'm really excited for a new year of looking at lunar cycles and community and working with plants and lunar cycles and community. It was really, really fun. Last year was our first year; we learned a whole lot, and we've made some big adjustments to how the program is going to work. You know, because you learn a lot the first year of doing something, but yeah, but I mean, we sat down and looked at all of the cycles of the year ahead and matched up a whole new set of plant allies. We do have; I think there are maybe two months out of the year where we have returning guests from last year because there was just the most appropriate plant. Absolutely.

Ashley
Yeah, I know, and it's like, but I mean, I think those who retake the course will be really excited about those two because they're really great allies.

Adam Elenbaas
They're very good plant allies to work with. Yeah, I want to start off by just saying that. It's always a bit of a debate when trying to make the case for one moon cycle versus another being the most potent in the year ahead. I'm always surprised every year. I always highlight three or four moon cycles that I think are going to be very dynamic. I'm usually right about, you know, most of them.

But there will always be a moon cycle or two that will surprise me; I'll have underestimated it. You know what I mean? So, I issue that qualifier to know that as the year goes on, there are going to be other cycles that will surprise us; I think these are going to be some of the biggest and most dynamic.

So these are the ones that we're going to look at today. I have intentionally left out the one we're going to talk about briefly, an eclipse cycle that's coming in April. Eclipse cycles are a kind of wind, no matter what you know. So, I'm looking at non-Eclipse cycle cycles because it's almost unfair.

It's like they just get in it, they have their like, they have an unfair competitive advantage. So we are going to I'm going to briefly mention the spring eclipses; I'm going to leave out the autumn eclipses because the spring eclipses are, in my opinion, much more potent this year. I will mention them in passing. But we're going to look at three cycles this year outside of the eclipse cycles that are probably the most dynamic of the year. So are you ready?

Ashley
I'm ready. All right, let's do it.

Adam Elenbaas
Yeah. So notable moon cycles of the year. It really begins with the February 9 new moon cycle that comes right on the heels of Pluto's entrance into Aquarius. So what I'm going to do right now is put this up on the screen, but I'm realizing as I'm doing this I just need to change one thing on my screen here.

Okay, so if we take this forward to about January 20, Pluto enters the sign of Aquarius right around that time, along with the Sun. We go forward just a couple of weeks later, on February 9, and we just have such a powerful example of a new moon. Here is a new moon in the sign of Aquarius that is forming in a very tight square with Uranus. We have just had Pluto enter the sign of Aquarius, and Mercury is also in Aquarius at the moment as a morning star.

So heavy emphasis on Aquarius and Uranus and Taurus just after Pluto's engrossed into Aquarius. This moon cycle has a couple of things that come to my mind, and I'm going to move something over here so I can read. I have a few notes that I wrote down.

One of the things that's interesting about this is that when Pluto enters Aquarius, it's sort of like we have unconsciously hired a consultant to come in and look at the architecture of our lives in some particular area of our life. Pluto and Aquarius start saying, let's remake your life by means of new ideas. That may also take you in new directions socially or culturally, politically, philosophically, intellectually, or religiously.

So, Pluto is ushering in a kind of architectural transformation of our lives by virtue of changing the ideas that guide and shape our lives. A new moon in Aquarius re-amplifies that theme in February while also squaring Uranus and Taurus. Now, Uranus has something in common. Of course, modern astrologers associate Uranus with the sign of Aquarius. As a traditional astrologer, I don't look at outer planets as ruling signs. But does Uranus have some things in common with Aquarius?

Of course, there are some really interesting correlations, chief among them being that Uranus is associated with Prometheus in mythology, and Prometheus is the character who steals the fire from the gods; what is the fire? The fire is the archetypes are like ideas in the mind of God, and these ideas can have the power to shape, reshape, revise, and direct civilization, humanity as a whole, or our personal lives when you have a Uranus opposition; we call it the midlife crisis because people are trying to dismantle the ideas governing their lives and install new ones and for most people that constitutes the kind of crisis, a crisis of the images that we have been associated with and the new ones that we want to take to going forward.

So that's what we call a midlife crisis. That's the Uranus opposition, which happens between 40 and 44. So when you pair all of this kind of transit transformation of the ideas by means of which we live, and you pair that Aquarian emphasis alongside a square to Uranus in Taurus, you're doubly amplifying the ideas that are trying to find new ways of expressing themselves and that concept, that's a very revolutionary impulse.

You know, this is the kind of cycle paired with Pluto changing signs that is really signifying the impulse to completely revamp things, and with Uranus and Taurus, of course, the impulse is earthy; it's sensual; it seeks embodiment in the physical, sensual domain of life, you could think of that this like, one image that comes to mind would be like new ideas, new technologies that guide and shape health, wellness, and beauty. That's a very simple example.

There are going to be others that don't fit that mold. Another one would be ideas that shape how we treat the Earth going forward from here, another kind of appropriate expression of these energies and symbols. But now imagine that you're taking that and putting it into your life, relationships, jobs, and family health. How are these ideas seeking expression in the physical, sensual domain of your life in one particular area, wherever the whole sign house of Taurus is, for example? That's gonna, that's why this cycle is so powerful.

Now, of course, as the cycle goes on, there are a lot of things that happen within the cycle that make it more interesting. But I'm just going to stick to that signature of the new moon itself and the seeding moment of the cycle that will be carrying out like a gong, and the waves are just carrying that initial strike out through the entire cycle. We have a really interesting plant ally that we're going to be working with in our Roots and Spheres circle, which, again, I highly recommend you all check out because this community is a great way to join in on an exploration of the astrology every month paired with rituals, journaling, all optional and plant allies that you can literally take ritualistically throughout the cycle to help align yourself with the expression of the astrological energies.

Anyway, we'll tell you more about how you can join and sign up later if you want. It's through Kickstarter, by the way, that you can pick it up on-site until New Year's Eve, but the plant that we're working with for this one is Damiana. Ashley, will you tell us about Damiana and what makes Damiana such a fitting ally for the themes that we just discussed?

Ashley
Yeah, I think, you know, when we look at the Taurus energy, you know, Uranus and Taurus, part of what the deep transformation of Pluto is trying to get us to do, I think, in this cycle is to break free of maybe ideas, qualities, beliefs, that are going to keep us from living on the Earth, in our bodies in a supported and sensual way and Damiana is a very erotic herb, I mean, it's, it's traditionally used in Mexico as an herb of longevity and stamina. So, people in Mexico would grind up the leaves because the medicine is in the leaves, make it into a powder, and create little balls that they would travel with. So, in order to go long distances and travel on long journeys, they would need an herb that would give them stamina.

But also, the cool thing about Damiana is it also gives you pleasure and stamina. So that's a really nice thing, I think, for this particular moon cycle, is to have a plant that is going to help you endure the hardships of Pluto and maybe the rattling of Uranus, but at the same time give you a really embodied experience and help you to touch back into your senses. So what I have found using this plant in myself, and also using it with clients and students, a lot of people experience this plant as opening up the gates of perception and really in a grounded way, it's not going to alter your mind, like maybe some entheogenic or psychedelic plants where yes, your senses are awake, but you're also kind of floating above your body in some way.

Damiana gives you that experience of really having your senses heightened but being fully grounded present in your body with all your faculties intact, and I just think that's going to be a really helpful, supportive experience as you're moving through and making these changes and also, you know, when Adam was saying, you were saying about how like, we might want to have some sort of breakthroughs in terms of our relationship to the environment?

Well, if we can experience our bodies as part of Earth, you know, we are organic beings; we are natural creatures, just as natural as the squirrels and the trees and the plants. So we can actually be more in our bodies and really experience and enjoy and understand our connection to the physical world and to nature. I mean, I find one of the reasons I think a lot of people when they get into herbalism, start to become more environmentally aware is because they realize they're natural beings, and that the plants in them and that it's when you experience yourself as nature, it's a lot easier to take care of nature and all of the other ways nature embodies itself.

So that is, I think, this plant because it's going to bring people so in touch with their senses and their bodies as a beautiful and natural expression of life. It's going to help them to make maybe some hard changes that perhaps if they were kind of not in their bodies, they might have a harder time doing.

Adam Elenbaas
Yeah, this Damiana was easily one of the favorites of our 2023 routes and spheres Moon circle group; we probably got the most positive, overwhelmingly positive feedback about working with that plant, a different moon cycle. We worked with it in last year for different reasons, in some ways. But this moon cycle is really appropriate since it is about the ideal seeking sensual embodiment, and that's that Pluto Taurus square. So, you know, I think there are out of 12 moon cycles in the year ahead. There are only two that feature allies from 23 that we used for some very good reasons, the biggest stars of 2020 three verb circle, urban Moon circle, I think, but yeah, anyway, should we go forward to the next cycle?

Ashley
Yeah, I just want to say for people who are wondering how to work with Damiana because I know that's usually what people are like; well, that's great to know. But like, what do I do with it? I recommend using this herb as tea; it is kind of ideal. It makes such a delicious; it's kind of minty and spicy. It's a very unique taste. So if you can find organic Damiana, I know I'll maybe give some links to add them to include, but a tea it makes a great tea with a little bit of honey, and you can use it as a tincture, which is alcohol based and if you don't do alcohol, you can do it as glycerin. So those are some ways to work with it, and you don't need much, you know.

As a tea, just even half a teaspoon fall and two cups of water is plenty; it's very strong, and then as a tincture or glycerin, just do like three to five drops in your mouth twice a day, and that's, I think, a beautiful way to work with the plant. One

Adam Elenbaas
of the benefits of joining the moon circle is that with each plant and each cycle, we guide you through exactly how to use it and exactly when to use it, and we really guide you through how to work with the plant within the cycle and the ups and downs of the cycle. Because there are so many aspects that play out throughout it, we pair it alongside deliberate spiritual exercises or rituals that we have designed in the course and journaling prompts that go with the astrology in the plant. So, you know, we can't give away all of our secrets. Join the course if you want when we're previewing these herbs.

Of course, if you're already familiar with herbs, you probably already know how to work with them on some level, and we'll certainly include some links, as Ashley just mentioned. But the best way, honestly, to get the most out of what we're suggesting would be to come along the journey of the Roots and Spheres program, where we can really get in there with you and help you through the entire process of a moon cycle working with the planet. Let's go forward to the next moon cycle, which is on May 7. On May 7, we have a new moon taking place in the sign of Taurus. Now, what makes this new moon so special is that it is coming off from the April 20 Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Taurus.

So they're still within a three degree range and the ruler of Taurus Venus is copresent with Jupiter so both benefics in the same sign and exalted New Moon in Taurus. You couldn't get a more benefic set of signatures in terms of the planets that tend to bring growth, pleasure, and happiness in a very stable, earthy, centrally embodied sign. This is maybe one of the most fruitful, stabilizing, benefic moon cycles of the year.

This moon cycle also brings to mind the expressing energy of Jupiter, Uranus, and Taurus, which is like a lightning strike. Combined with a rainbow. It's like a lightning strike that delivers; rather than blowing up a tree, it delivers a rainbow wherever it touches.

The Jupiter-Uranus conjunction and Taurus bring the idea of that new eye that, nowadays, the new archetype that Uranus is trying to bring through dating back to that February moon cycle. Remember, as Plutos entered Aquarius, Uranus kept doing its work and Taurus. But Jupiter amplifies, speeds up, and greatly broadens or opens the revolutionary impulse of Uranus and in a seeding moment that is the seed of a revolution and with that seeding moment coming in late April and then followed by Venus going into her home sign exalted New Moon in Taurus with Jupiter, the other benefic copresent.

This is just such an essentially opulent Venusian moon cycle. It's really, really beautiful. I think it's probably the one that people are going to enjoy the most during the year, and that's important to not just to look at the stressful moon cycles. But also, you know, the idea that there are going to be moon cycles that we feel really supported by, and I see this as probably one of the most potent themes that come up are, you know, that Earth can be a paradise.

The above and the below joined in our experience of the body and the senses the themes of comfort, luxury, fertility, security, stability, and sensuality, with an emphasis on progress, change, and revolution in relation to the Venusian domain, which is in Taurus earthly sensual, embodied, stable, peaceful, and sometimes also deceptively simple. So the plant that we're working with for this powerful cycle that's really riding on the coattails of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in late April is White Peony. Ashley, will you tell us about White Peony and why we're going to be working with that one in the Roots and Spheres program?

Ashley
I'm really excited about this plant because it is one of my favorite herbs, and it's such a Venus herb; you know it has scent, beauty, and opulence if you've ever seen a peony, whatever color it has just these. I mean 1000s of petals that just open up. It is just a symbol of abundance, and also of softness and femininity and trust, and this, this herb in particular, we're going to be taking in smaller doses; it does have an influence. It has a little bit of a hormonal influence when taken in higher doses.

So we're going to be working with the plant really more energetically to help us with this really Jupiterian, very feminine opening process of the heart and of the senses. One interesting fact about Peony is that peonies cannot bloom without the help of ants, and so a lot of gardeners, you know, in their first few years, they'll see ants covering their Peony buds, and they're like, oh, no, spray the ants.

But actually, what the peonies do, they're so intelligent, they create this honey, that if they press it out from the buds of the flowers, and that honey, that sweet honey attracts the ants, and then the ants chew at the very ends of the buds, and it helps the Peony, it actually is the only thing that allows the Peony to open without the ants and that cooperative relationship.

The Peony cannot open and show its glory, pollinate, spread, be abundant, or be fertile. So I love that cooperation aspect, and there are so many planets in Taurus, and I just feel like there's going to be so many Allah, there's going to be so many forces coming together to support this blossoming, and I was like, you know, Peony is going to be such a wonderful plant, especially for people who might have a hard time trusting or hard time asking for help have a hard time just enjoying themselves, you know, they might be like, This is too good to be true and if that's you, there's a little bit of Peony, and even I would say, if you don't want to take it internally if you can find peonies at your local farmers market, or if you grow them or can find them at a florist just having peonies around, you will inspire this trust this opening this broadening of your horizons, and I think that's going to be a really nice image to carry with us for this moon cycle.

Adam Elenbaas
Awesome that I'm really excited for that one as a Taurus rising; I'm like, Oh, can't wait; that should be fun. I think that the moon cycle will be. I think people will experience that as a supportive moon cycle there. There are always some twists and turns and every moon cycle, and there's, but you can look at the seeding point of the cycle to know what it's about and why the cycle what message the cycle is really carrying, and that's a really powerful supported Venusian Taurean symbol with Jupiter Uranus with both benefics I mean, just a really nice congregation.

I love that idea of there being a congregation of planets, meaning that there are a lot of things and people may be allies and assets and resources, kind of coming together at once to do something special. Well, the next moon cycle, the last one that we're going to preview today, takes place on June 6, and this one is a moon cycle that also follows another one of the major planetary shifts of the year, which is the shift of Jupiter into Gemini, which happens in late May. So I think it's about, let's see here. Yeah, it's gonna be about May 25 that Jupiter enters Gemini, and then on June 6, shortly after Jupiter enters Gemini, we get this new moon. What's so interesting about this new moon is that it features a Venus cazimi at the same time as the new moon.

It's really powerful that Venus is at the heart of the Sun in Gemini as Jupiter, the benefic, has entered Gemini, placing us with another moon cycle where Jupiter and Venus, the benefic, are copresent. That's wonderful, especially when Venus is at the heart of the Sun experiencing a rebirth. Remember also that this cycle features Jupiter moving into Gemini, who is now training Pluto and Aquarius. One of the great ways that ideas become transformational ideas if we go back to Pluto, and Aquarius seeks to instantiate themselves in our lives is through cross-pollination. Through socialization. There is once Jupiter enters Gemini, you're into a year for the rest of 2024 where there's a kind of social Bumblebee energy moving around, and one of the great themes of Jupiter and Gemini is cross-pollination. Sometimes, that means there are too many irons in the fire, or it's kind of a year of chaos magic where lots of different things are happening. You may not stick with all of them.

But there are sure to be a few things that make their mark and stick around, and this is part of what Pluto and Aquarius are trying to do in a blurred repair dogmatic way, changing the larger structures of our ideals and doing so by trying a lot of different things on this year and by stimulating conversation within ourselves and with other people, especially around opposites. This or that, good or bad, ugly or beautiful, all the different dualities that Gemini tends to embody, we tend to think Jupiter can struggle in Gemini; it's traditionally it's in its exile netplay because Jupiter wants to bring this kind of larger coherence and unity.

But the unity this year is found in experimentation, play in curiosity, and bouncing around between opposites. You want to make sure that that doesn't lead to total chaos, disorganization, clutter, and being a little bit aware of that. But this is a very magical and playful moon cycle following Jupiter's entrance into Gemini that I described as excitable, curious, playful, youthful, flirtatious, a dancing of opposites, stimulating in the mind new ideas, placing many irons in the fire, bumblebees socially flying around, with maybe some tension or adjustments being made, along the lines of the square that will be happening during this new moon to Saturn in Pisces.

So, if you can actually see the other thing that's happening, it is that this new moon is squaring Saturn in Pisces. So yeah, well, there's this kind of playful energy in the air. There may be a check from Saturn Neptune in Pisces, both of those planets, that requires us to be emotionally mature or intelligent. That is, it is about new and playful ideas, but it's also very romantic and kind of magical with Saturn in Pisces.

It reminds me a little bit of the Harry Potter stories. In Harry Potter, there's this interesting combination of youthful curiosity. They're all learning magic. They're all kids. They're all playful. They're all curious. They're all Sorcerer's apprentices, like Mickey Mouse, with the wand and you know, doesn't know what he's doing and creating chaos, and that's a big part of the Harry Potter story, but also the grabby toss of learning magic, and of dealing with light and dark. So this is a very magical, interesting moon cycle when you pair it alongside the square to Saturn in Pisces, and for that reason, we decided to work this cycle in our Roots and Spheres program with elderflower. Actually, we tell us about elderflower,

Ashley
this is going to be such a fun plant, and it matches so perfectly because the elder is also called the tree of the fairy forest, and it was thought that if you fell asleep under an elder tree, the fairies would come and carry you away. That's where missing children go, as they must have fallen asleep under an elderly tree. So, it has a long association with fairies. It has these beautiful clusters of white flowers that the bees love. So that idea of the social butterfly, I mean, it's got hundreds of flowers per cluster, and another thing that really stands out of why it works so well with Gemini is there are the flowers there. Yeah, it's that the flowers turn in the white flowers turn into blackberries.

So we've got this opposite, the white turning black, and both are medicinal. Both flowers are a little bit more diaphoretic, which means they're more heated. They help with the lungs expanding. They're really really good for colds and flu, but I think sort of their general energy is that of like being uplifting and dispersing and, and then the berries are more, you know, we think of that for elderberry syrup, and that's a little bit more it's a bit of a different medicine.

But the flowers, I think, are going to be really nice because this playful, jubilance, this freedom, this desire to expand and explore the territory, this plant is going to really help us feel supported in those explorations and, at the same time, is going to be very supportive for the immune system. So we kind of get to feed two birds with one hand with this Earth, but I think it's also been used traditionally for dreams to support dreams.

The Elder Wand we know in Harry Potter is the kind of crown wand; if you get an elder wand, you know you've made it. So there's a lot of, I think, magical associations with this plant that people will find when they take it either as a tea or as a tincture or as a glycerite that they'll feel that, that upliftment and then that support. Yeah.

Adam Elenbaas
It is a very magical cycle like the Gemini cycle. I'll never forget it; I want to say it was. I'm trying to remember what year it was. I want to say it was like 2011. Let me go back. It might have been 2012. Yeah, I believe it would have been 2012. Yes. 2012 that, Jupiter was in Gemini, and it was a it was a very magical year because we were in the process, of course, launching our yoga studio and pairing herbs and astrology and yoga together, and there were so many magical people that were coming in and out and starting to create the foundation of what would be the community of our yoga studio for like, you know, seven, eight more years.

So, I just think back at that point, and I think of like somehow a traveling band And of Mad Men and women, magicians, sorcerers, poets like, and I feel like when Jupiter in Gemini comes through, it's like the only thing you have to do is not try to make sense out of all of it too quickly or all at once, just let the chaos work through, and the unity will come it's almost it's frustrating for Zeus Jupiter to be like, see, like yielding the power to Mercury who is natural opposite to Jupiter.

But a year like that is just a playful exploration of opposites of light and dark, and I think that this cycle in particular, I'm really excited about because I feel that it's, it may be the most magical and sort of quirky cycle of the year with Jupiter just entering Gemini, and all the both benefics Venus at the heart of the Sun, because me in Gemini at the start of the cycle.

So yeah, it's really magical. I want to tell you guys about Ashley and where you can learn more about her and her work. So, let me just pull that up really quickly. So you can find Ashley's work at @skyhouseherbs.com, and I recommend going over there in the new year, probably in the next month or two; you're gonna see that Ashley has some new classes and modules in her verbal apprenticeship program that will be released in 2024.

So make sure you check out skyhouseherbs.com in the new year because some of some new offerings will be coming out as Ashley's coming back, part-time from maternity leave for the first time, and I'm really excited for you to get back into teaching a bit. Thanks.

Ashley
Yeah, me too. It's, it's been it's, you know, I think the last few years have been sort of this inward-focused time, and it's really fun having waited until things really got clear to be able to say, okay, yep, this is what I'm going to be teaching.

This is how I'm going to be teaching. Yeah, so I should be, you know, I think in January, the website will be updated, and people can take a look; I have workshops that are just open to the community if you want to take one-off workshops on herbs and then I'm going to be doing a series on plant spirit medicine and looking at specific herbs. How do we get to learn the magical side of herbs and pattern-seeking? I'm really excited about that series. So that series will start in April, but everything will launch in the new year. Awesome.

Adam Elenbaas
You can also find Ashley on Instagram at Sky House Herbs. That's the handle to follow the herbal content that she creates as well as just following all of the interesting ways in which she works with herbs with kids and family too, which is a big part of how she shares her work and then on YouTube, you can find her weekly podcast @skyhouseherbs and every week Ashley usually has a new video including I think this one is airing on both of our channels. So people will be listening to this over there, too. But find her @skyhouseherbs, or she does have a nice library at this point of previous talks where you can learn about different plants, different ways of preparing and using medicinal plants, different talks about health wellness in plants, mental, emotional health, wellness, and plants, parenting, and plants all sorts of it's truly a wealth of information.

Thank you, and on that note, I want to tell you guys that, as you all know, we are trying to reach our goal of 1777 backers by New Year's Eve. We still need some help to get there; we need your support. You can find the link to the Kickstarter in the description of this video or pinned to the top of the comments section. When you go over there, guess what? You could pick up the Roots and Spheres program and join us for our 2024 Moon Circle meet with us.

Or you can follow along with the recordings if you can't make it live. We have meetings that happen before every new moon and right before every full moon, where we get together to look at the astrology of the cycle. We check in as a group and discuss what we've been noticing and experiencing. We also talk about the plant, and we teach you how to work with the plant, where to get it, how to prepare it, and how to use it, along with spiritual practices or rituals and creative projects that we give you to work on journal optional journaling with the planets and plants and then we come together, and we talk about how we are learning and changing in this intentional relationship with every moon cycle. It's a fantastic program. It's our most affordable program.

We try to make the price point super accessible, and it's also on sale through Kickstarter; pick the Roots and Spheres reward when you pledge and come join us for the moon cycle the moon cycles in 2024. We'd love to see you. We would. Thank you guys so much for listening. We hope you will enjoy these moon cycles. Be sure to check back in and tell us how they went when these moon cycles come up. Think of this video. Come back and tell us your story. Maybe we'll use one of your stories and Grabbed Episode Two. We'd love to do that. That is it for now. We hope you guys have a great rest of your day, and we will see you again soon. Bye.