This week is the second new moon after the winter solstice. 

It indicates that the energy of spring is starting to stir. I like to think about all the seeds nestled in the earth starting to vibrate with this energy, getting ready to germinate and grow, for it is the very beginning of spring.

In spring, growth energy returns. This energy rises from the ground and pushes up to the sky, triggered by the growing light of the sun. A wonderful time to prepare for the energy that is to come.

If you are a gardener or farmer then now is the time to evaluate your soil and make adjustments to it in preparation for spring.

We can do the same evaluation with ourselves — How is my inner soil? Is it clay-like or sandy? Acidic or alkaline? Is it thin or rich in nutrients? How is it affecting my growth?

2022 brings the Year of the Tiger. This means volatile energy. This energy may be welcomed by some of you after the plodding energy of the last year of the Ox. But for many of us, we’re not quite ready for the wild ride of Tiger energy.

My soil needs tending- does yours? If it feels a bit thin this year, let’s ease into spring gently. I will personally prepare with yoga, meditation, lemon water, dry brushing; tender sprouts, seeds, small beans and lentils. I will shift my herbs from the warming herbs of winter to the liver support needed in spring. Also, poetry is nice in the spring. It tends the soil nicely.

Well or beginning poorly, what is important is simply to begin, but the ability to make a good beginning is also an art form, beginning well involves a clearing away of the crass, the irrelevant and the complicated to find the beautiful, often hidden lineaments of the essential and the necessary.

“BEGINNING” by David Whyte