“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” - Maya Angelou
Happy Spring Equinox (or “Vernal Equinox”) for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere of the world! For those in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the start of fall. An equinox occurs when the sun’s light crosses the equator, and the hours between day and night are almost equal. Being here in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are growing longer, and warmth is returning to the land. Nature is waking up from the slumber of winter, and snow-capped mountains are slowly melting away.
A few days ago, Southern California experienced a spectacular Painted Lady butterfly migration. Clouds of these captivating winged creatures were flying all around, feeding from one location to another. They originate from Mexico and make their way north through California in order to breed. At the end of their breeding season, they die, and their offspring migrate their way back south to Mexico. With all the recent rains and an abundance of food sources, the butterflies gathered in numbers in the millions not seen since 2005.
It was such a beautiful sight to see them fluttering from blossom to blossom in our Grandmother Orange tree. One even landed on my hand! I had a moment of gratitude for the honor of being a rest stop for these amazing insects as they gather energy for their long and final trip to their destination. Los Angeles was, briefly, a place of magic found in story books. Instead of castles and fairies, we have skyscrapers and butterflies.
Butterflies represent transformation and living your purpose. They are spiritual messengers that great change is about to happen or has already happened in your life. Embrace those changes with an open heart and have full faith in the process as being for your highest good. They teach us that with the change of seasons, it is time to shed your chrysalis and emerge from your old form into your new embodiment of a higher understanding. These are just a few of the many things we can learn from butterfly spirit.
It all starts with the decision to act upon your intuition and create the world you want. In the case of butterflies, it’s not a decision—it is their life purpose. Letting go of what does not serve one’s highest good so one can live their purpose is not easy for many people. They want so much to change but can never seem to outgrow their own chrysalis because they deeply believe their current form is their true nature. They remain a pupa, not moving beyond their self-limiting beliefs of smallness, lack, disempowerment, and poor sense of self-worth.
So, what does transformation have to do with clearing and shedding these old, lower vibrational energies? To illustrate, the airport control tower tells the airplane captain that they are “clear for takeoff.” You need to fly, and in order to do that, drop all excess baggage and blockages that hinder you from getting off the ground. Hence, the runway must be free of other planes to safely become airborne. Likewise, it is imperative that your path be free of all distractions, old belief systems and energies not in alignment with your higher purpose.
The act of clearing self allows the body, mind, and spirit to begin transformation from one state of being to another. If you’ve ever heard about the Law of Attraction, clarity of intentions is integral to co-creating with the Universe. For example, inner transformation can be as simple as listening to your inner urges to make those life changing decisions towards your ultimate dream come true, whatever that may be. In another instance, anointing with intention oils and smudging with guava leaves daily are methods of telling the Universe you are working towards manifesting your intentions in the outer world, because you are clearing and organizing your inner world. All-in-all, you bring a sense of aliveness, magic, and empowerment to your everyday life when you choose to grow from all your experiences, live with purpose and fly free to be your highest self.
Some indications that you may need to do a cleanse are: 1) Irritability 2) confusion 3) mind fog 4) tiredness 5) irregular or painful menstruation 6) depression 7) anger 8) anxiety or stress 9) extreme weight gain or weight loss and many more. These are just some physical symptoms pointing to energetic blockages in the way of you living your best self. After this long cold winter, an internal spiritual spring cleaning is an order!
Reflecting on Maya Angelou’s quote about the butterfly, there is truth in rarely acknowledging the changes to its beauty. Today, begin recognizing the ones you have gone through in your life to be who you are now. Here are some questions to meditate on:
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What changes in your life have you gone through that have made you who you are today?
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What do you want to change in your life for the better?
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What beliefs have kept you in a chrysalis? Are you willing to let go of some or all of them?
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What small or major decision can you make today that will get you closer to the change you want to see in yourself and in your life?
Complete this meditation and note down your answers before doing the following ritual.
In the spirit of Spring Equinox on this Super Full Moon in Libra, I offer you a ceremony to be used within these next 3 days of full moon’s light. This ritual is compatible for use on both sides of the hemispheres during spring and fall equinoxes.
Full Moon Butterfly Dance Ritual
Materials needed:
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Drawing paper
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Colored pencils or markers
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Black pen, marker or pencil
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Lighter or matches
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Heat-resistant dish to burn guava leaves in
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Yellow candle (taper, votive, or in glass)
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Flowers (anything you feel is beautiful)
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Glass of spring water (Prep water by placing the glass under full moon light to charge before ritual)
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Music that makes your spirit soar
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Notes with answers to above meditation questions
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Notebook
For this ritual, you may want to be at table for ease or drawing or a place with a hard surface to draw on, indoors or outdoors. Preferably, this activity should be done under the light of the full moon, if weather permits.
Protocol:
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Sit quietly to gather your energy and center yourself. Make sure to have all your materials in front of you.
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Breathe in eight deep cleansing breaths.
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Place five drops of Moldavite Solstice Manifestation Oil on the yellow candle. If it’s a taper/votive candle, dress it by placing five drops in your hand, and start by rubbing the candle with oil from the center all around the way to the bottom. Then go back to the center and rub oil all around the way to the top. Add more oil if there wasn’t enough to completely dress the candle.
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Light the candle.
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Take the guava leaf and burn the tip until it begins to smolder and waft its smoke over you. Make sure the guava leaf is placed safely onto a heat-resistant dish. Begin purifying your auric field with the smoke. Continue doing this until you feel ready to move on to the next step.
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Obtain the anointing oil and place a few drops into your hand. Place your other hand over the drops of oil and intend what you reflected on that needed change. Anoint yourself in this order and be sure you have enough oil to make it around your body: Crown chakra, third eye chakra, behind both ears, nape of the neck, throat chakra, heart chakra, solar plexus chakra, sacral chakra, root chakra (lower back just above your tailbone), wrists and palms. If you feel called to anoint other parts, please do so.
Speak aloud:
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I call upon Highest Source to help me connect to my Higher Self. I call upon Mother Earth and the Native Spirits of this land for support and permission to do this work. May this space be a container of safety, protected by all my ancestors before me and all the angelic beings of light to guide me on my journey to transformation and co-creation with the Universe.
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Play your favorite music.
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On a piece of paper, sketch or draw a butterfly. This butterfly represents you. What would you look like? What colors and shapes are your wings? Color the picture and be creative! As you manifest this image, put intentions of transformation you set out to have or become.
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When you are done, place the flowers around your drawing. Take time to marvel at what you created and write down any thoughts and feelings you get from seeing your picture.
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Place the yellow candle in the middle of the drawing and allow the candle to burn down to completion.
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Dance around (or move in whatever way you feel comfortable) and express yourself like a butterfly under the light of the moon. Feel the magic flowing into your being with each breath and wings unfurling from your spirit. Enjoy this moment!
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When you are done with movement, come back to your drawing.
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Drink the full moon energy charged glass of water.
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Inhale eight deep cleansing breaths.
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Burn guava leaf once more to offer smoke in prayer and gratitude to the ancestors for their support.
*Do not extinguish the candle. Make sure you place your drawing and candle with the flowers in a safe space after the ritual.
Speak aloud:
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I give thanks to Highest Source in helping me to connect to my higher self. I give thanks to Mother Earth, the Native Spirits of this land, all the ancestors, angelic beings and helpful spirits of light for maintaining the safety of this container of ceremony. Thank you for your guidance on my journey to transformation, for the greater good of all. I release you all and this container of sacred time and space now. And so it is.
May this gift of ritual serve you well.
If you loved this ritual or want to share anything regarding your own inner transformation, LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!
Blessings and salamat,
Lyn
Copyright © 2019 by Lyn Pacificar All rights reserved.
