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We have all read and heard many myths and stories about the Moon. We even know many archetypes associated with her, Gods and Goddeses of East and West that also represent deeper parts and meanings of our individual and collective psyche (Artemis, Kali, Hecate, all the Dark Goddesses, Chandra, etc.).

We also know how the Moon relates to time, to cycles, to transformation, to birth and death, and rebirth and resurrection. We know of her presence and power through the movement of our oceans, of our tides, waning and waxing through eternity. She is the matron of all sea creatures, and as Queen of the Night, she is also matron of night creatures.

She is the other side of the pendulum. In one side the Sun, light, and in the other the Moon, darkness, balancing existence. Reflecting the light back at us.

She relates to our own physical cycles, especially with women and menstruation. In yoga and other ancient philosophies she is associated with energy channels in our subtle bodies: pingala (sun) and ida (moon) channels. The dance of polarities always maintaining balance: masculine/feminine, yang/yin, shiva/shakti.

In more practical terms, the moon represents fertility, resurrection, occult power, immortality and intuition.

Traditionally, the alchemy planet symbols were depicted as seven in number. This is significant as this number corresponds to the seven major organs of the human body, the seven energy centers of the body (chakras), and most interestingly, the seven major metals in alchemy.

In this case, the moon represents one of those metals: Silver, Lesser Work. It reaches its stronger potential when joined with the sun, or Gold in the Greater Work. The moon is a feminine property and alchemists would incorporate it with the sun (gold) to assure balance and equilibrium.

In alchemy, the moon is a facet of silver and silver is symbolic of clarity, purity, and brilliance. Silver is one of the three foundational metals of the Prima Materia and so the silver-personified moon is prominently placed upon the triune throne of transformation.

Silver holds philosophical traits of the feminine persuasion as well as attributes of intuition, inner wisdom, and contemplation.

Silver is a symbol for clarity and strength because this metal withstands abuse, weathering, and even heat.  Nevertheless, it can still be molded into desired forms.

Silver had feminine names or was associated with feminine Goddesses: Nanna for the Chaldeans, Artemis (Greek mythology) for the Rosicrucian alchemists, Diana (Roman mythology) for the Reinassance alchemists and the Arabic alchemists called it Manat when working with silver as an alchemical symbol.

In essence, the moon and silver are the representation of feminine energy, intuition, inner wisdom, reflection, cycles, clarity, strength, the occult, mystery, transformation and balance. Fluid energy, ever changing, ever transformed.

Happy last New Moon of this 2017. May we all plant the seeds of future transformation with awareness and love.

Labyrinths are one of many ancient symbols that has evolved in its meaning. You will certainly be able to search and find a lot of different explanations related to many fields of knowledge.

In essence, the labyrinth represents a journey. It is a winding path to the centre of our beings, and a path back out into the world.

For me, it represents life itself; no matter which path we choose, we always have to come to ourselves, know ourselves, before we can integrate all lessons and adapt them into the exterior reality.

The labyrinth can also be a symbol of the unconscious. The path we take and the monsters we fight in our minds. The fears we have to confront. And learn from. In some mythologies, labyrinths were built with the purpose of luring devils or monsters into them so that they might never escape, or as guardians and protectors of the centre and truth. The Minotaur, the symbol of our deepest fears, of our hidden demons, guarding the labyrinth. The only way out is through the centre. The only way out is by lifting the veil and killing the Minotaur. The only way out is to see clearly.

Labyrinths are also cosmogonic references to the eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Real labyrinths are used as a tool or initiation into a spiritual practice. In other words, it is another tool we can use to go deeper into the depths of our own psyches. Walking a labyrinth can be a wonderful experience. Slowly, step after step the mind might find a way for distraction, but we bring it back to the present by fully embodying the movement through it. Step by step, moving inwards into the centre, physically and mentally. Breathing. Giving an intention and a purpose to our walking action. That is how meaning is found in every moment; by giving it through our thoughts and actions.

A labyrinth has no dead-ends as a maze does. It is one path continuously changing perspective. To get out we must always continue forward, ever present to the twists and turns of our journeys to ourselves. Once we have reached the centre, we integrate all lessons and take them out into the world.

Some studies associate labyrinths to the stars and planets. They portray them as diagrams of the macrocosmos, diagrams of heaven, of the apparent motions of the astral bodies. The terrestrial labyrinth is capable of mirroring the celestial labyrinth. Again we come back to the Hermetic teaching of “as above, so below; as within, so without”, only this time there is an action inherent to the statement as we are the ones who must walk in and through the spiraling path of the labyrinth.

In the Middle Ages, tracing through the labyrinthic path of a mosaic patterned on the ground was considered a symbolic substitute for a spiritual and holy pilgrimage. That’s why we find them many times in cathedrals.

For Mircea Eliade and others, the labyrinth’s true purpose is the protection of the centre, which was an initiation into sanctity, immortality and absolute reality, and as such, equivalent to other trials, or mythical symbolisms like the fight with the dragon.

Labyrinths allude to the neoplatonic idea of “the fall”, the loss of spirit in the process of creation, and the consequent need to seek out the Way through the centre, back to the spirit. In the end, the ultimate goal is union, within oneself, and between oneself and all existence.

Shells have a long history of meanings, symbolism and magical uses. As they are born from the ocean, they are related to water, to our emotions and deeper longings, and therefore also to the Moon, whose energy is always moving the tides. Both the water and the moon give shells a feminine quality to them, a nurturing, soft form of energies.

In Buddhism, shells represent hearing, listening. For Chinese Buddhism it is one of the 8 emblems of good luck. It is a symbol of light. It accompanies many of the sea deities, like Triton.

In Christianity it represents salvation, and were used to sprinkle baptismal waters.  They are also worn by Christians to indicate the completion of the pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James in Galicia, Spain, originally the shrine of the Goddess Bridgette, the Celtic version of Aphrodite.

The scallop shell is associated with the goddess Venus (“born of the sea”) as she was carried to shore by shell in some of the versions of the myth. In Hindu mythology, the version of Aphrodite is associated to the goddess Lakshmi (“born from the churning of the ocean”), consort of Vishnu, and who represented beauty and good fortune.

There are therefore many associated symbols to the shell. The feminine. The moon. The tides. Cycles of change. Gods and Goddesses of the ocean, of beauty, of joy. Intuition. Deep search. Diving in the subconscious. Knowing. Wisdom.

To listen to the sound of the ocean through a shell, or blow a conch shell and listen to the sound, are some of the best experiences to connect with all these deeper meanings. Shells are created by the creatures that inhabit them, and then left behind when no longer needed. This intrinsic wisdom of letting go, of getting rid of the weight that doesn’t serve us in our paths. Nature.

If you don’t know, taking shells affects the ocean. It can damage the environment and destroy ecosystems. They might serve a purpose there. I always encourage everyone I meet in any beach anywhere to leave everything as they found it or better (by collecting trash), to not take a piece of Nature with them. Everything in Her has meaning and reason to exist within Her. So please, maybe next time think about it before you take shells with you home. Every single action CAN be done with awareness.