Here at the New Moon, and with so many going through ordeals of varying degree, I've had the bat on my mind, and in the cards. Bat is the symbol of initiation and rebirth.
On bat, Ted Andrews notes in his classic Animal Speak, "Its medicine is strong and can even be traumatic. It is a nocturnal animal, and the night was often considered the home of fears."
This lunation in Cancer seems to me a time to face personal nightmares, and waking hour anxieties with roots in past trauma. Andrews sees the bat as a powerful ally for facing fears, so they don't run amok, taking on a life of their own. He writes, "Fears that are allowed to spread, uninhibited will eventually permeate our system and can create a kind of madness within our lives."
I'll never forget creaking open the door of a great-great-grandmother's cobwebby cabin and seeing a bat sleeping there. It merely opened one eye, and then went back to sleep. The upside-down sleeping bat relates to The Hanged Man card in the Tarot. The Hanged Man seems to say hang in there, in situations that are harrowing and beyond your control. That something is playing itself out, and has its own timing. And to let go, and prepare for rebirth.
In an ordeal, fear can reach paralyzing heights. I like Andrews' reminder to tune in to your own instincts, and trust that any death, leads to rebirth. To let go is to "follow the flow within." New Moons are so often about surrender, but this one feels especially so. Andrews' writes, "Remember that each time you trust your own inner promptings, you chase the fears within the dark corners of your mind away."
It's a curious thing, too, how fears are passed on through the family line. Cancer is the sign of emotional wellsprings and wombs, and the primordial ocean, out of which we emerge. The New Moon is intense in effect until the crescent Moon comes into view. Now is the time to be gentle and forgiving with all any night terrors, and receive them as a message from the soul. Fears, like bat guano (fertilizer), writes Andrews, have value to us "now matter how messy it may seem to be. It holds the promise of empowerment."
Finally, I didn't realize that bat is the only flying mammal. This comes from the Latin plural of breasts mammalis and the singular is mamma. Cancer is the sign of nurturing the young and breasts. We could see the bat as the dark face of the feminine -- the one that encourages us to die to who we've been, and transform. Its ability to fly, is a message, writes Andrews, of rise above even the most dire situations. "It becomes a symbol of promise amidst the sometimes chaotic energies of change. It reflect the ability to move with new heights with the transitions. Yes, our own flights may seem fluttery and jerky, but we will be able to fly."
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Hi Molly ~ I am so glad to have come across your tweet today on this article. Yesterday, was the first time I had ever made my New Moon wish. I had the most amazing meditation during that time and felt such a calmness afterward, an image of huge elephant had ended the meditation. The message of the elephant was also very vital, and important. I felt on top of the world.
Then this morning I awoke and it was if there had been a shift in the polars of the universe for me. The daily grind has been almost impossible for me to manage. I felt a super amount of past energy coming up to zap me. A fear of not being accepted by others, and realizing that ever since I was a child that girls/women have been hard for me to blend with for I am unable to have patience with unsolicited drama. As I was driving home from an errand, it hit me that there might be something more related to this new moon and the flow of the universe effecting me.
I sought out your tweets, and was relieved upon reading this article. Everything you wrote about is resonating deep within me. I can’t thank you enough for bringing your light/gift to the surface to share with the world. This article brought me much needed clarity and I feel as if I can refocus, and hang on. It’s funny that you wrote ‘hang in there” because earlier as I sobbed away in my bathroom, I thought out loud, I don’t know if I can keep hanging on. Your article has definitely been a divine gift of message.
I am grateful.
Best Wishes…
Such beautiful words, thank you Melissa. It takes a big heart to share something so private — at this most private of New Moons. I am wondering now, who out there will read your words, so from the heart, and be comforted by them. I’m grateful too, for your comment tonight.
Melissa youre definately not alone so perhaps its ok for me to say you have a fellow reader who understands and is right there with you…thank you for this article Molly,once again youve hit the nail on the head!
I too am very grateful for the insight you have brought to my life’s path,Molly..I really have to say that many trials have been seen and understood more deeply after reading your headlines..
When we let go and hang in there,we reach out and become more open,thus finding out we are powerful in groups..when brought together during these trials.
Melissa youre definately not alone so perhaps its ok for me to say you have a fellow reader who understands and is right there with you…thank you for this article Molly,once again youve hit the nail on the head!
I too am very grateful for the insight you have brought to my life’s path,Molly..I really have to say that many trials have been seen and understood more deeply after reading your headlines..
When we let go and hang in there,we reach out and become more open,thus finding out we are powerful in groups..when brought together during these trials.