Letter 11: Sagittarius Season, The Mourning Moon, Cisterna Chyli, & an Introduction to Celtic Mysticism

This week we will find ourselves immersed in the season of Sagittarius, under a new zodiac sign for the year we will discuss what this sign represents and how we can relate to it, as well as the full moon in Gemini known as the Mourning Moon that we are experiencing this week. We'll delve into its profound influence during the Sagittarius season. Building on this we will be turning our attention to a lesser known area of the body that is responsible for us feeling tense and curled up during times of stress, the Cisterna Chyli. So join me today as we learn how we can release this ball of nerves and open ourselves up more to the expansive energies of the universe, and dive deep with me into the ancient practice of Celtic Mysticism and how we can all use it to allow ourselves to be more grounded and connected during challenging times and adding it to your regular practices all together. 

Let’s get right into it.

Beginning November 22nd and lasting until December 21st, we find ourselves amidst the season of Sagittarius. This zodiac sign is represented by an archer in the form of a centaur. This is the ninth zodiac sign of the year, is a mutable fire sign, and is ruled by the planet Jupiter. I hope this is starting to paint a picture for you about what this season has in store for us. Being ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius is associated with growth, expansion, travel, knowledge, and abundance. Until the end of this zodiac’s influential period, we can expect our worlds to be expanded. Whether this means spiritually, financially, physically, or emotionally. Expect big changes to your ability to see the bigger picture that lies ahead, and take this time to utilize the energy to set intentions and revisit your manifestations. Because of Sagittarius energy, we will be able to visualize these things with great detail and may actually be able to SEE this future for ourselves. 

We can all expect to be learning new things about ourselves from now until December 21st that will help us to grow closer to our higher selves. Nothing will feel ordinary, things will feel as though they’re moving quickly, your mind might feel less cluttered as you start to experience life externally, and find yourself living in the moment more than living hermit style in your mindscape. This can be used as a great time to take a step back from shadow work and see the external opportunities and changes it has brought to you. Take a moment this season to acknowledge how far you have come and how much further you can go! You have the potential and the luck of the Sagittarius on your side.

During this season we will also be experiencing a full Mourning Moon in Gemini. A Mourning moon is the phrase we use on the last full moon before the winter solstice, this moon is also called the Beaver moon. Some say this is the very last glimpse of brightness as we delve into a dark and snowy season. In pagan tradition, this symbolizes the time to reflect on the year we just experienced. A time to let things go, and become lighter as the year becomes darker. A time to release baggage and old habits so that we may start the Spring season of renewal, renewed ourselves. Historically, different cultures saw the full moon as reminders of inevitable change in seasons and weather. A full moon as referenced In the Celtic calendar, marks the end of spring and again marks the beginning of October's “seed-fall” and then enters us into November, the month of “darkest depths.” Every opportunity we have had as we near the end of fall and begin to prepare for the dark, cold and short days of Winter, is that of releasing, preparing for our own form of hibernation, getting rid of everything we don’t need to take with us, letting things die and honoring them for they no longer serve us on this journey, and many other themes of releasing the old to make way for the new! What a beautiful season we have probably overlooked a thousand times in our lives, yet it holds so much meaning for us. 

This particular full moon is landing in the sign of Gemini. Each full moon gives us yet another chance for releasing, and feeling our emotions on a deeper level. The sign of Gemini offers us the catalyst we need to break through our old patterns and beliefs as we discussed a moment ago. Gemini allows us to communicate our needs freely to ourselves and to others as we manifest and set intentions for Sagittarius season and the Full moon, it influences us to change our thoughts and perspectives on our behaviors and patterns and the ways our minds have functioned up until now. Gemini full moon asks us to reset the narrative that we have to live the stories that we have been writing our whole lives and asks us to redefine our reality. It also is inviting us to search for our own sense of truth, and move from thoughts of lack and see the bigger picture of our lives and the world as a whole. 

Now that we have spoken about the releasing and letting go that is being called to us this season, I want to share with you a part of the body you may not be familiar with. I say this only because during my own healing journey, I had no idea this part of the body existed and it turns out it was holding a lot of energy and emotions that were so tightly wound and stuck they actually were able to cause my heart to flutter and my breath to be short. This area is called the Cisterna Chyli. The Cisterna Chyli is a ball of nerves, and lymphatic vessels that meet in the middle of your abdomen, sort of where your ribs come together at the bottom, and just above your stomach. This spot on most of us already holds so much as a large amount of us hold anxiety, fears, stress and more in the stomach. When you feel your stomach drop, or you get butterflies, or nervousness, it originates in this ball of nerves here. The emotions that I have found that are trapped here are anxiety, excitement, nervousness, worry, fear, guilt, apathy, resentment, grief, and overwhelm. But, through discussion with the friend that introduced me to this body part, I have learned that this area is different for everyone. Such is the truth for all body parts and emotions. You may store anger here while another person stores panic, and another stores overwhelming happiness here, because yes it is possible for emotions besides negative ones to become trapped as well it just isn’t noticed as much. 

While I am still unable to find any resources about this area and its emotions, you will be able to tell which emotions are trapped there by self study. Simply noticing where you feel an emotion when it comes up is a great way to know where you are storing it. Once you acknowledge you are feeling something and it is being stored in the Cisterna Chyli, just use hands on massage and lightly rub the area to release the nerves that are greatly sensitive and become tight very easily. 

At the end of each newsletter I like to include a witchy something. Whether this be a crystal, a tarot card, the Chakras, a meditation or a spell. This week I was sparked by something I said in my last newsletter, about how many traditions of earth magick, and connection have been mostly lost to the ages. So, this week I chose my witchy something to be Celtic Mysticism. I of course am not going to go into much detail, but just discuss the history and the importance of this topic. 

The Celtic people originated around the Iron Age in western Europe around 600 bc. The tribes of Celtic people consisted of many throughout Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales. They relied heavily on tradition and are not commonly known to have kept any records or writings. An ancient being known as the Druid, however did write an enchanted script that was based on trees and the teachings within them known as the Ogham Alphabet. Druid philosophy is still around to this day, with its core values consisting of love and compassion for all living things, environmentalism, helping those in need, and so on. It has changed very little since the beginning of them, like we have since founded the term Neo-Druid which is a word for modern druids, and they no longer practice animal or human sacrifice, which was never fully accredited since it was a rumor the Romans claimed they had done. 

There is such a depth of mythology, lore, symbolism, spells, rituals, exercises, and philosophies that the Celtic peoples adapted. The mysterious ways of this ancient culture is definitely one to look into. Although Druid peoples forbade anyone who was not ordained into their society to practice any of their spells and rituals, there are many other things that have been passed down and changed throughout history that pagans and mystics alike all have the authority to practice.

It is my understanding that Celtic Mysticism is the base of paganism that states we must care for our mother earth, and connecting to her helps us connect to the spirits of the land and the spirits of other lands. It allows us to utilize folk magic from ancient ancestors and pagans that help us to live our most magickal lives. Through using natural resources, staying true to ourselves and keeping positive philosophies like treating those around us with respect including the plants and animals. Keeping a relationship with other living things that helps us ALL to thrive and not have one rule over the other. There are so many tools, tips, meditations, and ways of life we can all adapt to that help us to stay connected to the ancient ways that allowed us to thrive with our mother earth and in turn she was more than glad to help us thrive. 

I won’t go much further into it, but there are a few practices that we use today that stem from Celtic mysticism that if you feel called you could look into and deepen your pagan practices.

• Homeopathics

• Herbalism

• Solstice ceremony

• Divination

• Holistic medicine

• Spirit animals

• Totems and talismans

• Spells and rituals

It really is a beautiful ancient practice, and one of the MOST ancient at that. 

Thanks so much for joining in this week! I hope the information finds you well and you are able to utilize it to your best intentions.