One of the first presents I gave my husband was a surfboard. He wanted one really badly. Surfing was a point of contention in his first marriage. I knew this because, more than several times during those first few years, he bristled with defensiveness at the possibility of anyone (me) encroaching on his Saturday morning surf time. I reassured him that I supported his independence, and the hobby that I knew symbolized so much more than a hobby for him, but no matter how many times I said it, that old wound would resurface.
So I bought the surfboard, because surfing is a part of him in the same way solitude is part of me. I bought the surfboard because I wanted there to be no question that I loved and accepted all of him –not just the parts that I understood, agreed with and didn’t interfere with my weekend plans. I bought that surfboard because I wanted to see him smile, a smile as fantastic as the sunrise, and it just so happened that when I did we also got an added benefit: a clean slate. That old haunting apparition he had about not being supported for who he was, those strange ancient arguments that appeared out of nowhere and I never understood, went up in smoke.
Luxurious gifts aren’t always necessary, or even practical, for restoring balance to a relationship, but I do believe my Libra Rising had honed in on a fundamental disharmony in our relationship and sought to restore it through giving what was most needed. Libra is the archetype of giving and receiving, of equality and balance. When two people (in business, friendship or love), are in sync with the flow of give and take, the relationship thrives, blossoms and blooms.
This Libra New Moon initiates a season of harmonizing within, and with each other. Yin and yang, outflow and inflow, giving and receiving, rest and action, mind and heart, healing and being healed, nourishing and being nourished, the fundamental balance we feel, or lack thereof, governs our entire life, magnetizing and attracting experiences and people to us. Balance is the dynamic energy underlying everything. Which is why when we’re in balance we can manifest parking spaces and cash, and when we’re out of balance we attract what we need to learn (and why, when a surfboard is exactly what’s needed to heal an old wound and bring my relationship back into harmony, the world conspired to help that intention). The Libra Universe is just, fair, gracious and marvelously corrective. The Scales may swing, but they always seek center.
Libra New Moon is always a good time to check in on the give and take of your relationships. Is there something you need to give to another, or ask for, that would re-balance the Scales? “I do all the housework, cooking, cleaning, which I enjoy, though he doesn’t pitch in to help even when I ask for it,” said a client recently, “Then a few days ago I realized why I’m unhappy. I’m not receiving at the level I’m giving. I want to receive as much as I give.” The balance of giving and receiving is as fundamental to relationship as sunshine is to life. Often it’s easier to complain about what we lack in a primary partnership than to ask for what we need and desire. Yet when we’re not reciprocal and mutual, there’s no fulcrum to relax into and the Scales wildly flail.
Where does this New Moon fall, in your birth chart? Hold the space for less tension here, more mutuality, harmony, peace, fairness, appreciation, beauty and ease. Meditate on the symbol of the Scales and see what comes up for you. Discover the magic every Libra knows: bring any one part of your life into balance and you gain spiritual congruence in the rest of your life. Then, do what Libra loves: kick back, relax, appreciate the beauty surrounding, while watching as your efforts to restore integrity come back to you tenfold.
artwork: Two Baskets of Oranges by Ilya Zomb