"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger" | Celebrating the Full Strawberry Moon in Capricorn
"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger" | Celebrating the Full Strawberry Moon in Capricorn
a three-step SOUL FLOSS workout by Dr. MLE | Beach Witch
Welcome to “What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger” | Celebrating the Full Strawberry Moon in Capricorn
I’ve crafted this three-step Soul FLOSS workout in celebration of the Full Strawberry Moon Friday, June 21, 9:08 pm Eastern/6:08 pm Pacific. This is the first of two Full Moons in a row in Capricorn, a lunar double-whammy with a “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” vibe.
Whether it’s an invitation to celebrate (you are stronger!), reflect (it hasn’t killed you yet!), or transform (how long can you really stay in this twilight energetic state?), the Full Strawberry Moon in Capricorn is a powerful reminder that it’s time to balance optimism with practicality, unlock the power of our words, and let go of deadweight—emotional, spiritual, physical, metaphysical, existential!
There are three steps:
Divine Download
Terrestial Intention
Cloud Ladder
For an extra-magical boost, carve out about 30 minutes to perform this workout on the Summer Solstice, the day before the Full Strawberry Moon—so Thursday, June 20.
Of course it’s always a good time to let go of deadweight, and you can do this workout anytime life is weighing you down!
You’ll need a few, affordable magical ingredients and an environment that allows you to do your work. A space that allows you to focus and energetically connect and manifest your intentions in a relaxed, easeful, and open way.
And remember, if you’re short on time, it’s okay to skip a step or really just spin the whole thing in a direction that feels even better for you.
This workout is just a jumping off point.
It’s 100% customizable.
Every ingredient is optional and you can improvise with what’s available.
Please gather:
a blue candle
a black crystal/rock/stone/shell
a white crystal/rock/stone/shell
a plant ally (a houseplant, a tree you love, an avocado, some Spanish moss, a wildflower seed, a flower)
a lemon
Step #1 | Divine Download
In this step, you practice tapping into your intuition and downloading mystic messages tailored just for you!
Start by creating a grid.
Place the white crystal/rock/stone/shell at the center to invite clarity.
Place the black crystal/rock/stone/shell at the bottom for grounding and protection from negative energy.
Place the blue candle at the top to enhance communication, self expression, and creativity.
On the right, place a plant ally to help you have the courage and the strength to speak your truth, to use your authentic voice and to invite others to speak their truth, as well.
On the right, place a chalice of water to receive your truths.
Cut the lemon in half and make a cross through one of the halves. Cut about halfway down, not all the way. Pull the four sections apart just enough that you can insert a piece of paper in the middle of the cross. The lemon will cleanse your words so your communication is open and honest.
Place the lemon next to the chalice.
Place your notebook in the center, putting the white crystal/rock/stone/ shell on top of it.
Light the candle.
OK, this is an energetically-charged container in which you can be present and tap into your intuition no matter how it has been dulled by life, in which you can say “yes” to whatever will bring joy, light, and love to your life, in which you can listen up to the Full Moon.
OK, now it’s time to listen up!
The cosmos is really trying to tell us something over the next 30 days, from the June 21 Full Strawberry Moon in Capricorn to the July 21 Full Buck Moon in Capricorn. Like through a lunar megaphone.
Like “life’s too short not to believe wildly in your own potential!”
And “none of us can outrun our responsibilities—they’ve got all the time in the world to catch up with us!”
And “knowing thyself is the greatest achievement of all!”
And “sometimes your have to lose everything to gain anything!”
And “God is change and so must we. Fly straight into it if you can!”
And “there is something better than perfection!”
And “failure isn’t the enemy—fear is!”
And “if you stop sleeping your life away, you could actually tap that spring inside you mind!”
And “when life gives you the boot, ask for salt!”
And “over the years the monkeys on my back turned into a whole family circus!”
And “thanks, past for all your lessons and, no, you will not interfere with my relations with the future!”
Et cetera.
(You’ll notice that most of these messages are relevant, regardless of the astrological moment…)
Art courtesy of Herakut.
Tune inward, and ask:
Which message resonates most with your life right now?
(Mine: “God is change and so must we. Fly straight into it if you can!”)
Which do you instinctively resist?
(Mine: “life’s too short not to believe wildly in your own potential!”)
Which has the strongest “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” vibe?
(Mine: “over the years the monkeys on my back turned into a whole family circus!”)
Stir all three together and see what comes out of the mix.
For example, when I reflect on the three messages I’ve chosen, I think about the clay pot that goes through the fire and is transformed—this is what my life has felt like for the last 18 months, at least. Lately I’ve been joking that I hope to come out transformed into something beautiful that I wouldn’t otherwise have imagined, like some embroidered white panties or a fallen leaf or a left earlobe à la the French ceramicist Juli About.
But, as potters know, firing clay is very much an act of faith—there is no way to know how the pieces will turn out until they emerge from the fire—whether I will emerge washed-out, soul crumpled, and past my expiration date, like a Pottery Barn soda can vase!
Art courtesy of Juli About.
When I meditate on the metaphor of the clay pot, what I hear goes something like this: “I am still fighting with my big and small fears but lately I seem to be winning.”
This is my Divine Download.
Now I know what to listen for.
And how about you?
Take a few minutes to listen, really listen, and write what you hear down.
Maybe write it down sigil-style, which is a kind of magical cipher. Delete all the nouns from the message. Delete any repeated verbs. Viola! Instant sigil. If you want, you can make your sigil aesthetic by arranging the letters into a kind of pictographic or symbol.
Sigil-style, my Divine Download reduces to: “LTYMFGHNWBSRW.”
And how about yours?
Fold or roll your Divine Download up and insert it in the lemon.
2 | Terrestrial Intention
In this step, you translate your divine download into an action you can take to support you in manifesting the life you want to be living.
The Full Moon in Capricorn means business and wants you to as well!
The Full Moon in Capricorn wants you to use this time to create systems that transform daily toil into daily ritual!
The Full Moon in Capricorn wants you to show up for the job—joyously, with the wellbeing of everyone in mind!
The Full Moon in Capricorn wants to help you practice your roar and find your own voice!
The Full Moon in Capricorn asks you to purge negative mind loops and clear space for the voice of your inner wise one!
The Full Moon in Capricorn knows it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog!
The Full Moon in Capricorn knows that cowards die many times before their deaths!
The Full Moon in Capricorn knows that unlearning is a powerful option, too!
The Full Moon in Capricorn asks you to unapologetically own your power in your career, vocation, partnerships, or life direction!
The Full Moon in Capricorn knows that embodying the fullness of the power that is rightfully yours requires ongoing and arduous work!
Art courtesy of Herakut.
Tune inward, and ask:
Which message resonates most with your life right now?
(Mine: “purge negative mind loops and clear space for the voice of your inner wise one!”)
Which sparks your curiosity most?
(Mine: “unlearning is a powerful option, too”)
Which has the “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” vibe?
(Mine: “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog!”)
Stir all three together and see what comes out of the mix.
For example, when I reflect on the three intentions I’ve chosen, I think about painter and art advocate Elaine de Kooning saying: “You have to have confidence amounting to arrogance, because particularly at the beginning, you’re making something that nobody has asked you to make.”
Elaine de Kooning
And executive coach and licensed social worker Melody Wilding arguing: “Confidence isn’t a pre-requisite for success. Rather it’s a byproduct.” (Which, in my opinion, comes from taking risks and learning as much from your failures as your successes…)
And Elaine’s painter friend (and sometimes rival for her husband, William’s, affections…) Joan Mitchell inviting: “When you are tired, depressed, or even sick… there is only one cure: get up and work.”
What I hear emerging goes something like this: “how you live any day is how you live every day.”
Which sounds a lot like poet Annie Dillard’s famous: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living.”
Ok, ok. I’m getting out my calendar right now, and making some appointments to GET TO WORK while I’m in the fire, so, I, like the clay pot, can come out transformed into ART!
This is my Terrestrial Intention.
Now I know what action to take.
And how about you?
Write it down. Maybe sigil-style, which is a kind of magical cipher. Delete all the nouns from the message. Delete any repeated verbs. Viola! Instant sigil. If you want, you can make your sigil aesthetic by arranging the letters into a kind of pictographic or symbol.
Sigil-style, my Terrestrial Intention reduces to: “HWYSNDRDV.”
And how about yours?
Fold or roll your Terrestrial Intention up and insert it in the lemon.
3 | Cloud Ladder
In this step, you will embark on the personal perceptual shifts that can begin to unravel outmoded societal narratives and etch new paths
For me—as a beach witch, love poet, and joyous revolutionary arts educator—this particular Full STRAWBERRY moon in Capricorn vibes with former Poet Laureate (and first indigenous Poet Laureate) Joy Harjo’s poem “Cloud Ladder.”
Cloud Ladder
My thought being did not know where to go.
It was a bladed urge of green, a dream particle
That lifted from my collarbone as I stepped
In the direction of sundown, to watch dark touch the earth.
I’d had enough of questions posed by the hierophant.
He carries the book of rules made by men who think they own the land.
I will never be enough when measured by such flat line
Measurement of meaning.
Consider the curve of earth, I argued.
I took my thought being for a walk just as the light
Of summer touched water along the coastline of desire.
I could be a dove perched in the tree of new knowledge.
I could be a dolphin leaping loops in sky water.
I could be nothing.
When thought beings become all possibilities of blue
And speak through my hands, I am everything.
I sent my thought being to the edge
Of the horizon and watched as it disappeared up a cloud ladder
Bearing on its back the weight I was carrying.
For the taste of green.
I think this poem is about how personal perceptual shifts can begin to unravel outmoded societal narratives and etch new paths. I think this poem dares us to feel into the depths that only our own deep, inner truths can hold. It tricks us into bravery and demands our attention, focus, and devotion.
Supercharge the Divine Download and Terrestrial Intention inside your lemon by holding the lemon in your left (receiving) hand and reading “Cloud Ladder” out loud—a few times, so you can really get the feel of the words in your mouth, on your tongue, through your lips, on your breath.
Send your own thought being to the edge, watch it disappear up the cloud ladder of your breath.
Of course, it helps if you can complete this step somewhere where you, too, can see the horizon, or a coastline or the curve of the Earth. Get outside, babes!
Place the lemon in the chalice of water, like a tangy yellow sailboat.
If you have one, maybe add a cocktail umbrella or a tiny flag.
Add the black and white crystal, letting them sink to the bottom.
Set the chalice somewhere where it can absorb the light of the Full Strawberry Moon. If you can, place the chalice next to your plant ally, or your plant ally next to your chalice.
The next day, offer the water to the sun, or send it lovingly to your community by flushing it down the drain. Offer the lemon to your compost or your garbage disposal. Whatever feels right to you, honor it, because you are about to get some DIVINE DOWNLOADS over the next 30 days! Place the black and white crystal on your altar or windowsill or next to your plant ally—anywhere where they can act like a lunar switchboard, eavesdropping on what the cosmos is saying and downloading it for you in anticipation of next month’s “Through Adversity To The Stars” workout.
And, in the meantime, GET TO WORK! Follow through on your intention. Take action. Manifest the destiny that is rightfully yours!
That’s all for now, babes!
You can access the rest of my alchemical FLOSS rituals here on Substack, and all of my transformative SAUCE workouts on Youtube.
Please join me: in reclaiming the power that is RIGHTFULLY YOURS!
ONE SOUL FLOSS WORKOUT AT A TIME!
xxxO, Dr. MLE | Beach Witch
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