Welcome to the first new moon of 2023! These are powerful and exciting times, they are also inviting us to continue to "level up" our energy fields and our belief systems, as well as to move beyond and through any lingering fears about what is possible for us. I discuss the astrological conjunctions in the podcast above and want to spend a bit more time with the star Altair and constellation Aquila here in the podcast post.

Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila (latin for eagle) and the 12th brightest star in our sky. As it is a fixed star sitting at 1degree of Aquarius, it is perfectly aligned with this new moon, which is the 3rd of 5 new moons taking place at 1 degree of their sign. Altair is associated with the energetics of both Mars and Jupiter, as is the same with the constellation Aquila. Mars provides us with the inspiration, ambition and courage to move towards our soul's desire and purpose and Jupiter compliments that with blessings of expansion, luck and seemingly magical coincidence. I discuss in my upcoming course on Alchemy and Egyptian Magic how magic is not outside of ourselves. "Magic" is likely mysterious for us at this juncture, but also well within our ability to harness its power. With this new moon, we are able to harness the energy for our own healing and realizations as well as for our ability to contribute towards the healing and building of a bright beautiful earth. 

I link the constellation Aquila (and star Altair) with Egyptian Goddess Nekhbet. Aquila is written about on a Euphratean stone dated 1200 BC, where it is described not only as "The Eagle" but also "The Living Eye". Nekhbet, daughter of Sun God Ra, who is often depicted as an all seeing eye, is commonly known as the Vulture Goddess, who is the protector of the pharaoh of upper Egypt. She and her sister Wadjet, also daughter or Ra, are known as "The Two Ladies". While Nekhbet procets Upper Egypt, Wadjet,  the cobra goddess, protects Lower Egypt. Together they unite to protect the unification of all of Egypt. 

There are a couple interesting things to note here: first that Aquila is also known as "The Living Eye" and Nepthys is often depicted either with her wings extended out in a gesture of protection, or with her wings one to the sky, one to the earth on one side of the Eye or Ra or Horus and Wadjet on the other side. According to researchers, among the birds that remained from the ancient world is the Nubian eagle; the eagle widely depicted by the Pharaonic inscriptions  on the walls of the temples in Luxor, which clearly illustrates the extent of reverence for that bird, especially in the era of the Old Kingdom. Eagles were highly associated with the deity Nekhbet; the deity of Upper Egypt, and the protector of the king. The ancient Egyptian depicted Nekhbet as a female eagle with a white crown on her head.

Nekhbet was known not only as a goddess of protection, but also a goddess of fertility. She was understood to have planted/gifted the first papyrus plants along the Nile, which was itself a source of life force energy and abundance. Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus L.) is an aquatic grasslike plant mostly known for its use as paper by ancient Egyptians. Horus, was the god responsible for giving the Egyptians the ability to write, and scribes were considered magical priests and priestesses, who understood alchemical processes and recorded them. This will be discussed in more depth in my online course which you can check out below! (Opening Gathering Saturday January 21st, first teaching session Sunday February 5th 2023.)

​(Editorial Note: I needed to record during a massive storm up here, so you can still hear the pattering of rain on the yurt despite my efforts. Nevertheless, I feel it works well. Enjoy!)

January 6th brings simultaneously the first full moon of 2023 and the last full moon of 2022. 

As this full moon takes place on January 6, just 6 days into the new year, it is common to call this the "first full moon of 2023". Rightly so!

To me this is simultaneously the first full moon as well as the last full moon because this lunar cycle began on December 23 2022, this full moon is a culmination of those energetic seeds planted at that time.. so it is very much still relevant to the close of 2022. ​

This full moon has a series of unorthodox conjunctions: 
Pallas, known as the asteroid of wisdom, is conjunct la luna. Pallas carries the energy of Athena, a goddess of paradox in Greek culture. While she is popularly known for "slaying" the snaked headed gargoyle Medusa, I offer in a previous podcast that she saved Medusa from the hands of Posiedon who raped her by turning her hair into snakes. Medusa, in a gesture of gratitude and service, gave her visage to Athena as protection in battle against her foes.

​The popular story says that Athena told Perseus to slay Medusa out of anger, I offer the two women had their own higher knowing of what was happening and were actually working together. Regardless of which version of the story resonates, Athena then placed Medusa's head as a shield. This is possibly the true version of the Aegis, the magical shield wielded only by Zeus and Athena. Athena uses it in battle to defeat her enemies. (Note: the image at right is a modern day sculpture/interpretation of Medusa. She is holding the head of Perseus in her right hand.)

We also have Sirius conjunct the moon during this full moon. This is an exceptional placement for the brightest star in our night sky. Sirius is also known as the Central Sun to our own Sun. In terms of cosmic downloads, Sirius channels light codes from the Galactic Center to our Sun, which in turn sends these light codes to Earth. Sirius has a special significance to the Dogon tribe, who inhabit an area of Mali called the Bandiagara Escarpment. The Dogon know that Sirius A (which is the brightest star in our night sky) existed in companionship with Sirius B (a white dwarf star invisible to the naked eye). Long before the discovery of Sirius B in the 1950s with an advanced telescope, the Dogon knew of its presence, as well as its orbital period, describing its existence before it was confirmed years later.

Sirius is understood to be a place where light beings live and the Dogon describe them as half amphibian, half human beings (resembling mermaids and mermen) called the "Nommos". They also appear in Babylonian, Accadian, and Sumerian myths. The Nommos, according to the Dogon legend, lived on a planet that orbits another star in the Sirius system, Sirius B. They landed on Earth in an "ark" that made a spinning descent to the ground with great noise and wind. It was the Nommos that gave the Dogon the knowledge about Sirius B.

Interestingly Sirius plays a prominent role in Egyptian culture as well, having the great pyramid constructed so as to align with its path across the night sky.
The Egyptian Goddess Isis, who is sometimes depicted as a mermaid, is also linked with the star Sirius A and Osiris her companion Sirius B. Sirius A is understood as anchoring light codes into the 3rd dimension, while Sirius B exists in the sixth dimension. According to Khemetian myth (the people who preceded the Egyptians) the myth of Isis and Osiris is also likely a tale of the alchemical evolution and ascension of Sirius A, B and C. This is one of many topics that will be covered in my upcoming course Alchemy and Egyptian Magic, which you can join below.