This cancer season in particular has called me back to nourish my roots, to remember the foundation of my love for self and for my family. Cancer, the sign of the crab, the first water sign of the zodiac, invites us to its waters for replenishing our own cup, to allow our feelings to flow and to tend with care to the places and the spaces and relationships we call home.

After our family vacation last week up north, after falling asleep + awaking to the sounds to the waters lapping onto the rocky shores, I was awakened to an uncomfortable knowing about how I was in relationship to my self. I found clarity into how to be more present in the moment for my own mental health and for my family. Often the clarity we seek is through conflicts, through the muck and the mire, if often feels uneasy and uncomfortable. I found through making space and time through disconnecting from social media and the constant stream of information, there was more space for those aspects that matter most. Where my focus flows, grows. I was challenged to hold my attention to the present moment, not the future, not the past, but centered in my heart. I found there is a reciprocal relationship between the care I offer myself and the care I am able to give to others.

This new moon is a divine invitation to start fresh…replenish moon, nurture your emotions moon, foundations moon, your mothers mother moon.

As a ritual to open my new moon practice, I started with the intention to clean the foundations of my home space and my body space. I mopped the floor + crafted a herbal floor wash with dried yarrow, dried elderflower, and a splash of sals suds in my bucket. I got down on my hands + knees with my utmost sincerity to bless the ground of my home + to clean the residue. Our homes are our containers and how we treat them and how we honor them informs so much of our lives. How can we make purposeful offerings to unburden our spaces from what weighs them down physically and energetically?

For my physical body, I made a foot wash to honor and care for that which I stand on, for my feet, my literal roots that carry me through the cycles of my life. To honor + to purify + to offer deep care. Under this cancer new moon, beckoned by the call of the mourning dove a call as familiar as my mothers voice, barefoot tethered to the earth, I gathered fresh flowers from the garden. Mullein flowers to listen more clearly to whispers of my ancestors, yarrow for energetic cleansing and boundaries, and to my surprise a couple roses had bloomed, one of my favorite cancer season allies for heart centering and nourishment.

The act of intentional ritual we can open a portal within ourselves for healing through our action and wholehearted care. My heart is now prepared to plant new moon seeds of intentions, hopes + creative goals for this next lunar cycle. Now I feel cleansed and clear and grounded within my being to listen more attentively to my desires and to reflect light within my life. Connecting to the luminous nature of my being. I invite you to craft your own set of rituals: one for your home and one for your body to cleanse and prepare your heart for intention setting.

How has cancer season been calling to you? How do you honor new moons? How do you replenish yourself in the solitude within?