New Moon: Great Night of Shiva

New Moon: Great Night of Shiva
By Molly Hall, About.com
Sunday February 7, 2010

Is the New Moon in Aquarius (February 13th) the most spiritually potent of the entire year? That's what my sparkly-eyed Sagittarius yoga teacher said today. New Moons are always new beginnings, and this one inspires us to rise above ego-based or ignorant currents of thought. Aquarius is the sign with its head in the cosmos, able to bring a higher perspective down to Earth.

In the Hindu tradition, this New Moon in February coincides with Maha Shivratri, which translates as "The Great Night of Shiva (Sanskrit 'ratri' = night)." It's said that Shiva first did his cosmic dance of primordial creation-preservation-destruction on this night. Maha Shivratri is celebrated this year on February 12th, the night before the New Moon. In images of Shiva, he's dancing inside a wheel of flames, and standing on a demon called Apasmara-Purusha, which means "forgetful and lazy demon." Shiva's dance is to revive the world by killing off negativity and apathy that clouds our minds, and keeps us from that direct connection to spirit.

So this week, as the Moon wanes, is a good time to wake up out of, or shatter stagnant ways of thinking. It's a New Moon for strengthening your channels to spirit, and your Higher Self. Shiva's dance of destruction frees us from these demonic thought patterns that tie us up in negativity. One chant I particularly like is Om Namah Shivaya, (sung here by Krishna Das) which means "I bow to Shiva," with the parallel meaning, "I bow to my own Higher Self." There are many paths to getting clear. It does not have to be complicated or involve chants. But anyway you get there, it's critical in this age of uncertainty, to be able to receive direct guidance from Spirit.

Some themes to ponder:

•What daily habits fill your mind with negativity?
•How can you make space in your mind (perhaps by counting your breath)?
•Are you getting enough time to detach from "frequencies" (cell phone, computer, television)?
•What beliefs keep you from believing in the future?
Shiva/Ellora, Maharashtra

Well I personally am a bit of a fan of Shiva and her work and I love the clearing of the old to make way for the new. I think at times we get distracted in our daily lives and lose our connection to our higher self. I know I have in the past few months. It feels like I don't know who I am and am without purpose when this happens. Recently i picked up a book and started reading again and this kick started my reconnection to my higher self. I still don't know my full purpose but the feeling of being in flow with it has returned. I like the idea that we are constantly given new beginnings - new chances to be who we really are and get to know ourselves and share it with the world. There's never any situation that we are stuck in eternally because there is always a new moon waiting to release us. All we have to do is be open and aware allow change to happen.

Shivratri do not have anything to do with the Shiv Thandav (the great cosmic dance of destruction and creation) at all.

Shivratri's origin is when the Lord Shiva had to save the world from the poison from the snake Vasuki by drinking it and when Parvati, the cosmic mother stopped the poison form going down his throat and ironically His mouth also was closed so that the poison does not spill to the universe and destruct it prematurely. thereby he got the name "Neelakanta" (the one with blue throat) and the night when this incident happened is the Shivratri.


(there is a big esoteric significance and legend to this entire story)


Happy Shivratri to all

Goth~Ink wrote:

Well I personally am a bit of a fan of Shiva and her work and I love the clearing of the old to make way for the new. I think at times we get distracted in our daily lives and lose our connection to our higher self. I know I have in the past few months. It feels like I don't know who I am and am without purpose when this happens. Recently i picked up a book and started reading again and this kick started my reconnection to my higher self. I still don't know my full purpose but the feeling of being in flow with it has returned. I like the idea that we are constantly given new beginnings - new chances to be who we really are and get to know ourselves and share it with the world. There's never any situation that we are stuck in eternally because there is always a new moon waiting to release us. All we have to do is be open and aware allow change to happen.

Ohhh Goth I Am so with you girl on this ONE also. When I feel this way NOW, I take it as a personal sign from my Higher s-ELF or Soul to reconnect, re-alignment. I see that confusion in my life only appears NOW when I need to let go of some of my old thoughts and BE-havious, ways of thinking it, gives me the opport-UNITY to rise above it and LET IT GO and move forward into the NEW. I think NOW that its only there for those reasons and this makes it some what easier for me to connect to who I really AM and I don't lose SOUL this way either.

See I've BE-en dis-illusioned along this Journey of what we call life, I've learnt that everything in my past who I thought I was and who others thought I was, was not who I really was, in the BE-ginning anyways, not my soul s-elf any-who. ( My Higher s-ELF, my SOUL) thats the New. So you see I've BE-en me ALL along, in the first place, I just got lost and Dis-illusoned for a short moment in time. Kind of like a Time Warp, kind of feeling. Now I see We really have the chance to connect to who we really always WE~re and WELL BE. Time to go home!! !! HOME is WE~re the HEART is LOVE !! !!

Love YOU ALL !! !!