Everyone has a super power, a strength that they have honed and use as a resource. Whatever your super power is, it’s probably, mystifyingly also your greatest weakness. In the dog days of summer, this month’s blue moon lands on Lughnasadh, an ancient harvest holiday situated directly in between the summer solstice and the Autumn Equinox. With so many auspicious natural occurrences converging on one day/night our super power will be a bright luminary amongst the glowing astral bodies. The opportunistic self-awareness seeker can probe their illuminated super power for enhanced inner wisdom.  Like Yoko Ono said,

Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.
Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence,
but when Summer passes one remembers one's exuberance.

Super powers can be pedestrian or clandestine enough, for one person is might be honesty, for another self-expression, another patience, and another still empathy. We all have one and you probably know exactly what yours is because others reflect it back to you with awe and respect and because you conjure it in times of need. What you probably hadn’t given much thought to is that this super power is also your greatest vulnerability. Like Achilles’ heel or Superman’s kryptonite the honest person might find they always show people their cards and get taken advantage of, the self-expressive person might be a little self-involved. Too much patience might mean you miss opportunities and too much empathy might mean you feel the weight of the world more heavily than you personally can bear. The Universe is balanced and creates opposition to maintain that balance— find your strength and you’ll see your weakness right there on its underbelly. There is power in understanding the balance of these qualities and recognizing their many facets.

The month of July hosts two full moons, this occurrence is known as a blue moon and there won’t be another until 2018. It’s a smoldering beacon of significance, Baby, be sure you bathe in the bioluminescence and see what your body wants to tell you on this special occasion. With the full moon in Aquarius it’s a good time to examine your unconscious motives and messages. While it’s an air sign, Aquarius is closely associated with water, rain, floods and fountains. Water represents the collective unconscious and the sea of creation. With the world evolving so quickly and social media democratizing and publicizing personal and cultural movements and revelations the full moon in Aquarius will help you draw from the wisdom of the planet and apply lessons from other plights to your own journey.

The dog days of summer refer to the hottest days and are associated with the Dog Star Sirius, which can be easily seen in the summer twilight. Homer in the Iliad described it as the star that cometh forth at harvest-time, shining brightly amid the host of stars in the darkness of night.  It’s the heat of the summer, and it’s the last hurrah as the sun starts to depart for the season. The final summer fruits are ripe and the hay has been cut. It’s time for the harvest.

This harvest is known as Lughnasadh and is the first of the natural harvest holidays. The second and third are the Autumn Equinox and Halloween. Traditionally Lughnasadh was a mourning ritual in honor of the departure of the druid God Lugh who was the God of the Sun. Essentially it’s a time to gather together and feast on the perishable plenty of summer in the hot sun while mentally preparing for the Fall and Winter to come. There are always tears at Lughnasadh as it is a celebration of the end of the season of plenty, the glory and loss of love, and the recognition of the hard days to come as the wheel turns yet again. It’s important to note that while it is tearful, it is also joyful: the primary focus of the celebration is gratitude and reverence for the gifts that the union of the Sun and Earth has bestowed upon us throughout the summer. 

Like us, Earth’s greatest strength is her greatest weakness. Her love of the sun and the bounty of summer make the cold dark days of winter bittersweet. Though, some would argue that the summer’s days are more succulent with the memory of winter’s austerity. How do your weaknesses bolster your strengths? Take a moment under the radiant blue moon today to seek your inner wisdom. There are always tears at Lughnasadh but remember it’s a celebration of life’s plenty.

Words by Jamie Leigh Fish
Artwork by Garek Jon Druss 

More from our Full Moon series—