May's New Moon Divination, or: "I have friends everywhere."

Hello, friends – One of the reasons I like doing divination around the new moon is that this feels like that moment at the bottom of our breath, when we are waiting to inhale but sort of floating in potential for a time.

Whatever happens next, I have a depth and breadth of resources (friends) to help me make sense of it all and find a path that leads me forward.

(While there is no prize for spotting my Andor references in this write-up, you’ll know ‘em when you see ‘em.)

1. Overall Theme: Heather, for love and relationships, but not just the romantic ones. Heather speaks to connection and harmony. For ourselves and for our community, the theme is care and kindness. Building bridges. “I have friends everywhere.”

2. Potential & Allies: Apple, for choices and making things right. While Apple can refer to personal health and healing, I think its correspondences with the Otherworld are interesting to explore, too. In the US, we’re entering a time when the world we’re used to (I’m guessing most of us on this list are white folks) feels alien and perilous. The world feels “other” than what we consider to be normal. We can choose to meet the world where it’s at, warts and all. In doing so, we’ll have a much more accurate map to the future. The more we deny our reality, the longer it’s going to take to make things right.

3. Static & Obstacles: Hawthorn, for barriers and risks. A literal obstacle. Yes, Hawthorn is generally a signal to take the long way ‘round and exercise some patience, since pushing through would HURT. What I think might be going on here, though, is a reminder about how tempting it is to stay inside the brambly hedge…where it’s safe. But if we never leave that hedge, we lose the opportunity to discover and create anything new. I don’t think it’s encouraging recklessness; rather, it’s a reminder that prioritizing safety has a cost too. “Make it worth it.”

Elder reminds us to fall out of love with false gods like Perfection, Urgency, and Punishment. They will never love us back.  

4. Letting Go: Elder, for regret and knocking off our bullshit. For me, a big part of starting to understand where we are now in the US is unraveling the rotten messages drummed into us by capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy (in no particular order). We undervalue anything that isn’t perfect and undermine our own needs and health to gain acceptance to a club that doesn’t want us – or anyone who isn’t “perfect” by some effed-up definition – to thrive.

   
   

5. Helping Grow: Honeysuckle, for gathering sweetness .Following on the previous position, clearing out the bullshit signals gives us more capacity for joy. Honeysuckle reminds us that joy isn’t just about a fleeting experience. It’s about cultivating, welcoming, and holding ON to joy. It’s about sharing joy with our community. 

It’s hard to believe that, in just a few weeks, we’ll be past the Solstice here. Some big things will be changing for me as well. I hope you’ve got lots of sweetness to look forward to, and good people to lean on in the months ahead. 

Brightest blessings. 

Nicole

~ Nicole (Nikki, sometimes Saffron Hare) is founder and general manager at Nine Fires Press. Her Druidic practice has included solitary, small-group, and congregational worship, with a focus on liturgy and seership. She is studying for her Master Gardener certification, rehabbing an underground home in the Midwestern US,and loves to fall in love with bad ideas.