A Light to Oneself
By Pythia Peay

"One must be free to be completely a light to oneself. A light to oneself!" --J. Krishnamurti

This month's Gemini New Moon and partial solar eclipse is the second of three eclipses to occur within a one-month period (Sagittarius lunar eclipse May 26; Capricorn lunar eclipse June 24). Like the reverberations from the closing notes of a resounding symphonic overture, the fateful Saturn-Pluto "axis of destiny" continues to echo throughout our lives: Sun and Moon are both closely conjunct Saturn and the North Node, opposing Pluto and the South Node. With Mercury at 1 degree Gemini newly direct, however, awareness concerning the passive restructuring that has taken place during the past nine months may be dawning. Like the Sun peeking out of storm clouds, there is light and hope on the horizon.

Indeed, with the Moon partially obscuring the Sun, light is the archetypal keynote of this New Moon. In the sign of Mercury-ruled, message-bearing Gemini, the planets seem to be saying that while darkness may still cast a pall of fear over the outer world, the inner light of the spirit is the place to turn for wisdom and illumination. Doubt and worry about the fate of  humanity continues to abound; still, the inner beacon of faith steadies our souls and lights the way forward. 

For those who walk the spiritual path, perhaps the treasure of the Saturn-Pluto opposition has been the rediscovery of their intuition and inborn sense of guidance. For many, the only way through the impasse between stern taskmaster Saturn and heavyweight Pluto has been to step out of the boxing match between these two opponents - and center within. Traditionally, we are taught to repress our own instinctive self-knowledge in favor of outer authority. But as the mystic J. Krishnamurti wrote, "To go into the question of meditation, you must be wholly, inwardly free from all authority, from all comparison -- Otherwise you can never be a light to yourself.  When you are a light to yourself you are a light to the world, because the world is you, and you are the world." *

So this Gemini New Moon, take time to deepen your communion with the light of your eternal soul. As the Moon eclipses the Sun, dim your outer senses, drawing a curtain between yourself and worldly concerns. Go to the temple hidden within - the invisible sanctuary where the presence of the divine awaits your visit. Divest yourself of all external roles, worries, and trivial pursuits, and dive into the ocean of light permeating all existence. 
Like a grain of sand that dissolves in the vast sea, release your individual ego into the infinite embrace of divine consciousness. Breathe in light; breathe out light. Feel the cells of your body become luminous and translucent with the all-pervading glow of God. Allow the heavy burdens of the past months to drop away. Swim like a light-being, an angel of the heavens, in the harmonious seas of bliss and peace.

Close your meditation with a bow of reverence to the Sun and Moon luminaries in the sky above. Then go and be a light to yourself - and to the world.

* This Light In Oneself: True Meditation, by J. Krishnamurti, C. 1999, Shambhala