Aestivus
CHAPTER 139
Aestivus
The story for the new moon time:
Jul 5 – Jul 20
MOON DETAILS
New Moon
14°23′ Cancer
Jul 5, 2024
6:57 PM EST
REFLECTION DATES
Jul 3 – Aug 11, 2018
(especially on and around July 13)
6 MINUTE READ
You never even considered it before — jumping into the Lake of Miracles. But then, the dock appeared.
Rolling out plank by plank from the grassy shore, you thought maybe it was some mirage, that if you dared step upon it you’d instantly go tumbling forward, smacking your belly against the water as you landed in the lake’s shallow end.
But this wasn’t some parched desert landscape. Everything here was teaming with life. An oasis of plenty.
Still, you monitored the dock for quite some time, ensuring its invitation was trustworthy. You watched as others gleefully ran across it and cannonballed into the lake. Water splashed and hit you in the face. You wiped it off your nose and thought that surely this was proof the dock was safe.
And so, you bent both knees. You readied your arms at your side. You took a deep breath and zoom — off the balls of your feet, you ran through the grass and across the dock. Joy coursed through your body with every step upon the wooden surface that’s mere existence seemed a miracle, and when you reached the end, you didn’t stop. You leapt, feet first, into the lake where you sank deep into its crystal waters.
Holding your breath, you opened your eyes and scanned the rippling blue.
The lake seemed to stretch on forever without any sign of fish or shore, and suddenly, you worried it might swallow you whole, that somehow, the surface reflecting the sun would seal and there’d be no escape.
But then, you remembered what was recently learned, how even the atolls in the middle of the ocean are destined to survive the rising tides, how the currents that flow around them will continue to deliver more sand to buoy their shores and keep them afloat.
You swim to the surface and take a deep breath. Water glistens on your cheeks and down your hair as you look around, searching for the dock from which you jumped. Your arms move in circles as you look to your left and right — nothing, nothing — you begin frantically spinning, your legs kicking beneath as you realize the dock is nowhere to be seen.
It’s gone.
It’s just…gone.
WELCOME TO AESTIVUS
aka summer, from the Latin “aestus,”
meaning passionate fire, a boiling of the sea
The dock first appeared in 2018, back when life seemed full of possibility. The virus had yet to occupy the attention of the globe, and hope seemed an easy thing to muster.
The moon was in Cancer then — a partial solar eclipse that made a dark spot on the surface of the sun.
Visible only in the polar regions of the earth, the eclipse went mostly unnoticed as record-breaking fires raged north of the arctic circle, across the western United States, and in the United Kingdom.
But now, you don’t recall the fires or the eclipse. You only fear what might be lurking in the lake’s blue waters as the sun sets, the blue disappears, and the water turns as black as an oil slick.
Above, the sun, moon, and earth are aligning again — in the sign of Cancer, just like in July 2018. But this time, there’s no eclipse. Just the darkening of the moon made new as the stars shine brighter in the blackened sky.
You look in all directions and consider swimming back to shore. While the lake is large and the dock dropped you all the way at its deep center, surely a long swim would be preferable to this: treading water until help arrives.
But there seems to be some mysterious force holding you in place, preventing you from going back.
Your arms and legs begin to feel like jello as they swirl in the deep, dark water. Then, a blue light flickers from inside the lake. And another and another and another until the whole lake is shining with a neon blue bioluminescence.
You burst out laughing at the glorious display, your limbs invigorated by the surprising splendor of the lake’s light.
You tilt towards the sky as you lean back and float belly up, gazing at the stars. It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful.
And one star in particular catches your eye. It’s glowing blue like the light in the lake — glowing blue and blinking. A beacon.
It’s the dog star Sirius — Greek for scorching, sparkling.
Burning some 50 trillion miles away, it’s known to rise and set with the sun between July 3 and August 11, so how are you seeing it now, in the dark of night? You wonder as it blinks above you on the evening of July 5, 2024.
What you don’t realize is that the newness of this Cancer moon is not a dark shroud but a cloak of transparency. A rare dimming of the moon’s light so all the surrounding light can pass through, especially that of the dog star Sirius. It’s perfectly aligned behind the sun and moon and shining towards the planet Earth like some great keeper of wisdom, blinking in code.
Its message strikes a match of inspiration and throws it in the hearth of the human mind. A new awareness is born in the flames as the lake’s water suddenly begins to crystallize. You quickly lift your hands so they won’t get caught in the rapidly solidifying surface, and you jump to your feet.
You are no longer floating in the lake but standing upon it. Except now, it isn’t a lake at all. Or is it? You aren’t quite sure anymore.
You lean towards the surface on which you stand — its mere existence as miraculous as the dock’s — and in the mysterious nighttime glow of the dog star Sirius, you see that the lake is no longer blue or black but a rich, ruby red. It glistens beneath the stars, and you realize — it’s not just the color of rubies but actual rubies. The gem of love and luck — as red as the blood of life — seems to stretch for miles beneath your feet as Venus laughs.
For she watched the spark take hold. She watched it burn with such passion its heat penetrated the lake of miracles, transforming the world before your very eyes.
For you are the mother of miracles.
And the time is now.
☆
To be continued…
The Story in the Stars:
LONG STORY SHORT
Things are not what they seem! We are recalibrating. So rest is essential. You may be feeling anxious, but trust that there are gifts in this period of estivation. This Cancer new moon births an exchange of love and passion, and through this exchange, a great transformation occurs. Do not doubt the longing of your own creative power. Let yourself be inspired! And know that in every moment — no matter how seemingly still — you are birthing something new. The exchange and transformation initiated now connects back to the summer of 2018. What happened then? Reflect.
* Pay special attention around July 15 — a homecoming! — and sign up for the weekly for ongoing guidance week to week.
the COMPLETE GUIDE
a weekly digest (with video messages)
a library of magical rituals
intuitive readings for major cycles
exercises for daily magic
44-card digital oracle deck
& more
the SESSIONS
60 minutes, via Zoom
A magical exploration of your circumstances. A chance for us to enter the wide open field together and see what’s longing to be revealed.
Sessions can be tailored around yourself or a creative project.
the TIP JAR
The Magic Guide is a calling I answer every time I sit to write. I spend 20+ hours on every chapter, and I couldn’t do it without you. If you enjoyed this story, please put some money in the tip jar. Thank you.
