by soul.png
 

writing in reflection of the world around me //

28 day moon cycle challenge, Poetry Nicolette Bernardes 28 day moon cycle challenge, Poetry Nicolette Bernardes

{built} for this

Waning Crescent Moon in Gemini

“But I think she weeps also because she was given a transmission that she realizes now the disciples are not able to receive. It’s a teaching that she can uniquely give to them, precisely because their whole world order and idea of power would have to shift in order to receive it. “

-Meggan Watterson, “Mary Magdalene Revealed”

⟨⟪⬩⟫⟩

shifting power for a new world order

with and for, no more power over.

we cannot dismantle only to rebuild on the same faulty foundations

yet, dismantle we must.

tear it down; burn it to the ground

clearing space for an ancient kind of new

creation from places unseen

just out of sight

a different sort of vision required;

2020; the beginning; the end

alchemy;

transmuting base metals into gold.

trust to take the lead

an uncharted gnosis; in our bones

singing its siren song

from the depths; rising

in many ways, a merging.

Bringing back a balance never before seen

consciousness meeting soul

divine melding with the mundane

masculine holding feminine

as above, so below

whole

holy

♀︎

change is painful.

death, inevitable.

we were built for this.

we were brought here for this

***

Day 24/28: We must shift the current paradigm and ideas of power in order to receive this new world that is waiting for us; change is painful; death, inevitable; we were built for this; we were brought here for this; it’s time.

With gratitude and always LOVE,

 
NicoletteSignature.png
 
Read More
Personal Growth Nicolette Bernardes Personal Growth Nicolette Bernardes

all begins {in the dark}

Waxing Crescent in Virgo

It all begins in the dark where I lie unencumbered, receiving your divine interruptions. I know it’s you, your light shines through the darkest night; your presence reinvigorates the eternal flame under this waxing crescent, signal of conception; the harvest of hopes and desires to come.

Here you and I; we individually and collectively constantly sit: the void between innocence and ownership, where a long waged battle for the chosen ones is fought.

And you came to me in the momentary pause between night and day. Whispering messages I was bound to remember, my heart’s desire, my love. Reminding me of the constant cleansing process required; surrendering of that which is not mine yet easily can become a burdensome weight to carry on my shoulders.

Leaving breadcrumbs that lead to archetypal stories rife with remembering. Truth. Wisdom. Balance. The insignificant space between life and death; light and dark; chastity and indulgence—wholeness via an integration of dualities.

And a strengthening of the resolve to stand strong on this path. Stripping away man-made constructs, exposing the truth that has always been, but not necessarily seen: incomplete partialities, not absolute. Expanding the boxes of consciousness to hold the immense amount of life force that is rising, taking up space after millenia of being stifled, repressed, buried; misunderstood and mistreated.

Consciousness meets life force. Light meets dark. Eros meets Psyche. Masculine meets Feminine.

Divine + Sacred union forged in the fire of transformation, soul moved by love: The Alchemical Marriage.

{“Marriage and death are merged into a single rite of passage, a "transition to the unknown"** }

…And first there was dark, from where all else came to be…

***

“Since the ultimate end of the heroine's story is her final understanding of herself. It is the final acceptance of her totality of being, which includes her mind, body, and spirit. Psyche's story involves the ultimate acknowledgment that the soul can be granted immortality through its' ability to love.” *


When it comes to aspects of our being, the transition that I have found to be the most healing, is not the repression or rejection of those aspects within self that are hard to face in the mirror, but instead the integration and loving acceptance of them as a part of our whole being. A maturation process of transmutation. Learning to sit with and love the unloveable. Being with the not-beautiful. This is what the spiritual journey, the awakening journey is all about. Bringing more awareness to every moment, every space occupied [as within, so without] and integrating the seeming duality into the folds of our inherent wholeness.

[Bringing us back to divine balance, the gnosis of being both fully human and fully divine.]

I had a dream last night that brought me to a space of reflection on darkness and light. That from darkness— death— is where all life emerges. And the integration of the polarities of energy that exist within us, masculine and feminine; light and dark— a vital part of the coming home journey— deepening to rise;

the deeper the roots, the higher the branches.

We as physical beings, are the midpoint. Soul’s sanctuary, keeping the eternal flame lit.

And our journey is not to escape the body, [the so-often glorified “transcendence” as a means of bypass] but instead to bridge the void between our whole humanity, the physical manifestations that we are, and whole divinity: our remembering of the divinity that we are, the god within. This illumination requires darkness.

And the journey of Psyche into divine union, through death [her marriage was also a funeral] required her surrendering into the depths to find the heights [in her case it was her drinking the elixir of immortality and securing her place amongst the Gods after she journeyed, through many tasks, including a trip to the underworld— and ultimately achieved divine union with Eros.]

Virgo [where our moon currently resides], is associated with Ceres, the grain goddess. Bountiful harvests that can only come to fruition by first planting seed into earth— to be nourished and incubated in the dark, to grow roots; taken from the earth [beginning of death] to sustain and nourish life.

We too are planted in this way. In the darkness and protection of the womb to grow, and eventually, incur a separation from the Mother. This separation is a vital part of the path. For if we were never separated, there would be nothing to find our way back to. Life/death/life. Inevitable absolutes. The forgetting is a vital component of the remembering. The stumbling and making mistakes, the “not knowing”— to be smacked upside the head with like a brick of sudden awareness—is on purpose. The journey to higher consciousness starts below the surface, an exploration deep in the underworld.

To find our way to divine union, which, as within, so without, is the coming home to balance—polarity— within self. And as such, in order to manifest the same in the outer world, we must take this journey first.

Relationship and self: both great entry points of exploration, both uncharted territory.

And here, is where we see that marriage and death are merged into a single rite of passage. For to merge with other, one must first find self. Come home and merge with self. Coming home is experiencing, a clearing and de-rubbling, and a remembering; a return to a symbiotic relationship with the inherent cycles of nature, the mother—Life/death/life. An inherent rhythm, that if learned to dance to with grace, trust and in surrender, leads us, one step at a time, exactly where we are [meant to be].

***


Day 4/28. Weaving threads and themes of: Vesta’s sacred and eternal hearth, divine union of Psyche and Eros; Nyx, the goddess of the night and alchemical marriage and [shocking I know] a bit about awakening, because that seems to be the place it always comes back to. It did actually begin with a dream that I woke to this morning and from there became as I mentioned in the poem, following the breadcrumbs and seeing where it led me. Honestly, I have no idea if this makes any sense, and, as a part of this challenge for me is writing and publishing same day, there is a fun little tension in flowing and attempting to connect dots [especially when I don’t begin writing until 8pm] and then waking up the next morning to see if I even like what I wrote [funny and true story]. Deepening into trust that whatever flows out of me is what is meant to [even if some days it’s terrible or makes no sense]. The practice of leaning into the edges of the journey, and being less worried about destination. Thank you as always for flowing with me ❤︎

With gratitude and always LOVE,

 
NicoletteSignature.png
 
 
 
N1.3 The Chariot of Nyx; attributed to the Sappho Painter

N1.3 The Chariot of Nyx; attributed to the Sappho Painter

 

PS:And here, are a few quotes I pulled from my google deep dive earlier today… enjoy ;)

Within the ascending Psyche, rooted in human matter, merging with the descending Eros, connected to heavenly light, we find a true soul communion.  According to Demetra George, the Psyche asteroid illuminates our capacity to be sensitive on a psychic level to an Other and is about our desire for a soul mate, a union with a lover under the guidance of divine energy through the path of conscious relationship.  Yet Psyche is not only about a spiritual and sexual union with an Other, but also can be about a union within the Self.  Through Psyche, erotic energy is akin to the procreative life force when we are swept away in our body by bonding with a lover or other desire.  In this way Eros is the primal, procreative force of our passion that underlies our vision and desires, as well as indicates our sexual attractions and vitality. https://graycrawford.net/tag/psyche/#:~:text=According%20to%20Demetra%20George%2C%20the,the%20path%20of%20conscious%20relationship.]

***

“The Alchemical Marriage is the union of duality and the most revered and possibly powerful union. It is the perfect conjunction, intimate bonding of duality and signifies the pure, deep harmony which occurs whenever the masculine and feminine elements of nature combines into One.” https://princessapetra.com/2016/11/07/on-alchemical-marriage/

*https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1303

**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_and_Psyche


Read More
Poetry Nicolette Bernardes Poetry Nicolette Bernardes

a {royal} conjunction

Waxing crescent moon in Leo

who am I to say that we met on this day…

as sun and moon collide under the same sign,

a royal conjunction

kings and queens of the celestial jungle

light years away from you and what we were.

for I’m only just now remembering

what are these whispers and curious wanderings,

but a breadcrumb of irrational knowing.

A familiar significance.

I don’t know you, but I know you.

a piece of me wandering this earth outside of self

an out of body experience if you will

invisible threads connected;

devoid of logic or proof;

inextricably tethered.

under this same sky, a divine union was born. 

and though our union is forged amidst the fire of the golden one; 

today it rained and poured;

and I walked.

I thought about you, and me. 

ancient memories 

curiously creating what comes next

soaking in wonder

that space where imagination meets soul.

manifesting history; remembering the future.

A glorious reprieve from the suffocating heat of this midsummer day.

⟪⟨ 𝚜𝚞𝚗 + 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚓𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚘 ☼☽ weaving together past and future, now. ⟩⟫


{Day 3 of 28 day moon cycle writing challenge. word play as I explore the edges of the irrational yet felt. letting go of logic and practical and diving into the deep end. karmic lessons; soul contracts; who we were to one another in past lives; memories just beneath the surface.}

Today, like yesterday was a bit of forcing the words to weave themselves into something as my physical body feels quite exhausted.Great things happening in the mundane spaces [day-to-day life], but i’m recognizing quickly that I have to rebuild my stamina and do a better job creating pockets of rest for myself as I step back into holding space with clients, especially if I want to be able to create something every day during this challenge. My intention in documenting how I’m feeling [behind the scenes so to speak] comes from genuine curiosity to see how my internal cycle and the cycle of the moon play off one another or work together, how it affects my flow and creative process. If there are particular times of the day/week where I tap into flow more fluidly; noticing where my edges are, and learning to discern between when it’s time to walk away for a bit vs. when it’s time to lean in and dig a little deeper. Keeping track of how often I want to throw my hands up and say “screw this", i’m not feeling it” [so far i’ve felt that way every one of these three days and a lot of the writing has been happening in the evening, after 5pm]. As always, thanks for journeying with me, have a beautiful evening!

With gratitude and always LOVE,

 
NicoletteSignature.png
 
 
Artwork from the Morgan-Greer Tarot deck.

Artwork from the Morgan-Greer Tarot deck.

 


Read More
Poetry Nicolette Bernardes Poetry Nicolette Bernardes

S U N + M O O N

You and Me.

The sun and the moon.

Me setting, as you rise;

Missing each other in the passage of time

Our celestial bodies, 

waiting for the eclipse,

That will bring us together again.

Overlapping.

Tangle yourself in me, my love,

You and Me.

The sun and the moon.

Me setting, as you rise;

Missing each other in the passage of time

Our celestial bodies, 

waiting for the eclipse,

That will bring us together again.

Overlapping.

Tangle yourself in me, my love,

as I take you over.

For only a few moments;

be comfortable,

aligned in love,

magnetized in polarity. 

You are my sun.

My light, my nourishment.

The heat and intensity igniting my passion.

My peaceful smile on a cloudless day.

The warmth that spreads across my skin as I lay back, vulnerable, savoring your touch.

The burn I nurse, alone, in the late hours of the night.

I receive you, fully, for all that you are.

Your shine gives me life. 

I am your Moon.

Always present,

even when you feel swallowed whole

by the darkest nights,

I am there.

Set your intentions by my phases,

your direction by my intuition.

I will always guide you home;

to your heart, 

to your truth.

You are my sun,  I am your moon 

June 12, 2018: Soul Love + Eclipse Season

Read More

to shine light into the shadows // to untangle the knots in my mind // I write.