.: Take a Pneuma :.
Once we finally make it through 2020, we will look back and remember it in many ways. Among all the themes, most of which our memories will be eager to delete, will be the invisible, yet vital process of breath.
Perhaps the final words of Mr. Floyd will be the words etched into time: “I can’t breathe!” The virus is after our capacity for it, the fires are smoking it out, we are suffocated in our locked-down spaces, and the stories which have been piling up day after day have literally taken our breath away. 2020 will be remembered as the Year of Breath-or, the lack thereof.
For those of us peeking around the corner into future days, it is clear we are moving into themes of Air. It doesn’t guarantee clear skies, but it does invite the element to the forefront of our lives. Jupiter and Saturn will begin their 20-year cycle in Aquarius on the Winter Solstice, coming together in Air signs for the next 200 years, Mercury is moving into the elemental year of Air (all retrogrades will begin in Air signs), there will be a handful of Gemini Eclipses, and slowly, making sure no stone is unturned, Pluto, as well, will make his way into Aquarius before the hump of the decade. There are myriad implications for this elemental shift, the most interesting to me is the resurgence of people’s interest in breathing.
The Ancient Greeks had a rich word for breath which extended far beyond what we think of when we use it; It was ‘pneuma.’ Anaximenes observed that “just as our Soul (psyche), being air (aer), holds us together, so does breath (pneuma) and air (aer) encompass the whole world.” Pneuma is life. It is Spirit. It is the animating principle of both our Soul and Spirit. Without it, we are just flesh and bones.
The popularity of Wim Hof and various breathing methods is a quick testimony to the winds changing. James Nestor’s book BREATH is making its rounds, as well as people huffing and puffing their way into healing visions with Holotropic Breathwork. None of which is new in 2020, but the popularity is exponential. An interesting contrast with the macro themes of not being able to breathe.
Just yesterday, both Mercury and Venus moved into Libra at the same time. It is an invitation on a clear breeze to breathe our way back into our center. And it only takes a minute to do it. Simply close your eyes, breathe in five deep ones through your nose. Notice how swiftly you just changed your state of mind. Do it often. May it become second nature.
We can change everything by changing our breathing. The secret has been right under our noses all along.
Eudaimonia,
Adam
….to support the creation of my writings/podcasts and be showered with gifts as well
…to adventure deeper into kosmos, mythos, and psyche
