The Deep End
Full Moon in Scorpio: Part Deux
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Saturday mornings we go swimming.
We’ve been doing it for years, and it’s wonderful. There is something so fundamentally freeing about the weightlessness we experience in water, and watching my children learn to enjoy it has been intensely heart-warming. I still remember singing and splashing with my son in a swim diaper, and now I look out from the balcony and marvel at how they flip, turn and glide through the pool.
Learning to swim has also, at times, not been easy. We have moved up levels; we have welcomed new instructors; we have been asked to jump in all by ourselves. And there have been tears; there have been tantrums; there have been waves of fear and moments of doubt. But we have always found the courage and peace of mind to come back, and the steadiness of our presence has left little room for regret.
So - after Friday’s Full Moon in Scorpio - it’s no surprise that my daughter was invited into the deep end for the first time on Saturday morning. It’s no surprise because Scorpio Full Moons know just how to throw us to the wolves, to present us with situations of intense emotional discomfort that show us what we are made of. It’s also no surprise because Scorpio is a fixed water sign, and being ushered to the deep end of a swimming pool is a supremely literal manifestation of the astrology.
As you might imagine, my daughter freaked out.
Or perhaps more accurately, she felt herself right on the edge of freaking out. She hugged my leg tightly, and together we awkwardly hobbled to the deep end. The infinitely caring, wise and experienced site manager assured me with confidence that my little (?) girl was ready, and the instructor met us by the side of the water with an enormous smile.
As my daughter’s grip began to relax, her instructor shattered the illusion of impossibility. She told us how children can feel intimidated when they look down into the abyss below. She reminded us that they can’t touch the ground in the other portions of the pool any more than they can in the deep end. And she shared how children always realize this, too, when - amazingly enough - they remember that they can swim. Because swimming in water that is 5 feet deep is fundamentally no different than swimming in water that is 5,000 feet deep. All that matters is that you can swim, and that’s what you’ve been learning to do all along.
I was so struck by the simple brilliance of this moment that I shared it with my friend and colleague Tamsin, who promptly shared it with her own little crew of girls. They observed that everyone - including Olympic swimming champions - has a first time in the deep end. It is a rite of a passage, and it is a passage to greatness.
So if you spent some time this weekend in the deep end, take heart that you have been initiated into something beautiful. Soon enough you will be reveling in the new space you have found to feel, flipping, turning and gliding with all the delight of a dolphin. And as for my daughter, she came running back from her inaugural adventure in the deep end with a killer smile and and a proud proclamation: “Papa, that was SO FUN!”
Love,
Patrick
PS: Saturday was also the last day at work for the site manager Emily, who is so much more than a swimming instructor. This post is dedicated to you, Emily, for showing my kids that they have what it takes to enjoy life in the deep end.
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I’m an astrologer, energy healer and intuitive life coach. I’m also a creative writer, and I used to be a human rights lawyer.
I help people tune into the magic that is always around us. Together we clear away the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual blocks that prevent us from making more conscious choices, and we create personal experiences of wonder and delight. My goal is always to have a good time, and getting in flow with Our Universe never fails to deliver.
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