The New Moon this weekend invites us to touch the darkness. When there’s no moonlight, the countless stars and our galaxy, the expansive beauty and awe, are all the more available to our human eyes. In the deep darkness of the night skies, we can see so much life.

Darkness is ready to be embraced. Not the “dark = bad, light = good” kind of darkness this is flavored with judgment and disconnection. To be rooted in our wholeness, remembering all of who we really are, to join up with the dance of life rather than resisting and fighting against, it’s vital to get to know the darkness. The dark is organic, essential. Life on our earth is so exquisitely designed.

Words have an effect, filled with nuances and energy, rippling through and far beyond the person who speaks. Judgments and fear are set in motion with “dark = bad, light = good.” This idea feeds racist beliefs which rank humans as better or less, loveable or not, based on the color of skin. With good/bad, either/or ways of thinking, we tear apart the web of life and generate hierarchies which devalue and disrespect.

Re-writing language helps us to see differently. And when we see with open eyes and hearts, changes in our language will reflect this too. Words can purposefully be used as medicine that untangles us from labels, opens possibilities, seeks understanding, and nourishes connection. Words as medicine name without judging and knit together what’s been broken apart.

The beauty of the moon called me into the dark of the night. I had to find my way beyond the haunting fears from childhood ghost stories, scary movies, and the social mandate that women shouldn’t be out alone at night. Women have been given a collective curfew which actually doesn’t ensure safety. Atrocities and threats take place in broad daylight. The idea that darkness is the danger is a lie.

So I listened to the nighttime calls of Great Horned Owls, Crickets, and Coyotes. I followed the moon on road trips and while camping in the red rock mesas. I fell in love with New Moon, the deep darkness of the new beginnings, compelling me to explore the gifts of visioning and dreams. In cultivating relationships with the earth and moon and natural cycles, with the wild ones who sing in the night, I began to feel more at home, finding a sense of belonging on the earth as a human in the web of life.

It may not be nighttime that is the organic darkness that calls to you. Perhaps it’s the soils of the earth where seeds are planted and roots grow. Or the womb space of mothers and birthers. Or the depths of the ocean. Or the mysteries of sleep. Or bear caves. Or beehives. Or the underground homes of prairie dogs and ants.

Follow your curiosity, the callings of your wonder. Open the door and set off on a quest, exploring the beauty and magic of the dark.