March Rolls in Like a Lion, Out Like a Cheetah
here's to a new month, a new season, a new chapter
Happy New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries! I hope March is rolling out like a lamb in your neck of the woods. It’s snowing here in Downeast, Maine. Again. But that’s fine because the winds of change have been blowing full force, literally and metaphorically, ushering in a new season of growth.
The ground is thawed. Seeds are sprouting on our indoor grow shelf. The birds are back and singing. The light outpaces the darkness once again.
As much as I welcome these signs of spring and the relief of knowing we made it through another winter, the greatest shifts have been personal. This past winter has been one of reclaiming my magic, holding myself accountable, and pouring my heart into radical forgiveness of myself, my ancestors, and, in effect, everyone in my orbit.
The results have been astonishing. Most notably, I got a new job! Yesterday, I turned in my badge after finishing my final shift at the post office. On Monday, I’ll step into my new role as copy editor of the Mount Desert Islander.
This is a welcome shift back into publishing after a discordant 15 months working for USPS — a job I first applied for in hopes of securing health benefits, PTO, and a steady part-time income while continuing to work on more creatively and spiritually fulfilling projects and career ventures in my “free time.”
That was the plan. What actually happened involved me failing to meet writing deadlines for the first time in my life, blowing off meetings with potential new clients, making people wait weeks to receive tarot readings, and completely neglecting this newsletter, all because I was slingin’ mail 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. I hardly had time to clean my house and pay my bills, much less go for a run, work on my novel, or plant a garden. ‘Twas shit-tay.
Over time, the post office wore down my mental and physical health. My entire wardrobe shifted to workwear in dark colors that hide dirt. My diet filled with convenience snacks and energy drinks. My eyelid started twitching. Then both eyelids. For the first time in years, I found myself unable to pinpoint exactly where the moon was in its cycle on any given day.
Thankfully, my shiny new health insurance covered my therapy and the multiple visits to nurse practitioners who urged me to change jobs and, in the meantime, swap out a few energy drinks for protein shakes.
Finding a new job wasn’t easy, especially with the Google algorithm updates that have left many businesses unable to maintain a staff of human writers. I’m grateful for the years of experience I have in news reporting and copy editing that made me a desirable candidate for this job. However, I can’t help but think this opportunity opened up due to the metaphysical work I’ve been doing in tandem with the practical tasks of networking, cold-pitching, and applying.
On the Winter Solstice last year, I cast a spell calling in a new job. I was detailed and specific about what I wanted:
Something in line with my career goals
That would utilize my creative skills
And provide opportunities to collaborate with other creatives
While allowing me to work from home with a flexible schedule
And pay better than what I was currently making at the post office
I wrote this wish on a piece of paper and sealed it in a spell jar that I hung from my Yule tree. As weeks and months passed, and I continued to get rejected and ghosted by potential employers, I would look at the jar and wonder if maybe the spell didn’t work. Luckily, I’m pretty good a pushing self-doubt aside.
In the new year, I started devoting time to the spiritual practices that had fallen by the wayside. Meditation, journaling, tapping, tarot, and intentional gratitude re-entered my daily life. I healed my twitching eyelids with self-reiki. I wrote and recited affirmations until confidence outweighed doubt. I waited patiently and attentively for my soul to light up and signal, “this is the way.”
And by that, I mean I was waiting for that familiar feeling that I’m on the right path. I don’t know how to describe it other than a cosmic slip n’ slide. Some combination of personal power, focus, and universal momentum that pushes me forward in a way that feels unstoppable.
I’m not a person who pours all of my energy into every single thing I do, and I’m also not a person who sits passively while life happens to me. When I have a clear goal, and my target is in sight, I am a fucking cheetah. I will get that thing.
I got that feeling last week as I left my house to meet my managing editor for a coffee interview. I climbed into my Jeep and, catching my reflection in the rearview, looked myself in the eye and said, “I’m going to get this job.” And I did.
Every requirement written on that slip of paper sealed inside my spell jar was met. One day before the Spring Equinox.
Never lose faith in your magic.
Right now, I’m using the falling snow and the eclipse as excuses to hunker down and preserve my energy for an exciting week ahead. I hope you all have a beautiful weekend.
Thank you for reading!
XoLauren
Congratulations on the new job! So happy for you!💕