*Editor’s Note: Astrology isn’t a religion. We’re not sure it’s a science, either. It’s magic, maybe. But, as with feng shui, say, things affect things. So as long as we don’t go blaming our problems on the stars, as long as we assume responsibility for our own actions…well, hell, a little auspicious coincidence and applicable wisdom can’t hurt. And so, with that grain of salt…enjoy! ~ the Editors

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“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.” ~ not the Buddha 

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The full moon will complete a rare alignment and fall into Vishika Nakshatra, otherwise known as the Star of Purpose, on Wednesday, May 10th.

Vishika is the 16^th Nakshatra of Hindu Astrology and is ruled by Agni and Inria. They signify purpose and a life plan—but also the courage to go after what we were born to fulfill in this life.

Full moons represent a time of completion, fulfillment, and yes, endings.

During this moon, however, the focus isn’t just upon endings, but transformation. It’s the type of change that doesn’t happen every day or with every moon, as it’s more about the completion of a particular life phase.

We all know that in order for anything new to begin, something else must end, and so while the moon crosses into Vishika, we will see ourselves drawn to our greater purpose and find ourselves becoming clear about exactly what that is.

It seems that many of us struggle with what our ultimate purpose in this life is—why are we here, and what are we supposed to do with our time on this planet?

According to Buddhism, a main purpose of our existence is to help end suffering, yet we struggle with this because many of us spend our time and energy striving for things that don’t bring true, everlasting happiness.

We cling to the falsified ideals of what we have been told will make us happy—money, status, career, material possessions—and then are left wondering why we aren’t happy and fulfilled. While many of us struggle with this, the reality is that none of these “things” have anything to do with our purpose and, therefore, will never make us feel fulfilled.

In life, there are certain moments and experiences that will bring us joy, but they are also impermanent—they won’t last forever. We struggle when this source of happiness starts to slip away, clinging to what we feel we are losing—a cycle that will only cause us more suffering and unhappiness.

One of the most important lessons in life is becoming aware of the impermanence of all things: Nothing lasts forever, nor is it meant to.

And so this is where we find ourselves at the present moment, within the uncertainty of Vishika, the Star of Purpose. It may feel as if our lives are beginning to fall apart, but in reality it may just be that things are falling into place for our ultimate good.

Yet, even if we know that we should be open to change, it’s a different matter entirely to truly free ourselves from the attachment to how we thought our lives should be, how we think we should be.

Sometimes, the greatest suffering we cause ourselves is clinging to the life we were told to live, instead of letting go of any expectations of what happiness should look like.

This week, the full moon in Vishika will help smash what was so that we can be directed toward our authentic purpose with the courage to pursue even the craziest of far-fetched dreams. The Star of Purpose helps set us onto a new path. It is the cure for doubt, fear, and the self-limiting beliefs that somehow, we aren’t living up to our potential.

In combination with this rare alignment, we are also celebrating the birthday of Gautama Buddha, otherwise known as Buddha Purnima. It’s a celebration of the roots of Buddhism, and serves as a reminder that we must focus our minds with great concentration in order to travel the hopeful path of enlightenment.

The thing that it seems we often forget, though, is that we can’t travel where we are meant to until we give up control of where it is we think we should be. While we are all presented with opportunities, we won’t all take advantage of them in precisely the same manner.

Because in order to begin to live our life’s purpose, we also have to be ready to.

There are no lost opportunities, because as with anything, they are brought to us at the precise moment that we are ready for them. So if we find ourselves letting this moon pass us by with little or no interruption to the status quo, it just means that this wasn’t our time.

But for others, this week will be a time of dramatic change.

There are moments in our lives that will forever mark a before and after—and it’s not by chance or coincidence. Rather, these come from the deep belief that we are all here for a specific purpose, regardless of our personal or religious views or what lifetime we are in.

And now is the time for us to open ourselves up to that revelation.

We won’t have to fight for it, uncover it, or even create it; instead, we must simply open the door and wait to see what meets us on the other side. Because the beautiful thing about our purpose is that wherever we go, whatever we’re doing—it will always find us.

During the next week, it’s important not to force anything. Let things flow either to or away from you. Make plans, but don’t become too stubborn in sticking to them. Let yourself enjoy those moments of bliss, but don’t cling to them when they begin to fade.

And above all, don’t let yourself end up standing in the way of what is meant for you.

 

 

Author: Kate Rose
Image: Ultra Mendoza/Flickr
Editor: Callie Rushton