This New Moon in Sagittarius shines a bold beam into our hearts & minds and asks – “What’s your Vision?  What do you really believe in?”  With Saturn, the planet of structure in Sag for the next 2 years, our belief systems are definitely “under construction”. For most of 2016, Saturn is squaring off (a cosmic conflict of ideas!) with Neptune, the planet of dreams, ideals and illusions in the spaciously spiritual sign of Pisces.  Both Pisces and Sag are mutable signs – they end a season, preparing for a shift & change.  So, it looks like our beliefs, ideas and ideologies are in for a shakeup, a clearing of the ground for a new paradigm to emerge.  Both Pisces and Sag are concerned with the “Big Picture” – what’s the fate of humanity, what’s the meaning of Life?  We are all asked to lift our gaze from our daily grind and notice we are inescapably entwined and involved with questions far larger than “What’s for dinner?”;)

Contemplating how to bring all these big ideas down to earth, how to ride this global wave in my own little corner of the world, a lighbulb went off (actually, the initial flash came on a transatlantic flight, talking to a fellow traveler next to me…a very Sagittarian setting:) Anyway, here’s my “big idea”: What if I was a country….what would my CONSTITUTION be?  What are the guiding principles that run this little “country of me”?  What are it’s laws and far-reaching goals? 

I invite you all to entertain these questions over the next few days, as the new seeds of this bright & hopeful Sag Moon take root in your soul.  And, don’t expect to come up with all the answers – this Inner Constitutional Congress will be in session for at least a year or two, as the big players Saturn, Neptune and Jupiter hash things out.  Jupiter, the planetary benefactor of this Moon is currently traversing practical, down-to-earth Virgo.  This offers us a crucial clue, a direction to explore for new ideas – what can I contribute to creating a sustainable, healthy and happy world?  What practical gifts can I offer?  What new skills can I learn, and what can I already teach & share?

As I was trying to figure out how to share this idea with you, a perfect cosmic gift landed in my inbox, from the year-end fundraising letter of the American Indian Institute (yes, i pitched in!:).  A collection of the Guiding Principles of Life, hashed out by the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders, delivered at the Parliament of World Religions.  Read it, and allow yourself to be INSPIRED to work out your own true guiding VISION:

Guiding Principles of Life

By Ilarion (Larry) Merculieff, Unungan, Aleut

Delivered on behalf of the Indigenous Delegation at the Parliament of World Religions, Salt Lake City, UT, October 15-19, 2015

            The essence of the Indigenous Delegation’s message to the Parliament of World Religions lies in speaking many truths that are based on the wisdom and resulting consciousness of living for millennia the Guiding Principles necessary to be in balance and harmony with Mother Earth. These Guiding Principles are often called Original Instructions or Laws for Living, as they flow directly from Creation and inform us of the mutual dependencies and responsibilities that perpetuate life. It is through embodying these principles as the prime determinant in all our daily decisions that we ensure our children and all the generations that follow will be blessed by an Earth that always provides as it did for our ancestors.

 These guiding principles include:

*honoring and loving Mother Earth and all her children;

*being mindful of what you take from her and reciprocating;

*expressing gratitude for what you take after asking permission to do so;

*slowing your pace down to better tune into nature and All That Is;

*talking less, since talking distracts from what is really important;

*speaking and acting from the heart rather than the mind alone;

*striving to be in the present, because this is where the Creator and all of Creation lives;

*striving for balance in all things; acting from a place of humility and an awareness that the world is too complex for humans to grasp it all;

*and having complete faith in the Creator, knowing that whatever happens is for the highest and best good of All That Is.

These truths and guiding principles are based on recognizing Mother Earth as a mentor and a model and are imbedded in our cultures, languages, science, relational ways of being, and deep reverence for all life. From this way of the “real human being” emerges peace and harmony on Mother Earth.

Indigenous peoples deal with intergenerational problems by implementing intergenerational solutions. Thus, the warring Iroquois Tribes were able to establish peace processes more than a thousand years ago that ultimately transformed their governance and gave birth to a concept of democracy that was subsequently gifted to the Founders of the United States. However, the Founding Fathers eliminated an essential component of this accord: the central role of women in selecting the (male) Iroquois leaders. This lack of respect for the feminine resulted in an imbalance of power between men and women and a practice of ownership of pieces of Mother Earth intended to be included in the Commons; both of these errors severely and negatively impact current democratic processes in the U.S. Each of these challenges is rooted in hierarchy, the primary organizing paradigm of the “developed” nations. It is these hierarchical cultures that believe in Manifest Destiny, the belief that drives colonization and ultimately an institutionalized and unsustainable world.

From Mother Earth we know that hierarchical and relational ways of being must be blended and that relationality and mutuality is the stronger of these paradigms. Honoring this truth is necessary not only to re-achieve balance and harmony on Mother Earth, but also to know how to create the kind of social order necessary for surviving the very harsh circumstances we’ve created for present and future generations.

We have a climate crisis (as Indigenous Elders call it) and it isn’t just important “in its field;” it is important to and draws from all fields, and is critical for all life on Mother Earth from now into the future. Over the past several hundred years, and particularly in the last five decades, humans have pushed the earth’s life support systems to the brink. As Indigenous Elders everywhere warn again and again, we are at the final crossroads in the human journey; the choices we make now will either spare our children and grandchildren or condemn them to what the world’s scientists have called “an unlivable climate.” Indigenous peoples everywhere know that we must act immediately and dramatically to turn things around; we are hoping “younger brother” (non-Native peoples) will wake up before it is too late.