A Mudra for Working with the Lunar Nodes: Hridaya Mudra for trusting your own heart as you move toward what is unfamiliar
You get to be seen as you actually are.
The Moon's nodes are the two points where her path crosses the Sun's. They are not planets. They are meeting places along a path you are always traveling. The South Node holds what you already know how to do. The North Node holds the direction you have not mastered yet.
Your South Node is the groove. It is the way of being you learned so well you can do it without thinking. It kept you safe. It is also the reason growth often feels so strange, because the familiar is right there and it still works.
Your North Node rarely feels natural at first. It asks for trust before it offers any proof.
You have natal nodes you were born with, which you can determine on your natal chart and use to support your personal growth. And then we have the current placement of the nodes, which is affecting everyone in real time. We tend to slip into the shadow side of the South Node sign when it is time for us to lean into the light side of the North Node sign.
Eclipses are new or full moons that happen at the nodes. That is what makes an eclipse season feel different from an ordinary new or full moon. The distance narrows between what you have been doing and what is asking to come forward, and things tend to move faster than you imagined possible.
Right now the North Node is in Aquarius and the South Node is in Leo, and we are in an eclipse window which is making them feel even more potent. Leo South Node is not asking you to be smaller. If you have spent a lifetime being told to take up less room, please hear that. This is about setting down the Leo Shadow ego and the tendency to perform so everyone else stays comfortable, all while keeping every bit of your light (remember, still own the light side of the South Node). Aquarius North Node asks you to belong without shape-shifting, to be received as you are and not as the version you built so you would be accepted.
Whatever nodal axis you are working with, the intention is the same. Acknowledge what is familiar. Trust yourself enough to move toward what you have not mastered yet. That holds for every sign pairing, for the nodes moving through the sky right now, and for the natal nodes you were born with. The signs change. The ask does not.
This week's mudra, Hridaya, gives you your own heart to return to while you move toward something unfamiliar. It releases any constriction your chest has been carrying and lets your feelings be acknowledged rather than managed. It connects you to the air element and gives some love to your anahata, or heart chakra. It balances prana and apana, your upward and downward currents, so something can be released and something can be received.
Explore this week's Hridaya Mudra as a way to acknowledge what is familiar, trust your own heart, and move toward your growth.
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🫶🏻MUDRA: Hridaya
WHY:
This mudra puts your own hands on your own heart. So much of what you have been asked to trust has come from outside you, from people who told you what to feel and who to be. Here, the contact is yours. The warmth is yours. The steadiness is yours. Your heart becomes a place you can return to without needing anyone else to give you permission. Practice this any time you need proof that you can hold yourself.
Benefits of Hridaya Mudra:
supports you in acknowledging your feelings
cultivates deep trust and support within
releases tension and constriction from your chest
supports the expression of your emotions
offers your heart as a refuge in challenging times
balances prana and apana, your upward and downward currents
balances all three doshas
connects you to your air element
connects you to your heart (anahata) chakra
HOW:
Find any comfortable place. Add support under your sit bones if you'd like. Gently place your right hand on your heart, leaving a little space between the center of your palm and your heart. Place your left hand over your right. This is how this mudra is traditionally done, but trust yourself if it feels better to switch your hands. Soften your shoulders and align your spine.
🧘🏻♀️MEDITATION: Darkness + Light
WHY:
This mudra meditation invites you to bring your hands to your own heart and let your breath guide you from what you know is comfortable toward what is still unfamiliar so you can grow. Gu is darkness. Ru is light. Acknowledge both with your breath, and then surrender.
PLACE:
Gently come to a comfortable seat on the floor, or on a pillow, cushion, or chair. Allow both sit bones to feel grounded and supported as your shoulders naturally align over your hips.
MUDRA:
Invitation to find Hridaya Mudra by gently placing your right hand on your heart, leaving a little space between the center of your palm and your heart. Place your left hand over your right. This is how this mudra is traditionally done, but trust yourself if it feels better to switch your hands. Soften your shoulders and align your spine.
PRANAYAMA:
Begin to inhale in two sips of air through your nose. Exhale fully and easily through your mouth. Continue for 1-3 minutes.
MANTRA:
Invitation to mentally connect the mantra Gu Ru to your inhale. Silently attach Gu to your first sip of air and Ru to your second. Let your exhale be your surrender.
DRISHTI:
As you settle into your breath, if it feels safe and comfortable, allow your eyelids to soften and close.
TO END:
To close, take one full deep inhale and one easy exhale before releasing your hands and control of your breath and pausing to feel and sense.
✨ Mantra:
I acknowledge what is familiar. I trust my own heart. I move toward my growth.
I hope you trust your own heart and move toward your growth!
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