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Happy Monday!

I’m having SUCH a great Monday.

Which feels slightly odd to write, because nobody really likes Mondays do they? Practically, it’s been annoying late-monsoon weather today (drizzle - cloud -downpour - cloud - downpour - rainbow - sunshine YAY - drizzle) and a whole bunch of MEH in terms of moving the needle on work. Tried to get out the blocks for a new week, but got my laces in knots and fell over on the start line.

At Yoke, the retreat centre I’ve accidentally founded here in South Goa (yessss we are taking bookings so check it out HERE) we had to relocate unexpectedly this summer which means a massive start-from-scratch scramble ready to reopen for the season. Four out of six of our site labourers today didn’t show up (it’s always hit and miss on festivals and today we are day 7 of 9 of Navratri) l and I spent a large chunk of the day trying to wrangle enough cash from thin air to make payroll tomorrow. Oh and we pulled the roof cladding of one of the cottages down to discover gross mouldy rotten wood framing and now have to refit four whole cottage roofs. Argh.

On top of which working at home is a challenge as the fan in my office is broken (and at 33° and 90% humidity that’s not fun); and I’m fostering a bunch of kittens right now and although ADORABLE they are pooping under the spare bed, on permanent zoomies -mode and are systematically destroying my houseplants. Plus, their momma has gone missing this weekend which is making me sad. This morning I looked for her again and still nothing. I don’t think she’s coming back. The kittens are now chewing on anything that might be a nipple, mostly my toes and what used to be a nice macrame curtain.

You could say it’s been a proper Monday.

But today has been a winner. Partly because of mindset - I’ve battled through burnout these past few months, am sleeping better, taking rest and morning meditations, and have slowed drinking down to a hard stop - and partly because I’m really noticing the energetic frequencies of the days of the week.

I know it sounds a little kooky. But read on to see if this little hack might just help you pace yourself through the week.

Monday moments: the offending roof; four kittens in the kitchen bucket; a lovely little rainbow between the rains; and a glorious sunset beach sit-sort-of-meditation.

This conversation was sparked while working on the new sound shala with my team these past few days. My rubbish Hindi continues to be a pain point and my FOH manager Ish was talking me through days of the week whilst we painted gong stands.

“They’re named for the planets,” he said, knowing this would be something I could get on board with.

I was aware of correlations between days of the week and the planets - although linguistically, English doesn’t really help us out so well. In the latin languages, it’s more obvious. MERCredi (the French word for Wednesday) gives Mercury, whilst VENerdi (Friday) suggests Venus in Italian. MARtes is the Spanish for Tuesday = MARS.

Lunes/Lunedi/Lundi are the translations for Monday. Here, English tunes in. MONday. MOON DAY.

In Hindi, the word for Monday is सोम - written in the English alphabet as SOMVAR. VAR means “day.” SOM means “Mon” or “Lun”. If you’re a yogi you’ll probably recognise the word Somavāra or Soma as moon, and even beyond yoga the word SOMATIC - intuitive or inner experience - has huge cachet these days.

MOON DAY.

Monday has been honoured as the day of the moon in cultures and civilisations throughout history, from the Babylonians, who dedicated Mondays to the Moon-god Sin; to the ancient Greeks who held rituals for Selene (the moon goddess) to the Egyptians who mapped their seven-day planetary cycle beginning with the moon-day.

All these cultures held common themes around the moon - that it represents internal energy, wisdom, time, healing , and the cyclical nature of life. Monday has become a natural threshold, a marker of beginnings, a milestone in the week’s pathway. And yet in our contemporary world, we have turned it into some kind of bastion of progression, achievement, list-making, meetings, and measure it’s success by how much we accelerate into the week.

In Hindu tradition, the deity associated with MOON-DAY is Lord Shiva, whose image is always crowned with a crescent moon, representing the cycles of time, nature’s balance, and power of the inner mind. In the Bhagavad Gita (the sacred text that tells the story of Hindu mythology) Shiva was said to have saved the Moon god (Chandra) after he was cursed by Daksha and threatened with losing his radiance. Shiva knew that the laws of karma meant that the moon could not be saved from the curse, but by protecting him, Shiva ensured that he could shine cyclically, thus honouring both his natural gift for ensuring vegetation, harmony and growth on Earth, whilst respecting the shadows required of the curse. Thus the waning and waxing of the moon was said to be established, and the entirety of the Vedic calendar, astrology and ritual along with it.

Shiva is said to control cosmic balance, the nature of time, and the fluctuations of the mind - and Mondays are when Hindu tradition requires that the faithful hold internal counsel, cultivate strength of mind, and offer blessings to Shiva for the gifts of time.

Which is why today was such a GREAT MOON DAY.

Because instead of racing out of the blocks as I always used to after the weekend, I now take it gently. Mondays are days for introversion not hyper-progression. For reflection and gratitude rather than the dreaded 9am Monday meeting (ASOS, I see you in my rearview mirror!). They are for mental harmony and awareness of our place in the universe’s ever-ticking timeline.

That’s also why when my landlord and I stood observing the rotten roof and we reflected on the need to discuss the state of affairs with the outgoing tenant, he turned to me and said “we’ll deal with it kal (tomorrow). Monday is Shiva’s day. Anger is not for today.

So back to Ish and the impromptu Hindi practice. Here’s the full rundown:

सोम (Somvaar/Monday) - The Moon
मंगल (Mangalvaar/Tuesday) - Mars
बुध (Budhvaar/Wednesday) - Mercury
गुरु (Guruvaar/Thursday) - Jupiter
शुक्र (Shukravaar/Friday) - Venus
शनि (Shanivaar/Saturday) - Saturn
रवि (Ravivaar/Sunday) - The Sun

I’ve been thinking a lot about energies of the days of the week and trying to attune accordingly. So Mondays are no longer a rush, a strain, a head trauma after the weekend whirlwind. They are softer, often a hibernation, a reflection, a pause for inner peace.

Instead, the day I now grab by the balls in terms of getting things done is a TUESDAY. See you tomorrow, Mars! (he’s the god of War, action, confidence and courage).

Another way to consider the ancient wheel of the week is to look at your birth chart for your CHART RULER. This is the ruler of your rising sign - for example, mine is Capricorn, so my rising energy shines brightest on Saturn’s day (because Saturn rules Capricorn) - SATURDAY.

You could also look at your LEADING PLANET for insight - this is the planet that appears first in the zodiacal order in your chart, and provides a kind of energetic point of entry - a flavour of drive and purpose in the chart. You’ll usually find it first in the run of planets when you move counterclockwise through a chart. For example, the chart on the left is led by Venus - this person should definitely mark FRIDAYS for their power day! My chart on the right is led by Jupiter - THURSDAYS are my gold star days.

As always, if you need help deciphering your chart, you can reach out for a 1:1 astrology reading with me. With the unpredictable nature of retreat venue renovations and the monsoon, rather than a regular schedule I’m offering a few slots ad-hoc each week in keeping with what nature’s cycles make available.

How very Shiva vibes!

And if you’re intrigued to learn more about both Tropical and Vedic astrology and the intersection of spirituality and astrology, stay tuned for something NEW coming soon!

If you’ve enjoyed reading these words - please hit the button below to share it to someone else you think could do with reframing their Monday and finding their OWN power day!

Pic: Pablita is so not ready for her closeup. Don’t blink!

WHAT I’M READING: SLOW PRODUCTIVITY by Cal Newport. I bought this AGES ago and it took hearing him on the Mel Robbins podcast (also a weekly listen) after my sister shared the episode about avoiding burnout to get me started. He’s honestly changing my life and FAST. I’m also using the mantra #slowproductivity for everything about running a business in India. It’s helping keep me sane.

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: yes I actually AM listening to my own tracks right now. Mostly to test them! I’ve been going through a rough insomnia phase since getting back to Goa and have been returning to the sleep recording I made for NeuroTune series to help slow my brainwaves down as I get ready for bed. As a little gift, here it is IN FULL for you. If you’d like to get this and the other four tracks in the series as both audio and video, you can grab them from the link below.

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-13:33

Check out the NeuroTune series, a set of 5 tracks designed to specifically entrain your brain for optimal performance throughout your day:

https://www.silenceandnoise.in/product-page/neurotune-24-7soundtrack-science-backed-sound

WHAT I’M WATCHING: SURVIVAL OF THE THICKEST on Netflix. It’s just really, really sharp and funny and reminds me so much of ludicrous fashion moments. I also recently finished and LOVED season 4 of THE BEAR (on Hotstar here in India, I think it’s Disney+ in the UK). The constant pace shifting between episodes is TOTAL lunar cycle. Fast - slow - light - dark. I loved it.

I've always liked Mondays.

Monday moments: the offending roof; four kittens in the kitchen bucket; a lovely little rainbow between the rains; and a glorious sunset beach sit-sort-of-meditation.

Pic: Pablita is so not ready for her closeup. Don’t blink!

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