On Acceptance
Full Moon Report ft. the Six of Pentacles, Strength, and The Star
Noemí Delgado, cards by Zoe Storz
On this Full Moon in Virgo, I ask the deck, my ancestors, our angels, and the Divine for guidance on dealing with Shame.
The Mind: Six of Pentacles
Shame is a unique feeling. Rather than being a reaction to what we perceive, it is a reaction to how we are perceived. We are all taught to feel shame at varying degrees; it is a tool of indoctrination, guiding us to behave in accordance with normative social codes. But, because shame emerges as a governing force in early childhood, even those of us who have decided to reject the norms it enforces still carry this feeling around like a heavy shadow.
It is easy to sink into shame’s echo chamber—where all we hear are our own stories about other people’s evaluations of us. The Six of Pentacles offers an unexpected way out. This card speaks to generosity without self-sacrifice (the reciprocity of giving and receiving) and this suit reflects our engagement with the earthly plane (how we make use of the physical). Unfeigned generosity is the perfect medicine for shame simply because it allows us to care for others instead of dwelling on our own experience. When we act from open-handedness within the material realm, our minds move into a state of open-heartedness. Draw someone you love something beautiful, and then cook them a delicious meal: if shame collapses you into yourself, giving opens you back up.
The Body: Strength
Shame creates a great deal of tension in our bodies, physical stress that corresponds directly with our desire to control what other people think of us. This feels different for everyone; it might be a tightness in your stomach or chest, a shallowing of your breath, or just an overall stiffness. In an attempt to maintain our hold on others, we literally tighten up.
Strength depicts a woman gently caressing a lion. She is taming the lion with love and acceptance rather than fear and domination—a true act of bravery. This card inspires us to loosen our grip on how we are perceived, and suggests that our bodies are the perfect medium to do so. We can embody acceptance—the letting go of shame—through loosening movements, opening stretches, and liberating breaths. When we do so, shame disappears from our minds too.
The Spirit: The Star
On a metaphysical level, chronic shame points to disharmony between our human self and our spirit. This misalignment arises from the human’s inability to recognize its own divinity. Only looking to others for validation is a constricting way to live.
The Star reminds us that our bodies are literally made up of elements; that we once belonged to the stars and that, like our cosmic ancestors, we produce our own light. This card inspires us to see our reflection in the beauty that surrounds: the trees, the ocean, the birds, the stars. We can liberate ourselves from constantly tracking how we’re judged by remembering that we, too, are sacred. For those of us who have been taught that our mere existence is shameful, this practice of experiencing ourselves as heavenly bodies is radically healing.
We know that the social codes of our current system do not want what is best for us. When unjustified shame starts to bubble up, gather some flowers, breathe in their purifying scent, and breathe out the tension; see yourself in their divinity and then give them to a beloved. When we stop being governed by shame, we come to be guided by fearlessness, love, connection, and care.
I wish you blessings this Snow Moon,
Noemí
Liked this piece? Venmo @cuidandoalas, a collective generating ongoing support—including paying for food, medication, private transportation, and medical bills—for Indigenous language keepers and midwives in El Salvador.
You can read Noemí’s essay “Territory of the Moon Not the State” in issue 1.