Several years ago, on a whim, I booked a trip to Nepal, and hiked near the Annapurna mountain range. On Day 4 of the trek, we reached Little Paradise, a modestly beautiful inn high up in the hills, for a day’s worth of rest. That evening, body sore, heart immensely light, I left the little shack where dinner was served, and headed back to my room to rest for the night. I met a fellow trekker, who told me to stop for a moment, and look up at the sky. And so, I did.

To be met with an inky black sky, filled with whorls and swirls and intricate patterns of stars I had only seen in my dreams.

I remember crying that evening, wordlessly weeping, with gratitude, heart overwhelmed by the beauty of heavenly bodies, by nature, and most of all, by life.

I learnt that evening, that sometimes, all I needed was to take a deep breath and look towards the heavenly bodies, and more often than not, they are waiting, waiting with a message.

***

Recently, I read that when Pluto is part of the new moon’s entourage, one should expect one’s life to be transformed. Pluto’s circuit around the Sun takes 248 years, and to experience him in one’s lifetime, or so they say, is truly a remarkable feat. Particularly strong is the force of Pluto, they say, when he matches the degrees of one’s birthday Sun.

Pluto, they say, will shake your foundations, a slow ripping apart of old patterns and habits to make space for the new, the bright, and the beautiful – for life. Pluto, they say, will remove what you hold closest to your heart, to show you that you can survive, and survive well. Pluto is not unkind, they say, and as he unearths all that holds you down, you rise, and as you rise, you transform.

I read about Pluto and thought to myself how befitting it would be, to begin a new year in Pluto’s embrace.

***

In the second last day of the year gone, I remember holding a glass of mulled wine in my hand, watching the sun sink into the sea, the sky changing from one fiery shade to the next, before the cool colours of the night drifted in gently. When the sky had turned a familiar inky black, I stared at a lone star and thought about Pluto and murmured to myself:

“Star light, star bright,

First star I see tonight,

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have this wish I wish tonight”

The lone star continued to shine bright.

***

And so, as the Earth begins a new orbit around the Sun, and we look to the heavens, and ask, what now, what next, what, Woman?

And the heavenly bodies say, Woman, Transform.

And we in response, chorus, Woman, Transform.

 

…

Arathi Devandran curates personal experiences, snapshots of the world and the stories people are willing to share with her through prose and poetry www.miffalicious.com