Here in North America, April closes with the blooming of a tiny, ground-creeping wildflower that covers the ground thickly in a cloak of bright pink. Thus, Native Americans named April’s full moon the Pink Moon.

This year’s Pink Moon will rise on Monday the 26th (or Tuesday the 27th, depending on where you are), and it will round out this month of celestial wonders in spectacular fashion: this full moon will be a supermoon, closer to the Earth than average full moons, appearing large and low on the horizon as it rises. Check your local moonrise schedule to determine when you can expect to see it!

Rising in the constellation of Scorpio (element of water) while the sun is positioned in Taurus (element of earth), this full moon will bring challenges – growth-inducing tensions, let’s say – to us as Taurus’s earthy, grounding energies of the physical, material realm opposes Scorpio’s watery, esoteric energies of the spirit realm.

As a result of this polarity, this particular full moon presents us with a unique opportunity to engage in shadow work, to bring out our shadow selves… our dark selves that we’ve repressed in order to avoid emotional pain. Shadow work involves looking inward with a magnified intuition in search of the root causes of our emotional blocks and drives, whatever they may be.

In other words, this is a good time to address our inner demons, not with the goal of driving them away, but with the goal of acknowledging and accepting them. Rather than fixing our inner demons, we can work with them, and we can work to heal from them.

This is not easy. Shadow work is work. It’s facing ourselves and working through trauma, the toughest sort of spiritual work we can undertake. In my humble opinion, a good way to start shadow work is to work with a therapist, whether a traditional Western therapist, a metaphysical therapist, or a church counselor. We can delve into shadow work as a part of our solitary spiritual practices, certainly, but it’s always good to add in the assistance of an expert, if possible.

There’s a lot of talk about self-love floating around. The full moon – especially the energetic powerhouse of a supermoon – rising in Scorpio while the sun is positioned in Taurus serves as a reminder that self-love includes love of our shadow selves.

It’s scary making space for our inner demons to breathe, I know! I’ve been working on mine for most of my life. It’s a process that I’ll continue indefinitely. For me, tomorrow night’s rising of the glorious Pink Moon will be a time for quiet celebration, reflection, and gratitude.

Happy full moon-viewing, and merry meet again, my friends.