There is a photo of me when I was about five years old standing on the roof of a car.
I’m wearing nothing but a pair of underwear. No shirt. No shoes. My arms are stretched triumphantly toward the sky as if I’ve just conquered the world.
The caption I wrote for it says:Free spirit level: no shirt, no shoes, all stardust.
Every time I look at that photo, I smile.Not because I miss being a child.Because I remember what it felt like to move through the world with absolute wonder.
I didn’t know what was impossible yet.
I didn’t know about failure, disappointment, deadlines, responsibilities, or all the reasons adults talk themselves out of things.
I was simply alive inside possibility.
Today is the New Moon in Gemini which brings a fresh start in communication, curiosity, and possibility. Ruled by Mercury, this playful lunar phase encourages us to explore new ideas, ask questions, and embrace change.
It’s a wonderful time to set intentions, try something different, and remain open to unexpected opportunities and discoveries.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that little girl and the child within all of us.
Not the wounded child.
Not the healing child.
The curious child.
The one who saw the world as an adventure.
The one who wasn’t afraid to ask, “What happens if I go this way instead?”
I found another photograph I’d taken recently of two children standing in front of an ice cream truck.
Remember when choosing an ice cream flavor felt exciting? When every choice felt like a possibility?
Chocolate.
Strawberry.
Mint chip.
Rainbow sherbet.
The world wasn’t smaller back then.
It felt bigger.
I couldn’t resist taking a photo of a man sitting on a bench happily licking an enormous ice cream cone.
No multitasking.
No rushing.
No checking my phone.
Just fully immersed in the important business of enjoying an ice cream cone.
When did we stop giving ourselves permission to do things simply because they bring us joy?
Then there is one of my favorite travel photographs, taken aboard an antique boat in Finland.
A storm was moving in, and everyone rushed inside to get out of the rain.
Everyone except one little boy.
He couldn’t have been more than four years old.
He stood pressed against the rain-speckled window, his hands and face against the glass, completely mesmerized by the view unfolding outside.
The caption reads:Imagine the wonder of seeing something beautiful for the very first time.
That’s the thing about children.
They don’t just look.
They see.
And maybe that’s why I’ve been thinking so much about portals and thresholds lately.
A portal doesn’t have to be mystical.
Sometimes it’s simply crossing from one environment into another.
Walking out your front door.
Stepping into a bookstore.
Entering a forest trail.
Getting into your car and driving somewhere you’ve never been before.
Even something as simple as taking a different route home can become a portal.
Years ago, I used to intentionally get lost.
Not dangerously lost.
Curiously lost.
I’d take a different road just to see where it went.
I’d wander down side streets and dirt paths while traveling. I’d follow whatever caught my attention around the next corner. I still do.
That feels very Gemini to me.
Curious.
Flexible.
Playful.
Open to discovery.
Mercury, Gemini’s ruling planet, isn’t concerned with certainty.It wants to explore.
To ask questions.
To gather experiences.
To see what’s on the other side of the door.
Children do this naturally.Adults often forget.
We become efficient.We optimize.We stick to familiar routes.
We stop noticing how many doorways are still available to us.
But the same eyes looking out at the world today are the same eyes that once stared in wonder at an ice cream truck, a rain-streaked window, a butterfly, a cloud, or a forest path.
The wonder never left.
The curiosity never left.
The explorer never left.
Perhaps this Gemini New Moon isn’t asking us to become someone new.
Perhaps it’s inviting us to remember who we’ve always been.
This New Moon arrives just days before the Summer Solstice, carrying all the fresh, youthful energy that Gemini is known for.
It’s a wonderful time to set intentions around curiosity, play, learning, adventure, connection, and possibility.
Not because a New Moon magically changes your life. But because it gives you a moment to pause and ask yourself:
Where have I become too certain?
Too serious?
Too attached to the familiar?
Where might I benefit from trying a new flavor, taking a different route, saying yes to an invitation, learning something new, or allowing myself to be surprised?
A few years ago, I wrote these words:
Days stretch into forever when we’re kids on summer vacation.
In our twenties, we think we have all the time in the world.
In our thirties, we think there’s still time.
Then come our forties and fifties and suddenly time feels like a runaway train, yet we still tell ourselves there’s time.
There isn’t.
Except right now.
Decide.
Act.
Make magic.
You don’t need a New Moon to do that.
But this one certainly feels like an invitation. The threshold is right in front of you. Go on, invite your inner child to come out and play.
The question is: Will you walk through it with the eyes of an adult who already knows what’s there?
Or with the wonder of your inner child who believes there might be something extraordinary waiting just around the corner?
xo, Layla
