Wheel of the Year – Page 4

Dark Moon ~Honor Yin Energy

The lunar phases channel a lot of energy into our lives. Weather forecasters warn about coastal tides during a new or full moon. Sacred holidays for a wide variety of beliefs occur with new or full moons too. Moonshine in fields and forests guides predator and prey on their nightly pathways.

Lunar Cycles

The lunar cycles have four distinct phases of first quarter, full, third quarter and new. There is one more cycle that can have a profound effect on earth spirits. The dark of the moon, a three-day period just before the new, is underestimated and the most yin phase.

The moon cannot be seen in the night sky. Sensitive souls will already be aware of the insight this phase has to offer. The darkness gifts us with a time for reflection and wonder.

Yin Energy

If you’ve never noticed this lunar phase, pay attention now to the subtle changes of energy and pressure. When the moon rolls into this three-day phase, notice how you feel. Are you down, agitated or bored? Sit quietly and listen to your thoughts. Notice what you say. Are the thoughts and words destructive? Are they bitter? If there is a physical sensation of a dark cloud around you, that’s your energy melding with lunar influences. Sometimes the awareness is tiredness and stiffness in the body. Perhaps you feel like lying low or taking a mental health day to disappear from routines and people. The sun provides an abundance of yang energy. Daily life activities are largely in the yang.

The moon reminds us of yin energy and the importance of balance in all things. So too, your energy needs to re-balance and know the yin. The dark moon is a time to restore energy. It’s not always a good day. The dark of the moon is the best time to harvest angst.

Honor Your Cycles

Honor the drain on your energy and lie low for a while. It’s okay to put aside the busy chores for a few days. It’s okay to stay in and skip stimulating activities. This is a time to be out in nature and feel the goodness all around you. If it’s safe, take a walk in the dark of the moon, perhaps around the backyard at twilight time. Know that it’s okay to feel the darker emotions we all have. If you have a sacred space, create an altar honoring those dark aspects of the soul. Perhaps put to pencil or canvas writing or drawings of how you feel. If old scars surface around emotional or physical hurts, let them rise up and be heard. Words and actions committed against you can diminish with time but the shadow always remains. It’s okay to feel tears, tensions and turmoil about what happened. It’s okay to look at secrets. Everyone has a skeleton or two in the closet. Now is the time to stop denying the uncomfortable side of our memories. In meditation or inaction, let those energies rise. Face them and don’t try to hide from them.

Tips for Rolling with the Dark Moon

Be advised to avoid activities that may amplify the dark tones that have surfaced. Stay away from all music at this time, don’t try to mask the negative feelings or tensions with upbeat tunes. Avoid intense television and films as well. Perhaps alter that diet to include foods that are grounding by nature. Include root vegetables well cooked and seasoned for meals. Stay away from candles or burning incense. In other words, don’t enhance the negativity and don’t try to cover it up. Just go neutral and be. Be in the presence of your own shadow time.

Look at who you are. Look without looking away at all sides of your nature. The dark moon will reveal those parts of you that are to be acknowledged and accepted.

Winter Ramblings ~ Solstice Celebration

And so it arrives today, the first day of winter. The wheel of the year turns the old Earth towards the sun once again. Hail the precious seconds at dawn and dusk when our great star creeps back into our daily lives. The dreary darkness gives way to the light. The return of the light ~ Winter Solstice.

The day is calm and warm. Snow and ice cling to the earth already. The harsh frost filled morning melts into a tranquil afternoon. On this day, celebrate simply with an offering of seeds and suet to the birds. Enjoy the blue jays, morning doves, juncos and sparrows. Welcome the chickadee and finch. Give them a free meal today. In remembrance of the Earth, put out a simple feast of cake and wine. A little something to thank her for all she gave us this year and all she will give next.

At this time of year, I always remember Thoreau and his reflections from Walden Pond.

“For sounds in winter nights, and often in winter days, I heard the forlorn but melodious note of a hooting owl indefinitely far; such a sound as the frozen earth would yield if struck with a suitable plectrum, the very lingua vernacula of Walden Wood, and quite familiar to me at last, though I never saw the bird while it was making it. I seldom open my door in a winter evening without hearing it; Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoorer hoo,” Thoreau, Walden: Winter Animals.

How pleasant to pause in the yard and hear the nuthatch ambling up the maple tree. The grey squirrels take their graceful leaps and bounds searching for food. The sun watches all low on the horizon. The river twinkles in the distance through the trees. A blessed place this is to take a rest. Now is the time for reflection on what has past and what is now and what is yet to come.

Celebrate the simple life at home with the creatures of the earth and sky. Make a sincere offering of thanks. Stay warm, stay well and blessed be.

November Days

A tranquil day in late November is passing. When was the last Sunday where the only place to be is at home? How lovely is quiet. Not another human voice sounded near. Only the song of nuthatches, chickadee and blue-jay chirping in the trees. The garden faded to brown and it’s time to trim out the sea oats. The sun is so kindly on the grass that the beach chair came out one more time. When again will bare feet feel warmed by the air. After the pause, I came back to this chore and found my cat decided this was the best place to be. She does think everything is for her already. Sweetie snuggled into the open patch and appeared so dazzled by the brilliant sun, I didn’t have the heart to chase her out. There’s always more pruning elsewhere.

Now is evening. The street lights have not come on, they are out of sync with the time change. It is very dark out in the street. Small lights from the neighbors house appear out the window but the blackness is a cloak of comfort keeping people out there. It is the eve of the full moon in November. All the leaves are not yet fallen. The brilliant ochre and mustard colored maple leaves cling to the branches. No wind today. No cold in the air. A day to remember we are now seven years in this old house. Our little tranquil place near the river. We can see it now through the trees, glittering in the light, moving quietly along. We can hear the turkeys clucking and scratching in the briar patch. What lies ahead? How will we pass our days? It is all happiness to be together. St Francis was scented with incense in homage to his steadfast gaze out into our tender glade.

The time has come for cooking sweet potato and cranberry. The shadows come early each afternoon. The peach tree rests again. No fruit this year. Not a single peach in all of Massachusetts. I wish I’d never trimmed it when young. Don’t listen when an arborist says prune here, cut there and force it down. Let it grow out. Let the limbs go where they will, stop trying to shape a tree to advantage. Sweetie sits under it now, gazing out into the field. The squirrels are subdued today too. There’s not much stirring except one solitary white butterfly that emerged from the compost pile. Why do I do things that take me away from here? There is contentment in this place. My little home at the edge of town. The blessed sleeping trees. A day rest. A day of plenty.