Full Harvest Moon

Photo by Alan Gillespie

Today is the start of Chung Ch’iu, the 3-day Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. It's a happy and beautiful Asian family celebration that comes each year at the time of the full moon in September or October. The full Harvest Moon rises this evening-- obliquely, close to the horizon-- and remains big and bright for a long time, giving extra light to harvesters. In China it's celebrated as a harvest festival and also the moon’s birthday.

I'm not celebrating Chung Ch'iu this year-- for art and recipes see last year's post. 

Agenda for today:
1. Update my altar
2. Journal queries
3. Practice Stillness
4. Set Intentions
5. Fall cleaning

1. Update my altar:
It's time to discern what to put on my altar for this next month. (For my thoughts on altars see About Altars). I generally keep it simple and choose only things that speak to me and feed me, and reveal what I believe in. I ask, what quality of the Spirit do I want to invoke?

I'm keeping things extremely simple this year, so today I cleared my altar and, then added back-

• a blue candle- for stillness, thought, and study
• a picture of a mountain- for stillness and meditation
• a God's eye- to watch over us
• dried corn- for the harvest

2. Journal Queries:
The bright harvest moon is a good time to see things that are normally hidden. Today I will review the intentions I set 2 weeks ago, at the new moon.

Do these aims all still seem vital?
What would I most like to do in life that I’m still not getting to?
How might I find a better balance?

3. Practice at my theme of stillness:
My theme for the next 30 days is stillness.

When I leave time in my daily routine for study, writing, meditation, and prayer, I honor the yin time of "being", which balances my yang times of action and doing. In the stillness, my ego disappears for a bit. I can then turn back to the outside world, seeing myself as a part of the whole rather than as an isolated individual.

I've collected some good books to study:

• "The Daily Stoic" by Ryan Holiday
• "Practice Makes Purpose" by C. Paul Schroeder
• "Introvert Power" by Laurie Helgoe

4. Set Intentions:

As September nears its end, I feel pushed to finish all my outdoor tasks and wind things up. The bright harvest moon creates the right conditions to act on the work I need to do as this year spirals towards winter.

At the same time, now that autumn has arrived, I begin to draw inward again. I long to retreat- to be still, write in my notebook, read a good book, and think about the good times we had this summer. 

I need to find a happy balance of active and contemplative. Balance is about knowing what I really want out of life, making a commitment, and sticking to it. It’s an ongoing dynamic process, a balancing act! 

My action intentions for the next two weeks:

• Leave a generous amount of morning time for writing and inspiration.
• Work each day in the garden, harvesting and cleaning up.
• Work daily on my climate activism committments, as we prepare for the Week of Climate Action.

5. Fall cleaning:
Fall cleaning has an entirely different feel and focus than spring cleaning. In the fall we finish up, pack away, and "batten the hatches"-- we put away all the outdoor stuff, air out the sweaters, and prepare for winter. 

This week I will focus in the living room and front of the house. I plan to:

• Pare down some of my knickknacks.
• Clean the front porch and door, and decorate for fall.
• Repair, caulk, and repaint the small living room window.
• Repair a tear in the sofa cover.