Diwali and New Kindly Moon

This is the start of the five day Hindu Festival of Diwali, which falls on the new moon of late October or early November. Diwali is the festival of good luck and prosperity- one of the most important festivals of the year for Hindus. On Diwali, people wear new clothes, clean and decorate their homes, go to fairs with music, dancing, fireworks, jugglers and snake charmers, and give gifts to each other.

It's also the night of the new moon. The Chinese call this tenth new moon the Kindly Moon. In China, this is winter crop planting season, and this month brings the first “little snow” which gently (and kindly) moistens the winter wheat seedlings. We don't have snow yet, but the rains are moving in!

Agenda for today:
1- Journal:

The new moon is my monthly time for “seeding” intentions. I write down what I hope to focus on in the next 30 days or so, and then give my ideas a period of gestation, like seeds in the soil, before I take action. Having this regular time each month to focus my goals has helped to give me clarity of purpose.

Where do I need more kindness in my life (kindness to self, others, nature, the universe...)?
What am I grateful for?
What are my next steps in life?

List my intentions for the next month in these areas-Self, Friends and Family, Teaching, Artwork, Writing, Home and Garden, Business, and Volunteer work.

2- New Moon Meditation:
Diwali is dedicated to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, Today I light a small white candle, center, and feel myself fill with thankfulness for all I have now in my life.

Remember: Prosperity is a sense of peace and well being within, enough money to pay my bills on time, and the support I need to make my dreams come alive.

3- Plan:
As the moon waxes, I expand-- plant seeds, make connections, and begin new projects.

My theme for the next 30 days is Gratitude. To prepare myself for Thanksgiving, I began a daily Gratitude Practice:

1. Morning: Expand my Vision-

• What do I want for myself & others?
• What new path could I explore?

2. Afternoon: Give a Simple Gift-

• What one thing could I do today to make the world better?

3. Evening: Gratitude Journal-

• What filled me with light today?
• How am I living my vision?

4- Make diya lamps:

The word Diwali is short for Deepavali, which translates into "row of lamps"; people set out hundreds of small diya lamps filled with oil for this festival, to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

A diya lamp is easy to make- you will need a little bit of self-hardening clay. Form a small egg-shaped container, with a shallow bowl, and a lip to hold the burning wick. 

When the clay is dry, twist a wick from half of a cotton ball, and fill the bowl with a bit of vegetable oil. It will burn for quite awhile.

And for my first ever video tutorial look here.

5- Make a Rangoli:

To prepare for Diwali, Hindus clean and decorate their houses with flowers and tinsel. They also paint designs on the ground in front of the door of the house, as a sign of welcome to Lakshmi.

Floor painting is an art handed down from mother to daughter in India. Many women make designs every morning, by sprinkling white or colored rice flour with their fingers- rice flour is thought to have protective power. The artist starts her painting with a period of meditation and works in a prayerful way.

We drew designs on the front porch with chalk and rice flour. Floor paintings are very temporary since walking feet, wind, and rain will soon turn them to dust.


6- Make a Puja:
A puja is a ritual of reverence or celebration. At Diwali, I add some coins to my altar, and light a diya to welcome Lakshmi. 

Then I focus on my idea of prosperity, and chant-

• Om - the primordial sound
• Shreem - from which beauty and feminine energy emanates
• Ma-ha - great
• Lak-shma-yai - goddess of wealth
• Na-ma-ha - I pray.

7- Make Almond Katli:
On Diwali, Indians also give gifts to each other, especially big trays of candy! Almond Katli is a traditional Diwali sweet, and it’s pretty easy to make. It's like almond fudge or marzipan- sweet and yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 c. sliced almonds
• 1-1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4-tsp. cardamom powder
• 1-Tbsp. ghee or oil

(Yield: 20 pieces)

1- Measure almonds and grind in a food mill. Set aside.


2- Oil a cookie sheet and set aside.

3- Put 6 Tbs. water into a saucepan, and add sugar and cardamom powder. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to rapid boil.



4- As soon as sugar begins to boil, remove from heat and add the almond powder. Mix well to break up the lumps, then add ghee or oil.


5- Return the pan to the stove and cook again on medium until the batter becomes thick but is still liquid. 

(The first time I made this it got stiff and when cooled it shattered into bits. The second time I poured it out too soon and it didn't hold it's shape, so I put it back in the pot and cooked it a minute longer-- success! It was just right.)

6- Transfer batter to the pan and use a spatula to turn it and knead it to get a smooth dough.




7- When it's done, shape it into a rectangle.
8- Cut into diamonds with a pizza cutter and decorate each piece with an almond slice. 

Winter Nights or Vetrnætr

The Winter Nights, called Vetrnætr, is a twelve-day festival that begins on a night in mid- to late-October. (The exact dates vary with the regional weather; in northern areas it tends to be held earlier.) The name Vetrnætr is Old Norse, composed of two words, vetr meaning winter, and nætr meaning nights.

Winter Nights is celebrated by the Ásatrú; Ásatrú is an Icelandic name, taken by those modern-day Norse and Germanic people who worship the old northern gods (such as Thor, Odin, and Frey) and goddesses (such as Freya and Frigg). Though its practice was interrupted, it has been reconstructed as closely as possible to the original religion of the Northern European people, based on the surviving historical records.

Winter Nights marks the end of summer, the start of the winter, and the beginning of a new year. It celebrates the bounty of the harvest, and it honors the Norse Goddess Freya- goddess of the harvest, artistic endeavors, and passion- and also the Disr, who are the ancestral mothers.

Agenda this week:
1. Ancestor Altar (Ofrenda):
This is a good time to set up an ofrenda or ancestor altar. An ofrenda is a special table for the Mexican Days of the Dead that holds offerings and decorations, such as arches, candles, incense, skeleton toys, marigolds, photographs, sugar skulls, as well as some of the ancestor’s favorite foods and things, and little gifts.

Usually I set up a separate ofrenda, but this year, my regular altar is taking that role. Though I've been collecting and making things for my ofrenda for years, this year I'm using only a few choice objects.

Today I added:

• the rune Fehu which represents "prosperity and possessions won or earned". This is Freya's rune, because of her fondness for beauty and wealth
• a list of the names of my female ancestors, back several generations
• photos of my father and grandparents
• tree of life candles, symbolic of the creation
• a dancing skeleton, to remind me that death is a part of life

2. Disr Meditation:
My female ancestors are my Disr- my family spirits and guardians of the household. They have special knowledge in matters of family luck, illness, childbirth, personal problems, and other everyday matters.

Today I light a candle and settle into meditation.

I bring a picture into my mind of my grandmothers- those strong German, Dutch, and Anglo women who traveled across the ocean and the frontier. I read their names out loud, and picture them gathering around me.

I ask my grandmothers to make themselves known to me and stand by me during the coming year, that I may face the demands of the world with the wisdom of my kin at my back.

3. Make more runes:
Runes are an ancient writing system created about 100 - 200 AD by Germanic tribes and spread all over middle and northern Europe by the migration of these tribes. The runes were used by the Germans, the Scandinavians, the Angles and Saxons. They are found inscribed onto stone, bone, and metal, and were used for poems and ornamentation, as well as divination.

I've been working on a set of runes, burned onto circles cut from a hazel branch. Today I will add to my collection.

4. Throw the runes:
Runes are used as a divination tool- I don't have a complete set yet, so I use virtual runes such as the ones at Ifate.

Today I asked "How can I best move forward this winter?" and I got a pretty great reading: 

1- Past: The inverted Raidho (Journey) shows that I am stuck in the events and injustices of the past year (my bike accident). 
2- Present: The Flowing Waters of intuition and dreams are working on me now to heal and reveal mysteries.
3- Future: The Dawn is coming. I will become clearer and more aware of how to achieve happiness.
4- In my Path: A Gift is in my path- either to me or from me to another.
5- Source of strength: Need and Desire are my source of strength and power.


5. Feast and blót:In the old days, friends and family would gather at farmstead feast halls to play ball games on the frozen lakes during the day, and eat and drink to excess during the night. Then they would have a blót, which means “to worship with sacrifice”. (It would have been a blood sacrifice of a horse, pig or cow, but the Ásatrú usually substitute mead today.) The purpose of the blót was to thank the gods for a successful end to the growing season and to ask for protection against the harshness of winter.

Sukkot

Tonight is the start of Sukkot, a 7-day Jewish harvest festival that begins at the full moon in late September or early October. 
The word Sukkot means “Booths”; Jews all over the world build outdoor booths for Sukkot, like the simple huts that farmers in ancient Israel lived in during harvest time. The roof is always made of leafy branches, open to the sky so that you see the stars through the leaves. Each family decorates their hut, makes it comfortable, and eats at least two meals there; they invite guests, light candles, and say prayers of thanksgiving for the harvest.

Agenda:
1. Build a sukkah:
We had planned to build a hut in the backyard, but we are in the midst of a huge storm, with gale force winds. Our alternate plan was a table on the back porch.

2. Make luminaries:

We made paper lanterns with Hebrew words- very pretty.

Supplies: Brown paper lunch bags, crayons, oil, cotton swabs, sand, votive candles

1- Choose a short Hebrew word, like peace, love, beauty, harvest, or autumn.

2- Open a bag, and flatten it so you can spread the word out around the sides and front. Make sure you use the side with no seam.

3- Outline the Hebrew letters near the bottom of the bag, then color around the letters with crayons. Color pretty thickly, to prevent the oil from spreading. Dark crayons give the best effect.

4- Paint inside the letters with oil, using a cotton swab; don't use too much- the oil will spread. Blot up the excess with a paper towel.


5- Fill the bag with about 2 cups of sand. Add a tea light, and light it very carefully!

3. Cook stuffed apples and eat in the sukkah:
It's traditional at Sukkot to eat fall harvest foods, especially anything stuffed, because these are a symbol of all the plenty we have been blessed with.

Ingredients:

• 4 large apples
• 1/4 c. chopped pecans,
• 1/4 c. dried cranberries
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• butter

Yield: 4 servings-

1. Preheat oven to 375º and boil water in teapot.
2. Cut off about 1/4 inch from the tops of 4 large apples, and save the "hats". Remove the center, creating a 1-inch hollow in the middle of apples- use a paring knife or grapefruit spoon.

3. Combine chopped pecans, dried cranberries, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a bowl.

4. Fill apples with the nut mixture, and place into a baking dish. Put a piece of butter on top of each apple's filling and then press on the hats.

5. Pour 1-1/2 cups of boiling water into the baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes. They are ready when apples are soft but not mushy.

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Full Squirrel Moon

Tonight is the full moon, my monthly time for action and release: I look again at the “seeds of intention” I planted 2 weeks  at the new moon and decide on my next steps to take, I take those steps, then I release my expectations in order to clear space for new ideas and new intentions.

The squirrels are creating great entertainment these days for my dog Sadie!

This full moon is called the Squirrel Moon, because the squirrels are busily gathering nuts for the winter. This is a good time for me to gather my forces inward.

Agenda for today:

1. Altar:

It's time to discern what to put on my altar for the 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 Spirit do I want to invoke?

Last week, after Navratri, I honed my altar down to a few items. 

• my straw doll- for abundance, luck and protection
• a turquoise candle for stillness, thought and study

Today I add-

• A God's Eye, for protection
• This quote:

~ Rabindranath Tagore

2. Journal:
Review the intentions I set 2 weeks ago, at the new moon. Review also the goals I set at the beginning of the year.

Do these aims all still seem vital? 
What topics of study are of interest to me now?
What are some current events or issues I wonder about? 
What new skills might be useful? 

3. Practice at my theme:

My theme this month is stillness. When I leave time in my daily routine for study, writing, meditation, and prayer, I honor the full rhythm of life; the yin time of "being" 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. 

This week I am starting with these topics of study:

• Creativity cycle
• Collage ideas
• Resilience
• First Things First, by Stephen Covey
• Marketing

4. Mountain Pose Meditation:

Mountain Pose is the foundational pose for all standing yoga postures. It helps improve balance and inner calmness. It seems simple, but it’s important to learn how to do it correctly, so find out how here.

The image of the mountain represents meditation, and the resting of body, mind and spirit. When practicing the Mountain Pose I use this visualization:

Picture my favorite mountain- it’s shape, it’s peaks, the rocks, the trees, the undergrowth.

Imagine that I am this mountain, rising from the surface of the earth; say, “I Am the Mountain.” Feel my splendid stability. I have reached the peak of upward movement, and in stillness I hold my place.

See time passing- day turns into night, the moon rises over me, gradually dawn comes again. The seasons change- snow covers me, rain strikes me, then sun bakes me. My surface changes, but the essence of the mountain remains the same.

View from the top of the South Sister.

5. Take Action:
The full moon is a time to celebrate life, stay up late, see friends, exercise harder, and be more creative and outgoing. The crazy full moon energy builds and builds; it’s best to acknowledge it so it doesn’t throw me off balance. This surge of energy allows me to take action on intentions I set two weeks ago.

Chung Yeung

Chung Yeung falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in the Chinese calendar. The name means "double yang". According to the I Ching, nine is a yang number, and since today has nine for both day and month, it has too much yang, and is a potentially dangerous date.

Top of Hendrick's park in October sunshine.

Agenda Today:

1. Climb a mountain:
The greatest good luck comes if you climb a mountain or a hill today. 

The 2000 year-old legend is that a wise man advised his apprentice, Woon King, to take his family to a high place for the entire ninth day of the ninth moon. Because they were away, they survived a slaughter that wiped out their village. 

On Chung Yeung, families climb the hills to visit the graves of their ancestors, or just to go on a family outing or picnic. Mountain climbing races are also popular.

I make it to the top of Hendrick's Park on my beautiful electric bike, and had a simple picnic lunch in the sun.  

2. Honor my ancestors:
This is the second of the annual Chinese grave sweeping holidays, after Ching Ming in April. Chinese families make sacrifices of special paper money and paper winter clothing.

I have no nearby graves to sweep, but I had a moment of contemplation at the park, to thank my ancestors for giving me resilience and determination.

3. Drink chrysanthemum tea and appreciate chrysanthemums:
Chrysanthemums are a symbol of good health and longevity, as well as endurance. This is an auspicious time to view and show appreciation for these flowers.

To protect against danger, it is also customary to drink chrysanthemum wine, but now most people drink chrysanthemum tea instead.

Also women stick chrysanthemums in their hair or hung them on windows and doors to ward off evil. 

Children learn poems about chrysanthemums, and many localities host chrysanthemum exhibits.

4. Make Gao:

An alternative to climbing a mountain, by wonderful Chinese logic, is to eat cake- because the Chinese word for cake (gao) sounds like high (gao), and mountains are high, therefore eating cake can take the place of going for a climb!

Chong yeung cakes come in many shapes and forms, sometimes quite tall, and many are nine-layers. This recipe is a simple nine-layer rice cake, with alternating layers of brown and white batter, simple to make.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 c. regular white rice flour (not glutinous) 
• 1-1/4 c. water 
• 3-Tbsp. white sugar 
• 1/4-c. dark brown sugar

Serves 6-



1. Mix the rice flour and water together in a bowl until you have a smooth batter.






2. Divide the batter in two even parts, approximately 1-1/4 cups each. Add the white sugar to one part, and the brown sugar to the other. Stir each part until sugars are dissolved.

3. Prepare a straight-sided heatproof bowl that easily fits into your steamer-- spray the inside lightly with oil. Place the bowl in the steamer and raise the heat under the steamer to high.

First layer of brown batter, ready to steam.

4. Starting with the brown batter, pour 1/4-c. into the bowl, so that it coats the bottom evenly (You will need 5 parts of the brown batch all together). Be sure that the steamer and bowl are level so that you end up with even layers. 

Cover the steamer and cook that layer for about 2 minutes, or until the surface is solid.

5. Pour 1/4-c. plus 1-Tbsp. of the white batter on top of the brown layer (you will need 4 parts of the white batter, so it goes in a little thicker). Cover the steamer and cook the cake for another 2 minutes.

6. Repeat these two steps, alternating the brown and white batters, until you have used it all up; you should end up with nine even layers. (Be sure to stir the batter before adding each layer because the sugar tends to sink to the bottom. Also, remember to check the water level in the steamer.)

7. Cover the steamer and steam the cake over medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.

8. Then loosen the cake by pulling gently the edges toward the center of the pan. Cut the cake into wedges and serve.

Rosh Hashanah

This is the first evening of Rosh Hashanah (Roash hah-shah-nuh), which falls near the new moon of late September or early October. The observance begins at sundown tonight and lasts for two days, but it's actually the start of a ten-day period called the Days of Awe that ends with Yom Kippur. 

Rosh Hashanah means “Head of the Year”; it’s the Jewish New Year for the Spirit. The focus is on repentance for wrongs you have done, and a reaffirmation that you will take the honorable path.

Agenda Today:
1. Journal:
At Rosh Hashanah I turn my thoughts inward and look at the part of me that is God, to consider how I might be a better person in the year ahead. I ask myself--

Am I living my life, each day, in a way that leads me towards my mission?
Am I enjoying the journey on that path?
Do I feel honorable and contented?
What could I do better?

From my journal: I want to be better at expressing myself, with my writing and my artwork. And before I can get do that I need to know what exactly I want to express... that's not clear to me! This month I'm opening and listening to better understand the themes and images I want to work on.

2. Prepare for the Seder:

It's traditional to eat three foods on Rosh Hashanah: Honey for a sweet year, round apples, and round challah for a solid round year.

I baked a fresh round loaf of challah for this Seder, and cut the apples in rounds.

3. Share a Seder:
My husband and I had a small Seder and it was lovely. We lit candles, and said these prayers-

Barukh attah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz.

Blessed art Thou, oh God, Who brings forth bread from the earth.

We took a bite of the challah (dipped in honey), then continued with the following:

Barukh attah Adonai eloheinu melekh ha-olam, Borei peri ha-eitz.

Blessed art Thou, oh God, Creator of the fruit of the trees.

We took a bite from the apple (dipped in honey), then finished with:

Shana towva umetuka!
May the year be good and sweet!