Maidyozarem and Waning Gibbous Moon

The Zoroastrian community honors the six seasons of the year by celebrating six Gahambars - the word gahambar means "proper season". Each of these six festivals is celebrated for five days, and each honors one of the six material creations: The heaven, water, earth, flora, fauna and man.

Maidyozarem, the first Gahambar of the Zoroastrian year, means "mid-spring", and it celebrates the creation of the sky, heaven, the stars, and the hot nebulous cloud of the fire of the Universe. It takes place each year from April 30 through May 4th.

Also, the moon is waning now - getting smaller - until it is new again. During the waning moon, the moon's energy changes, and we move gradually into the yin phase - slow down, go within, and focus on inner work. I back off a bit on actively pursuing my goals, and allow the ease of being a loving, thoughtful person to carry me towards my dreams. 

At the waning gibbous moon I practice opening to receive blessings, feeling and expressing gratitude, and generosity with giving (towards others AND with myself).

Agenda this week:

1. Journal queries

2. Generosity practices

3. Gratitude journal

4. Recite prayers

5. Make Kachumber Salad

Full Hare moon

Tonight is the full moon; this one is called the Hare Moon, because it's the month when rabbits leap and play and mate.

Carmella and Toffee

We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. But today it's time to CELEBRATE! The full moon is a time of fruitfulness, creativity, and completion, and also strong (sometimes overwhelming) emotion. This month I feel hopeful, energetic, and also hesitant, and I want to acknowledge and embrace the whole spectrum of my emotions. 

Today I will celebrate how far I've come and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.

Agenda today:
1. Journal queries
3. Celebrate my theme of Balance

3. Finish Braiding Sweetgrass

4. Full moon ceremony

Earth Week Friday and Waxing Gibbous Moon

This week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day, to show my dedication and love for the earth.

Also, today the moon is a waxing gibbous, the not-quite-full moon: Waxing means getting larger, and gibbous means humped or protuberant. This phase of the moon has the high-energy that provides a push towards completion. In four days, at the full moon, we will turn again towards the yin time of inner activity, so I make an effort in these next few days to finish my tasks that require greater physical effort. The waxing gibbous moon is a time for reevaluation, refinements, and creativity.

Agenda today:

1. Journal queries

2. Creative visualization

3. Earth Week petition walk

4. Finish Braiding Sweetgrass

Agenda:

1. Journal queries:

Right about now in the moon cycle, things in my life might feel like they are aligning into a good order, and I will clearly see those things that are out of alignment. It's a good time to take a new look at my goals, reevaluate and refine them, and adjust my plans.

Do I still want to complete all the goals I listed at the new moon?

Which can appropriately be saved to complete in the waning (yin) phase, and which should I make an effort to finish now?

Which can be put off until next month?

What new habits will help me to nurture my ideas and projects? What creative shifts in thinking or acting can I take now?

2. Creative visualization:

At the gibbous moon, my last push for action, I call on the practice of visualization to help bring my goals to fruition. Today I choose my top three action goals to shine a light on:

1. Clerking our Meeting for Business

2. Sewing a Raven

3. Cleaning windows

Creative visualization is a technique that uses my imagination to create change. It has three steps:

• First, center and relax each part of my body; count from 10 to 1, then open a connection to Spirit. Feel a soft warmth begin to grow and spread through me, until I am radiating quiet energy.
• Second, create a clear, detailed picture in my mind, as though the objective has been reached. Paint a vivid mental image of exactly how the business meeting will progress, the raven will look, and the clean windows will shine, and put as much positive energy into the image as possible. 
• Lastly, affirm that this is what I want with a short positive phrase in the present tense; for example, "I am calm, listening well, and sensing the condition of the Meeting."

The thought-image is like a signal-flare that guides the physical thing or deed to manifest in my life (or it's just a good way to keep my intentions in my mind). I will carry the vision of the completed goal with me, and focus on it often during the day, in a gentle manner.

3. Earth Week petition walk:

Each day on my walk this week I will repeat this prayer of petition:

That the Earth be cared for, I pray. 

That we learn to live simply and lightly on the Earth, I pray. 

That we stop poisoning the soil and seas, I pray. 

That global warming is halted and reversed, I pray. 

That protection of the Earth becomes the political priority, I pray. 

Amen.

4. Finish Braiding Sweetgrass:

I've been reading this book for several weeks now, and I'm nearing the end, so this week I will give attention to the last chapters, and the questions and themes.

Today I finished the chapter called Collateral Damage:

"Collateral damage: shielding words to keep us from naming the consequences of a missile gone astray.  The words ask us to turn our faces away, as if man made destruction were an inescapable fact of nature."

The chapter is about salamanders, one of the most vulnerable groups on the planet. Subject to habitat loss as wetlands and forests disappear, amphibians are the collateral damage we blindly accept as the cost of development .... because amphibians breathe through their skin, they have little ability to filter out toxins.

Earth Day

 Today is Earth Day. 

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, and it still remains a big event in the environmental movement. Interest and participation in Earth Day has increased and spread around the world, with millions of people taking part. 

Agenda today:

1. Watch videos

2. Earth Week petition walk
3. Finish Braiding Sweetgrass

4. Attend a webinar for the Living Earth Project

5. Attend a rally

Earth Week Wednesday

This week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day, to show my dedication and love for the earth.

Agenda today:

1. Watch videos

2. Earth Week petition walk

3. Finish Braiding Sweetgrass

Earth Week Tuesday and First Quarter Moon

 

This week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day, to show my dedication and love for the earth.

Today is also the First Quarter Moon, when we are one-quarter of the way through the Sleepy Moon cycle. The moon is waxing - getting larger - until it's full again. Now is the time to remain flexible, use my obstacles as fuel for growth, and show full effort for priorities.

Agenda today:

1. Journal queries

2. Make a full effort plan

3. Earth Week petition walk

4. Plant a bee garden

5. Climate Revolutions by Bike Meeting

Earth Week Monday

This week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day, to show my dedication and love for the earth.

Agenda today:

1. Watch videos

2. Earth Week petition walk

3. Finish Braiding Sweetgrass

4. Start a Hugelkulture terrace

Earth Week Sunday

 This week is called Earth Week. 

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, and it still remains a big event in the environmental movement. Interest and participation in Earth Day has increased and spread around the world, with millions of people taking part. 

I do many things everyday in my life to help the earth: I live in a small house; I walk and bike, and work at home; I buy used stuff and buy locally; I use the library instead of buying books; I compost, recycle, and grow my own food, and I work with other climate activists to help change the way we use carbon in our community.

This week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day, to show my dedication and love for the earth.

Agenda today:

1. Watch videos

2. Earth Week petition walk
3. Finish Braiding Sweetgrass

4. Consider the Loving Earth project

Navratri, Part 3

Navratri continues for three more nights, with the arrival of Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom and knowledge. Saraswati means "the essence of self".

Agenda Today:
1- Add to my altar
2- Morning meditation on wisdom
3- Make moong dal (yellow lentils)
4- Evening visualization and prayer
5- Saraswati mantra

Navratri Continues

Navratri continues tonight with the visit of Lakshmi, the Goddess of material and spiritual wealth, and success.

Agenda Today:

1- Make a new rangoli design

2- Add to my altar

3- Morning meditation on creative growth 

4- Make sweet corn sundal

5- Evening visualization and prayer

6- Lakshmi mantra

Songkran

Songkran is the New Year festival in Thailand, officially observed for three days, April 13 - 15, but actually the celebration usually lasts the entire week. 

The word songkran comes from the Sanskrit, meaning "to pass or move into", referring to the passing and moving of the sun from one sign of the Zodiac to another (but it's also taken to mean "moving forward into a better life"). There are in fact twelve Songkrans each year, but this Songkran (sometimes called the Great Songkran) is when the sun enters the sign of Aries the Ram, always near to the vernal equinox.

April is the hottest month of the year in Thailand, and maybe that is why water is a theme for this festival. All statues of the Buddha are ceremonially washed, and then the entire country participates in friendly water fights and street parties that last nearly a week. 

Agenda Today:
1. Clean house
2. Make resolutions
3. Connect with Family
4. Build a sand pagoda
5. Water play
6. Make Thong Yod (Golden Egg Drops)

Ramadan

Last night was the start of Ramadan, an Islamic holiday that marks the discovery of the Qur’an by the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic calendar is totally lunar, so Ramadan begins a few weeks earlier each year, at the sighting of the thin crescent moon, hopefully at sundown last night.

Sunset photo by Brayden

Ramadan is a month of blessing. By night, Muslims read the Qur'an, and celebrate the compassion of God with special prayers. 

By day, they give generously to charities, and observe the discipline of fasting: They eat an early morning meal before the sun rises, then eat and drink nothing until after sundown. The Ramadan fast includes abstinence from falsehood and anger, in words and in deeds. It's purpose is to help Muslims to develop self-discipline, a strong spirit, generosity, and empathy. 

Even though I don't partake in a fast, I observe Ramadan in this same spirit, renewing my relationship with God, and exercising self-discipline and generosity. I hope to build my empathy for Muslims as they observe their month-long fast.

Now the moon is waxing - getting larger - until it's full again. During the waxing moon, energy remains high. In these first days of the waxing crescent moon, I will give attention to my growing energy, take my first steps towards my intentions, and find my motivation to follow through with persistent action.

Agenda:
1. Celestial awareness
2. Plan first steps

3. Mindfulness

4. Practice a daily art prayer
5. Enjoy Iftar

Chaitra Navratri

Today is the start of Navratri, a Hindu holiday during which we honor and thank Shakti, the Divine Mother, in all her forms. Shakti is the universal principle of energy and creativity, Mother Earth, and the feminine power in each of us.

The word nava means nine and ratri means nights; the festival lasts for nine nights and ten days. Navratri is celebrated twice each year, in the spring and fall, because these are times when nature and people undergo great changes. Spring (Chaitra) Navratri begins the day after the new moon in late March or early April, and is celebrated as a request to Shakti for a good growing season.

This spring I'm going to experiment with gearing my Navratri celebration for a toddler! 

Agenda:

1- Make a rangoli design
2- Plant grain seeds
3- Set up an altar for Mother Nature
4- Morning meditation on strength5- Make channa sundal (spicy chickpeas)6- Evening visualization and prayer7- Durga mantra

New Sleepy Moon

Tonight is the new moon. The Chinese call the third new moon the Sleepy Moon, because the drowsiness of spring is in the air. 

On the first three days of this moon, the Chinese in Beijing celebrate the birthday of Hsi Wang Mu with a temple festival. Hsi Wang Mu is the Grandmother Goddess of the Western Heaven, also called the Great Yin. She controls the cosmic forces of time and space, determines life and death, and controls disease and healing. She watches over the tree of the peaches of immortality.

The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, a time of high energy and clear thinking. Historically, the new moon is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, set intentions, and initiate something new.

Agenda for today:
1. Retreat Day

2. Pick a theme

3. Goals and Intentions

4. New moon altar and meditation

5. Start something new

Waning Crescent Moon

Photo by Alan Gillespie

This waning crescent moon is the final phase of the Budding Moon cycle. The next new moon, in four days, will be the Sleepy Moon cycle. At the new moon I'll set my intentions for the month ahead.

But right now, at the waning crescent, it's time to evaluate and brainstorm, find purpose, and surrender. I'll open to curiosity and attention, contemplate what I might want in the 30 days ahead, and rest up for the move back into yang-action mode. These next few days are a chance to look back and look forward, and think about the big picture of my life. 

Agenda:

1. Evaluation Wheel:

Today I get to reflect back on the whole lunar cycle that I've just passed through. I re-read the intentions I set at the start of the cycle and list what I've accomplished, what I want to still act on, what has become irrelevant or didn't go as planned.

I tried a new model, an evaluation wheel with my 6 priority areas. Inside the wheel I listed the things I completed in each area, and underneath the wheel I listed the things I moved forward to the next month, and the things I dropped or changed my goal for.

2. Review my purpose:

My purpose right now is to love and serve my family and my community (learning greater equanimity and compassion); lead a simple life of integrity (caring for the earth and working to become anti-racist); and be a creative force (expressing myself to the world with my writing, art, and actions).

3. Review my priorities:

I have lots of things in lots of categories that I do every day, but which of those are priorities now in my life? I only have so much time each day, so I hope to give priority to the activities and people that matter most to me right now. 

My priorities are fluid; they change with the seasons and with my responsibilities. I like to review them monthly, before the new moon. Today I ask myself:

-Which of my priorities have gotten the least attention this last month and why? 

-What seasonal focus and upcoming events are priorities now?

-What are my important responsibilities this month?

-What upcoming activities give me the biggest rewards?

-What would I do this month if I knew I only had 6 months to live?

-What activities best support my beliefs and values?

-Where do my strengths lie?

     

From my Journal: My home and my creative projects have definitely gotten less attention this month as I focused more on activism, community, and my health. I need to step it up in the garden and home this next month, but I have no idea what I can reduce. Maybe I need to sleep less. I do think I need to carefully evaluate my community efforts to make sure I'm putting in time towards the best effectiveness.

After some thought, this is my slate of priorities for the next month: 

• Career: Maintain a balance.
• Creativity: Daily art practice.
• Health: Steady attention on daily healthy habits.
• Heart: Limit to one weekly community service (clerking, tree planting, ...?)
• Learning: Moving on to new topics, limit to one a day.
• Home: Focus on clearing clutter, washing windows, weeding and planting.

4. Monthly journal brainstorm:
At the new moon next week I will transition from a focus on strength, health, and lifestyle to a focus on balance.

This week I will write down my goals, dreams, and exciting ideas for the next 30-days; just write lists of ideas without judgement - put down everything I think I should do, everything I really want to do, and everything I only dream of doing. Include these broad categories:

            -Self-care and life-style

            -Love, social skills, friends and family

            -Career/work and life path

            -Creativity and self-expression

            -Activism and service

            -Stillness, knowledge, skills and growth

            -Home and garden

            -Seasons and celebration

5. Surrender, rest, recuperate: 

This next few days is a time to be empty; the time for striving is past. As the moon’s light fades into darkness I get to relax and surrender to the universe. 

Some things will always be out of my control. As the moon's appearance dwindles, I let go of useless beliefs, unreasonable expectations, grudges, defensiveness, projects that don't fit into my life, and anything else that isn't working for me. I turn these all over to the Divine and give thanks, my way of opening to receive new intentions in the new month.

Then I give myself permission to rest! 

Third Quarter Moon

Today's waning third quarter moon energy is yin - quiet, internal, heart-driven, intentional Being-ness. The focus for the next few days:

• Third quarter (waning half moon) - Renewal, cleansing, self-care

Agenda today:

1. Renewal plan

2. My self-care routine

3. Cleansing

4. Spring cleaning

5. Spring garden

Ching Ming

Ch'ing Ming means Pure and Bright. This Chinese festival falls 15 days after the Spring Equinox. 

Ching Ming tea party of 2017.

The Pure Brightness Festival is also called Ancestors Day or Picnic Day, because Chinese families gather today to sweep graves and offer foods- such as steamed pastries, roast pork, tea, and wine- to their ancestors. After the ceremony the family feasts on the offering foods.

Agenda today:
1- Make gold ingots (yuan bao)
2- Make Char Siu (Chinese Barbecued Pork)
3- Make Red Tortoise Cakes (Ang Ku Kueh)
4- Remember and honor ancestors

Easter

Easter is the most important and joyful of all Christian holy days because it marks the resurrection of Jesus. Easter always comes after the spring equinox, when lots of things in nature are returning to life; specifically Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full Moon on or just after the equinox. 

The English word Easter comes from the Old English Eastre, which was the name for the spring season.

Easter is the penultimate time of hope, renewal and new life, which is at the heart of the message that Christians wish to proclaim and live in the world. I see this as a reminder to live each day as a new day, and to have faith that the actions I take will have transforming power in the world.

Agenda today:

1. Greet the Easter sunrise with joy
2. Egg hunt

Great Eggy Saturday

 

Today is Great Saturday or Holy Saturday, the day between Jesus' death and his resurrection. In the Church, it's celebrated with watchful expectation and funeral hymns. This is the day that our family usually dyes eggs. Eggs universally symbolize birth and potential. For Christians at Easter eggs stand for hope and spiritual rebirth.

Agenda Today: 
1. Make natural egg dyes
2. Make cascaróne eggs
3. Dye pysanky eggs

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, when we mark Jesus’ death and burial.

Agenda today:
1. Darkness to Hope Meditation
2. Bake hot cross buns