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 and set intentions for the next phase of my year.

Agenda:

1. Retreat Day
2. Choose a month theme
3. Set intentions
4. New moon altar and meditation

2022 Lent Calendar, Week 5

My theme for Lent this year is Rooted in awareness of Creation and Creator. I need to fuel my climate justice work with a strong and intimate connection to this land: I want to better understand my relationship to the natural world and the cycles of the seasons, the history, culture, and ecosystem of my valley, the indigenous peoples and how I connect to them, and the responsibility I feel for the animal and plant people.

At Lent I allow myself to be slow, simple, and thoughtful. I spend time each day in focused study and prayer. And I choose something to temporarily reduce or cut out of my life, as a reminder that what I truly need is the nurturing of Spirit (I try to choose something to fast from that is a good symbol of how I am trying to grow). And I also observe Lent as a time of creative action, acting on what I learn. I've identified these types of actions I want to take in the next 5 wks of Lent:

• Tending my garden (and letting it tend me);
• Building habitat for plant and animal people (and sanctuary for ourselves);
• Supporting and working directly on campaigns to defend the environment;
• Educating myself (growing in knowledge);
• Witnessing to others with writing, talking, and artwork.

March Third Quarter Moon

Photo by Alan Gillespie

Today is the Third Quarter Moon: This waning moon energy is yin - quiet, internal, heart-driven, intentional Being-ness. At this phase we can ease off a bit on actively pursuing goals, slow down, go within, and attend to inner work and self-care.

 

Agenda today:
1. Renewal plan for next month

2. Evaluation House

3. Monthly journal brainstorm

4. Surrender, rest, recuperate

2022 Lent Calendar, Week 4

My theme for Lent this year is Rooted in awareness of Creation and Creator. I need to fuel my climate justice work with a strong and intimate connection to this land: I want to better understand my relationship to the natural world and the cycles of the seasons, the history, culture, and ecosystem of my valley, the indigenous peoples and how I connect to them, and the responsibility I feel for the animal and plant people.

At Lent I allow myself to be slow, simple, and thoughtful. I spend time each day in focused study and prayer. And I choose something to temporarily reduce or cut out of my life, as a reminder that what I truly need is the nurturing of Spirit (I try to choose something to fast from that is a good symbol of how I am trying to grow). And I also observe Lent as a time of creative action, acting on what I learn. I've identified these 

types of actions I want to take in the next 5 wks of Lent:

• Tending my garden (and letting it tend me);
• Building habitat for plant and animal people (and sanctuary for ourselves);
• Supporting and working directly on campaigns to defend the environment;
• Educating myself (growing in knowledge);
• Witnessing to others with writing, talking, and artwork.

Nowruz

Nowruz is the Persian New Year, which begins each year at the time of the spring equinox in Iran, and is celebrated for two weeks. The word Nowruz means New Day in Persian. It’s an ancient Persian belief that creation of the world took place on the first day of spring.

Agenda Today:

1. Prepare the sabzeh

2. Dye a few eggs

3. Make Koloocheh Cookies

4. Set up a haft sin

5. Nowruz Ceremony

Spring Equinox

Spring equinox occurred this morning at 8:22 a.m. PDT. The word equinox comes from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). This is a moment of balance - the sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west, and we experience twelve hours each of light and dark. From this moment on, we gain more light each day, until the summer solstice.

Agenda Today:
1. Journal queries
2. Plant my straw doll

3. Our huge garden project

Full Egg Moon and Holi

The full moon of March is the atcha-uyu or "Women Dig Camus" moon by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Egg Moon by others, because this is the month when birds begin to lay eggs again. The egg is a powerful symbol of hope, new beginnings, and completeness: My vague ideas take a solid shape, enclosed in a perfect shell, and I have created a whole new beautiful thing! The March Full Moon is a good time to ponder what I need to be complete.

We are now at the peak of the high-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the low-energy yin time of the waning moon.

Today is also Holi, a Hindu holiday that falls on the day after the full moon in March each year. It marks the end of winter in India. Holi is sometimes called the Festival of Color, because on Holi everyone in India throws paint at each other! 

To prepare, folks buy gulal, which are powdered paints in rich colors of pink, magenta, red, yellow and green. Three days before Holi, families get together to sprinkle a little of the gulal powders on each other, to share love and blessings. 

On the day of Holi the whole country goes wild with people laughing and running in the streets; they smear each other with powder, drench each other with buckets of paint, and spray paint with long pistons (like super-soakers). They also fill water balloons with paint! People often show respect for elders by sprinkling dry powder on their feet. 

By the end of the day everyone is covered with color- old people, children, men, women, rich and poor. Holi creates a feeling of equality in a country with strong disparity.

Agenda Today:

1. Take a vision walk

2. Celebrate strength

3. Gratitude practice

4. Make Malpua
5. Have a color celebration

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday that falls on March 17 each year. In Ireland it’s celebrated with parades, community feasts, singing, dancing, and church services, all in honor of St. Patrick, an English man who lived in about 400 A.D.

St. Pat’s whole name was Magnus Sucatus Patricus. When he was 16, Irish raiders carried him off from England to Ireland to work as a slave. He escaped six years later, traveled and studied for many years, and became a Christian missionary. He returned to Ireland, and grew famous for all the miracles he performed and for converting many Irish people to Christianity.

The Celts brought a new perspective to Christianity, quite different than the Romans; the four major themes of Celtic spirituality are:

• Pilgrimage as a means of discovering your own path to God 
• Monasticism and life in community
• Art and symbolism
• The idea that God is present everywhere

Agenda Today:

1. Prayer of St. Patrick

2. Wear the green
3. Plant onions
4. Enjoy hot Irish coffee

2022 Lent Calendar, Week 3

My theme for Lent this year is Rooted in awareness of Creation and Creator. I need to fuel my climate justice work with a strong and intimate connection to this land: I want to better understand my relationship to the natural world and the cycles of the seasons, the history, culture, and ecosystem of my valley, the indigenous peoples and how I connect to them, and the responsibility I feel for the animal and plant people.

At Lent I allow myself to be slow, simple, and thoughtful. I spend time each day in focused study and prayer. And I choose something to temporarily reduce or cut out of my life, as a reminder that what I truly need is the nurturing of Spirit (I try to choose something to fast from that is a good symbol of how I am trying to grow). And I also observe Lent as a time of creative action, acting on what I learn. I've identified these 

types of actions I want to take in the next 5 wks of Lent:

• Tending my garden (and letting it tend me);
• Building habitat for plant and animal people (and sanctuary for ourselves);
• Supporting and working directly on campaigns to defend the environment;
• Educating myself (growing in knowledge);
• Witnessing to others with writing, talking, and artwork.

Farvardegan and Hamaspathmaidyem

This is the start of Farvardegan, which means “days of remembering the Fravashis". It's a ten day Zoroastrian festival, and it includes the five days of Hamaspathmaidyem, which begin on March 16, and concludes with Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on March 21.

Hamaspathmaidyem is the sixth and last gahambar. This gahamber is the most significant to Zoroastrians, because it's devoted to remembering the fravashis or guardian angels. According to Zoroastrian religion, each of the 6 creations was created during one of the gahambars. Mankind was created on this last one.

Agenda this week:

1. Spring cleaning
2. Welcome the angels
3. Offer thanks
4. Recite prayers

March First Quarter Moon

Photo by Alan Gillespie

At the First Quarter Moon we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - growing in light and energy, creating a time for decisive action. Kiki Ely, in her book Living Lunerly, says, "A good way to remember this is by looking at the perfect line of shadow down the moon's center: this is the moment to draw a firm line, boundary, or decision in your life and stick to it."

I use this March quarter moon's energy to be really present in my body, and do the work - less dreaming and more creating, digging, cleaning, writing, biking, and playing! 

Agenda:
1. Journal queries

2. Make a Full Effort Plan

3. Write a mission haiku

4. Practice visualization

International Women's Day

International Women's Day has been observed since the early 1900's as a day to celebrate the achievements of women, and take steps to increase gender equality. It's all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action - globally and locally.

No one government or group is responsible for International Women's Day, so several themes emerge each year.

The United Nations theme is:

Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.

"Advancing gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. Women are increasingly being recognized as more vulnerable to climate change impacts than men, as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent on the natural resources which climate change threatens the most.

At the same time, women and girls are effective and powerful leaders and change-makers for climate adaptation and mitigation. They are involved in sustainability initiatives around the world, and their participation and leadership results in more effective climate action.

Continuing to examine the opportunities, as well as the constraints, to empower women and girls to have a voice and be equal players in decision-making related to climate change and sustainability is essential for sustainable development and greater gender equality. Without gender equality today, a sustainable future, and an equal future, remains beyond our reach."

The International Women's Day web page 2022 theme is:

#BreakTheBias

Imagine a gender equal world. 

A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. 

A world where difference is valued and celebrated.

Together we can forge women's equality.

Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

Agenda Today:

1. Read the UN Secretary General's Message

2. Read this post- Twelve small actions with big impact for Gender Equality

Clean Monday

Today is known as Clean Monday in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. The clean originally referred to the purification of the soul for Lent. Today it's customary to clean the house thoroughly, and, in Greece, people go on picnics, eat shellfish, and fly kites!

Agenda Today:

1. Read "Becoming Rooted"

2. Prayer of Cleansing

3. Spring cleaning

4. Plastic fast

Forgiveness Sunday

Today is Forgiveness Sunday in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It's officially the last day of the Maslenitsa festival in Russia. Lent starts tomorrow, on Clean Monday, in both the Russian and Greek churches.

Agenda:

1. Read "Becoming Rooted"
2. Ask forgiveness and offer forgiveness

3. Make tyropita (cheese pie)

4. Have a fire

5. Spring cleaning progress

2022 Lent Calendar, Week 2

My theme for Lent this year is Rooted in awareness of Creation and Creator. I need to fuel my climate justice work with a strong and intimate connection to this land: I want to better understand my relationship to the natural world and the cycles of the seasons, the history, culture, and ecosystem of my valley, the indigenous peoples and how I connect to them, and the responsibility I feel for the animal and plant people.

At Lent I allow myself to be slow, simple, and thoughtful. I spend time each day in focused study and prayer. And I choose something to temporarily reduce or cut out of my life, as a reminder that what I truly need is the nurturing of Spirit (I try to choose something to fast from that is a good symbol of how I am trying to grow). And I also observe Lent as a time of creative action, acting on what I learn.

March Sabbath for Peace

The month of March is filled with a riot of color and activity. It’s a fresh, youthful, quick-flowing month - the start of something new. In the winter I dreamed dreams and made plans. Now, as spring approaches, it is time to get into action - to begin the work of creating my vision here on the earth. In March I do the work; I tend and nurture my family, my garden, and my projects. March is a month for being a physical creature; for feeling all sensations, and being really present in my body - playful and young-in-spirit.

Consider two things this month:

• What do I feel, in body, mind, heart and spirit?
• What do I need in order to improve my strength (body, mind, spirit) and resilience?

Agenda:

1. Keeping the Sabbath

2. Read Becoming rooted

3. Make bread

4. Meeting for healing and peace

5. Plastic fast

6. Our huge garden project update

World Day of Prayer

The World Day of Prayer takes place every year on the first Friday in March. Women in the United States and Canada first formed this event after the devastation of World War I, when they were convinced that world peace was tied to world mission. Each year, Christian women from all over the world join together to plan and organize events, and suggest a theme and focus. This year the theme was set by the women of England, Wales and Northern Ireland:

I Know the Plans I Have For You

Jeremiah 29:1-14

Agenda today:

1. Read Jeremiah 29:1-14

2. Read "Becoming Rooted"

3. Prayer for Peace

4. Prayerful Action

5. Plant a sabzeh

Hina Matsuri

Hina Matsuri is a Japanese festival that falls every year on March 3. It began in ancient times as a Shinto effigy ceremony to prepare farmers for the planting of spring crops: They would rub their negative energy off onto a doll, then float it down the river.

Today girl's set up displays of dolls, have a tea party, and - yes - some people still send dolls down the river.

Agenda today:

1. Read "Becoming Rooted"

2. Make hina dolls and paper boats
3. The hina-okuri ceremony

4. Prepare garden beds for planting

5. Make hishi mochi and have a tea party

2022 Lent Calendar, Week 1

My theme for Lent this year is Rooted in awareness of Creation and Creator. I need to fuel my climate justice work with a strong and intimate connection to this land: I want to better understand my relationship to the natural world and the cycles of the seasons, the history, culture, and ecosystem of my valley, the indigenous peoples and how I connect to them, and the responsibility I feel for the animal and plant people.

At Lent I allow myself to be slow, simple, and thoughtful. I spend time each day in focused study and prayer. And I choose something to temporarily reduce or cut out of my life, as a reminder that what I truly need is the nurturing of Spirit (I try to choose something to fast from that is a good symbol of how I am trying to grow). And I also observe Lent as a time of creative action, acting on what I learn. My goals this year are to:

• Read and Journal: I'm reading the book Becoming Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth, by Randy Woodley. It's a deeply inspiring devotional with thoughtful daily prompts for action.

• Explore awareness practices: 

  My theme for the whole year is awareness - of my body and my environment; my thoughts and feelings; of how my behaviors and actions impact those around me; and of that-of-God inside and outside myself.
• Take creative action: I'm going act on my leading to become more rooted in Creation, with small and large actions at home and in my community, and with writing and artwork.
• Fast: This year (as much as possible) I'm going to fast from all new plastic - I won't buy anything that comes in a plastic container unless I'm sure it's recyclable, and I'll continue to experiment with plastic alternatives.

Ash Wednesday and New Budding Moon

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a 46-day period of preparation for the joyful Easter celebration. The word lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "lengthen"; it refers to the longer days of spring. 

Lent is about mortality and transformation; death and rebirth. Marcus Borg says, "It means dying to an old way of being, and being born into a new way of being, a way of being centered once again in God."

Tonight is also the new moon; the Chinese call the second new moon the Budding Moon. 

Agenda:

1. New moon altar and meditation

2. Set intentions for Lent

5. Read

6. Awareness

4. Begin plastic fasting 

Mardi Gras

Today is Mardi Gras, which is French for Fat Tuesday - also called Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday. We've come to the end of the season of Carnival, which starts on Epiphany (January 6) and ends at Lent. Fat Tuesday is always 47 days before Easter Sunday.

Agenda Today:

1. Journal queries

2. Make carnival corn soup

3. Make a screen mask

4. Spring cleaning progress