Pongal

Pongal is a four day harvest festival celebrated in India, beginning on January 13th or 14th. The word Pongal means “overflowing” and “abundance”. It's celebrated as a shift in the season- the end of winter- the day on which the sun begins to move northwards.

The sun is a symbol of wisdom, divine knowledge and spiritual light, and now it turns towards us and blesses us with life and energy.

Each day of Pongal has a slightly different focus and theme: 

Today is called Bhogi Pongal, which means "enjoy abundance"; it's a day to honor the rain god, Indra, for providing rain for the harvest. Today farmers anoint their plows and sickles with sandalwood paste to bless them, then bring in the fresh harvest of rice and sugar cane.

The second day is called Surya Pongal, named for the sun god, Lord Surya. On this day people cook sweet rice at sunrise, and watch for the rice to bubble out of the clay pot. The boiling over symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the family.

The third day is Mattu Pongal, focusing on the cattle who pull the plows. (Mattu means "cow".) The cows are cleaned, decorated and fed treats.

The fourth day is Kanum Pongal. Kanum means "to view": It's a day to visit friends and family.

Agenda for Pongal:

1. House cleaning and blessing
2. Have a fire
3. Make a rangoli
4. Make Pongal Paanai (Sweet Rice)
5. Recite the Surya Mantra

Plow Monday

Plow Monday (the first Monday after Epiphany) is the traditional day in Europe for men to restart their farm work. 

Our garden isn't large, but I think of it as my miniature farm. Normally, it's too wet at this time in the Pacific Northwest to do any digging, but many other tasks are possible, and it's good motivation for me to have this set date each year to start my “farm work”. 

Agenda for today & this week: 

1. Journal queries
2. Tool blessing ceremony
3. Sort seeds
4. Daily garden visits
5. Make plough pudding

Full Wolf Moon

Tonight is the full moon. The full moon of January is called the Wolf Moon because of the hungry packs of wolves that used to roam for prey at this time of deep winter.

Agenda for today:
1. Journal queries
2. January altar
3. Practice Stillness
4. Mountain Pose

Distaff Day

Distaff Day (January7) 

Woman with distaff in left hand, and spindle in right hand.

is the day, historically, when women returned to work after the Christmas holidays.

Distaff Day is named for the distaff, a stick-like tool that held fibers while a woman used a drop spindle to spin thread. 

Spinning and weaving were never-ending chores. Most women and girls would spin thread while also cooking, caring for children, or minding the sheep. Because women were seen always with a distaff in hand, it became the symbol of “women’s work”. 

But during the Christmas season women took a break from spinning. January 7th was the traditional day for women to start back to work, and so was called Distaff Day.

Agenda for today & this week: 

1. Spindle Meditation
2. Journal queries
3. Housework
4. Kitchen blessing

Epiphany

January 6th is Epiphany, the final day of the Christmas season. This was the day when the three Magi arrived in Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus, and recognized that he would grow up to be a great helper of people. 

Epiphany comes from the Greek epiphania, meaning manifestation, or moment of recognition. The Magi had an epiphany- a moment of recognition, when the truth became clear through something simple and striking.

Today I taught a New Year's class, and we celebrated epiphany and also Kakizome Day (January 2) and Distaff Day (January 7).

Kakizome means "first writing". On this day people all over Japan will take time to use a brush and sumi ink to write out a favorite quote or phrase- the first calligraphy of the new year. Kakizome is a way to express your positive wishes for the New Year.


Agenda for today:
1. Journal queries
2. Bake a King's cake
3. Celebrate Kakizome Day
4. Make an Omamori

Autumn Equinox

The autumn equinox occurred last night at 12:50 a.m. in the Pacific Northwest. Summer is over and darkness will again catch up to the light.

And it does seem like fall-- the rains have begun in earnest, Canadian geese are on the move south, the leaves are turning and beginning to drop, and night temperatures are cooler. Everything in nature is paring down, and moving energy to the roots and into the earth.

This is the second balancing point in the year; in the fall we might gently shift our attention from the physical side of life to the spiritual and mental, to indoor projects and thoughtful pursuits. As the nights lengthen, we have more dark time available, to be alone and to think; to become clear about our intentions; to nurture inner seeds that may not sprout until spring.

Mark the Start of Autumn:
1. Journal queries
2. Fall possibilities list
3. Fall cleaning and decorating
4. Make a straw doll