Making room for the Moon, Entangling Ancestral Wisdom with Today's Sun

Moon rise from Kaneohe, O'ahu

Sunrise from The Prairie Front, Whidbey Island in the Salish Sea

Our friend and astrologer, Satori, writes horoscopes, astrology navigation, at least twice a week. Once for the weekends and then for the week ahead. I'm a faithful reader. I read the first lines of the horoscope for the week ahead out loud to Pete, "I just saw an ad for a t-shirt that read: I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you." The line struck him, like lightning. Pete has an affinity to lightning.

Mahina, the Moon, is ripening, coming into full illumination. We lay in bed as she, Mahina, crossed the sky above us. Pete and I talked about the life we have lived together. And as we often do, we made room for the Moon. At some point during our in-the-dark conversation I said something about the sun being yang, and the moon being yin. The coming full moon will see Mahina in the sign of Libra with the sun in the sign of Aries opposing. The brightness of the sun lights up the full face of the Moon from our vantage point on Earth. And, that view is particular to me, and you; different if we are not both in exactly the same place.

"Is there one ... one sign in the zodiac," Pete began. I could see his mind untangling the knots like he is so expert at. He continued, "One sign in the zodiac that would make them become an astrologer. Or, combinations that would do that?" I thought about his questions and thought about how to explain.

There was a delicious, yes, you know the feeling you get when a conversation is a full on buffet, give and take with pauses and stillness. The sort of stillness uncommon in our culture of instagram, instant messages and few pauses that come when people are listening, not waiting for their turn. In the dark pause, my heart and soul recalled the Maori Ancestor and Astronomer,  Rereata Makiha.

Today, as I write and remember I sit in the seat of this cyber-waa (virtual canoe) and return to 'Aimalama, 2015. We were able to join that O'ahu based conference from the Prairie Front on Whidbey. Together with a generous friend's gift, Pete dug the trench to brought the cyber-world to that Prairie Front; connecting island to island. Entangling ancestral wisdom with today's sun.

I remember to make room for the Moon and follow the route of my ancestral knowledge of Mahina.

Rereata Makiha, 'Aimalama Conference Keynote, 2015 "Merging Traditional Wisdom with Maori Scientists"

Pete poked his head in, to see what mischief I'm up to. I show him who I have remembered. Seeing the video, he said, "Oh, I love that guy!"

Our life together, Pete and I, began when my normal was turned upside down, quickly. To the unsuspecting eye the decisions that led from one thing (divorce) to another (dreaming Pete up) were quick! Lightning quick. But with a bigger view, a broader picture as The Virus has its way with us humans? I think we were in training to remember to make room for yin ... for the moon.

Cycles and seasons were under way, and here we are in a wagon on a campground of nearly a dozen other families with more, or less, awareness of how the Moon influences so much of our Earth Normal. Even before the experts declared, "Stay home. Stay safe" and described how 'social distancing' could control the spread of something that is not alive, but can steal ... who many of us knew our neighbors? And now?

Sometime today, Sawyer or one of the Whidbey Deliveries team will show up on the campground with food (and toilet paper, if we're lucky). We have made room for them to come in and out of our lives. My communication with these young people softens the ground of my being; we learn flexibility. Through a combination of techno skills and old time wisdom Pete and I navigate the changing normal.

The sun is bright, 70 degrees worth of warmth. The long tall limbs of Alder are leafed out. I hope to hear the sound of my neighborhood lap runners adding their voices, galloping boots and joy to the sedentary rotation of adults staying home, safe.

Kainani Kahaunaele sings and plays eight string ukulele to add young spirit to my sedentary rotation. Lightening, lightning today ... making room for the Moon.

Have you seen the ripening moon?  And what is ripening in you?


RELATED LINKS:
"Count On The Moon" (an online workshop we created in 2011) 
To access the many segments of "Count On The Moon" go to the sidebar and click on all the Archives from 2011
Aimalama: learn about the conference " ʻAimalama was chosen to represent the combined Hawaiian practices of the Kaulana Mahina, kilo (environmental observation) and trend prognosticator and survival adaptation. ʻAi generally means food, but is also a term that means to rule over, to enjoy the privileges of or to control responsibilities. The term malama generally means the moon, the light of the moon or the Hawaiian lunar months. Therefore, we collectively chose the term ʻaimalama to represent the mission of the partners and individuals who are trying to revive and enjoy the privileges of living in the season with the natural cycles of the environment, track natural occurrences around us by the lunar cycles and control the human responses to a changing climate with the intent of surviving."