Month: July 2020

Another New Moon – Day 617

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Photo: L. Weikel

Another New Moon

Ah yes, tonight is yet another new moon, another new beginning in the lunar cycle that definitely and peculiarly influences us, whether we realize it consciously or not.

There is a period of time each month known as the ‘dark moon,’ when the night sky is the darkest because no portion of the moon is illuminated. The ‘upside’ to the time when Grandmother Moon is invisible is the way her absence allows our eyes to take our star-gazing to a whole new level. In the darkness, we’re actually able to see a whole lot more of what’s really out there.

Is This a Metaphor?

I don’t know why, but this new moon I am more acutely aware of the darkness than I’ve been in a very long time. It feels like we’re cloaked in darkness at the moment – our country, our world. And yet, at the same time, precisely because we’ve plunged into this darkness, we’re seeing things that have been there all along, but we’re only just now allowing our eyes to adjust enough to really see.

As I’ve written about a number of times before, at the time of the new moon, it’s a time of new beginnings. I’m usually enthusiastic about the opportunity a new moon gives us to plant new seeds, to set the intention of what we want to start cultivating in our lives over the next month or year, cultivating as our future.

Something’s Different

I feel a need to shift my focus a bit this month, take a bit of a different approach with this new moon. Yes, I want to set some intentions and call in new energy. I want to infuse new life into some of my greatest hopes and cherished goals. Absolutely.

But for some reason or another, I feel like the power of this new moon lies more in its ability to reveal a whole lot of stuff that’s been lurking behind the scenes, hiding in plain sight, but remaining unseen because we’ve been blinded – or at least distracted – by the light. And it feels like it’s time. It’s time to stop for a moment, in this Time of the Dark Moon, and take stock of what it is that’s right there, right in front of us, being revealed for us to finally see.

Because right now, if we don’t take the time to look and see what’s been there all this time – and deal with it – it will be a huge missed opportunity. Why? Because nothing we plant at the time of this new moon will flourish the way it could, the way we hope it will, if we don’t act on what’s being revealed in this darkness and get rid of that which either never or no longer serves the highest good.

Photo: astrologyally.com

What Light Nurtures?

It’s important to remember, sometimes, that the light that’s been distracting us hasn’t even been ‘Light’ – meaning light that originates from its own source – light that’s generative, warm, and nurturing. No, it’s been reflected light. Illusory light. Light that can seem pretty bright and even dazzling at times, but doesn’t warm us, doesn’t feed us, doesn’t coax us to grow toward it.

So I am finding myself contemplating this a lot the past few days. Yes, the full moon is usually when we realize the completion of things, the realization that some aspects of our life may have reached their peak and need to be released.

But the new moon, with its attendant darkness, is also an opportunity to let go. It gives us the chance to see what’s been hiding in the light, hoping we’ll be entranced by the brightness and fail to notice the stuff that perhaps doesn’t have our best interests at heart but wants to remain undetected.

Perhaps, in our own lives, these cloaked beasts are lies we tell ourselves about situations or people, lies about our fears or our weaknesses. They hide in the dark. But maybe this is the window when we can see them and face the truth.

Bring Them Into the Sunlight

If we bring those hiding saboteurs into the sunlight, everything can change. The entire landscape of where we plant the new seeds of our desires and intentions is cleared.

Take a look at what might be lurking in the darkness. Don’t be afraid to see it and call it out for what it is. Only then can we plant the Seeds of Our Becoming without fear of the distractions of a false light.

(T-494)

Maintain the Flow – Day 616

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Tohickon Creek – 17 July 2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

Maintain the Flow

Eleven days or so ago, I asked for guidance in the form of a single Point of Focus for us all to hold on to as we navigate these extraordinary times. As you may recall, for that Point of Focus ‘pick’ I consulted the Ocean Oracle, by Susan Marte, and the card I chose was Stingray: Flow. My contribution tonight is simply a photograph. A photograph to help us maintain the flow.

Of course, it is a photo of my beloved Tohickon Creek. I visited her a couple of times over the past two days and she brought me enormous comfort and inspiration. I wanted to share the energy of that sacred place with all of you.

Many or maybe all of you have your sacred places, too, which bring you comfort and peace. At least I hope you do. I want to think everyone has at least one place they can go to connect directly with Mother Earth and drink in her magic.

I’m sharing this photo in particular, though, because it just seemed to capture the essence of our Point of Focus: Flow. And sometimes it’s helpful to have a mnemonic to which we can refer easily and often.

Innocence and Youth

The other photo I thought I’d share with you as we begin a new week is this action shot of a fawn scampering across the road in front of me as we took a walk last night.

What I didn’t manage to capture was the moment I discovered this little fawn standing right beside us, in the bushes right beside the road. The baby couldn’t have been more than twenty feet away from us. We locked eyes and I grabbed Karl’s arm to stop him mid-stride.

We were both astonished when the fawn started gingerly walking toward us! It was tough to maintain an air of nonchalance while frantically trying to grab my phone out of my pocket and set it to ‘camera.’

Not unsurprisingly, the baby quickly realized approaching us might not be its best choice, and it scampered down the edge of the field then crossed before us – which is the length of time it took me to get my act together enough to catch an image.

<<sigh>>

But hey. Karl and I both felt a thrill as s/he initially moved toward us so confidently. Perhaps it was just innocence and youth. Perhaps it was just going with the flow. As we begin this week, let’s all make a point of going with the flow. Until given another Point of Focus!

Scampering Fawn – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-495)

Familiars – Day 615

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Spartacus – A Happy Boy – Photo: L. Weikel

Familiars

I adore the four-leggeds with whom we share our life. In fact, I cannot imagine my life without having at least one of them in the family. Luckily for both of us, Karl shares my need to be surrounded by my familiars.

Nothing proves that point more clearly than that we honeymooned on Cape Cod – and adopted a gorgeous solid gray kitten at the ASPCA in Brewster, Massachusetts. Yes, our very first official act as a married couple, on the very first business day of the week following our marriage that weekend, was to drive through Cape traffic instead of going to the beach to see if we could find a kitten to adopt.

Brewster was his name and he was a trooper. While he ruled the roost for a year on his own, he oversaw Karl’s birth and eventually schooled him on the proper way to sneak hard cat food when I wasn’t looking. He gamely and not begrudgingly shared our laps with his ‘little brother’ Karl.

Fast Forward to Today

At the moment we, as you’ve occasionally been made aware, we share our home with two dogs, Sheila and Spartacus, and three cats, Precious, Cletus, and Tigger.

I could write about our beasts every night. Especially lately, they’ve been providing me with an abundance of fodder, some amusing and some sort of hard, but I’ve been trying to hold off.  Last night, however, brought a message that was hard to ignore.

Messengers

After completing my post for the evening, I made my way upstairs. Usually Spartacus is already upstairs with Karl, making a warm spot for me. Sheila, no longer able to navigate the stairs, sleeps downstairs in her soft furry bed. That makes me sad, but she doesn’t seem to mind, so I’ve become resigned to it.

Cletus religiously makes a pest of himself while I’m writing my post (every post, every night) by stomping around if he’s inside, howling to be let out, and then after he’s been outside for about 20 minutes, hurling himself against the screen door out front and sticking to it (with his claws) like Velcro – until his claws slowly rip the screen. That’s how he demands to come back in. He does this a couple times while I’m writing.

Precious is our paranoid one. If anyone came to visit (pre-Covid), she’d disappear and not be seen or heard from again. Not until the interlopers left. She’s mostly a loner, but every once in a while she’ll become frantically affectionate. It’s weird. But we love her. Even if she is a cellar-dweller.

And then there’s Tigger. We inherited Tigger from Sage after he (and his fiancé Sarah, truth be told) adopted him from a pet rescue place in central Pennsylvania. It ended up not being a great look for an RA to be harboring a fugitive kitty, so Tigger relocated to Bucks County. I think I’ve relayed the story of his name elsewhere.

Message to Mommy

Which leads me to the scenario that greeted me when I went to bed last night:

Mouse with Dog underneath – Photo: L. Weikel

I know; right? It’s as if they were lines up perfectly, in some surreal real-life enactment of a Medicine Card* pick! Mouse reversed with Dog underneath.

So freaking weird.

The only one who could’ve set this up would be Tigger. Had Precious participated in this macabre message delivery scheme, she definitely would’ve eaten the head off the mouse. Especially if she wanted to convey is as a ‘reversal.’

So. Tigger? Was that you? Were you behind this message to Mommy?

Tigger – Avoiding My Gaze – Photo: L. Weikel

Hmmph. Good thing I’m not squeamish. Poor mouse.

*affiliate link

(T-496)

Hang On – Day 614

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Photo: L. Weikel

Hang On

Oh man, I’m so sad. It was just announced minutes ago that Representative John Lewis has passed away. Ridiculously, I was hoping he would hang on, stay with us a little bit longer and see us through to the other side of this nightmare of racism and divisiveness we’re witnessing in our country.

He was always such a calming and wise voice advocating for peaceful resistance, change, and freedom.

And of course today we also heard that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been dealing with a recurrence of her liver cancer since May. Think of it: since May.

But she’s still going strong. What an incredible woman. May she hang on to see us through.

Yesterday’s Post

All day today I’ve reflected on the cards I chose for us last night and wrote about in my post. I can’t help but believe they are a rally cry to us that we must carry the torch forward. We must commit to doing the hard work it will take to both reclaim the values we know our country represents in the world – and bring them forward in an even higher octave of expression.

We’re being given an opportunity to face our demons. Look at how we’ve denied systemic racism and allowed corruption and greed to distort the principles we demand of other countries.

It just feels like we’re being asked to carry ourselves and our country forward. And the responsibility is falling to us. Not our elders. We’re the elders now. We need to hang on and do what needs to be done to save something bigger than ourselves.

17 July 2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-497)

Message for Friday – Day 613

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Sunset 16 July 2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

Message for Friday

I felt drawn this evening to choose some guidance from a tarot deck I work with quite a bit, the Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince. It felt like we might benefit from a message for Friday that could give us something to contemplate and reflect upon as we head into the weekend.

While I’m hoping there won’t be some egregious ‘Friday night news dump’ that will send us all screaming into the night, at this point we all know there are no guarantees.

As it turned out, the cards I chose and the lovely, thoughtful prose written by Ms. Lorenzi-Prince is worthy of our attention and, in some unique way we might figure out for ourselves, implementation:

I chose the Nine of Cups on top with the Grandmother of Wands underneath, providing the foundation or context.

Nine of Cups – Tarot of the Crone (Ellen Lorenzi-Prince)

Nine of Cups ~ Healing

“I am the Many and One

 

I am whole who has been broken

I am the power of redemption

I am the renewal of creation

 

Two unusual beings, with ribbons of red life spiraling through the serene lavender of their skin-like cloaks, touch and twist and merge in the creation of something wonderful, whole and new. The Nine of Cups represents healing of the heart and soul: when what has been separated comes together again, when feeling flows free and true, when you are aligned with your greatest good, when you become more than you believed you could. The authenticity of your self is not subsumed by bonds with others, but is enhanced through acting with integrity and love.”

Grandmother of Wands -Tarot of the Crone (Ellen Lorenzi-Prince)

Grandmother of Wands ~ Matriarch

“It is time to have a talk

And time to have a listen

Time to recognize our common bonds

 

With honest standing

With Goddess guiding

 

We create our culture

By how we treat one another

 

In a cave of light under a cover of dark, many figures gather closely around a fire. One figure looms larger than the rest: this is the matriarch. One of the group, she is also its heart and its strength. She speaks, she leads, she ensures all are heard and considered. She weaves individual strands into a tapestry, creating common ground and common cause. With warmth, rectitude and respect, she creates space for group magic to happen. She is tradition and invention in one. She is the fullest integration of your spirit. Embrace it; her power is yours.”

 

Spirit Speaks to Us

I stand in awe of how the messages come through for us. There’s nothing I can add to these two cards; they have such obvious application to the division and strife we’re currently witnessing, yet hold out an incredible vision of the power we have to create something even greater – together.

(T-498)

New Tool – Day 612

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Exotic laying tool – Photo: theneedlepointer.com

New Tool

I admit it. I still haven’t seen Comet Neowise yet. But I did follow through on my promise last night to figure out how to post a video to YouTube – and I met with success! Thus have I added a new tool to my communication arsenal.

Not to say there aren’t still a few hitches to my giddyap. For instance, the video that accompanies the sounds (which are really what I wanted to share) is sideways. I tried a bunch of times to edit it this afternoon, but I got frustrated and decided to call it a win – albeit partial.

I’m thinking I may need to edit the video on my phone before uploading it. I thought I’d be able to edit it once it ‘up,’ but that seems not to be the case. I may or may not monkey with it a little more. For now, I’m just psyched you can hear the wild ones from last night.

But the upshot here is: try this link! See if I succeeded in uploading the video and whether you can hear the coyotes serenading the comet.

One Other Thing

It’s July 15, 2020. I’m finding it difficult to wrap my head around that fact, which is why I’m mentioning it here. I have a feeling I’m not alone in this surreal limbo we’re calling life.

I just want to tell all of you taking the time to read my posts, whether you do every day or just randomly, how much I appreciate you.

While I know I read far too much on my phone and laptop (meaning the incessant cascade of articles, etc., that bombard us every day), I find myself having little patience with those items. It’s easy to click on and even easier to click off.

So if you stick with me and read my posts, thank you. That simple act helps me feel like I’m not alone in this craziness. It really is true: we’re all in this together, and supporting each other matters.

(T-499)

No Comet Tonight – Day 611

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Searching for the Comet 14 July 2020 – Photo: L. Weikel

No Comet Tonight

I’m thinking we were a tad impatient this evening. Perhaps we went looking (and gave up) a bit too early. Or maybe we were actually too late! Whatever it was, the verdict is in: no comet tonight.

I didn’t think so at the time, obviously, or we would’ve waited another 30 minutes or half an hour. It’s only in retrospect, as I look at the photo from Minnesota (at the top of last night’s post) that I’m thinking we went too early. Yeah, the sky in that photo looks a bit more ‘evening-mature’ than the photo at the top of this post.

Then again, I just re-read the article from earthsky.org and I realize it says the comet will appear higher in the evening sky each night between the 13th and the 19th. Hmm. I do believe I’ll give it another go tomorrow night.

Runner-up Bonus

But I have to tell you: we were rewarded with the most amazing gift tonight, which we wouldn’t have experienced had we not been out searching for Comet Neowise.

Alas, I can’t share the bonus with you (tonight, anyway) because I don’t have a clue how to upload a video I’ve taken onto YouTube. But I’m going to figure it out, and I’m going to post this recording because WOW. I had no idea we had a pack of coyotes living so close to us!

They serenaded us with such a cacophony of yips and howls, we almost thought we’d been transported to New Mexico. We couldn’t believe our ears!

We’ve heard the occasional yip or howl at night, but definitely never the joyously raucous sounds of a pack like tonight.

Always a Treat

Which reminds me: A few years ago we took a walk and left our main front door open. Of course, the wooden screen door was closed and locked, but that obviously didn’t hinder the aroma of stew I’d left simmering on our stove from wafting outside.

When we rounded the final corner of our walk-around and could see up the road to our house, we were shocked to see a coyote sitting on its haunches, directly in front of our home. It was just sitting there at the edge of the road, right beside our mailbox, looking ever so much like a ‘good boy,’ waiting patiently for a bowl of whatever yummy stuff it could smell we were cooking.

Amazing. And what a gift.

Maybe tomorrow we’ll both see the comet and hear the coyotes again. That would be better than any tv lineup.

Coyote – Photo: City of Lubbock, TX

(T-500)

Comet Neowise – Day 610

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Photo: Bob King, Duluth, Minnesota

Comet Neowise

For all the grief we’re attributing to the year 2020, what with Covid-19, murder wasps, the Bubonic Plague, disastrous unemployment, unprecedented losses of small businesses, and 16,000 other awful things I’m not recalling at the moment, there are a couple bright spots. One of them is C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE), or more commonly known as Comet Neowise.

Yeah, this baby looks like what we all hoped and expected Halley’s Comet to look like when it finally showed up. From the photos I’ve seen, Neowise is spectacular in its split tail and brilliance. In many ways, the photos of it remind me of how, as a child, I imagined the Star of Bethlehem must have looked to the three wise men.

As I was searching for a unique photo of the comet to use for this post that’s not the same as the gorgeous ones I’ve seen on Facebook (over Glastonbury Tor, for instance), I came across the one above by Bob King in Duluth, Minnesota. Two things about this link: first of all, the photo is of the comet in the evening! That was just taken tonight.

I just love how Mr. King managed to capture the comet not only directly in the sky overhead but also exquisitely reflected in the lake below. What a wonderful shot!

Morning or Evening?

I’m pretty sure that most, if not all, of the photos that have been showing up so far have been taken in the wee hours of the morning of the particular locality. In fact, I think we should be able to see it one more time, at least, in the hour or two before sunrise – either ‘tonight’ (depending on when you go to sleep) or tomorrow.

By my calculations, at least if I use this article’s timing, I should be going to my prime viewing spot at around 3:51 a.m. Yeesh. That’s asking a lot, Mother Nature! (I arrived at that ‘start time’ be calculating an hour and 50 minutes before sunrise.)

Yes, I am usually awake until at least 2:00 a.m. every night (or morning, if you want to get technical about it). But staying up that extra two hours, while probably fairly easy for me to do by simply giving myself permission to binge-read my latest book, will almost certainly result in feeling as though I’m missing a half a beat most of the day tomorrow.

So I’m psyched to learn that there could very well be a fairly good opportunity to see Comet Neowise in the evening sky, about an hour after sunset, starting tomorrow. Heck – with it being so hot lately, we’ve been walking more in the early evening hours anyway, so this wouldn’t be a stretch for us at all.

near Sursee, Switzerland – July 7, 2020

Wonderfully Precise Instructions

But as great as the photo by Bob King is, it’s also accompanied by a wonderful article describing in great detail the best ways to locate the comet in the evening sky. I feel like the specificity in this article should give any of us who really want to see this comet (and are blessed with clear skies and an obstruction-free and somewhat light pollution-less view) a decent chance of success.

So here you go. If you’re into it, I hope you meet with success in witnessing this celestial phenomenon, which is only visible to us every 6,766 years or so.

July 7, 2020 (photographer unknown)

On the off chance I wake up two hours before the crack of dawn’s early light (you know, three hours from now), I may give it a shot. More likely, though, I’m going to pin my hopes on an evening score.

As you know from my numerous posts about an assortment of meteor showers and even another comet or two, I love this stuff. And I miss my boys, who so very often were game to indulge their mother’s crazy excitement at witnessing celestial events that often sounded much better than they ended up being.

What’s In a Name?

But don’t you just love the name of this comet, too? Neowise? I know it’s named after the space telescope that discovered it on March 27th. March 27th! Of 2020! Nevertheless, it feels like the synchronicity of its name might just be an offering of the tiniest glimmer of hope for humanity: perhaps this comet will usher in an era of “new wisdom.”

Let’s hope.

(T-502)

Ford v Ferrari – Day 609

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Forbes.com

Ford v Ferrari

Karl and I watched the movie Ford v Ferrari tonight on HBO.

I think Karl was pretty surprised that I suggested we watch it. To be honest, it wasn’t a move either one of us would think we’d be interested in. While I love to drive – and stick is best – I am definitely not a racecar fan.

I suggested it because I like the actors who star in it (Matt Damon and Christian Bale) and I knew it had produced some Oscar nominations. But I have to say, I didn’t expect to be writing a post about it.

What a good movie, though! I love it when we start watching a production hoping for the best but not having the highest of expectations. It’s great to be pleasantly surprised.

The Choices We Make

It’s a true story, or at least it’s factually based on the lives of two men, Carroll Shelby, a race car designer and builder, and Ken Miles, a daring and skilled race car driver. The drama was tight and definitely relatable, especially with respect to the pressure brought to bear on the pair from corporate suits at Ford.

Indeed, that aspect was maddening.

But when all was said and done, the choices each made in the moment stuck with me. They caused me to think about life and what we do with the time we’re given here on Earth. What values and talents do we hope to pass on to our kids? What’s really important to each of us in the long run? I know, typical annoying questions you’d expect me to ask.

Yet I ask that them not only with respect to the choices made by the characters in the movie, but also with respect to our own legacies.

Our Choices Define Us

The driver, Ken Miles, is certainly depicted as a guy who drove hard but was intimately tuned to the machine he was driving. He could read the cars he drove better than most of us read our own bodies. And he achieved some milestones with those cars that obviously made a difference, especially in the trajectory and legacy of the Ford Motor Company. I can only imagine how proud his wife and son were – and are – of him. Certainly they must be gratified that his story is being told.

And yet I suspect many people unfamiliar with the racing world would never have heard of him had it not been for this movie. And even if everyone knew his name at one point (in the ‘60s), it seems to only take a couple of decades or so for people to forget.

Most pertinent of all, at least from how he is depicted in this movie, I doubt Ken Miles ever imagined a movie would be made about him, his choices, and his role in the competition between Ford and Ferrari.

All Around Us

All around us there are people living extraordinary lives who probably appear ordinary to many of their peers. Indeed, perhaps many of us sharing these posts are living such lives.

It makes me think about the stories we hold close to the vest. Why we make the choices we do. Who cares and who will remember?

In any given moment, it seems like the true measure of who we are resides in the choices we make when we think no one will ever know and no one will ever care.

In the end, if we’re not true to ourselves, then why bother?

(T-502)

Quiet – Day 608

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Photo: L. Weikel

Quiet

The wet wool blanket mugginess of the day most definitely influenced the timing of our walk today. There was no way I was interested in stepping foot anywhere while the sun beat down on us. Eventually, of course, every sun must set, and lucky for us, we no longer had to dodge the raindrops. We could walk in peace and quiet.

We’ve noticed dramatically fewer planes in the sky lately. And it’s a blessing when we walk and managed to avoid encountering any cars. A blessing and an experience that’s rarer and rarer.

As we rounded the last few corners on our trek today, we noticed how much quieter everything is right now. Even the insects sound diminished – almost as if they’re whispering.

Quiet is Disappearing

The eerie silence of our walk this evening (especially the insects seeming to hush themselves) made me think about an article I’d read recently that I wanted to share with you. It’s on the art of listening to silence, which some of you might know is a particular delight of mine.

Reading this reminded me of just how precious and rare it is to be able to find anywhere where we can ‘be’ and not hear one single human-made noise.

This is seriously tragic.

Quiet Parks International

One of the heartening discoveries I made in the article I linked above is the fact that there is an organization dedicated to encouraging parks to become ‘quiet parks.’ What a gift to the world!

Just for curiosity’s sake, I challenge you to spend some time outside and notice whether you can ever actually achieve some moments without even the smallest human-generated sound tickles your eardrums.

It’s a real ear-opener.

Rawr (chomp chomp)- Photo: L. Weikel

(T-503)