We met this lovely creature on our walk yesterday. It seemed like the perfect messenger for the day of the full moon and a lunar eclipse, for Frog’s message is almost always, in some way, shape, or form, “Clean out!”
It only makes sense, when we just take a look around us. We’re doing our best to clean out our belief systems – regarding racial inequities, justice, policing, transparency, solidarity, just to name a few. We’re realizing that the old ways of thinking and living with each other in a so-called civil society need to be overhauled if we’re going to survive another 200 years. Or maybe even just another two.
Seems to me that the lore surrounding a lunar eclipse – that it forces us to look at what’s been hidden from view, perhaps ideas or emotions or beliefs that we’ve even hidden from ourselves – is impacting everyone on the planet right now, but especially us here in the U.S.
Such beautiful markings – Photo: L. Weikel
Decision Time
It seems to me, then, that when we look, when we dare to uncover the stuff that maybe we feel a bit of shame over or discomfort, or possibly even guilt for feeling or thinking or believing, we need to take it one step further. We need to make a decision.
We need to decide: do these beliefs truly serve me? Does believing them make my life better? Do I honestly feel happier or proud of myself for holding on to these beliefs?
And if our answer is no to any of these questions, we need to clean out.
The weather is turning as foul as predicted. Wind is whipping fat globs of rain and slush through the air like paintball pellets. Hearing the splatter on the windows as I sat down to write, I just realized I forgot to bring in my plants, the ones I’d recently allowed to spend some time outside, ‘on their own,’ encouraging them to reconnect with their feral roots.
OK, phew! I brought everything in. Wow, it’s nasty out there.
This Week
I’d like to welcome all of you to the weekend. It may not feel all that different from the days of the week that you just endured, but I think we all know, for most of us at least, there still remains a psychological difference. Old habits die hard.
And as I write, thunder rumbles.
Even though I love thunder and lightning, thunder can feel ominous – or perfectly in keeping with the milieu of the times. I must admit that’s how it feels at the moment: a perfect, ominous warning.
If anyone felt this week was particularly stressful, I want you to hear me: YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I don’t know if it was the full moon or the culmination of being on lockdown for almost two months, the relentless information, misinformation, lying, and scare tactics we’re bombarded with, or what it is. But this has been a week.
I’ve had a number of people tell me that they’re having trouble sleeping. Even if they succeed in falling asleep, they often find themselves dreaming copiously and restlessly, and often the dreams turn to nightmares.
Early Stretch
It sounds like a good portion of these dreams and nightmares are taking apocalyptic turns. Everything feels momentous these days. We really don’t know what’s coming at us from one day to the next, so it only stands to reason that we play out possible scenarios in our dreams.
Seriously: the mere word pandemic sounds like something that belongs in a Hollywood movie, not the past two months of our lives. And now, with this bizarre push to get the country back up and ‘running’ no matter the cost in human lives, we’re entering a new phase of a national nightmare.
We’ve only just begun learning how to deal with all of this. And yet, we’re almost getting whiplash, trying to keep track of whether ‘the worst is over’ or – more likely – the ‘worst’ has moved to other parts of the country where it appears honesty about testing and infection rates and deaths may not be the highest priority of those calling the shots.
False Sense of Security
My sense is that people all across the country have watched the way New York has handled the initial crush of cases, including the way Governor Cuomo has addressed his constituents (and the rest of the nation) each and every day with facts and emotional fortitude. On some level, even though many find it easy to judge the hell out of them, deep down, we all believe we’re New Yorkers. We felt that on 9/11 and we feel it now. We resonate with the attitude of “New York Tough.”
But I fear the success New York is having in meeting this challenge head-on is creating a false sense of security for the rest of the nation.
The push to get back to an illusory normal is almost certainly ill-advised, especially since the rest of the country (outside of maybe New York and New Jersey) have yet to reach their peak. I have a feeling many of us know that to be true on a visceral level. Much more loss is about to take place, and it’s the stuff of nightmares.
Honesty? Transparency?
And while we hope the governors of the states where numbers are starting to soar (when they deign to reveal those numbers – another tip off that ‘this is not New York’) will put their people first and give them every fact and number and piece of information that will help them make informed decisions for their health and that of their families, if we’re honest, we can see the writing on the wall.
The requisite honesty and transparency are profoundly and horrifyingly lacking.
Perhaps we need to give expression to the terror that courses through our body when we consider how fast and far the Coronavirus is spreading across the country, especially in our nursing and extended care facilities, prisons, and certain factory settings (such as meat packing plants), and other places of congregate living or working. We need to express it so we can release it.
And isn’t that really what this full moon is all about? Letting the light of the full moon shine upon our fears so we can identify them and let them go?
The first responsibility is to be honest with ourselves. Then we can wake from our nightmares and prevail. Together.
Yesterday Karl and I made a point of taking our walk a little later than the day before, when we knew we would have the best chance to witness the rise of the vaunted Super Pink Moon. We walked along one of the roads near our home that meanders through several fields belonging to a horse farm that sits atop a ridge. It’s a vast expanse of land and is a great place to observe all sorts of celestial events. It’s one of my favorite ‘go-to’ places when meteor showers, eclipses, and other such happenings are taking place in the night sky, although this turned out to be a somewhat strange evening.
As we waited for the moon to rise, we were distracted and intrigued by some unique cloud formations. Most noticeable were a handful of lenticular clouds that almost seemed to be moving ‘against the grain’ of the greater cloudbank behind them.
UFO clouds 2 – Photo: L. Weikel
Missing Time
The funny thing is, we were both hell bent on catching a glimpse of the moon rise, and by that I mean we wanted to catch sight of it as it rose above the horizon, since we knew it was supposed to be the largest ‘super moon’ of 2020. As a result, we were fixated on constantly checking the horizon line.
Meanwhile, these lenticular clouds were quite distracting – at least to me. The clouds seemed to be moving in relation to one another, in a more conscious than usual manner. I’m not entirely sure why they kept drawing my attention, but they did. And it felt as though they were communicating with each other. It was an odd feeling.
Photo: L. Weikel
Eventually, though, we decided that perhaps there was more of an overcast pall to the horizon than appeared to our eyes. So we decided to resume our walk, after having hung out at this spot for a good 20-25 minutes. As we started resuming our trek, one of the horses came galloping across the field toward us. I’d brought a carrot just in case, and walked back toward where the mare was now standing, grazing nonchalantly, pretending she didn’t really want any attention.
I called to the beautiful creature, holding out the carrot, when all of a sudden she arched her tail and took off like a shot, tearing across the field away from me like she was being chased by the devil.
All in all, an odd reaction that was completely unexpected.
I left the carrot inside the fence and caught up with Karl and the pups. We continued walking for about five minutes when – all of a sudden – I glanced to my left and there she was: Grandmother Moon in all her full, Super Pink glory, a beacon of glowing orange gorgeousness already a substantial distance above the horizon.
Karl and I just marveled at her magnificence. How in the world had we missed her slipping above the horizon?
It was as if we’d lost almost an hour of time. Between the odd clouds, the spooked horse, and the lost span of time between the moon rising above the horizon to when she became obvious to us, it just didn’t feel as though it added up quite right.
Finale
And as a grand finale last evening, after writing and publishing my post, I went outside with Sheila to give her one last opportunity to tinkle before bed. The sky was bright, and I knew where the moon should be – but once again, she was nowhere to be seen. The night sky was so uniform in appearance that it didn’t even appear to be cloudy. But it had to be. There were no stars. No moon in sight. And yet, as I said, it was ‘bright.’ Sheila, oddly, turned right around without doing a thing and made a bee-line for the door, as if to say, “Nope. Not peeing. Let’s get outta here.” (That’s significant for her, since she’s always good for a tinkle.)
We immediately went upstairs and got into bed. I read for about ten minutes and, falling asleep sitting up, turned my light out. It couldn’t have been half an hour later when I was awakened by flashes of really bright light. No thunder. Just lights. Lighting up our room. My first thoughts were of ambulances, weirdly, or search lights. But then I realized it was lightning – yet it seemed to be coming in all four of our bedroom windows. It was as if we were surrounded by lightning. And there was no thunder. I woke Karl briefly so he could at least fleetingly verify my perceptions.
Suddenly, rain pelted the roof. But the lightning didn’t relent. The flashing was almost kaleidoscopic. Yet somehow, in the midst of all of this, I just ‘decided’ to just go back to sleep.
The whole experience qualified as a very strange evening. And when I awakened, I could feel I’d slept hard – and deeply. It took a long while and a couple cups of coffee to feel fully ‘in’ my body.
Super Pink Moon w/cloud halo – Photo: L.Weikel
**And another layer of strangeness? Tonight’s post was the FIRST post in 514 days that I was unable to get published before I went to bed. My website’s server was down for over THIRTEEN HOURS.
Nearly full moon – late afternoon – Photo: L. Weikel
Super Pink Moon
Wow. We’ve already had two ‘super’ full moons in 2020, with tomorrow’s Super Pink Moon promising to be the ‘biggest’ of them all. That’s because our celestial little sister will be closer to the Earth for tomorrow night’s display than it’s been for the first two.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve found the full moons since this past December particularly intense. Between eclipses and super moons, in a lot of ways it’s felt as though we’ve been whipsawed from one challenging (and I use that word charitably) experience to another.
And now, of course…here we find ourselves. In uncharted territory, to put it mildly.
Pluto and Jupiter’s Added Influence
As if most of us don’t already notice an uptick in sensitivity or perhaps emotional volatility near the full moon, tomorrow’s cosmic event is almost guaranteed to hit us with a good thwack. That’s because in addition to the Super Pink Moon being the one that will appear biggest and most beautiful (and thus almost certainly tug on our heads and hearts most powerfully), it is occurring while Jupiter and Pluto are sitting practically on top of each other (known as being ‘conjunct’ with each other).
Just to give you a thumbnail sketch, Pluto is the ruler of life/death/rebirth, dramatic upheaval, destruction, and transformation. Jupiter basically makes everything ‘bigger.’ And in 2020, these two planets will be ‘conjunct’ with each other three times: April 4th (yes, here we are, just starting to realize the utter enormity of Covid-19’s impact on our entire world), June 30th, and then November 12th (oh goody – nine days after our scheduled presidential election). What could go wrong!?
Given everything we’re going through at the moment, here’s an especially intriguing article.
A Monumental Time
I’m pointing all of this out because I find it fascinating how so much of what we’re experiencing is reflected in the cosmos. And I, at least, find it helpful to try to bear in mind that knowledge is power.
No, we may not be able to shift the alignment of the planets or avoid (or prevent) the impact of these celestial conjunctions and the emotional wallop a super full moon might have on our experience and perception of everything that’s going on around us. But realizing that all of this is unfolding and impacting how we feel about it all can temper its impact – even if just a little bit.
And right now? We need all the awareness, compassion, and kindness toward ourselves, each other, and our collective emotions as we can muster.
So, please. As the next couple days unfold, remember the gigantic forces at play right now and be gentle – with yourselves and with everyone you encounter (which hopefully will not be all that many people since we’re supposed to be staying home!).
Give yourself a chance to check out that Super Moon as it rises tomorrow. And as you do, perhaps you can close your eyes and tap into the energies you may have seen or felt when you did that global meditation the other evening. Open your heart to love and healing. And let us all hold onto our hope.
I’ll admit it: For the most part, I enjoy the extra daylight tacked on to the end of our days during Daylight Savings Time. Part of the reason, I suppose, is rooted in the fact that I’m generally a ‘night’ person, and I become more and more animated as the day wears on. Which is why I’m finding it a little distressing today, as DST arrives, to be reacting physically to it in a most illogical fashion.
I’m barely able to keep my eyes open!
I’m writing this post significantly earlier in the evening than I normally do. Which means that, from my body’s perspective, I’m writing even earlier than when I would usually consider earlier!
Exquisite Weather
Lucky for me (and those who live in my neck of the woods), the weather today was luscious. It was a perfect spring day – and by that, I mean the clear blue skies and gentle, cool breezes made me want to laugh, and walk zig-zag in the road, and breathe deeply.
Yes, it’s early in March to have such balmy temperatures. And yes, daffodils are probably going to bloom sometime this week, judging by how much they grew just in the past few days – and that does feel quite a bit too early.
But it was so liberating to walk without a jacket on! Funny, how the little things in life make us feel lighthearted and hopeful.
Tomorrow Should Be Even Better
They’re forecasting that it could get close to 70 degrees out tomorrow. A bit too warm for March 9thif you ask me, but I’ll take it. And I’ll run with it! Well, erm, no. I’ll walk with it. Not sure how far, but I did manage to walk six miles today, so I’m cautiously optimistic.
Which reminds me. Pretty soon – one of these evenings – I’m going to have to recapitulate my walking milestones from over the past year. Since I turned 60 on my last birthday, I’ve made a concerted effort to walk more than I used to. Now I have to tally things up. And then, perhaps, set new goals. We’ll see.
Puppies
In the meantime, it’s time for me to hit the sheets. It may not make a ton of sense that I’m more tired after ‘springing forward’ but it’s the truth for me. And I ask you: how could I resist the opportunity to snuggle with my Spartacus, who’s upstairs, as we speak, ‘making a warm spot’ for me in our bed?
And Sheila…well, she’s being her usual amazing, loving self, waiting patiently for me to finish what I’m writing so the two of us girls can make our way upstairs. She’s the best.
Remember, it’s a full moon today (Monday the 9th, when you’re probably reading this). Be extra kind to yourself today. Try to get outside, even if it’s only for a couple minutes, and allow yourself to drink in the sunshine and warmth. Sink your roots into the Earth and feel yourself connected to Her – solid, balanced, centered, and peaceful.
And if you’re not sure how you feel, smile. Everything will feel better if you do.
Sheila Snoozing With Her Monkey – Photo: L. Weikel
What an extraordinary evening of beauty and mystery.
As the full Wolf Moon rose above the treetops, her appearance almost felt like a surprise given the bank of clouds that initially partially obscured her ascent.
The owls were silent yet again this evening, mesmerized, perhaps, by the exquisite majesty of the beacon climbing the sky and illuminating their nests. The air was still. There were barely any cars on the road at first, none the final mile.
Full Wolf Moonrise – Photo: L. Weikel
An unnaturally warm front arrived late this afternoon, making our walk far easier than last night’s, especially on Sheila. She didn’t drag her dainty little puppy feet quite as much as she does when it’s freezing out and we’re just getting started. She’s frequently reluctant to get her old bones moving, even more so when it’s frigid out, but she always – always! – rallies to the cause and motors through either the two or the four mile trek with ease.
Tonight, even the pups seemed entranced by the moon. What was it about this particular full moon? I wish I could say.
She was particularly photogenic; I’ll give her that.
Unlike last night, she shone with crystal clarity; no gauzy obscurity tonight.
This last photo looks, to me, like either a bear or a dog – probably a Golden Retriever – holding the full moon in its mouth. Or if you think it looks like a Golden, that’s almost certainly a glowing, cosmic tennis ball being proffered for play.
Bear Swallows Full Wolf Moon – Photo: L. Weikel
I know I’ve been relentlessly urging a walk outside with eyes lifted to the heavens. I’m not going to stop bugging you now. There’s something powerful about knowing that no matter where we are on Mother Earth, we’re all looking up at the same moon. Perhaps at different times, but she’s always there for all of us – and she’s always a unifying force.
What do we discover when we allow the moonlight to pick the locks of our deepest secrets?
Sometimes I’m a master at this. And you know what? Sometimes it just has to be done.
The ‘obvious’ that I feel needs to be stated at the moment is that this is going to be one hell of an intense week.
Right out of the gate, we know this will be no ordinary week (and let’s face it, how many of them have we honestly experienced since January 20th, 2017?) because of the horrifying manner in which global tensions are being insanely and irresponsibly ratcheted up on a daily basis. By tweet, no less.
It’s stunning.
Another reason, a corollary to the first, naturally – since so much of our global, national, local, and personal stress is triggered in one way or another by the rash acts emanating from the White House – is that for every threat tweeted out against others, particularly toward those who were rashly and yet deliberately provoked by an assassination of one of their own, another cadre of self-proclaimed avengers is born.
And who will reap the fallout from that vengeance being sought? Almost certainly men, women, and children who do not see it coming. Oh, they may feel it vaguely raising the hackles on their skin when they read about another tweet or hear of yet another taunt or belligerent beating of a national chest. But quite honestly, save for the 9/11 attacks, there’s a profound belief, deep in the core of most Americans’ psyche, that we’re inviolable. That stuff won’t – can’t – happen here.
Photo: runnersworld.com
Our Bubble is Exposed
Given the taunts and threats of 52 sites of strategic or cultural importance being in the crosshairs of our military, I have to ask: Can anyone reading that not imagine how it would feel to have that same threat levied against us? Can anyone reading about anything that’s going on right now not use simple common sense and imagine the rage that we would feel if the bully slapped us like that?
How would we feel if we witnessed the bully slap someone else – perhaps a friend?
How would we feel if we witnessed that very same bully sucker punch a kid who wasn’t exactly our friend? Maybe even someone we whom we also feared – but not as much, since he’s smaller and perhaps a bit more wily (because he has to be clever to make up for his smaller build)?
We’d probably watch in horror and hope we wouldn’t get hit by a stray fist. Or worse.
Recap
To recap why I stated the obvious premise at the start of this post:
1. We have mad, provocative tweeting (and bombs); 2. We are creating new avengers daily, including people who may simply have been observers…before; and 3. We have a full moon and eclipse happening on Friday, plus a slew of planetary aspects that were daunting enough for us to face before the hasty and ill-advised events of the past couple of days.
More on the planetary aspects tomorrow, perhaps.
In the meantime, we must hold those centers. Keep peace in each of our own hearts and homes. It’s what we must do.
Rising Full Moon (peaked 12:12 a.m., 12/12/2019) – Photo: L. Weikel
Final Full Moon of the Decade
Surely you know me well enough now to figure there’d be no way I could let this full moon take place this evening, reaching its apex just past midnight (Eastern Standard Time), without mentioning it.
I’m fairly dedicated to keeping track of the moon’s phases. I’ve found that the satellite that causes our tides and, in fact, holds a great deal of sway over all the liquids on our planet (from the seas to our own blood, to even the fluidity of our emotions) has a much bigger impact on our day to day lives than most care to admit.
Many people don’t even realize the moon’s influence on our lives. They literally could not tell you where it rises or where it sets; what phase it is in on any given day; and rare is the person who could offer the astrological sign it is in (especially since it moves through a sign every 2.5 days).
Frozen full moon – stars and frozen drops of snow on branches; Photo: L. Weikel
But the sense that this full moon is particularly momentous is probably lingering in the back of the minds of many – even those who would not ordinarily pay attention to that massive orb in the night sky. That’s because the moon will reach her fullest at 12:12 a.m. EST on the 12thday of the 12thmonth of 2019 (which, if you fancy your numerology, which you know I do) adds up to 12 (2+0+1+9)*. And on some level, just as people always seem to get a little, shall we say wackier? intense? during a full moon regardless of whether they know it is a full moon, I suspect almost everyone is feeling a tickle around their edges tonight.
Personally Speaking
For myself, though, I have to say all these 12s remind me of all the 11s I was so keenly aware of on 11/11/11. I recall sitting within my mesa at 11:11 a.m. (EST), holding space and clearing my mind, not having the slightest clue that my life would change cataclysmically at 11:11 p.m. (PST) that evening.
So, while I tend to be a ‘glass half full’ kinda girl, I’d be less than completely honest if I denied feeling the tiniest bit of trepidation at this grand parade of numbers.
The truth is, it feels momentous. The truth is, even though you can argue that the 12:12 timing, at least, is less than momentous given that it is only one time zone out of 24, especially when you’re living in that time zone – it feels significant.
And there are, of course, a plethora of ‘takes’ on what this full moon portends. There is Hare in the Moon, Chani Nicholas, and my favorite guy who makes me laugh while listening to his insight, Kaypacha. But they all pretty much agree that this full moon, in conjunction with all the other intense astrological aspects the planets are making to each other, portends great change.
Full moon far afield – Photo: L. Weikel
Cleansing and Releasing
For my part, I’ve opened Sacred Space and am allowing my mesa to bask in the intensity of Mama Killa’s light. Using my mesa and the khuyas (sacred stones) that are contained within it as proxies for me and various aspects of myself and my life, I am surrendering to the power and wisdom of letting go of what no longer serves me. I’m asking Her to burn off the dross.
This is also the final full moon of a decade that, from my perspective, has been filled with blindsides. I wish to shake off the detritus of this decade in order to enter the 20s with renewed hope, refreshed vision, and an abundance of joyful energy.
Ah yes…
It is now 12:21. My time outside was magical. If you didn’t get a chance to go outside tonight, I hope you will give yourself that gift tomorrow night. Even if only for five minutes, go outside. Look up. Be still. Give thanks.
I’m ready to complete this post and hit ‘publish.’ For whatever reason, as I stood outside in the stark brilliance of the FULL moon minutes ago, I felt compelled to wish peace to all Beings who are suffering in any way. May we all let go of the burdens we’ve accumulated this decade, especially those that weigh heavy on our hearts.
*And yes, of course, this means that we are being inundated with 3s, since 12 reduces to a 3. But I don’t want to go down that road at the moment.
This is going to be quick – provided it gets posted at all.
It’s going to be quick because I’ve been struggling for over an hour with getting any of my electronic devices to work.
I suspect it’s the fault of the confluence of three major factors:
Mercury is retrograde, hence if an electronic device is going to go on the fritz, it wouldn’t be surprising if it happens during this astronomical and astrological occurrence.
It’s a full moon today. And we all know a full moon can exacerbate anything: make it bigger, wilder, more pronounced, more volatile; and
We’re getting hit by a bone-chilling cold spell. It’s 16 degrees outside as I write this. When I came up into my bedroom this evening, my Dell’s screen started blinking most distressingly – and even worse, my specially designated 1111 Devotion post-writing-machine (dubbed thus as a result of my Dell losing its mind last year shortly into this commitment) has already simply winked off completely with no warning about 40 minutes ago, requiring a reboot, but is now prohibiting me from saving the document I’m writing this post in.
Even My iPhone Isn’t Spared
Oddly, even my iPhone is blinking off when I hold it upside down. (OK, I realize that the solution to that particular issue is obvious: “Don’t hold the phone upside down, Lisa. Duh.”) But actually, when things like this occur in such a haphazard way, it usually presages other unpredictable and disconcerting behaviors.
I just tried to save this again and it’s a no-go.
Hmm.
Given the triple whammy outlined above, I think I may just toss in the towel and hit publish.
I’m reasonably sure I’ll at least get these few thoughts and words posted, and I can’t even give you a logical reason why. They’ll show up, at least. But inspire? I think not.
I hope none of you are experiencing the Triple Whammy today – or tomorrow. But if you are, hang in there! We’re in this together!
Clete and Precious – Weirdness begins – Photo: L. Weikel
Full Moon Cletus
Our ‘thinks-he’s-a-badass’ cat, Cletus, is one of those felines who loves you one second and tries to stab you in the eye the next.
Especially around the full moon.
This is unlike Tigger, who comes to me like a puppy when I call, cuddles with me in bed, and honestly seems to adore me most of the time. Even when he’s angry with me, he just flicks his tail in my general direction. Never does retaliation figure in his agenda.Nor does Cletus resemble Precious, who flees from any discord immediately, whether it’s real or imagined, and does not return until we’ve all long forgotten whatever it was that made her bolt to begin with.
In the past day or two, with the approaching full moon, Cletus’s been pulling out all the stops to make me think he might actually love me. OK. Have affection for me.
I’ll admit, it can be intoxicating to have an animal look at me adoringly. And I fall for it each and every time. It’s like Lucy and the football.
Weirdness
So I was skeptical a few days ago when, out of the blue, Cletus started randomly showing up on my usual seat on the couch. In fact, the first morning this usurpation of my space began, I was nearly ready to sound the alarm – for not only was Cletus hanging out where I usually sit – so was Precious. And they were sleeping beside each other!
This was some seriously anomalous behavior.
I will eat you and your young! Photo: L. Weikel
Since that initial incident, I’ve witnessed Cletus sleeping deeply on my red backjack a number of times. Today was no exception.
The only difference this morning was that I managed to snap a few photos that capture exactly the volatility of his emotions. And for the record? He did manage to snag me. Yup; he drew blood. Not a lot, but enough. I swear, he never lost his ‘kitten claws.” They’re so sharp, he often nails me and I don’t even realize it until several hours later.
Watch your feline companions tonight, people. Werecats. I’m pretty sure they’re a thing.
“What? A Gentle Spirit lives here…” – Photo: L. Weikel
