Turkey

Special New Moon – ND #130

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More Turkeys – Photo: L. Weikel

Special New Moon

While my primary intention is to talk about the especially special new moon this Saturday, I’m actually going to include a photo of the turkeys I saw again on my walk today. This flock was kind enough to meander in the field a bit closer to me today, enabling me to improve at least a little bit over yesterday’s photo.

And since Turkeys are a gift, I’d like to off this post to you as a reminder to pay attention to the phase of the moon this weekend, for there are some powerful aspects taking place above our heads.

Black Moon

I learned something new today. While I’ve heard of a ‘blue’ moon – which is a second full moon happening within the span of a single month, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a ‘black’ moon. There’s a Dark Moon – which is sort of related, given that it stands for the phase of the moon when it’s completely new (hence ‘dark’). But a black moon is – you guessed it – the second new moon happening within the span of a single month.

I’m not sure, but it seems like a black moon might be a bit more rare than a blue moon, which is ironic if true, since we use the term ‘once in a blue moon’ to mean something is quite rare. Ah yes, I did find confirmation of that suspicion here. Somehow, though, ‘once in a black moon’ doesn’t sound quite as, umm, colorful.

Partial Solar Eclipse

The other astronomical phenomenon that’s occurring in connection with this Saturday’s new moon, which reaches its full ‘newness’ at 4:28 p.m. ET (that sounds like an oxymoron), is a partial solar eclipse. This phenomenon reaches its peak at 4:51 p.m. ET, although we won’t be able to see it from here.

This partial solar eclipse kicks off this year’s first eclipse ‘season,’ as eclipses occur in usually two or three successive phases of new/full/new moons.

The next eclipse in this season’s series will take place on May 16th. Technically, the beginning of the eclipse process (which we’ve all witnessed by now at some point or another over the past three or four years, right?) will begin at 9:30 p.m. on May 15th, with the moon’s face being completely engulfed in the shadow of the Earth at 00:12 a.m. ET on the 16th.

But the significance of that eclipse is for another day.

What’s It Mean For You?

The partial solar eclipse, which occurs this Saturday, may well kick off some especially powerful new beginnings, sweeping out the old and heralding the new in more dramatic fashion than we might expect. Here’s at least one astrologer’s (Chani’s) interpretation of how this new moon in Taurus, given a boost of pizzazz by the eclipse, might manifest or play out in your life.

Remember to read both your sun sign and your ascendant (rising) sign. See which one feels more relevant to your experience on this especially special new moon.

Flock of turkeys – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+130)

Avian Extravaganza – ND #129

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Red-Shouldered Hawk – Photo: L. Weikel

Avian Extravaganza

While I may be indulging my more reclusive tendencies lately, all of you are never far from my thoughts. So when this blustery, cloud-crowded day proved to be an avian extravaganza, I knew I’d succumb to the temptation and share a few photos of my encounters.

The photo above is a Red Shouldered Hawk – one of several nesting in the trees lining the fields around our home. Yes, they’re nesting; but it’s the mid-air swoops and daredevil dives amidst screams of passion (and sometimes what seems like relentless badgering) that makes their mating the most notable activity.

I only distinctly noticed and accurately identified the Red Shouldered Hawks in our area a year ago. In fact, I wrote about the first relentless mating calls, discernible through closed doors and windows, here just last year. I could’ve sworn it was at least two years ago, but nope. Lucky for me, I have my searchable blog posts at my fingertips to remind me of the exact dates when I started writing about these winged messengers.

Eagle Approaching Nest – Photo: L. Weikel

Eagles, Too

After I managed to sneak up on the Red Shouldered just as it took off from the wire it was perching on, surveying the field for a four-legged snack, I headed down River Road. There’s a place along the Delaware River where a massive eagles’ nest sits wedged in a proportionately gigantic sycamore on the New Jersey side. It never ceases to thrill me to see the heads of eaglets and, more obviously, the white heads of the parents, popping up from that compact-car sized conglomeration of sticks.

Just as I pulled off to the side of the road to see if I could catch a glimpse of these majestic birds of prey, one of the parents hopped up and plunged from the nest. Its broad wingspan scooped the air and it soared upriver, eluding my efforts to catch a photo of it in flight. I was excited by the sighting – I’ll forever be a child of the DDT era, when all our raptors were in serious threat of extinction – and decided to wait to see if Mommy or Daddy might return pretty quickly.

My patience was rewarded! I don’t think I had to wait longer than five or ten minutes before I caught sight of its return. And while I’m sharing the best ‘still’ shot I can manage, I wish I could upload the ‘live’ shot that captures this gorgeous bird sweeping upward and landing in the nest. It may be hard to discern the eagle because of the outstanding way in which its coloring blends so well with the sycamores and other trees lining the river.

Turkeys: “On your marks, get set, GO!” – Photo: L. Weikel

Yet Another Gift

Later today, the pups and I were cramming in a quick walk before it started sleeting. Lo and behold, four turkeys were having a little coffee klatch in the middle of the field when all of a sudden they decided to take cover. Never underestimate the speed of a running turkey. They are hilariously fast on their feet.

But when Turkey shows up in your life, it’s often heralding a gift that you need to recognize and be grateful for receiving. The turkeys I saw today reminded me of just how incredibly lucky I am to receive the gift (Turkey) of a message (Hawk) from Spirit (Eagle). And the message was probably to savor the richness of the avian extravaganza surrounding me.

For while I’m only including photos of these three species (and none of them doing justice to their subjects), I was also graced with the presence of geese, black vultures, turkey vultures, blue jays, red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, sparrows, goldfinches, cardinals, starlings, and fish crows. And while it was a tad too cold today, I actually had my first hummingbird visit my porch on Sunday.

And the only thing better than receiving the gift of having all of these birds show up in my life all in one day, was the message – the reminder – from Spirit that I have friends with whom to share my joy.

(T+129)

Auspicious – Day 870

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Turkey on 202 – Photo: L. Weikel

Auspicious

Balmy weather returned once again today and I admit to reveling in it. It’s amazing what an additional ten degrees can do to turn a chilly day into one that rivals perfection. And to top it off, I even encountered a turkey ‘crossing the road’ on Route 202 right in front of me. Given that she made it across four lanes of traffic and a concrete median unscathed, I’d give the day a solid 10 out of 10 on the Auspicious Scale.

The appearance of Turkey (capitalized because I am referencing it as an archetype, not just a single bird that happened to be crossing the road) tends to signify a gift or the act of giving to others selflessly (sometimes even of one’s self). Naturally, Karl and I felt especially lucky to have encountered a wild turkey hen in Doylestown of all places (including a gobbling commentary) as she trotted across the median and into oncoming lanes of traffic. Thankfully, she managed to get to the other side of those lanes of traffic before any too aggressively approached her.

I just wish you could hear the audio on the photo I’ve posted, above. It almost sounds like she’s talking to herself. She’s not engaging in indignant gobblings. It actually sounds more like she’s just mumbling to herself. Probably providing a commentary on stupid human drivers.

Even Fit In a Walk

We also managed to fit in a walk after our auspicious Turkey encounter. I’m pretty sure the stunning beauty of the evening was a big part of the ‘gift’ that this particular turkey was announcing in our lives.

I’m trying to figure out how to do justice to the pitched excitement of witnessing a battle between Crow nations that unfolded before our eyes on our walk this evening.

The photos just don’t do it justice.

So I’m going to end this post tonight with the gift of the sunset that graced us just as the policeman who investigated our smashed mailbox pulled up to us.

To be continued…

Sunset 30 March 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-241)

Grand Conjunction – Day 771

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Grand Conjunction – Photo: L. Weikel

Grand Conjunction

I received the most amazing of gifts today. Seriously. It felt surreal when it all unfolded and almost feels more so as I sit here looking at the photographs I took documenting it. Right before our very eyes, Karl and I witnessed the Grand Conjunction reveal itself from behind a thin layer of clouds, Saturn and Jupiter beaming their conjoined brilliance toward us within the span of two thrilling minutes, and then disappear once again.

We decided to time our walk to take place just as the sun slipped below the horizon. I’d had my eye on the Weather Channel since this morning and knew a cloud cover was moving in, with rain predicted in the early evening. The likelihood of personally witnessing this cosmic event in our area was viewed with increasingly universal pessimism. As you can imagine, given the way I’ve been rather zealously documenting Jupiter’s approach to Saturn over the past few months, I was disappointed, but not surprised. The weather seems to do this to us humans a lot.

Turkey

Even though I’ve not mentioned it lately, Karl and I still choose Medicine Cards* every morning. My pick today was Rabbit/Turkey, which means my ‘main’ choice for the day was Rabbit, while ‘underneath’ (on the bottom of the deck) was Turkey.

The keyword for Rabbit is Fear. There’s a whole medicine story of how Rabbit became associated with fear in some Native American traditions, but that didn’t seem particularly applicable, at least not today. I joked to Karl when I read it that maybe it was a reflection of my fear that all the unfortunate weather predictions would come to pass and we wouldn’t get to see the Grand Conjunction.

“But look!” I exclaimed, flashing the bottom of the deck in Karl’s direction. “I got Turkey underneath! Maybe the clouds will part and we’ll experience something magical.” I said that because Turkey’s keyword is “Giveaway.” And amongst its many messages, probably the most foundational inference of Turkey is that a gift will be received.

As the day wore on, we noticed how one instant the sky would be remarkably clear and then half an hour later a cloud cover would move through. This changeability persisted all day, and the hourly forecast on my Weather Channel app did not bode well.

Timing Our Walk

As I said, we timed our walk to hopefully snag a glimpse of the celestial event within a random gap in the clouds. Just after setting out, on the first leg of our usual journey, I stopped and took a photo of the southwestern sky. The prospects looked grim, with only a small band of clear golden light encased between layers of thick looking cloud cover.

Outset of our Walk 12/21/2020- Photo: L. Weikel

We walked all the way around our usual two mile jaunt. As we breached the final hill where I take almost all of my best photos of the night sky (and where I’ve taken virtually all of the incremental shots of Saturn and Jupiter that I’ve included in my posts), we lingered. I felt like we might see them. The cloud cover looked like it was thinning a bit and I yearned to just wait there as long as we could.

But honestly? It felt like a fool’s errand. A wish that held precious little likelihood of manifesting. So we walked home, bummed knowing that we’d never get to actually see this Grand Conjunction, as the next time these planets will be this close and in this conducive a position to be seen won’t be until 2080.

Nevertheless, I didn’t want to give up so easily – and to my delight, neither did Karl. We walked home and took Spartacus’s coat off, and said I was going to drive back to the top of the hill to sit there for a bit and see if the clouds parted like I felt they might. He agreed.

We drove around the circuit three times. Breaching the hill the final time, I decided to take a photo of the cloud cover. The least I could do would be to jokingly post a photo of the spot in the sky where I knew it was taking place.

The Gift

The following photos were taken as follows: #s 1-2 at 5:38, #s 3-4 at 5:39, #5 at 5:40, and #6 at 5:41. As I’ve said many times before: YCMTSU. We saw it. We really truly actually had the Grand Conjunction reveal itself over a span of two minutes…and then disappear once more.

It started to rain less than ten minutes later.

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(T-340)

Tryptophan Haze – Day 748

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Tigger – Faithful Guardian of the Bird – Photo: L. Weikel

Karl and I held off on roasting our turkey until late this afternoon. As a result, my attempt to write something coherent tonight is noticeably hindered by the inevitable onset of a tryptophan haze.

I’ll tell you two other members of this household who are staving it off with me: Spartacus and Tigger. (That’s because Karl’s already succumbed to the turkey drug’s siren song and hit the sheets, Precious hasn’t indulged, and Cletus is out cavorting with opossums and skunks at the moment.) So here we are.

Tigger and Spartacus were ever such great helpers as I stripped the turkey’s carcass and put away the leftovers. Yes indeed, the best of helpers.

As can be seen in the photo above, from the moment the bird was extricated from the oven, Tigger was a faithful guardian of the roasted beast, maintaining a watchful eye against any unanticipated marauders that might storm the gate. I could do nothing less than reward him for his vigilance.

The same went for Spartacus. He faithfully fulfilled his responsibilities as four legged Roomba equivalent, impeccably maintaining a spotless kitchen floor. Not a single fleck of errant foodstuff lasted longer than the blink of an eye under his eagle-eyed watch.

I Stand Corrected

Nope. I just checked. The other two are down for the count as well.

Spartacus never even made it upstairs. He snatched a few blankets and collapsed on the sofa as I wrote the above paragraphs.

Tigger? Well, I thought at least he would stick with me and keep me company as I fulfilled my nightly devotional responsibilities. But no. I just checked. He apparently stole away to join Karl in bed, opening one eye as I reached the top of the steps in tacit acknowledgment that he was aware of my existence but had no choice but to make me a warm spot instead. He made a sad attempt at claiming that warm spot-making, too, is one of his sacred responsibilities, but I call bs.

So much for tonight’s post.

Hopefully tomorrow’s turkey sandwiches won’t have quite the same effect. But…yum. I’m looking forward to finding out. I think that’s probably *my* sacred task. It’s a tough job, but…

Spartacus – Trypt out – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-363)

Tree Owl – Day 392

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Tree Owl from afar – Photo: L. Weikel

Tree Owl

Funnily enough, it seems that Turkey just keeps on giving. Indeed, it showed up in my cards again today, and I feel compelled to share something very cool from yesterday: a tree owl.

Today I chose Skunk/Turkey (meaning Skunk was the card I chose – from the deck, face down – in case there’s any confusion on that score) and Turkey was on the bottom of the deck. So, while Skunk was essentially the primary card for me to pay attention to today, Turkey was still playing a role somehow.

Yet again, as I did yesterday, I could recount for you a number of experiences or situations I encountered today that could qualify as ‘gifts.’ But instead, I want to show you something really cool that I discovered yesterday, on the day I picked Turkey squared.

Weisel Hostel

Our tour of the campus of the Fraternity of Rosicrucians yesterday took us basically across the street from the Weisel Hostel, where I’ve held probably half a dozen Listening Retreats, an entire 18 month Merkabah Medicine Program, and a couple Aspiration-Setting retreats over the past six years or so.

Sadly, the Weisel Hostel is no longer, technically, a hostel. Toward the end of 2018, Hostelling International decided to discontinue its relationship with Bucks County at the Weisel premises. As a result of that decision (and perhaps other factors, who knows?), the Weisel hasn’t been available for any retreats there for over a year.

Personally, this has been a great loss. My beloved Tohickon Creek begins up in that area, and a huge draw for me, and my participants once they got to experience it, was the fact that the creek flowed right beside the hostel. You could hear her voice singing at night when we had all the windows open.

Naturally, I couldn’t be ‘in the neighborhood’ of the Weisel without stopping by and saying hello to all the Spirits of the Land, the creek, and the path that led to the fire pit where we had many sacred fires through the years. So Karl and I did just that: paid a visit to the Weisel.

Major Changes

There were a lot of changes to the premises that I’m not going to enumerate now. The creek itself seemed to be flowing unnaturally (perhaps a better description would be that it was barely trickling). We walked the path that we’d trod so many times in the dark, leading us to the fire pit, and were aghast at what we found. In all the years we held retreats there, I never saw so much of the bottom of the pond exposed. Most of the water was gone. But there was also a lot of devastation of the creek bed.

Devastated dam – Photo: L. Weikel

A huge ash had snapped 25 or so feet above the ground, and the massive (and extremely heavy and dense) part of the trunk that had snapped off was slammed into the grass near the fire pit. Karl and I just stood at the edge of the pond where so many water birds, beaver, deer, and foxes had been spotted, where so many precious and sacred moments had been shared with amazing people, and felt grief.

Snapped tree – Photo: L. Weikel

Tree Owl

And that’s when I did a double-take. I saw what looked like an alabaster or crystalline owl nestled in a tree. I took it as  a gift; a small sign, to me, that our presence at the hostel all those years had been felt.

I’m calling it a tree owl, but really it’s ‘just’ a weird patch in the bark of a tree. (Right?) It’s one of the trees that bore witness to all of the sacred fires we held at the Weisel through the years.

Perhaps the Tree Owl is telling me to take heart and have hope. Perhaps it’s serving as a ghostly sentinel, keeping watch until we return. Perhaps the gift in finding the Tree Owl is that it’s a sign that there are better days ahead for the Weisel House* and perhaps, just maybe, a day will come when we can resume our work there, too.

That, indeed, would be a most precious gift.

Tree Owl up close – Photo: L. Weikel

*I’m shifting the name from Weisel Hostel to Weisel House.

(T-719)

Turkey Squared – Day 391

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Photo: L. Weikel

Turkey Squared

I haven’t written many posts lately referencing my Medicine Card® * picks. That doesn’t mean Karl and I haven’t been choosing a card on our day each and every morning. It’s just that sometimes the applicability to my day isn’t all that interesting. Or at least interesting enough to warrant sharing with you.

As the title to this post indicates, I chose Turkey squared this morning. (As you may recall, when I say I chose a card “squared,” that means there was a blank card on the bottom of the deck, which I interpret as ‘squaring’ the impact of the top card – or the card I ‘chose’ as my main card.)

Oooh, that piqued my interest! A day with double the opportunity to experience a gift of some sort!

Turkey’s Meaning

Of course, I anticipated I might experience a gift as a result of choosing Turkey squared because Turkey is considered to be the ‘giveaway eagle’ by many Native American people, as it sacrifices its life to sustain us.

Sitting here contemplating what I might write about this evening (since, no, if you must ask, I haven’t remembered all three things referenced last night), I realized the many gifts I’d received today – and then recalled that I’d chosen Turkey squared while having coffee with Karl this morning.

First Gift

Not to sound trite, but the first gift I experienced this morning was that very act of sitting here in our living room with Karl, all five of our pets in various states of repose on blankets and couches and pillows. Our fireplace was burning, wrapping us all in toasty warmth, and Karl was exclaiming how delicious his freshly brewed coffee tasted, having just bought a pound of his favorite roast only yesterday.

There was something so wonderful in that moment, and I just felt so…lucky. This was before I chose my Turkey card, too, by the way. So yeah, maybe my choice of Turkey was influenced by the fact that I was already feeling permeated by a sense of gratitude.

Second Gift

We had an opportunity to listen to a presentation and take a tour of the grounds of the authentic Rosicrucian Fraternity in Quakertown. This is actually the world headquarters for this organization, which was first established in Germany in 1614. The purpose of this Fraternity was to bring together into one organization the various associations of individuals previously known as the Hermetists, Pythagoreans, Magi , Platonists, Gnostics, Alchemists, and Paracelsians.

I believe it was established in North America well before the Revolution, but in 1774, the governing body (Council of Three) was composed of Benjamin Franklin, George Clymer, and Thomas Paine.

There is much to be explored and understood about this Fraternity, and I found the ‘taste’ of their teachings to be very much in line with much of what I’ve learned through the years through my exposure not only to ancient wisdom teachings (through the auspices of the teacher Karl and I studied with and about whom I wrote in Owl Medicine), but also to the varied indigenous traditions I’ve had the honor of being introduced to and in some cases initiated into.

It was a unique pleasure to walk the grounds and observe the fascinating architecture with our host, the Rev. Arlene Curley, Ph.D., and I’d like to thank her for the introduction (and Susan Duval, for arranging it).

Third Gift

The sunset this evening was an exquisite blend of deep oranges and blazing reds. The colors were so rich it was hard not to taste them.

Alas, none of the photos I sent myself from my phone have come through. Thanks again, Verizon Wireless, for your inconsistency. Maybe I’ll include some in tomorrow’s post!

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(T-720)

Turkey Day – Day Eleven (T-1100)

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Turkey Day

Funny.  I never call Thanksgiving “Turkey Day,” but here I am titling my blog post for today “Turkey Day.”

I didn’t eat turkey today, nor did I even see one (either in the wild or on a platter).

But I thought of turkeys today – and the meaning of Turkey as conveyed by my beloved Medicine Cards – and in spite of myself, kind of felt a little sad.

One of the paragraphs in Turkey goes as follows:

“Spectators unfamiliar with the cultural phenomenon of the pot-latch or give-away ceremony are often mystified by it. A tribal member may gladly give away all he or she owns, and do without in order to help the People. In present-day urban life, we are taught to acquire and get ahead. The person with the most toys wins the game. In some cultures, no one can win the game unless the whole of the People’s needs are met. A person who claims more than his or her share is looked upon as selfish or crazy or both. The poor, the aged, and the feeble have honor. The person who gives away the most and carries the burdens of the people is one of the most respected.”

What’s Mine? Yours? Ours? Theirs?

There’s a lot of focus these days on what’s ‘mine,’ what’s ‘yours,’ what’s theirs,’ and what’s ‘ours.’ And there are a lot of people claiming an astoundingly greater portion of a lot of our resources than could even remotely be considered their ‘share.’

And I will be the first to admit that I do not consistently embody the spirit conveyed within this paragraph. I don’t even come close. But I aspire to do so.

And I wonder how much better so many people in the world would feel if everyone just thought a little bit more about someone else. Not only the people who were ‘thought of,’ but also the people who do the thinking of others. It could be such a colossally ‘win-win’ of a situation.

The joy of making another person smile and know they’re loved – it’s huge. The joy of letting another person know they make a difference in your life and you appreciate them for it – can change their life forever. The joy of taking a moment to be kind, to be generous, to be patient, or to be compassionate – can make your life worth living.

Sometimes the smallest gestures, such as looking directly into a person’s eyes when you listen to them, can make everything seem a little bit brighter.

Aspire to make a difference. Smile. Be grateful. You matter.

Happy “Turkey” Day.