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MONDAY’S POEM: The Unfamiliar
I sense we are in a transition period. I’m feeling a bit betwixt and between. We are just moving into June; spring seems behind us, yet it’s not yet summer. Some graduations are behind us, yet, many are still in school. We are well into the New Moon, yet it is just now showing on the Western horizon just after Sunset.
It is within this transitory energy that I came across a poem I wrote under similar circumstances several months ago. If you are feeling a little unsettled, perhaps approaching some as yet unknown transition, you too may resonate with this.
The Unfamiliar
Different, strange,
Dark, peculiar,
Low energy,
Unfamiliar.
Rest in this new
Environment.
Take it easy,
Let it ferment.
Adjustments come
To all who wait.
There is no rush,
Just hesitate.
Relax, just be;
There’s time to know
And when it’s right,
There’s time to go.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
New Moon in Gemini I Ching Divination
The Moon was exactly conjunct with the Sun, now in Gemini, at 2:43 PM Eastern time on Wednesday, May 28. Ah, I felt the energy shift as we moved through the New Moon. And the weather shifted, and the driving shifted…there were several accidents in the Annapolis area Thursday afternoon tying up traffic all over the region. Welcome to the shift!
As I do just after each New Moon, I cast a Gua, a six-line hexagram consisting of Yin and Yang (broken and solid) lines. I do this using a traditional yarrow stalk method and I use Taoist Master Alfred Huang’s The Complete I Ching as my guide into this deep and ancient text used for divination.
The hexagram I first received is pictured here. Its Chinese name is Shi He which Master Huang translates as “Eradicating.” Loosely translated this means “removing an obstacle to peace and harmony.” The removal or eradicating is done justly and swiftly. When we look at the two trigrams which compose the hexagram (the pair of three-line figures), we see that Li, or Fire sits on top of Zhen, or Thunder. This is like a thunderbolt striking swiftly to eradicate the obstruction.
The result of this swift action is good progress.
To complicate matters the second line (counting from the bottom) is a “changing line.” The I Ching is the “book of change” so it is good that there is a changing line in the hexagram. This indicates that things, events, energies are not static for the month. Changing the second line from a Yin line to a Yang line generates a new Gua or hexagram pictured here.
Kui is interpreted by Master Huang to mean”Diversity.” Its actual meaning is “to go against or oppose.” This happens when people have differing points of view. The I Ching indicates that this is a positive thing. There is strength in diversity. One Chinese saying suggests that we “seek harmony in diversity and good fortune will follow in little ways.” And I particularly like: “resolving diversity should be as natural as the clouds accumulating and bringing down the rain.”
So, what does this mean for the month ahead? How do these two Gua inform us and help us with the energies we may encounter through the coming four weeks?
Early in the month there may be an obstacle or two we need to deal with. But we can cut through this blockage as swiftly as a thunderbolt as long as we are justified in our action. Act fairly; consider all sides. Then swift action leads to good progress for the remainder of the month.
After the obstacles are eradicated we may encounter some divergence of opinion around some life issues. The advice here is to consider all sides (just as we need to do with the obstacle). The key is to seek harmony, to compromise in the larger issues, find common ground across the diversity and thereby gain strength.
These Gua offer good advice for any time: cut through obstacles and gain strength through compromise when opinions diverge. Good progress and auspicious outcome are the result in both cases!
Watch how you deal with obstacles that might pop up for you this month. And observe the diversity that appears in your life. Seek compromise and make progress!
Oh, and my friend and astrologer, Gloria Hesseloff writes this about the New Moon in Gemini: “Mercury, the ruler of Gemini wisely informs us that if there is any magic in the work it is…a shift in our perceptions!” She suggests: “‘THIS IS A TIME FOR SETTING A NEW COURSE IN LIFE’ Fear may arise as we make these changes. The opposite of fear is LOVE. Find a way to love what you fear!” Seems to me this approach is a great way to cut through obstacles and harmonize diversity!
Playshop Preview – Richard’s Commentary
This week I am commenting on Rosemary’s video for the week rather than her “Exploration” article. I have several reasons to make this adjustment to the blog.
We are, as I write and as I post, under the influence of the “dying Moon.” What I mean by this is the Moon is nearly conjunct with the Sun in Gemini. We are in that period when the Moon loses her race with the Sun falling farther and farther behind until she falls right into his light. She is exactly conjunct with the Sun at 2:43 PM Eastern time today, Wednesday, May 28, 2014. I know this because I looked it up in my Playbookthat I created during Rosemary’s Possibilities Playshop last January.
I follow the Moon cycles very closely. I know the Moon influences me and I need to correlate those influences I feel with the Moon and where she is in her travels. This careful tracking is a way for me to be both grounded in my body and to understand the effects of the Heavenly bodies, the Moon being the closest, on my physical being.
And after I created my Playbook during Rosemary’s January Playshop I now have a tool to help me with my tracking. Here’s how I use my Playbook:
First it is a guide to the Moon cycles. We laid out 13 “moonths” – this is the number of New Moons in a year. The New Moon marks the beginning of each moonth. In thePlaybook the New Moons are designated with pages of pictures and words pulled from magazines chosen intuitively and glued onto notebook pages. Other intuitive tools are used to create a “map” to the year. This map then provides a loose guide on what to expect as the year unfolds.
Second it is a journal in which I record key events, feelings, thoughts and how these correlate to the pictures and words mapped out for the year. There is always meaning and this correlation activity provides deep insight into the passing moonth.
Third I record the I Ching Gua I cast for each moonth in the playbook. I have been using the ancient Chinese method of divination, the I Ching, as a means to receive an intuitive understanding of the energies I can expect for each moonth. I cast a six line hexagram just after each new Moon asking the question: “what does this next moonth have in-store for us?” it is always insightful. And now with my Playbook it always correlates in some fun and surprising ways with the pictures and words I chose for the moonth back in January!
Fourth I very much enjoy the surprises planted in the Playbook. This is especially true as I move through the year and get farther away from when I created the Playbook.The “play” involved in the process is becoming much more evident as the year spins out and the “predictive” nature of the Playbook becomes ever more clear. While predicting the future is not the intent of this process it nevertheless does have that quality. The correlations between the words and pictures (and other surprises placed into the book) and events as they unfold each moonth are both exciting and even a little uncanny.
And there is a fifth use for the Playbook: it actually becomes a means to manifest the year. It is similar to a “vision board” but more fun. As in creating a vision board attractive pictures and words are pulled from magazines. But then for the specific moonths the pictures and words are selected blindly, intuitively, from a large envelop. Intention rather than conscious choice guides this process of aligning the pictures/words with the calendar.
Rosemary’s Possibilities Playshop is a fun process, but even more importantly the resulting Playbook becomes a highly useful tool for the next year. We all had such a good and productive time during the January Playshop that Rosemary is offering a mid-year Playshop for those who missed out on the first one.
The next Possibilities Playshop is scheduled for Saturday, June 14, 2014, from 10:00 to 2:00 pm Eastern time. If you are in the Annapolis, MD, Washington, DC area you can attend in person. We are also recording the event so if you can’t attend a video course will be available shortly after the live event.
Rosemary’s website has all the details and a way to register. The early bird pricing for the event ends on May 31. Check it out soon!
A FRIDAY POEM FROM “RHYTHMS AND CYCLES” – Grandmother Moon
We are well into the last quarter of the Moon cycle today. The New Moon in Gemini is coming up on Wednesday. I always feel the Old Moon as she loses her race with the Sun and “falls” into Him. It’s a good time to let go of anything that is no longer serving. Give it to Grandmother and she’ll take it with her to her temporary grave.
I wrote this last year with the Moon Cycle and especially the “dying Moon” in mind.
Grandmother Moon
She is dying into the arms
Of the Father.
She is old and worn,
So close to his breast.
What will you give her
To offer the Father?
Her emptiness can hold all
You have to release.
Are your standards so fixed
To forgive and forget?
Let fly the high-horse
To Grandmother Moon.
Release your regrets
To her skinny white arms.
She’ll fold them and hold all
To burn with her heart.
In three days she’ll appear
Reborn and renewed.
Look to the west for the joy
Of her face and rejoice.
You too are new!
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
I CHING GUA FOR THE NEW MOON IN TAURUS: Da Guo
The New Moon (and solar eclipse) occurred early this past Tuesday morning (2:14 am), April 29 on the east coast. The sun was well below the horizon here so no great visual effects, only vibrational!
This New Moon was the bookend to the Cardinal Grand Cross that peaked a few days earlier. We began the month of celestial activities with the Full Moon/Lunar eclipse on April 15th. It was quite a month! Have you felt the effects of the transformational energy?
It was with a certain level of excitement during this time that I cast the Gua (I Ching hexagram) to determine the energies we are heading into for May. If you follow my blog you know that I use yarrow stalks and manipulate them in traditional fashion to determine the six lines (either open/yin or solid/yang) that compose the Gua.
For the next month the Gua is Da Guo, or “Great Exceeding” as Master Alfred Huang translate it in his The Complete I Ching. It is pictured here:
The hexagram consists of two trigrams; the lower is Xun or Wood and the upper is Dui or Lake. So Great Exceeding is like a lake over a tree. Isn’t it interesting that there has been a tremendous amount of rain here in Maryland with significant flooding just after this New Moon!
During this time of “Great Exceeding” there is a need for “extraordinary action.” The action required is to balance, or adjust for that which is exceeding limits.
The image offered by Master Huang and King Wen’s Decision is that of a roof beam with weak end supports (the strong yang lines bounded by the two weak yin lines). The roof sags under weight. Extraordinary action is required to straighten the roof and balance the load.
The key here is to watch for imbalances. Things that are too big are difficult to control. Things that are too firm are easy to break. Take action to shore up weaknesses and to trim excesses. This is a positive Gua if action is taken. Confucius’ commentary on the Decision concludes:
Smooth and joyous in action.
Favorable to have somewhere to go.
There is success.
Truly great is the time of Great Exceeding!
Watch for imbalances in your life, correct them promptly and decisively and have a great month!
MONDAY’S POEM: Signs and Wonders
It has been quite a month with significant astrological and astronomical events occurring in the heavens. And we have been traveling on the west coast during these times of change and rebirth. Tonight, 11:14 PM Pacific time, we have one more April event to push us farther along this path to awakening: a solar eclipse.
In recognition of these events I wrote:
Signs and Wonders
Eclipsed Moon, Earth’s shadow hiding
Features, drawing blood, going deep.
Long shadows cast along a path
Of discovery and regeneration.
Grand Cross, Cardinal Signs, upheaval,
Rebellion, war god soothed in the
House of Love. God of Hades opposing
Expansion and stabilizing influences.
Eclipsed Sun, Moon’s shadow hiding
Light, blotting out life’s blood.
Dark shadows reaching far in this time
Of reformation and transformation.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Cycling
We sometimes forget that we are constantly within a cycle within another cycle within yet another one. Life is a spiraling experience and, when we try to make it linear, going out in front of us in a straight line and looking behind us as if everything happened in a straight line, we diminish the importance of the cycles that we have experienced.
Think about the seasons of every year of your life. How many Springs, Summers, Autumns, Winters have you lived through? Each season of the calendar year brings a different energy, a different feeling to your life that year.
In Spring, life around us starts to blossom and grow. There is a newness, a freshness, to the garden and the birds and the amount of Sun’s light that we receive. The trees start to spread leaves for us. Everything is in ‘growth mode.’ We, too, are invited to grow, to reach for the sky, to blossom, to try something new in the Springtime.
By Summer, the Sun is at it’s peak and the crops are producing bounty for us to receive. The seeds you planted in your life in Spring are coming to fruition and you can watch your efforts grow.
Autumn brings the harvest, a time to reap what you have sown. Prepare for winter. Finish up projects. Gather what you need and bring it inside.
Winter brings, not only colder weather, but also a time to hibernate, not slumbering deeply like the bears, but going inside, doing the inner work, contemplating, planning, examining life.
And then comes another Spring! Rebirth, revitalization, resurrection, coming alive again!
And so the cycle begins again. But this time you have learned more, grown more, shaped your life so that you are seeing from a new perspective, a little bit greater in consciousness and understanding than last year’s.
There are many other cycles in your life. Infant/Child/Teenager/Adult/Senior. Neophyte/Apprentice/Master.
You might think that each of these represents a linear progression, a straight line through the stages, but you can be an Adult in one setting and a Child in another. [Have you ever seen a grown man go home and become like the little boy he was growing up?] You can Master one thing and be a neophyte in another.
The Moon Cycles affect us greatly because we are mostly water and, just as the Moon affects the tides of Earth’s bodies of waters, so the waters in us are affected. Do you pay attention to where the Moon is in her cycle? Did you know that the New Moon is a great time to begin something new, to invite new things/ideas/projects/partners into your life? And the Full Moon is a time of releasing, of letting go of that which no longer serves you.
When you are conscious of cycles like these in your life, you can work with the energies of the cycles to support and assist you as you grow.
What other cycles in your life can you think of? What would change if you became conscious of those cycles and planned how to use that energy instead of allowing yourself to be affected unconsciously?
If you live by the water you know that the tides will respond to the Moon, whether you are conscious or not! Decide today to live a Conscious Life and pay attention to the cycles you experience!
New Moon in Aries I Ching Divination
As I have been doing over the past few years I have cast an I Ching Gua – a six-line hexagram consisting of open, yin, lines and solid, yang, lines. I was particularly motivated to cast this gua to see where the Aries energies coming in with the spring equinox were going to lead, especially with the last gua for the Pisces New Moon which was all about “Keeping Still.” (Pisces New Moon Gua)
I was not disappointed and did cast an interesting hexagram. I’ve pictured it here on the right. It has two changing lines at the third position and the top; these two 9 lines are changing lines which means the solid line of 9 (odd numbered lines are yang lines and even numbered lines are yin lines) can change to 6 lines or yin lines. Master Alfred Huang, whose text, The Complete I Ching, I use, suggests consulting the lower of the two changing lines. This yields the “approached” gua, a new gua representing the movement of the energies through the month.
So, what does all this mean? The “initial” gua is named Gu which means “Remedying.” Master Huang equates this with “making a fresh start.” This is a great way to break out of the energy of “keeping still” from last month. This feels in right; it is time to begin, maybe even over again. We are two months into the Lunar New Year. For the year the gua I cast was “advance.” (New Year Gua) We got the year off to a fast paced start. A month later the gua advised to “keep still” – in other words pause, reflect, consider. Now here we are in Aries energy, spring is here and it’s time for a “fresh start.”
But there is a cautionary note in this gua, because the third line changes to a yin line. The interpretation here is to take small steps forward and not be overly impetuous. Aries energy can be fiery and highly energetic. This “new beginning” needs to be a thoughtful one.
King Wen’s decision for this gua advises “Before starting, three days. After starting, three days.” This is part of the cautionary emphasis in this gua; I believe care needs to be taken during this first week, up to the first quarter of the moon cycle.
The approached qua is Meng or “Childhood” pictured here with the changed line in place. The two trigrams (three-line diagrams) are Kan or Stream on the bottom and Gen or Mountain on top. The image here is of a spring flowing out from the base of a mountain. There is a freshness, a newness about this image. It is like the innocence of childhood; Master Huang uses the image of “uncarved jade” to describe the sense of this gua. The interpretation here is to carefully mold the child through an education process to bring out the original wisdom hidden in the child. This is a slow and deliberate process; again impetuosity needs to be tempered with deliberation.
In summary we move this month through the energy of a “fresh start” and cautious, studied steps forward. Study, do some research and act thoughtfully.
My astrologer friend, Gloria Hesseloff, offers this advice for the month: I particularly align with the idea that this is a time of preparation for a new beginning. This seems to echo the I Ching preacisely!
I Ching for the New Moon in Pisces
For each New Moon I use the I Ching to provide an indication of what we can expect the energies coming in might bring us. The moon went through her “death and rebirth” this past Saturday, early morning here on the east coast. And after her rebirth I cast a Gua (a hexagram of yin and yang lines); I use the yarrow stalk method, a very meditative process of manipulating 50 “sticks” to obtain the six lines (note these lines are digital, just like computer bits, either open, zero, yin or closed, one, yang; maybe given my computer background this is why I am so attracted to this ancient method of divination!)
The Gua I cast for this New Moon and the next month (or Moonth) is Gen, pictured here. This Gua is made from the doubling of a single trigram, also Gen. This trigram means “mountain” so the picture we have is mountain standing on mountain. Can you picture a more solid image?
The translation of Gen is “keeping still.” What could be more logical? But what does this mean for the month?
First recall that the Gua I cast for last month, and since it was a New Year, that Gua has influence over the entire year (see earlier post) is Tai, meaning Advance. Now we come up to Keeping Still. After a fast start to the year through February it may be time to slow down, consider, regroup, and be sure of our plans! We are still in winter for another few weeks; inner work remains on the agenda. While the overall year may be one for advancing, we do need to ensure plans are correct and in alignment with our overall goals and our purpose!
Here is my journal entry on this Gua: “Mountain over Mountain – keeping very still. After the Advance it is time to become introspective. Be certain of plans, consider them carefully, sit in stillness to contemplate further action.
“The overall Gua and energy for the year is to advance. However, plans for that advancement need to be revisited. Think before action. This Gua contains great power, great energy – potential, not kinetic energy. Something great is coming. It is good to wait for it!
“By the next new moon we will be beyond the Spring Equinox. Take this last few weeks of winter to review and revise plans. Master Alfred Huang, author of The Complete I Ching writes: “keeping still is meant to prepare one’s mind and spirit to progress when the time comes.”
Also Master Huang quotes from Confucius’ treatise, The Way of Great Learning:
The way of great learning is to illustrate brilliant virtue, to love people, and to rest in conduct that is perfectly good.
By knowing how to keep still,
one is able to determine what objects he should pursue.
By knowing what objects he should pursue,
one is able to obtain calmness of mind.
By knowing how to obtain calmness of mind,
one is able to succeed in tranquil repose.
By knowing how to succeed in tranquil repose,
one is able to obtain careful deliberation.
By knowing how to obtain careful deliberation,
one is able to harvest what he truly wants to pursue.
Master Huang adds: “In the final stage of one’s life, if one can manifest one’s brilliant virtue, love people, and maintain one’s goodness to the end, it is a true blessing, and there will be good fortune.”
Seems to me it might be well worth the time to sit, reflect, and confirm the plans for “advancing” for the year!
PS: my dear friend and favorite “cosmic astrologer” Gloria Hesseloff, says this about the New Moon in Pisces: “MEDITATION is Pisces favorite activity and is highly recommended… this New Moon, is a powerful time to set intentions. The New Moon in Pisces is a significant time to activate the Consciousness of ONENESS throughout the planet.” As always her readings are exactly in alignment with the I Ching!
A FRIDAY POEM FROM “RHYTHMS AND CYCLES” – Dark Goddess
If you are reading this blog at all regularly you know I publish a poem on Mondays. Why only Mondays? So here is a poem for Friday.
A few years ago I committed to publishing a book of my poems; I planned to call it Rhythms and Cycles. As plans sometimes go I have not published that book yet. But I have collected a number of poems to include. And since many of you have liked my poetry over the last number of months, I’ve decided to offer some entries from the unpublished book.
This first Friday Poem is in honor of the New Moon coming tomorrow. And I’ll be casting an I Ching Gua for the next moon cycle to publish on Monday, so this entry will carry you through to next Friday’s Poem…
Dark Goddess
February 26, 2010
As the Moon waxes to fullness
We know She will collapse,
Again, into darkness.
As She collapses into Herself
Descending into the underworld
We know She will rise again.
She is the Dark Goddess, The Dark Mirror.
Her inner light is hidden deep within,
As She reflects, at times, the light of others.
She is a deep and mysterious Goddess.
She absorbs all our cares and woes.
Like the Grandmother, She comforts.
This Dark Goddess has a rhythm
All Her own. She is an independent
Wanderer, this Wonder of the Night.
As She rides through Her courses
At times blotting even Sun
We watch in awe and praise Her.
©2014 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Men and The Goddess 