tidal shifts
Each day, the tides move forward a little bit,
most noticeable over the passing weeks,
as our daily schedule shifts to take advantage of the low tides,
(usually the tides affect the quality and form of the ocean waves,
yet here, the tides are quite dramatic considering this southernly latitude,
and many wide cliffside beaches disappear during the high tide).
The tides, of course, are affected by the moon:
its gravitational pull and its movement through the cosmos,
which also quietly affects many other aspects of life on Earth.
All plants, fungus, people and other animals,
all things containing water molecules, really,
are influenced by the lunar shifts.
For Mohamed’s Masters Thesis on shell formation,
we began studying growth in relation to the Maria Thun Biodynamic Calendar.
An incredibly in-depth analysis showing how certain aspects of
life are more possible at certain times within the lunar shifts.
(I’m instantly reminded of these lines:
“To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap…”
from The Byrds song “Turn!Turn!Turn!”)
Summer has ended; Autumn has begun,
or as I had originally typed it: become,
become=come into being.
(typing these lines has reminded me
of something I had written in the Springtime,
about wanting a place where I felt I belong,
belong=to be there long.)
But back to Autumn, since we are back to Autumn;
I couldn’t sleep at all during the Autumnal Equinox,
apparently a time when an egg will stand upright on its end,
and my stomach felt it was doing flip-flops all night long,
perhaps trying to stand on its end instead of lying flat,
or affected by whatever force affects the egg.
The more we studied the Biodynamic calendar,
and over-lapped it with the Chinese Five Element system,
(adding a Stem Time to the Biodynamic’s Root, Fruit, Leaf and Flower)
the more we became aware that certain aspects of life
were indeed easier at certain times:
Flower/Wind (& Metal) times are great for communication, as in expressing oneself,
Leaf/Water times for listening and reflection,
Fruit/Warmth for creating, a time for things to come to fruition,
Root/Earth for centering, for grounding (no pun intended),
and Stem/Wood for orientation.
The times are determined by the constellation of the Zodiac
that the moon (& planets) are situated in at the given time.
(Our introduction of the Five Elements began
when I sowed arugula seeds during the beginning and end of a Leaf time,
and the ones sown in the true Leaf time were lush and leafy,
while the row planted later in what was supposedly still Leaf time
were very leggy, all stems with just two tiny little leaves at the tip.
I felt that the stem portion of plants was being neglected in the Biodynamic calendar,
and the arugula illuminated that there indeed was a Fifth Element at work,
as has been known for thousands of years.)
We have been using the calendar to sow seeds and tend to plants,
during the times that correspond to the portion of the plant you wish to flourish,
with incredible results.
Much in the same way we find it is easier to catch waves during low tide,
easier to catch fish when the tide is coming in (almost hard to avoid them!)
and more likely to be sucked out to sea by rip currents when the tide is going out.
Autumn seems to be the time to move inside again,
after a Summer spent swimming and camping out.
But due to situations beyond our control,
it seems we will be outside for a few more weeks,
soaking in the last of the sunshine
and stopping to smell the roses.
By the way, I took photos of this rose
in the garden during the last flower time,
as it was especially vibrant and sweet-smelling,
regretting that there was no way to capture to smell,
which was sort of like raspberries, but less tart, like an over-ripe berry.
