Moonwise

If you could see the waning moon tonight, you'd notice it looks like a backwards "D". Soon, it will be a sliver of a "C" as it moves closer to new and then you won't see it at all.

I've always loved watching the moon sail through its changes. Like the weather, it was something you could depend on for variety. Unlike the weather, you knew when the moon's changes were coming. You could even feel the changes once you made the acquaintance of the different signs and phases.

My Grandpa Hall followed the signs. He planted by the signs, root crops when the moon was waning, above-ground crops when the moon was waxing. He timed his fishing by "moon south", that is the time when the moon is as high in the sky as it can go before it begins to go down. The best fishing is an hour before to an hour after, or 6 hours before or after. And of course, go fishing in a water sign and when the moon energy is growing. But never the first couple days after new moon.

I recall my Mom talking about the best time to wean a baby, and advising never when the moon is in the heart. She was talking about moon signs. Every sign has a part of the body associated with it. And she'd tell us to cut our hair during the waxing moon if we wanted it to grow and during the waning moon if we didn't. She was talking about moon phases.

My Grandpa Peek preached against using signs. He didn't farm or raise animals where you needed to take every advantage and learn to live with the cycles of the earth and sky. He grew words. I suppose you can grow them in any sign or phase.

So, I get it honest, all this moon talk, and well... the preaching and writing, too. I get the storytelling from Grandpa Hall and philosophy from Grandpa Peek (Though not the same philosophy, just the inclination toward).

My farming and fishing are of a different sort and I grow good crops and quite often have a good catch. I go fishing with a spun thread on a full moon night. I take note of the sign as well as the phase of the moon. There are signs for growing and signs for weeding and I make use of knowing which are which.

Aries, Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Aquarius are the barren signs. The fire signs of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius and the Air signs of Gemini and Aquarius and the one feminine earth sign, Virgo. Of these, Aries is the weakest and Leo is the strongest when it comes to weeding. And I'm talking about the weeding we do in our lives as well as in our gardens. If you want to stop smoking, choose Gemini in a waning moon. If you want to lose weight, choose Sagittarius as the moon wanes (because of it's ruler, Jupiter being 'turned on his head'). If you need to wean a baby or a pup or lamb or any other young one, do so in the waning moon, but never in the sign of Leo or they'll cry as if their heart is broken. And if you are raising livestock, don't breed them during a waning moon in Virgo.

If you're wanting to grow something or catch your fish, make use of the waxing moon and all the water signs and all the earth signs except Virgo. And one air sign, the sign beloved of Venus, that is, Libra. Flowers planted during the waxing Libra moon are lovely.

If you plant in Capricorn, plants will grow well, but you'll have to water them more and tend them well. The upshoot of this is that you'll have strong plants with good structure. Capricorn rules bones in the body and especially the knees. Your plants don't have knees, but they have stalks and if you want them sturdy, Capricorn moon can help. Taurus is the better of the earth signs.

Our last full moon in December was in Cancer, opposite the sun in Capricorn. When the moon is in Cancer, not only do the fish bite, but the weather is generally wet. It certainly was this year, at least around here. You'll see rain or snow often when the moon is in Cancer. And there will be lots of it. Keep track of this for yourself this coming year. It'll be especially true if the moon is waxing. Cancer is a water sign, and a very productive one.

There is no real difference between magical and mundane. It's all in how we see it. So I'll blend what these two Grandfathers taught. I'll take the Saturn-like structure of the Preacher and combine it with the nuture-nature of the song-singing, sign-reading Farmer;, add all the earth skills handed down by the wayside wisdom of my line of Disir, the Grandmothers, and take my steps one at time in my own way.