Crystallization Time: January 15-February 15
We have entered the crystallization period, January 15 to February 15, that time the fallowness of the earth allows most receptivity to the cosmic forces. It is also a time I use intention to be receptive to forces within myself as well as spiritual forces without. In our fast moving culture, this requires intention, and this year, with so many land use issues heating up in the Napa Valley, it is work to make sure there is time to reflect, to read, to contemplate, to pray, for we are definitely in a time it is important to communicate with that which is within and without us. That takes a special kind of consciousness afforded by this quietening.
As I slow down, I am aware of how much sadness I have: sadness for the hit Nature is taking; sadness for the loss of habitat and of species, sadness for our ignorance how to live with each other and with our non-human friends: the oak savanna, the coyote, the bobcat, and yes, those more invisible yet omnipresent watersheds that are the arteries of the Earth’s body. We are sorely in need of a land ethic.
Slowing down means feeling more. Yes, anger is there too! But it is also motivating. Come February 15, as the time for action returns and the earth quickens, may I have used this time to align myself with those navigating stars (cosmic forces ) to the end that my actions serve a healthy balance.