Moons and Totems 5

Everybody knows their western astrological profile and most people also know their eastern, or Chinese, astrological sign as well, but few know their moon profile from the Native American culture and the totems for each moon. As with the two more mainstream belief systems, the moon totem profiles are not only a very accurate read of an individual's personality, but they also add a rich dimension to who we are and where our weaknesses and powers come from.

Strong Winds Moon

February 11-March 10

This is the time of winter when the winds blow at their hardest and their coldest, thus the name given to this moon, and the night skies are at their most vivid. People born under this moon are very bright and intelligent, with unique minds and a quick wit. Often these people are light years ahead of everyone else, thus giving them the label of "odd" or "quirky." Strong Winds folks tend to be easily distracted from their tasks and need to learn to be more consistent and steadfast rather than jump rapidly from one thing to another. Being on such a vastly different wavelength from others often leads them to feel lonely and isolated, something finding a kindred spirit or two can easily solve. This sense of loneliness frequently comes across as an intense neediness, something Strong Winds people need to acknowledge and address.

The element for this moon is air and the animal totem is the goose, a bird who returns to the north at this time of year, thus heralding the return of spring and the earth's new birth. The Strong Winds Moon's plant totem is the willow, a tree whose bark is at its most vivid color this time of year; a tree that is easily bent this way and that way. The willow is a medicinal, healing plant (aspirin originates from its bark). This moon's mineral totem is moonstone which is symbolic of the great mother goddess. Moonstone balances the emotions, brings clarity to one's thinking and is very potent when working with the moon. The color for the Strong Winds Moon is dove gray, the color of dawn and of purity. This is a soft color and is symbolic of the awakening of spirit.

Everyone is most compatible with those people born under the moon opposite to their own and the opposite moon of the Strong Winds Moon is the Hunters Moon (August 11-September 10).

Photo courtesy of ER Post on flickr.

Impermanence

"That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence. It is the ordinary state of affairs. Everything is in process. Everything—every tree, every blade of grass, all the animals, insects, human beings, buildings, the animate and the inanimate—is always changing, moment to moment."

And so too is this blog. To be perfectly honest, I don't handle change well. I like the familiar and the wonderfully comfortable and I'd be thrilled if a great deal of my life never changed so much as one iota from day to day or even year to year. Granted, this is odd coming from someone who finds the changing of the seasons and the cycles of the earth so beautiful to experience, but I don't need to personally fret over the details of Mother Earth because I'm not in control of her. I am however in control of my blogs, or so I thought at any rate, and as such I tend to fuss over every last little thing because I'm a perfectionist in addition to being willingly and blissfully stuck in a rut.

The other day, in a very uncharacteristic moment, I thought it might be fun to change my blog. Then I remembered what a pain in the ass I am and decided it would be far less stressful to just let it be. So, it was with great annoyance, as well as quite a bit of surprise at the timing, that I received a note today informing me that the website from which I had gotten my background templates for two of my three blogs is shutting down and I had only a few hours to either find something new or find myself with two hideously plain blogs. And after hours of test-driving templates, I have come up with nothing I truly like. I'm not terribly fond of this gray, but as I'm not a frou-frou kind of girl, finding something simple isn't easy. I miss my warm orange blog. I miss the earthy colors I had grown so used to. I find this gray rather depressing, but in trying to roll with it, I'm going to take a lesson from the Buddha: "Nothing stays the same so get over it already" (obviously, I'm paraphrasing here). And one day, hopefully soon, I'll find the template that warms my heart once more. And it might not be gray.

Many thanks to the incredible Pema Chodron for that quote.