We Americans are a strange bunch. We worship our left, linear, logical side of our brains as if we are know it all adolescents.
We've been founded on holding truths (left hemisphere) to be self evident, but what we lived as if love (right hemisphere) was self evident?
I’d even use an old’ time word like ‘venerate’. This word has its rooted connection to the planet Venus---Goddess of Harmony, Joy and Love. Yep, right then, I’ve maybe lost all the male dominated thinkers of any and all genders. Say, astrology, mention a planet or two and god forbid speak about anything higher divorced from religion and you’re a heretic. Bueno. Good. On brand. On path. Did you know that the ‘non-affiliates’ are the fastest group of ‘believers’ in our 'in God we trust' but young soul of nation aka ‘America’?
How ‘bout a little leaning right? Not in a political manner, that’s your business.. I’m speaking of our right brains---circular, childlike and connecting seemingly random occurrences. Our 21st century is going to demand increased access to our brain's right hemisphere.. For example, every 28 days our imaginary lunar world goes dark. Waning and darkness has an affinity with our right hemispheres
The waning crescent Moon (that I affectionately call ‘ol crusty Moon’) alerts us to the Halloween within ourselves. Let all the anxieties about the future percolate to the surface of our consciousness as our left leaning brains ruminate about the past daily distractions since the last new moon.
Know this---left brain folx can wrap their thoughts around the Moon when She’s waxing or increasing in light. This ease of accepting Her till She’s Full insulates their egocentric view of their world. At Her moment of fullness, She begins to wane. She requires we share our toys. She demonstrates a lessened biological urge to dominate the physical world. She asks that we love our ‘my way or the highway’ mentality. She asks, nurtures and whispers that we join others in shared consciousness. Waning Moons inspire legacy building no matter our chronological age.
This Dark Moon is special because the lunar calendar was developed by the Chinese thousands of years ago. To stay within the last 120 years, suffice it to say, this is a Wood Dragon year. Five elements (metal, water, wood, fire & earth) every 12 years. Five times 12 equals 60. The last Wood Dragon year was 1964 (60 years ago). The interrelation of the five element system brings yin (feminine) and yang (masculine) energies into stark focus---transformative and non-binary (that’s another blog). For the purposes of this Ol’ Crusty Moon, I want to discuss how we collectively transform our energies from 2023’s Water Rabbit to 2024 Wood Dragon.
Physical characteristics:
Rabbits are a prey animal. Or as audacious Feng Shui practitioner,, Shannon Bailey says, ‘the cheeseburger of the Chinese zodiac”. She’s right. With their 360 degree vision, freezing/flight/camouflage and escape hatches named after them ‘rabbit holes’, they have the ability to survive. Hyper focused on survival can make them too alert to fear. Worry and anxiety hold too much sway. To move beyond to transform into a dragon, a chimera or composite animal (bird, lion and mammal body is some of their mythology).can be quite a shift. From the ground to the skies. From the cheeseburger animal to flying high in the skies inspiring others to realize their dreams. It is thought that the dragon is the luckiest animal in this Asian pantheon rumored to be created by none other than Buddha himself. Who also allegedly said ‘if you meet me on a road, kill me’. LOL.
Dragons have dominion or so I’ve been told. Dominion as in the name of Virginia, means the ‘right to rule’. While the Bible says that God gave man ‘dominion over animals’ (mandating--pun def intended--a split of primal urges and judgy humans), our upcoming Aquarian Age will put an end to this binary thinking. It’s not lost on this writer that his ancestors would have been seen as these animals needing to kept in their place…happy and magical darkie, right? These beliefs, much like the trending Non-Affiliates who are rejecting and reformatting organized religions, are on the way out. I maintain that ‘the best is yet to come’ as we grow up and within to access our inner dominion, our inner truth as it combines many different parts of our animal nature…we’ll be our own luck chimera. While the Water Rabbit year triggered every branch on our family tree, the Wood Dragon will lure you to look for your chosen family composed on a bunch of apparent outcasts and misfits found in any young adults story like Harry Potter, Stranger Things or Percy Jackson, etc. Sigh…
If you think for a moment that this blog will devote time to each individual Chinese animal, you’ll be disappointed. If you’ve made it this far, then I ask you to leave in the comment section what Chinese animal and when I make time and space, I’ll answer.
This ‘I’m spiritual, not religious’ belief requires (even & especially on a site that belief is not required) a growing up, a formulating the questions. It is through the questions that your inherent wisdom becomes apparent. Dragons know this. Their luck is sourced in their commitment to their uniqueness. They are associated with the western sign of Aries and the wealth/prosperity Gua in Feng Shui. Naturally they are aligned to the Wood element. Imagine an open and blossoming plant. I’ll wait. Imagine it. Got an image of your favorite flower or tree? Now, imagine how much care it took to get it there? Now, apply this care to your chosen communities, be that your family of origin, queer tribe or your cacophony of conflicts voices inside your own mind and heart.
Guidelines For Us All To Have Duration During This Wood Dragon Year
My ancestors used the word ‘duration’ a lot. To my grandparents it meant looking to an outer world that treated them like second class citizens (legally until 60 years ago, you’ve heard of the Voting & Civil Rights Act, right--lol?). Their duration often meant they had to choose to ‘shuck and jive’ when male or seem small and servile when female. And, to cover the shame, blame and guilt when queer presenting is a subject for another blog (I believe I’ll promise to deliver, certainly if enough queer folx ask---remember this Aquarian Age imagines a world where we grow up and within to participate in the creating conscious chosen communities, of which this website adheres to place individual efforts in doing and being. Sigh.
Release fear and anticipation. Dragons own their unique improvisational natures. They know (when they lean into illuminating the lessons learned through family/societal trauma) their style while it may incite envy feeds their belief in trending. Prosperity to them is based on authenticity in real life (IRL) from moment to moment. Escape hatches and plans are for the fear driven rabbits that was ‘so last year’.
Stay ‘on brand’. As this virtue is synonymous with ‘follow your bliss’ or ‘on path’. So what if there’s a bit of columbusing? A bit of appropriation of another culture with a conscious acknowledgement of how we are all one matters---as does word choice, tone and intention. Left brains feed fear and separation---hence as strident need to cancel folx. Right brains lean into ‘all for one & one for all’.
Recognize your need for attention while simultaneously observing your intentions behind this need. Resist temptation to separate attention into positive or negative. In this manner you’ll cease snarky and seemingly sophisticated comments for the laugh. You’ll respond to awkward or weird circumstances with at least acknowledging your inner feelings as such.
The Wood element is mysterious to our left brains. Connected to the air element because we can only see wind/air through its blowing through the trees (wood). A detached perspective ensues, yes? As chaos increases we need to choose to look to our history and the mystery clearly attained through right-brained exploration (Tali Edut Co-Founder of The Astro Twins). Historical analysis offers a larger and inclusive viewpoint, while using our whole brains to imagine what it must have like to live in another time and space (past or future).
Dragon years are often trend setting time periods. To pull together many unique parts of yourself for a rigid public or tough audience requires confident that can sometimes appear as arrogant, superior or aloof. As long as your personal preferences are not conflated into universal truths, you can choose to be shy or reserved without being judgy.
Realize how easy it is to be unique when you’re hanging out with your curated squad or tribe, but spread this love around to those who ruffle your sensitive bird feathers. You antennae are an excellent tool for moving through different atmospheres and communities of people, except that you can be an acquired taste. A little explanation of how you came to act, think or believe in a certain way can be educational for us who keep ourselves tethered to the ground more than you do.
No matter how progressive or well-intentioned, you are not here to save anyone. Hell, I’m deconstructing this whole legally changing my name to a Bodhisattva. No longer do I have an intention of staying around until everyone achieves enlightenment. My feelings about enlightenment as a goal have been transformed over the last seven years of interpersonal betrayals from friends, partners and this young soul nation (hello, SCOTUS and Congress I’m speaking to you!
Transpersonal service means no judge-ment projected onto any living soul.
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