YES Yoga is honoring April's Full Moon in celebrating the powerful effects of Spider Wort (Tradescantia) flowers. This knee-high purple flower particularly caught my attention this month because it shows up in all kinds of places; from garden beds to roadsides, inland to the coast. Whenever I see a plant trying that hard to grab my attention, I try to learn what medicine it wants to bring to me.
I first learned about this beautiful specimen on an edible plant walk. The teacher noted that it has edible blooms and I was instantly in love. Upon early experimentation, I was disappointed to learn that it does poorly as a cut flower-wilting within hours. It is best enjoyed-in situ, during those leisurely bike rides to nowhere in particular. To kick-off a more formal investigation, I did brief research into its danger quotient. A friend’s reference book identified that not only are all parts edible, but it carries a long tradition of medicinal uses. Several Native American tribes-including the Cherokee of my region-used it as an aphrodisiac for both people and animals. The permaculturalist in me sits with the living plant to observe individual parts, how the plant grows, and what is happening in the surrounding habitat. The first thing to catch my eye is the three petal arrangement. I close my eyes and breath into the plant’s energy, asking what it wants me to know about three petal arrangement. All the sudden I think of my birth faith and the Holy Trinity, as well as my adopted faith and the Vedic Trimurti. Alone, each symbol of the triad is a metaphor of how the divine can be experienced. Together, as in the Spider Wort flower, it represents strength, the source of all power. Creation, Sustenance, and Destruction. The leaves are quite unusual. Alternating on a strong, tubular steam, they spike out in narrow arms; reminding me of sharp swords. Tools to pierce our deepest demons and cleanse us of their troubles. Finally, I close my eyes, raise my palms, tune into my heart chakra, and feel into the plant’s bubble of energy. I instantly feel pulsing waves of light run through my body. It felt like the rippling light of liquid waves reflecting on a surface. A powerful cleansing. Preparing me to receive new depths of divine truth. Spider Wort is like a tonic. A master cleanse for the soul. Realignment with our core essences. I performed a ceremony to capture the vibration and aide in my releasing over this moon cycle.
0 Comments
I posed this question to myself four months ago, and knew I wanted to turn it into a blog. For me yoga is beyond connecting to myself, or God, it includes connecting to the Earth. So I really started exploring the concept of how to relate to her. I needed a stronger mental construct to engage in the deep relationship I sought. One strong and clear message came through, The Earth is A Goddess. Every time I revisited the document, I would read that line, and feel no urge to go further. That’s all I needed, to see the Earth as a Goddess. To me, that means she is more than a Mother who nourishes and protects us. She is a divine avatar whom creates miracles and moments of awe. She is worthy of worship. Her material body will endure far longer than mine. What forces can animate such a massive density of matter? It must be far greater than my soul. A soul between me and the source of all that exists. A soul through which I can only exist. A soul so beloved, she has her own realm of angels. To whom does she answer? Father Sun. Her guide through the universe. Where he goes, she goes. Our human relationship with the Sun is mostly through the Earth’s fingertips. Every leaf of lettuce and drop of nectar is pulsing with the Sun’s beat. A tone so nourishing, so perfect for our bodies that the Earth filters it into tiny gifts for our senses. As I sit in these images, the Earth takes new shape in my psyche. That of a friend, a lover, a cherished relative. One who fills up our cup without us having to ask for it. The Goddess is all this and more. The Goddess is so beautiful that to gaze upon her is to feel the presence of the divine. To drink from her is to taste the nectar of heaven. To taste her fruit is to cross the boundaries of perception. All she asks in return is patience. With ourselves. Because she is so benevolent, She gives us the Moon as a teaching assistant. In her Grandmotherly role, the Moon serves as a role model of cycles and attraction. For me, making ceremony with the Moon’s cycle grounds me to the Earth. The Goddess and I are witnessing the same lunar attractions; gaining and releasing with each wax and wane. As I watch the moon fill up this week, I am reminded that all is happening in divine time. I cannot rush my own development any more than I can rush the development of a seed into a sunflower. In both case, I can listen to the whispers of the Goddess and nurture my development in tune with the Moon and her dance around our Goddess. As Earth Day coincides with the Full Moon on Friday April 22, 2016, the energy is rise to reflect on your perspective on this giant space rock we all call Home. Namaste, Courageous Light |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2016
|