trash or treasure

Each year two meteor showers converge over our late summer skies - the famous Perseids and the lesser known Delta Aquariids. The best time to watch for both is before the moon rises in late July.

A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through a stream of debris left behind by a comet. As the bits of rock and dust in the stream of debris collide with the earth’s atmosphere, they burn up and create fiery streaks across the sky.

Delta Aquariids always peak in late July but the waning gibbous and last quarter moon of 2024 will light up the sky past midnight - making it more challenging to view.

Past 11:00 a.m. on July 16 a meteorite passed over New York and New Jersey. Wrapped in a bright ball of light and trailing loud explosive bangs. Fortunately this stellar light and sound extravaganza did not land on earth or cause any havoc.

Star Fall by Wang Zheng, Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021

The Southern Delta Aquariids are active beginning in mid-July and are visible until late August. These faint meteors are difficult to spot, and when the moon is visible, they disappear from view. With the moon out our best chance to see the Southern Delta Aquariids is at the shower's peak between August 29th and 30th.

by the skin of our teeth

AT the dentist recently for a cleaning and check up, they found it admirable that at the ripe old age of 68 I still had a mouth full of my own teeth. 

But they also found two tiny packets of thinning enamel that were deemed potential future cavities. Rather than wait and see, they were quickly patched up. 

Bringing me to ponder the phrase - by the skin of our teeth. 

Surviving by The Skin of Our Teeth

Job of the old testament bible and Thornton Wilder in his Pulitzer winning Broadway hit have made this idiom famous. 

blood bond

The red string talisman is a global practice of religions and spiritual beliefs, cultures and continents, and various folk customs throughout the ages.  

A scarlet or crimson thread is worn as a bracelet or band on the wrist of the wearer - a protective shield against evil or a mindful reminder to attract good. 

my blood band

The tradition is not explicitly superstitious or religiously followed by believers of major faiths - Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, etc. 

Many cultures wear red to ward off the evil eye. There are sacred texts associated with wearing a red band as well. 

At a women's voice retreat in Bali last year our circle of women unraveled a ball of red wool - tying a length of it around each member's left wrist. 

As we wound each round, we invoked personal prayers for beloved women ancestors and descendants in our blood lines, biological lineage, and teaching hierarchies. 

My band weaves nine individual strings - myself, my mother, my daughter; my sisters, resisters, rebel warriors; my ancestral clan mothers, my blood descendant daughters, our female saints and sages. 

These are the girls and women of blood and bone who have merged with me in body and soul. Together we face what the world gives and takes - we absorb it all and share it equally. 

This is our sacred bond. 

we'moon beltane blessings

With roots established and delightful growth all around, we honor the fertility, beauty and resourcefulness of our creative and soil-based spaces. Give thanks for the clarity of vision and the potency of our prayers, which set our visions in motion. 

We have all that we need, and the abundance of our ideas is confirmed and affirmed. Our determination has sown such beautiful resonance. 

We'Moon 2024, page 79

May we continue to stretch forward and ground our plans. So many blooms of possibility are on the horizon, and they are ready to make their presence known. Let's find nourishing ways of being that create echoes of joy and pleasure throughout our bodies, together in community and towards the Great Mother. 

Feed your inner landscapes and let us build upon and amplify our stories. Together may we practice gentle ways to pivot towards wholeness, cultivate a harmonious connection to the elements, and honor this fierce planet that supports us all.

—Karen L. Culpepper © Mother Tongue Ink 2023
from page 79 in We'Moon 2024

Let’s find nurturing and nourishing ways of being that feed our bodies, connect together in community and honor the Great Mother. 

As we sustain our inner landscapes we build upon and amplify our stories. Create collaborative circles and practice gentle ways to pivot towards wholeness. Cultivate harmonious connections to the elements and honor this planet always - as it supports us all.

intention + imagination = inspired insight

Around this time last year we began posting a series we created on Instagram called mantra | prayer | poem. These digital decoupages were created by Bhakti Creative Design. 

EcoDeo on Instagram

Declarations of intention, devotion, and vibration designed to capture the imagination to inspire and ignite insight. 

older & wiser

Ageing is an art we all too easily overlook since oftentimes it is a double-edged sword. Ageism rears its ugly head in so many cases — a bias too often practiced in societies obsessed with youth and ill equipped to face death.

“For older people, ageism is an everyday challenge. Overlooked for employment, restricted from social services and stereotyped in the media, ageism marginalizes and excludes older people in their communities.” ~ World Health Organization

For menopausal women this is a particular challenge as we undergo a roller coaster ride of changes. I used to laugh at the concept when I was unaffected and I didn’t understand.

With good genes from both parents and our ancestors I would ridicule batchmates who started slowing down years ago and some even a decade or more younger than me.

on the beach

But the year I turned 65 it all came crashing down on me. Suddenly I noticed soreness or stiffness blooming where there didn’t used to be any. I broke one foot, then two years later, the other as well. How? Running full tilt with heavy bags in both arms. Yes! 

Now as I’m aging, my appreciation for life and the process of getting older is expanding. It is an exceptional gift to age year after year — no matter how we feel about our age. 

an animated world

Long before any ism or religion existed in humanity's consciousness, animist practice was the embodied experience of living beings. 

Animism is not a theory, a philosophy, or an idea. It was simply how things were. A common understanding - across the entire world, for all of time. 

The fabric offerings tied to a tree mark offerings to a being of the landscape.
Olkhon Island, Irkutsk Oblast, Russian Federation. Roberto Quijada, CC BY-NC

Animism is not a religion one can convert to but rather a label used for worldviews and practices. It identifies and describes acknowledge relationships between nature and the animal world. A driving force and influence over humans and a way of being that needed to be respected.

Tara Mangalartha

The Tara Mangalartha Mantra is a prayer to restore climate balance. 

Oṃ tāre tuttāre ture Maṅgalaṃ śrī mahā pāṇi svāhā

Tara Mangalartha, the 12th Tara

Translated as, "she who brings about auspiciousness." This mantra is a sacred chant associated with the deity Tara - a revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism.

Tara Mangalartha (Drölma Tashi Dönjema) is the twelfth Tara, depicted as peaceful and golden yellow goddess. Seated serenely on her lotus flower with an auspicious infinity knot.

day of love

Christianity often modeled early celebrations and holidays on existing festivals and feasts. For example, Christmas holiday started out when winter solstice was celebrated. 

On the same trend, Valentine's Day was held on February 14 while Lupercalia was celebrated February 13 to 15. In time many of these old-time festivals were replaced by the spreading influence of this latest religion. 

La Lupa Capitolina "the Capitoline Wolf" with figures of Romulus & Remus added

Lupercalia was observed to honor pagan gods of love, marriage, and fertility -Pan and Juno. It is celebrated with a rite of purification and health. Only slightly connected to fertility and more as a part of celebrating health. Not at all about love. 

new face

With the remake of the movie "The Color Purple" interest in Alice Walker and her words has surged more than usual. 

In her book "The Same River Twice: Honoring the Difficult" the Mendocino County-based author revisits the film set - describing her personal reactions to the whole experience, in brave, naked detail.

Her writing brilliantly unveils an artist’s pain and joy at seeing her work take on a surprising life of its own. For writers and artists, it is full of valuable insights.