WEEK OF JULY 2-8

Theme: integrate family/interior lives, and career/external responsibilities

We’ve passed mid-Summer and the midway point of 2012 to enter the heart of summer vacation, the heart of cardinal-water sign Cancer’s influence.  Time to immerse in and fortify our home-base, the inner circle of family & friends who support us, the house that shelters us. This includes our interior life, where our heart, mind and soul take refuge and find comfort.  We hunker down, we rebuild our strengths and replenish our energies in an intimate cocoon of nest, family & friends.

Yet as the moon waxes and culminates in Capricorn (Tue, Jul 3), we are reminded not to detach completely, to remember our broader connections and responsibilities to community & society.  We are pulled towards our goals, our desire to achieve and do something great, we feel the fire of our dreams.

Moving beyond balance to integration

Balance is the first thought that came to mind. And immediately I feel bored, tired, uninspired.  I’m tired of trying to find balance. I’m tired of the struggle to draw the line between two conflicting worlds.  

I want integration.  I want to imbue my work and career with meaning, with inspiration, with all the things that matter to my interior life; I want to do work that will nourish and improve my personal life.  And I want my personal life with my family & friends to flourish and grow, to not become stagnant, to not be stuck in a repetitive rut—I want my family life to be rich and fulfilling and enlightening for us all.

My themes to help me find integration:

Spaciousness.

Gratitude.  

Wholeheartedness.  

Full Buck Moon

Full Moon on Tuesday, July 3.  Named the Full Buck Moon by Northeastern Algonquian Native American peoples because this is the season when male deers (bucks) grow new antlers. Also known as Thunder Moon (thunderstorms are frequent) and Hay Moon (time that farmers harvest, bale and stow hay for the winter).

Time to encourage plants to bud and flower as the moon culminates and shines, rising up the night sky as the sun sets.

夏至 Summer Solstice (June 21-July 7), Chinese Almanac

Good growing period for red-colored fruits and vegetables.

Eat more cooling and leafy vegetables (spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, salads) and seafood.

Drink cooling liquids such as green and mint tea, watermelon juice, and barley water—especially when eating “heaty” grilled, barbecued and deep-fried foods.

☼ in ♋ (June 20-July 22)

Sun in Cardinal Water-sign Cancer.  We are self-protective and insular, turning our attention inwards on our nest, family, and anything that makes us feel “at home” and “at peace.” Emotions run deep. We want to nurture the things we care about, protect them, provide a safe haven for them to grow and blossom.

In season (San Francisco, CA)

Apricots • Arugula • Asian pears • Asian vegetables • Avocados • Beans, green • Beans, shelling • Beets • Blackberries • Blueberries • Broccoli • Burdock • Cabbage • Cactus Pads • Cactus Pears • Carrots • Cauliflower • Celeriac • Celery • Chard • Cherries • Chicory • Collards • Corn • Cress • Cucumbers • Eggplant • Endive • Fennel • Figs • Garlic • Grapefruit • Grapes • Herbs • Horseradish • Jicama • Kale • Kumquats • Lambsquarters • Leeks • Lemons • Lettuce • Loquats • Mandarins • Melons • Mulberries • Mushrooms • Mustard greens • Nectarines • Nettles • Okra • Onions • Orach • Oranges • Peaches • Peas • Peppers, sweet • Plums • Pluots • Potatoes • Purslane • Radishes • Raspberries • Rhubarb • Scallions • Shallots • Spinach • Sprouts • Squash, summer • Strawberries • Tayberries • Tomatillos • Tomatoes

Old nursery rhyme for inspiration this week

Summer

The cock’s on the housetop blowing his horn;

The bull’s in the barn, a-threshing of corn;

The maid’s in the meadow, a-making of hay;

The ducks in the river are swimming away.

Week of June 18-24

Theme

Summer Solstice (Wed, June 20), new moon, new sun sign.  Time to reaffirm our goals, and reinvigorate our passions.  The things that fire us up, that make life worth living—let’s not lose sight of the loves of our life in the busy-ness of daily living.  

New Moon

A new moon begins Tuesday, June 19, as the moon rises and sets with the sun.

A good day to celebrate the bountifulness of the Earth and the sacredness of life by enjoying vegetarian food.

夏至 Summer Solstice (June 21-July 7), Chinese Almanac

Good growing period for red-colored fruits and vegetables.

Eat more cooling and leafy vegetables (spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, salads) and seafood.

Drink cooling liquids such as green and mint tea, watermelon juice, and barley water—especially when eating “heaty” grilled, barbecued and deep-fried foods.

☼ in ♋ (June 20-July 22)

Sun enters Cardinal Water-sign Cancer.  Time to water our souls, nurture our minds, and fortify our hearts.  

In season (San Francisco, CA)

Apricots • Apriums • Artichokes • Arugula • Asian vegetables • Asparagus • Avocados • Beans, green • Beans, shelling • Beets • Blackberries • Blueberries • Bok choy • Boysenberries • Broccoli • Broccoli rabe • Cabbage • Cactus Pads • Cactus Pears • Carrots • Cauliflower • Celeriac • Celery • Chard • Cherries • Chicory • Collards • Corn • Cress • Cucumbers • Eggplant • Endive • Fava beans • Fennel • Figs • Garlic • Grapefruit • Herbs • Horseradish • Jicama • Kale • Kumquats • Lambsquarters • Leeks • Lemons • Lettuce • Limes • Loquats • Mandarins • Melons • Mushrooms • Mustard greens • Nectarines • Nettles • Nuts • Okra • Onions • Orach • Oranges • Peaches • Peas • Plums • Pluots • Potatoes • Purslane • Radishes • Raspberries • Rhubarb • Scallions • Shallots • Spinach • Sprouts • Squash, summer • Strawberries • Tayberries • Tomatillos • Tomatoes • Turnips

Biodynamic Note

Northern planting time is June 18, 1pm PT to June 30, 10am PT.

Inspiration for the week

Love After Love

Week of June 11 to 17

Theme

We move closer to mid-year.  Time to harvest spring crops, and take comfort in the accomplishments and blessings of the year so far.  Time to let go of what hasn’t been fruitful, learn from it, understand it, and compost it as we prepare the soil for the next crop.

Balsamic Moon

The moon enters the last quarter on Monday June 11, and continues to wane.

Time to harvest and compost as the moon hides, rising between midnight and dawn.

芒種 Grain in Ear (June 5-21), Chinese Almanac

Time to harvest spring crops and plant for fall harvest.

Eat more cooling and leafy vegetables (spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, salads) and seafood.

Drink cooling liquids such as green and mint tea, watermelon juice, and barley water—especially when eating “heaty” grilled, barbecued and deep-fried foods.

☼ in ♊ (May 20-June 20)

Sun in its last days in Mutable Air Gemini.  Time to harvest a last flurry of spring frolicking, exploration and networking.

Seasonal foods & fruits (San Francisco, CA)

Shopping list for the week: Avocados, organic blueberries, lemon cucumbers, cabbage, apriums, bing cherries, basil, carrots, zucchini, elephant garlic

Strength for the week

(Photo by Cari Ferraro)

I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you 

Which shall be the darkness of God.

As, in a theatre, 

The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed 

With a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of darkness on darkness, 

And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant panorama 

And the bold imposing facade are all being rolled away— 

Or as, when an underground train, in the tube, stops too long between stations

And the conversation rises and slowly fades into silence 

And you see behind every face the mental emptiness deepen 

Leaving only the growing terror of nothing to think about;

Or when, under ether, the mind is conscious but conscious of nothing— 

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,

For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith 

But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting. 

Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought: 

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.

T. S. Eliot, Excerpt from the “East Coker” section of The Four Quartets

The Chinese Almanac tells us we’re entering the last of the summer heat period.  A last push to ripen fruits and vegetables for harvest.

In Western astrology, the Sun is entering Virgo—a time to take stock, and prepare for harvest.  

Time to edit, let go of regrets, forget could-have-beens.  Focus on what is bearing fruit, put in sweat equity to ripen our dreams.  No time to fret or judge.  Eye on the harvest.