a waxing autumn moon .... channeling our ancestral harvest energy to manage the season

Maybe because it is snowing outside my window this morning or maybe because the business we are in pushes Thanksgiving off my radar to free up the brain cells (and energy) I need to prepare for the Christmas rush, but I am feeling the need to embrace these last few weeks of autumn. Maybe you are, too.

We are in the middle of a wonderful waxing moon. A waxing moon means the moon is getting larger in the sky, moving from the new moon towards the full moon on the 17th. This is a time for new beginnings, to conceptualize ideas, to invoke. Mercury also moves direct so things will become more clear to us now and things will move forward with less back-steps and road blocks. 

Our ancestors prepared for winter in autumn - they brought in the harvest, readied the indoors to take care of them through the winter months they knew were coming - and these are exactly the things we do now.


I make about 60% of my income for the entire year in November and December - when things get crazy I channel my ancestral 'bringing in the harvest' energy and winter mindset. I bring some pictures of them into my workspace now and they whisper to me, "we are all depending on you Catherine, we love you, you can do this."

I much prefer inspiration from my grandmother and great-grandmother to Nike these days.

We are all fully immersed in Scorpio right now - the ideas of life and death are on our mind - for our ancestors, winter brought the year's highest risk of death and Scorpio gave them the courage to face this without fear. It was also a secretive time - you had to hide your harvest from animals, thieves and authorities who might try to claim it. So it is a time for hiding things and unearthing them.

(maybe the things we don't even know we have buried that come out in heaving sobs during yoga stretches)

 It's a time of unity (we needed diplomacy and tact to avoid war during harvest time) or a time of war (when the people who didn't know any better prevailed).

If you look at your own life (and the world) you will see these same patterns playing out now.

For now, for us - as makers - making art and businesses and lives - I think we are all artists and makers, as long as we take responsibility for the energy we are putting into the world - it is the time when new life is concentrated into seeds for next year.

In the hustle and bustle now as you bring in your own harvest, whatever that looks like in your own life, and prepare for your own winter, take the time to think about what you want to birth next year - your interest and attention and intention will create the seeds for this birth - being all over the map with your thinking will not create the strongest seeds.

(we don't want to manifest some GMO crap that might withstand the current pesticides but will do us in, in the long run - we are all in this for the long run)

You don't have to have all the answers or any answers at all, just think about what you want to invoke - the way you want to feel - you can't do this stuff wrong.

ok I'll shut up now .....


I'm not really armed.

I mean I have arms ... and legs ... and some wee part of my brain still functioning, at least functioning enough to know I have been AWOL.

I had a crazy experience at yoga

(and by 'at yoga' I mean doing a yoga DVD is my bedroom).

I did a kind of buttock stretch and started crying .. and I cried and I cried - it was .. well, I don't know what it was. Something must have come unstuck, something that has left me a little wombly.

(I know this is not really a word, but I think you will know what I mean - kind of like wobbly but with an extra does of ... something).

I tell hubs about this and ask him what he thinks this means and he says "google it".
"Google yoga made me whombly?"
"Yeah."

I tell myself I've released something pinned up in my kidney, spine or liver - are any of these things back there? I imagine all the cells in my body dancing and releasing toxins.

Then I get into hub's truck yesterday because I forgot to renew my car registration again and have to drive his truck until I can get to the DMV or MVC or whatever we call it now and he has a huge, like 6 feet tall antenna on the roof and a huge, CB radio bolted to the floor.

(where did this come from? he claims he bought it last summer. did I live here last summer? how do I not know about this?)

It's like I am living in an alternate universe.

I think the wombly may have shifted me into a different timeline; one where I am married to BJ. I keep looking for the monkey.

(and if you are under 40, you will probably not know what the hell I am talking about here, consider yourself lucky)

Hopefully this dry spell will end soon and I will sputter out my usual nonsense, in the meantime I hope everyone enjoys their holiday tomorrow! xo all

New Moon in Scorpio and Today's Solar Eclipse (which I slept through)


by the amazing Lisa Falzon of Meluseena
Today's New Moon in Scorpio with Saturn conjunct is all about taking responsibility for our lives

or rebellious behavior if we have been overburdened

it's about self-empowerment, change, financial partnerships and avoiding power struggles, releasing the need to blame our parents and not blaming anyone who oversteps our boundaries when we haven't set any.

New Moons are great times to plant the seeds.

Everything starts with our intention so setting intentions for Scorpio stuff during a Scorpio new moon can be very powerful. This new moon will conclude with the Scorpio full moon in 6 months, so we can take a look then at how far we have progressed with the intentions we set now.

Scorpio stuff includes - secret stuff, buried stuff, unearthing things, politics, psychology, change, restoration, forgiveness, obsessions, compulsions, risk taking, intensity, commitment, self discipline, sex, loans, taxes, debts, inheritances, contracts for our business, jealousy, revenge, suspicion, guilt; lots of underworld stuff.

I usually list my affirmations here but this month mine are words I need to write and burn - all release and gratitude this time, here is a link to an example just work with the Scorpio stuff above to get the most bang for your buck with the moon!

(yes, I say things like 'bang for your buck' now, my vocabulary vacillates between a wise ass 10 year old and a 75 year old vacuum cleaner salesman these days) xo all

thyroids and hormones and cortisol, oh my ....

recycled cork & steel bracelet - handmade by me
I thought I would give a quick thyroid update since when I posted about this health stuff I got quite a few helpful emails from people dealing with similar auto-immune issues.

I am not going to put everyone to sleep with my current situation although I will update it at some point. I did decide not to have my thyroid irradiated ...

Anyhoo, for anyone dealing with this stuff these are some of the things I have been working with as I try to coax my body to stop making antibodies against itself.

(you might notice I have a lot of posts about working against our own self interests - this stuff is all connected)

1. Olive leaf extract -  a natural product that can be taken all year round (especially good for winters and for right now as we have moved into Vata season) to boost our immunity and manage viral infections.

2. I saw on WellnessMama's blog a while back that thermographic imaging is proving how grounding affects inflammation. I have instinctively felt this for a long time as I totally get flare ups when I am most ungrounded and it is nice to have some proof - this may not be totally scientific proof, but if we wait for them they will just turn grounding into some kind of pill with a gazillion nasty side effects.

I use my favorite grounding techniques and I decided to buy an earthing sleep system. We also unplug our wifi and cable while we sleep. I used to fall asleep with my Nook next to my head - not good. We have definitely noticed a difference in our sleep with this in a very short time. My acupuncturist believes sleeping is the key to all healing, so grounding while sleeping seems like an excellent idea.

3. Leaky Gut - this is caused by
  • a crappy diet high in sugar and low in fiber (which was my entire diet for most of my life)
  • deficiencies of zinc and omega-3 fats
  • overuse of antibiotics and hormones (think birth control pills here)
  • environmental toxins (research BPA!)
  • stress / anxiety (the parts of our brain that deal with this literally get thinner as we get older so the stress we could handle at 30 is harder to handle at 40 and 50 and 60 - if we don't deal with this stuff we are opening the door to dis-ease)
This should be a post all by itself.  I will write one soon, but google 'leaky gut' if you are dealing with any kind of auto immune issues especially if you are having digestive and mood and irritability issues.

4. Apple Cider Vinegar - alkalize! I drink this in the morning - yes, it smells like you are coloring easter eggs, but those were happy days right?! and my house smells like vinegar anyway from green cleaning products - you get used to it. The taste is not that different than lemon water. You can also use it in salad dressing, to wash your hair - not sure I would try that - and some say it smooths skin. I also continue with the lemon water although I do worry about my teeth a little.

5. Calm - hundreds of excellent reviews on Amazon can't be wrong.

6. Acupuncture - still going once a week although the fact it isn't covered by my insurance makes me crazy. I sold a table on Craigslist recently to pay for a few more weeks. 

I am about to do some lymphatic drainage massage and change up my exercise routine again, since the "routine" in my "exercise routine" has been ... erased ... who keeps erasing "routine" .... I blame Olive - her erratic, crazy behavior on walks always makes me feel like the Billy Ray Cyrus of dog parents. I want to write a post about how our pet's health is influenced by our health, too - I have seem some amazing connections with that lately. I guess that means I can't blame Olive though ...

Anyhoo, have a great weekend all - the wind is blowing like crazy here, am hoping I might end up in Oz for the new moon this weekend ....

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