Sunday + Father's Day + Summer Solstice
Let's make Sunday Soulful:
A dedication to my Father:
“I will take the sun in my mouth
and leap into the ripe air
Alive
with closed eyes
to dash against darkness”
”
September Equinox
The sun cracked the horizon at due East this morning and will set at due West. Day and Night will be almost perfectly split. Late this afternoon marks the September Equinox here in Hawaii (4:29pm to be exact).
Today is when the earths equator perfectly lines up with the celestial equator. The sun will begin moving into the Astrological Sign of Libra - the scales - who's symbol looks like a sun rising above the horizon.
In Greece Persephone will be returning to her husband Hades in the underworld.
Autumnal Equinox Day is a public holiday in Japan so that they may celebrate the Buddhist holiday of Higan, cleaning headstones and offering flowers to passed loved ones.
China, Korea and Vietnam will be celebrating the harvest with a moon festival - giving thanks, gathering with loved ones and praying.
The Mayan Pyramid Kulkulkan was built to track the equinoxes - the pyramid was built to create a serpent made of shadows - this phenomena is most noticeable at the equinox.
The Iroquois celebrated the harvest with a corn dance.
Michaelmas (or the Feast of St. Michael in the Catholic Church) preparations are underway with people making corn husk dolls and stuffing themselves with a a large goose dinner.
Pagans and Wiccans will be celebrating Mabon, or the time when there is balance between light and dark.
In Hawaii Piko o Ka Honua in September marks a transition from the move of Kane to Kanaloa time period.
“The season for enjoying the fullness of life — partaking of the harvest, sharing the harvest with others, and reinvesting and saving portions of the harvest for yet another season of growth.”
On a personal note, I can say with absolute certainty that there is very little balance in my life. I live a life of extremes. Being at sea, flitting around on land, spending money I don't have (perhaps I should say....spending money like a drunken sailor....), heading back to sea to work my butt off so I can flit around a little more.
Where does that leave me? With the sun on my face. With some change on the horizon. With some important decisions made. With gratitude for all I harvest. It leaves me completely unapologetic for every little imperfection I claim my own.
Here's to balance. Here's to change. Here's to the seasons of our lives.
Technically, the Equinox is an astrological point which means that the day and night isn't exactly equal - it also means that the date and time fluctuate. Secondly, I prefer the term September Equinox over Autumnal because well, it's not Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
Using the September Equinox as a marker I'll be lining the blog up with seasons. I figure, what could mark my Going Nomad experience more accurately then the path of the sun?
Soulful Sunday: A Friendly Hello
We were graced with clear skies and starry dusks for the last few days so truly there are no complaints here.
I found a quote today I liked so I figured I'd share it with you. Consider this a friendly hello.
Its Sunday in my neck of the woods so it's kind of like a soulful Sunday.
These last three years, I know they’ve been hard. But now it’s time to get out of the desert and into the sun, even if it’s alone.
On Your Porch // The Format (via h-o-r-n-g-r-y)
This Is Good Enough
When I look around I think, this is good enough and, I try to laugh at whatever life brings. 'Cause when I look down I just miss all the good stuff and when I look up I just trip over things. -Ani DiFranco
Syros Island, Greece
We made a very, very brief stop in Syros, Greece a few days ago. We pulled into the bay, anchored, took on fuel (which we call 'taking bunkers') and left. It was nice to pull in during the day so that we could see where we were heading - and so that we could take some photos of course!
