Cycles of Sun and Moon

Years ago a member of my congregation asked “why do we still take summers off -- we’re no longer an agrarian society.” By which I think he meant, we no longer need all the kids to be home in the summers to help their parents harvest the crops. And certainly when I lived and worked in Silicon Valley the seasons were milder than here in the North East. If you lived in the south bay the summers could get hot a few weeks a year, but if you were working 12 hour days in climate controlled building, it seems like a valid question- why does it matter what season it is?

Here in the twin tiers where I live now it’s hard to ignore the freezing cold of winter, that creeps into our houses even if we have a robust heating system. Some snow storms are impossible to push through. And of course with our quick growing season, anyone who has a garden or a farm is like a sprinter at the starting block this time of year.

By being mindful of passing of the seasons of the year, by making an intentional practice of it, I’ve also come to notice the impacts of these cycles on my body mind and heart. If I find myself holed up in January wanting nothing more than to read a good book and go to bed early, I have seen that cycle enough to know “that’s just January.” Because I observe these cycles year after year I don’t take it personally when attendance at zoom events drops off the first beautiful days of spring. It feels good when we harmonize our goals and our activities with the cycles of nature, with the realities of the seasons that we share with all the living creatures in our eco-systems. And it’s better for our eco-system too when we don’t use extra energy to fight the natural cycles and seasons. This culture that pretends we can always produce at maximum capacity ignores the ancient wisdom of living in a body on earth, that there are times to produce, and times to pause and let ourselves and the earth recover, to enjoy the fruits of our labor, and to prepare for seasons which might not be quite so abundant.

The calendar we all use in the US at work and at school, is a form of solar calendar. It is calculated without any acknowledgement of the moon. For the most part the Christian liturgical calendar is the same way- in fact at the time when this calendar was implemented the church and government were very intertwined. Because this is the only calendar I’ve ever lived with, I didn’t understand until quite recently that our calendar, while culturally normative for us, is not universal, and could be otherwise.

The Jewish Calendar, for example, includes the cycles of the moon. A Jewish month always starts on the new moon- historically the day that the first little sliver of moon is sighted in the sky by 2 witnesses, and validated by the trained astronomer Rabbis. It blew my mind when I realized that a Jewish holidays always, by definition, take place in the same phase of the moon. Many of the feast days are on the 14th o4 15th of the month, and so will be celebrated with a bright full moon. But Hanukkah is celebrated on the 25 Kislev, and will always start near dark of the moon, and continue through the sighting of the new moon and the head of the month. [mind blown]

The solar year takes 365 days, which is how long it takes the earth go around the sun. The lunar year is about 11 days shorter. So the Jewish calendar has a little leap month “adar” every 2-3 years so that generally Hanukkah is always in the winter, and Rosh Hashanah in the fall. The fancy word for a calendar that is lunar but keeps the solar seasons is a “lunisolar” calendar. Many traditions use this combined approach, [i]Hindu festivals can be linked either to the solar calendar or to a lunisolar calendar, such that certain festivals always fall on a full moon or so many days after the new moon.

But the Islamic calendar is purely lunar, “based on the appearance and disappearance of the moon at the beginning and end of the month… It is for this reason that the beginning of Ramadan every year differs in relation to the Gregorian calendar, and as a result of that it moves through the four seasons.”

Many Wiccan, neopagan, eco-spirituality practitioners follow the cycles of both the sun and moon, without any attempt to reconcile them into a single system. There’s a cool feminist calendar We'Moon that tracks moon, sun and stars all within the Gregorian calendar. Musawa explains that “We experience each of these cycles in the alternating rhythms of day and night, waxing and waning, summer and winter. The Earth/Sun/Moon are our inner circle of kin in the universe. We know where we are in relation to them at all times by the dance of light and shadow as they circle one another. The Eyes of Heaven as seen from Earth, the moon and the sun are equal in size: “The left and right eyes of heaven,” according to Hindy (eastern) astrology. Unlike the solar dominated calendars of Christian (western) patriarchy, We’Moon looks at our experience through both eyes at once.”[ii] [iii]

I thought for a while I hoped to be part of a full moon ritual group, many pagans are, but it hops around all over our solar calendar, and bumps up against our “Third Thursday” way of scheduling. It’s challenging to observe a lunar calendar when you live in a culture whose official government function (like schools and government offices) all follow an exclusively solar calendar. Our Gregorian calendar was introduced by pope Gregory in 1582, and adopted by the British empire on behalf of its colonies in 1752 as part of the cultural hegemony of empire, erasing local and cultural difference to increase centralized control.

Because so many traditions around the world use a lunar calendar, or some combination of lunar and solar, it is actually quite curious that we mostly ignore the moon here in our culture. Because the moon is often associated with the female aspects, and because the cycles of the moon are traditionally linked to the menstrual cycle of women in the middle of life, many feminists and pagans feel this is part of the patriarchal hegemony, erasing the feminine, and so honor the cycles of the moon as a way of remembering the feminine. There is a common noticing in feminist and eco-spirituality and in Jungian thought that there is a symbolic linking of women with the earth and her cycles, that our western culture has for the past millennia have relegated both women and nature in the “shadow” -the unseen rejected part of our culture. It follows logically that a culture that de-centers non-male bodies and nature would culturally ignore the cycles of the moon.

The indigenous people of the Americas noticed the cycles of the moon, and though each tribal culture is unique, it seems that most tribes also follow a lunar calendar of 28 days each, adding an extra month every 3 years to keep the moons in their season, because the names of the moons and what they meant were deeply connected to the local seasons. So for example the Ojibwe people (northern plains and Midwest) in their western dialect name their months (starting with the full moon the month  I call January):

• Great Spirit Moon
• Suckerfish Moon
• Snowcrust Moon
• Sugarbushing Moon
• Budding Moon
• Strawberry Moon
• Raspberry Moon
• Ricing Moon
• Leaves Turning Moon
• Falling Leaves Moon
• Freezing Over Moon
• Little Spirit Moon

Whereas in their neighbors in the Cree nation (mostly Canada) [learn more here]

• FROST EXPLODING MOON - Trees crackle from cold temperatures and extreme cold starts
• THE GREAT MOON - Animals do not move around much and trappers have little chance of catching them.
• EAGLE MOON - Month the eagle returns
• GOOSE MOON - Month the geese return and indication of the coming of spring
• FROG MOON - Arrival of warm weather and open water. Frogs begin to become active in ponds and swamps.
• EGG LAYING MOON - Month when the birds and water fowl begin to lay their eggs
• FEATHER MOULTING MOON - Month when young fowl are moulting
• FLYING UP MOON - When the young fowl are ready to fly
• RUTTING MOON - the bull moose scrapes the velvet from antlers as a sign of mating to begin
• MIGRATING MOON - Month when birds begin their flight south
• FREEZE UP MOON -Month when lakes and rivers start to freeze
• FROST MOON - Month when frost sticks to leaves and other things outside

Notice how the one naming tradition names and notices the seasons of the plants, and the other focus on birds and other 4 legged beings. One of the power of calendars is helping us remember important things. I notice that my calendar reminds me when the banks are closed, and some important moments in American history, but our neighbors are sure to remember when ricing season is, or when the birds are laying their eggs. Calendars have power in our collective memory. Religious traditions are often have an important role in tracking cycles because tradition takes the long view, and remembers larger patterns. How helpful it has always been, and still is, to remember that it is a natural part of the cycle for winter in our part of the world to be cold, to be a time of short days crackling ice and scarcity of food. Religious traditions also help us remember that eventually Strawberry season returns, not only in the physical world but also in the seasons of our spirit.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, whose lands we in Cortland and Ithaca inhabit, holds 13 ceremonies each year in honor of the 13 full moons, not spread out evenly like in the Neo-Pagan calendar, but honoring important milestones in the seasons- there are a number of them in May including the “Sun and Moon dance – Beginning of May to give thanks to the sun and second week of May to give thanks to the moon in the morning and evening respectively”[iv] How lovely that today’s service coincides to the time of the Moon days in the Haudenosaunee tradition.

That’s a lot of information, and I share it this morning for 3 reasons:
First, because among the sources of our tradition we draw from

·Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
·Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature

Our living tradition encourages us to seek out and learn from these important sources of wisdom.

Second, because as part of dismantling white supremacy culture, it’s important to notice that while our culture seems normal to us, it is just culture, created by humans over time, and it is just one of many. Looking at the great diversity of calendars in our world gives us a concrete example of how our culture shapes us in ways that are invisible to us unless we can step outside them. Notice how we center the Gregorian calendar, and this makes it hard work for our friends and neighbors and members who have a practice aligned with the lunar calendar. How challenging it is, for example, to celebrate Ramadan in a country that doesn’t include this sacred time in our natural calendar.

Third, I hope to encourage you to notice the impacts of cycles on your own body heart and spirit. I encourage you to take up a practice of noticing natural cycles that are new to you. If you are stuck in a climate conditioned cubical with artificial lighting all day and all year long, noticing the seasonal changes or maybe the moon is something you might notice each day get off work. This time of year can be a great time to watch the sunset. If you are normally in the garden this time of year, perhaps you would like to gaze up at the sky and see what you notice there each time you pause to give your back a break. Noticing natural cycles is a form of contemplative practice- a long loving look at the real. Notice the beauty of each season in turn. Notice when you live in harmony with natural cycles how that feels, and when you have to push against them how that feels.

When I was on sabbatical many years ago at the University of Creation Spirituality, our teacher Larry Edwards encouraged us to notice the cycles of the moon. I explained that the moon was never where I thought it would be, and I was having trouble figuring out where it would be when. He encouraged me to go stand someplace outside each evening at the same time, and just track the moon in the sky. Unfortunately, between the wonderful tree cover, the hills and the fog, I only ever saw the moon a couple of days a month when it appeared in the gap overhead. 20 years later I’m still looking, and though I can’t even remember the basics like “ the new moon rises and sets with the sun, the full moon rises before sunset”, or even what direction to look, the symbolism of waxing and waning has helped me grow in wisdom. Brandi Plaster of MoonCrafted Essentials encourages us to align our own rhythms with the cycle of the moon; there are times to start things, and times to wrap things up. When I have a deep desire to clean out the mud porch, I go with it, and when I am excited to start a new project I start it, and don’t get down on myself for the pile on the mud porch. Sometimes that syncs up with the moon, and sometimes it doesn’t, just as the seasons of our spirits don’t always sync up with the seasons of our eco-system. But I hope each of you will be encouraged to notice what you notice about the cycles and seasons of moon and sun, and those of you who are traveling this spring and summer, I encourage you to notice how those cycles are different in the places and cultures you travel to.

We often mark changes in season here in our Sunday services, -- as a religious tradition do our part in tracking and remembering (or ignoring) larger cycles and patterns. The cycles of the sun show us that there are times of growing and dormancy, of bright warm light and cold delicate light. They remind us that there are shorter cycles and longer cycles that sometimes sync up and sometimes move out of sync. The moon teaches us that things not only grow but become small, that things disappear and return. The cycles of Sun and Moon teach us about impermanence, but also the show us what lasts, helping us imagine the cycles that were repeating long before we were born, and will keep cycling long after our brief and beautiful lives. 

Notes
[i] Notice that it says “appearance” Often if you go to look up the date of a Muslim holiday you get only an estimate on some sources, because some Islamic sects use the actual sighting of the moon, while others use a table to set the dates.
https://islamqa.info/en/answers/170701/the-reason-why-ramadan-changes-every-year-in-relation-to-the-gregorian-calendar

[ii] Musawa c Mother Tongue Ink 2008 [p. 199]

[iii] Modern practitioners and seem to enjoy the mathematical precision of the modern astronomical calendars. We rely not on sighting, but on math and science. (It’s interesting to me that since I don’t do that math myself, I kind of “take it on faith” when the solstices and full moons will be, as opposed to our neighbors who rely on the evidence of their own eyes)

[iv] https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/ceremonies/