"The irregular French verbs etre (to be), avoir (to have), and faire (to do/make) are the most important French verbs" I recently read on a website. Interesting we call a marketing event where we sell our crafts a 'faire'.
You can say these represent the first three signs of the Zodiac. Aries ‘to be’ Taurus ‘to have’ Gemini ‘to do/make’.
The ‘maker movement’ see website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_culture for an overview is, in some ways, a re-do or re-make of the DIY movement, the ‘back to the land movement’, or just plain know-how. Old wine in new bottles.
Once again originating in the west by people who were basically raised in a throw-away culture and are not feeling guilty about it or realizing they have few survival skills if the shit actually hits the fan. Believe me, in the ‘developing’ world, they already know how to make things, grow food and re-purpose everything. I experienced this first hand while in the Peace Corps in Zaire in the ‘70s. I often felt they had more to teach me….more useful things….than the English I was teaching the elite of the country. But that’s another story.
My grandparents on both sides were immigrants who were basically what we would call ‘peasants’ in their home country. They came here for a better life and brought with them many skills from the ‘old country’ which they relied upon their whole lives. Even here in the ‘land of plenty’, they grew and processed their own food, made clothes, and raised animals besides working.
During the ‘60s when all my hippie friends from the suburbs ran off to live on the land, I went and spent a summer with my grandparents in Pennsylvania and learned from the experts.
So what? How does this relate to the Full Moon in Cancer you might well be asking at this point.
This Full Moon forms a Grand Cross with the nodes in Aries and Libra. These are the cardinal signs…the ones which represent beginnings. The cardinal signs coordinate with the major stations of the Sun signaling the equinoxes and solstices. Corresponding closely with the New Year in the Gregorian calendar, this Full Moon it is the ideal time for a fresh start. I know, I know, usually ‘fresh starts’ are associated with New Moons, but part of my point is….get out of the box you are in and make a new box.
Remember that EVERYTHING beyond nature, is man-made. Laws, religions, infrastructure, education, stuff. Someone had an idea and through his/her marketing campaign, convinced enough others to follow him/her, make the thing, do the thing etc. So YOU TOO can be a maker/doer.
Perhaps your ambitions are not as grandiose as being a world savior etc., but are closer to home. Most people have no idea what they want to do. They feel they are supposed to ‘do’ something, yet don’t know what. Etc. etc. I’m sure you have heard it too. So how do you figure it out?
Haven’t you noticed that many of your best ideas happen while you are washing dishes, on a walk, taking a bath (I have Mercury in Cancer and my best ideas happen while in the tub).
You get the idea. DO SOMETHING…..or MAKE SOMETHING. Get busy. I will tell you with absolute certainty – once you start moving, ideas will flow too.
Last year I remembered how much I love knitting and crocheting, so I started do it again after having abandoned it. While searching for a new pattern book at a local craft store one on soutache jewelry caught my eye. I haven’t made jewelry in nearly 20 years, but the images caught my imagination. I was not interested in adding one more craft to those I already do because I knew it would mean loads and loads more stuff in my already-crowded forest cabin.
But soutache was after me. I dreamt about it and saw visions of my creations in shop windows in Santa Fe!
So I surrendered. I wrote about this briefly last month to justify the lateness of my lunar blog post (and I am making the same excuse this month).
In a short time I was able to set up a new website http://www.silkroadsoutache.com, get selected for a juried show, launch my work at that show (Goddess Crafts Faire), rekindle and rename my Etsy site and now have something that I feel so passionate about, I’d rather do than just about anything except eat.
Doing and making…have always been my salvation. I have used crafts to heal myself, give my life meaning, have fun, meet new people and provide an outlet for my creative energy throughout my life.
I can’t say my mom taught me any of this, because she didn’t. In fact, she thought it was a waste of time and money. One time when she was helping me move and saw all the craft-related materials and books I had, she was extremely critical of my choices. She was a Leo with Aries rising and had a hard time sitting still long enough to ‘make’ anything. She could cook, but you do that on your feet, so that was okay. My mother taught me other things mostly related to social skills, which I have been grateful for. Since I am a natural hermit, my mom made me get up and move when I didn’t want to. I still use my ‘inner Katie’ to get certain onerous tasks, like cleaning out the cat box outside on a freezing January day. When I have to set up my canopy at the Farmer’s Market and greet people to my booth, my ‘inner Katie’ shows up to get me through it. People think I’m really friendly and out-going….that’s what my mother taught me by example. My mother taught me how to show up.
I am basically self-taught or learned by watching someone else do it for many things in my life. This is what the concept of culture is about. Information passed down by a group of people to the next generation. It includes ways of making and doing. American culture in the last few decades has been only about watching.
Okay, back to the Full Moon in Cancer. Cancer rules the fourth house. It is the foundation of the chart and represents the culture you grew up in …including the family and the society. Fundamental ways of living. The opposite sign, Capricorn represents (among other things) how you manifest in the outer world. What you accomplish, your ‘mission’, your career. Mother (Cancer-Moon), Father (Capricorn-Saturn). In EA we open that up to mean Cancer – nurturing parent and Capricorn – protector. Some of us had neither, or had to do it all ourselves. Rather than having parents, we were forced to be parents to our parents for numerous reasons.
Parenting does not come with a how-to manual, so everyone does the best they can. This is the value of ‘a village’. If one or more parent is dysfunctional or falling down on the job…someone else is available…like an aunt or grand-parent.
These days people are hungry for community, having no idea what that means. It doesn’t always mean people like and support you in everything you do. Just ask someone who came from a small town.
Take this opportunity to re-parent your Self. Find your internal mother and father. Talk to them. Ask for their guidance. Listen and evaluate what they say….then DO SOMETHING! Take action. If it fails, try something else. Have a fantastic and creative year. I plan to.
Tips for staying warm in winter: Eat more pepper, chili, ginger, and cinnamon. Even if the air is cold on the outside, your inner fire will be lit. Wear a hat or scarf to bed.
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