Total Eclipse of the The Sun

The Tides they are a Turning

A small group of us held a sacred ritual on Big River Beach Sunday, July 11th at the same time of the total solar eclipse. Only visible in the Chile, Argentina and Peru, the moon blocked the sun for a time and certainly appeared more powerful than the sky king. How symbolic! Now some might say, a solar eclipse? So what? As if to suggest that universal, cosmic events are unimportant, folderol, and fiddle-de-dee.

It seems a bit arrogant to me to think the intelligent design, the precise chemistry and balance of the universe, our perfect solar system, which affords us life on earth has no influence in our oh so very important existence. Many of the rulers of the past related themselves to the Sun. The patriarchy claims the sky as it's domain; think, "our father who art in heaven." The most obvious connotation is that when a boy child is born he of course is the "son". Well, being a lover of linguistics and divine metaphors, as you know I am. I must act accordingly.

In acknowledging the metaphor of the feminine moon eclipsing the masculine sun, we give credence to idea that using ritual, in tune with the forces of nature, will bring radical change, challenging the patriarchal rule of that has dominated our planet for thousands of years. As the moon eclipsed the sun, the new moon went into Cancer.

Some say astrology and numerology is a bunch of hooey, but when I reflect on the calendar and recent catastrophic events like the invasion of Iraq on the eve Spring equinox in 2003, or the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon on 4/20, I think there is a method to the madness. 911 certainly has, and always will have, enormous numerical significance. So, on 7/11 (connotation noted), we hitched a ritual of weeping and wailing to a truly physical phenomenon in our cosmological cycle. The act of doing so gives us context for the arc of our revolution, which is a movement to find balance on planet earth.

The sign of Cancer is about home. Women have a traditional connection to the moon. It is ancient and aligns us with nature's rhythms as we experience our menstrual cycle. In fact, some women indicate they are bleeding by saying they are on their "moon" or "moon-struating." Maybe you've heard of the moon hut, a term referring the place where women retreat to use the power of their cycle to dream, to prophesize, to nurture and refresh themselves.

The tides rule us all, yet as women, our wombs, like the sea, are the environment for life to come to fruition. Humans are undeniably ruled by water because we are full of it. Our bodies are over 60% water. We are all deeply involved in that way. No one can deny it. It is time to raise the feminine "yin" dark, watery presence to her rightful position. Really-- what else on earth are we supposed to do to address these overwhelming crises? Well, for one thing, having a good cry is the first step toward our own well being. Sorrow is a natural response to the dire circumstances of war and oil disasters that humanity and our other living relatives are facing.

So our circle of women had a good cry, in reverence, in grief, and in awe, as we stood in the presence of our Mendocino Coast's precious green, healthy, mystical, living, giving ocean. Our salt tears filled to the brim with pain, compassion, remorse, gratitude, as we called out "We hear you." We hear Our Mother calling out. We hear dolphins, whales, turtles, krill, and coral beds. We feel their suffering, in our wombs, and in our bloodstreams, and we hear the call. Our friend, Lisa Denning, whose underwater film exhibit, Ocean, came to Oddfellow’s Hall this weekend, provided us with a truly intimate chance to see, and virtually swim, with the dolphins she filmed off the coast of Oahu.

We discussed the tragedy of the Gulf Oil Leak. Lisa said that dolphins are highly intelligent species, and they are mostly evacuating the premises, but there are those pods that are sacrificing themselves. They are swimming through the oil plumes to make a stand, to reach out to us, to see if we notice, if we react. If we change. We have no one to answer to but them. And we did.

In closing the ritual, our circle of women stood on the sand at the edge of the water. One of our sisters said, "The tides are turning." And sure enough, as she uttered her prayer intention, the tide instantly turned. We all got our feet wet and we had to laugh. Such is the nature of things. I then took out a bottle of essential oil in a blend called Hope. I dripped one drop of hope in the ocean and it rippled into the waves. That vibration touched every molecule in our oceans and resonated in our bodies. Believe it or not, it's all the same water. If there's anything that makes us one, it's water. Holy water, blessed water, sacred water.