Saturday, April 23, 2016

Moon Cycles- Lunar Year, Hills, Full Moons, & Solar Observation


Moon Cycles- Lunar Year, Hills, Full Moons, & Solar Observation

The lunar phases of nature have always been relied on by indigenous people as a way to mark (literally and figuretively) the events within cycles of our perceptions of time.  Our ancestors, no matter which world heritage a person comes from, were master astronomers.  In fact they knew things, through a state of knowing, through direct interaction and perception (through various means), that modern astronomers and scientists are now confirming using technology.

Within the cycle of what we today perceive to be a year, there are 13 moon cycles, which makes up the traditional calendar cycle.  The calendar modern people use today is technically called the "Gregorian" Calendar, a revision of the earlier Julian Calendar.  Here is a Wikipedia link- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar  .  We must understand, that this calendar is not a good thing, it was imposed by the Pope of the Vatican Roman Empire in 1582.  As far as I am concerned the modern calendar is a finely sharpened blade brought by Vatican Inquisition.  These calendars and perceptions of time that come down to us through "law" and the Vatican are therefore, fraudulent, and yes, even are poison to the human spirit.

This modern calendar, and many variations of it in other cultures, robs people from a true understanding of the cycles of nature.  By imposing this modern calendar people become detached to the natural world.  Even when they experience a natural wonder (phenomenon), say for instance, camping, they may be in awe of the event (say, the planet Jupiter appearing in the sky which happened earlier this week) but they will not UNDERSTAND the event.  Even so there is a very big difference in the human being's perception and the cycles of nature and the universe between one who knows how to read the phenomenons of the natural world and one simply in awe of it (and worse still, many don't perceive anything at all because they are totally detached from it.)

The calendars of the ancients are written in the hills.  Lunar cycles (full moons) and other solar phenomenons (winter solstice sunrise for instance) are main ways of marking important times in the traditional year.  However, as we saw in the last post concerning the shadbushes (aka juneberries) blooming, there are other ways to tell when to get prepared for certain events and times of the year.  Everything is inter-related. 

If there are several hills and ridges in an area I recommend exploring these places.  The crests of ridges and hills are excellent for solar observation.  If there are stone-works at these places such as concentric rings of propped boulders and Standing Stones, be aware that at least one of the functions of such a site would be for solar observation/ marking a calendar grid.  However, the mythology of the culture is much richer than just a calendar site.  Next, go to the other nearby hills or ridges and see what is there- suppose there are three prominent hills.  Chances are different parts of the hillsides functioned for different solar events and lunar cycles throughout a "year" or even a greater space of time.  It may be opportune to head over to the next hill half a year later to observe a different event.  In this way, the hills are sacred.  The stones are sacred.  All life is sacred.

Above pic: Standing Stones on Burnt Hill, in Massachusetts.           

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