i've been playing around with a minor mixture of free-motion machine embroidery and hand embroidery on some scraps intended to become a greeting card for a friend with wildwood affiliations, and since there is a blue moon mounting in a few days, it seems to have become a focal point in this little dalliance. why the coneflowers decided to join the party in deep indigo frocks is beyond my understanding. ha!
meanwhile, another friend was asking me why i have such a strong affiliation with lunar cycles and with full and new moons in particular. she seemed to be under the misunderstanding that this sort of "stuff" was for pagans and so forth. but to buddhists, there is special "religious" significance especially on full moon days as many important and outstanding events are said to have occurred on these days. the buddha (referring to the gautama buddha) was born on a full moon day. his renunciation took place on a full moon day. his enlightenment, the delivery of his first sermon, his passing into nibbana, and many other important events associated with his 80 year lifespan all took place on full moon days. because of this, buddhists around the world tend to look more intently at their own spirituality and practice on full moon days. in many buddhist countries, full and new moon days were once declared to be public holidays. in some, this practice is gaining popularity once more.
of course, i live in a country with a very diverse spiritual and cultural panorama so i doubt i shall be getting a day off work every 14 days anytime in the near future. ha! but i still enjoy marking the cycles of the moon and the moon has a prominent place in my art and consciousness. perhaps it's time for me to revisit rabbit moon for the next few days...
namaste'
Aaaaah what a lovely card !
ReplyDelete(have been "away" for a long time so needed to do some catching-up here ;-) !)
Many happy full and new moons (with or without a day off .....)
thank you, els! :) so glad to see you back! hope you had fun catching up!
DeleteEven if I knew nothing of what you shared about the moon and lunar timing I could
ReplyDeletetell you that I always know if the moon is full just by the way I see people behave and how it affects me. I can remember many restless nights of sleep due to a full moon when I was younger. I too see a great spiritual connection and "timing" to the moon. Thank you for sharing : )
yes. i have a long history with the moon and moon-lore. i agree wholeheartedly with you on being able to tell is the moon is full (either bright or dark) just by the way people behave. i see it even more intensely working with alzheimer and dementia patients! there is much meaning behind the origins of the word lunacy! ha!
DeleteThanks for sharing the information about the buddhist - moon connections. Lovely Blue Moon card :) When my son was born the nurses were telling me about the full moon bringing More babies!
ReplyDeleteisn't it amazing...all the connections to the moon?
DeleteFull moon must have been something else, shining "bright as day" before we filled our bits of the world with so much extra light mustn't it?
ReplyDeleteyes. can you imagine the wonder of its light back then? the stories it evoked in minds not cluttered with sitcoms and "reality" shows?!
DeleteThe "Lunar Men" met on Mondays nearest the full moon each month as it made it easier for them to get to and from their meetings. Though they were part of creating this world so full of distractions that we live in now, I love the thought of them tramping through simpler times in C18th rural England, searching for scientific truths by the light of the moon.
Deleteoooh, kat! i was not aware of the "lunar men". thank you. of course, now i'll be tramping off into the world wide web to find out more about them! ha! felines have little on me when it comes to curiosity!
DeleteThanks for inspiring us.Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteEmbroidery designs