In this post, I emphasize one of our favorite tenets for the art/life which is that we grow together. Summer is the season to truly expand on this concept in your experience.
click here: watch the 3-minute video
Circadian Wisdom Circle, Drozda
Our keyword for July is Growth. Each year, as we circle ’round the Circadian Wisdom Wheel, we land at this place that is opposite January and the keyword Clearing or Cleansing.
Take a moment and consider the way in which clearing space fosters growth OR creates stress and tension for you. Each pair of opposites creates an energetic tug-o-war. In the spring we begin with the Aries New Moon at the spring equinox. This opens the East Gate to twelve weeks of gaining Clarity, Wisdom, and Brilliance regarding the relationship that we have created with ME. To learn more about this dynamic energy read
The Alchemist’s Handbook by John Randolph Price.
Within the book, Price explores much regarding ways to bring ourselves back into balance. One aspect of his findings is referred to as the ME code. Here the word ME is used in the context of representing the Divine Constellation of ‘all the yous that you have ever been throughout time’ and stands for a wise feminine-masculine balance of BEing that allows us to DO without doing.
During July notice polarities. Observe the push-pull in the pairs of opposites. This might be an internal tug-o-war or you may notice a primary relationship or even the media and social posts bringing your dual nature into your awareness. Experiment by applying the listed keywords. Locate your personal polarity by using your birth month and its opposite. These words are powerful tools for focus. They grant us entry into a treasure trove of possibilities inherent in traveling the length of a natural year.
April – Clarity opposite October – Experience
May – Wisdom opposite November – Death & Rebirth
June – Brilliance opposite December – Strength
July – Growth opposite January – Clearing
August – Trust opposite February – Renewal
September – Love opposite March – Purity
Polarities create tension and that tension is ignition for action. Growth requires that we ACT.
I have been applying the keywords for each moon/month since 1989 when I began supporting the exploratory work of my friend and mentor Robert Kent ‘Buz’ Myers. Buz was a pioneer drawn intuitively to study the phases of the moon and the impact of each of the primary 8 phases that the moon displays month by month in its 29.6-day cycle. He had a high standing in the astrological community until he started to share his work with lunar phases. Suddenly the community that had previously revered his depth of knowledge turned on and ostracized him. His field of astrology saw no validity in recognizing the moon and its pull as in any way germane to the art of reading the traditional planetary phases that astrology explores.
Undeterred Buz invited a small group to begin to track the impact of following the moon as a creative way of working with time. He applied keywords that Sun Bear offered as a way to help us all to sync with natural patterns.
Our band of seekers gathered month after month for a full year, and then the next, and the next, until Buz died in 2000. Before his passing the circle grew and Buz broke down barriers gathering followers across the country. Each year our ‘On Time’ community would meet at a five-star hotel somewhere along the east coast, where for 7 days hundreds of us danced the wheel that I have come to call the Circadian Circle.
The Circadian Circle of the Seasons, Drozda, Mixed media/canvas, 6×6′
As a result of dancing this wheel, I easily evolved all of my work as an artist and educator into this natural time flow. There is a simple beauty and an endless opportunity for discovery when using the focus points of the moon’s eight phases and the monthly keywords. It is a creative tool that provides balance and stability to any endeavor. If you’re curious about collaborating and gaining access to your current creative flow, read here.
Since 2000 I have been creating blog posts and newsletters where I share this exciting way of working with time because in doing so we engage our capacity to ‘be here now’ in a most creative and dynamically peaceful fashion.
Here’s the short video exploring a bit more about ways to sync in with the creative energy of summer.
Summer months naturally invite us to come out and play in the warmth and beauty of nature. This is the twelve weeks to consider our relationships with others, animals, plants, and people; what we call the WE Field.
Having given ourselves plenty of ME time throughout the twelve weeks of spring, we now expand our reach and connect with those around us, seeking out connections that support your sense of belonging, and deepening the relationships that sustain you. In that light, I am excited to share with you my artist-educator friend, Michele Barnes:
Featured Artist:
Michele Barnes
Michele Barnes at the Portsmouth Arts & Culture Center in front of my painting Fox in My Yard
Here is a 20-minute, Michele Barnes Geli Print Demonstration: Gelli Print demo (newly published) when Michele visits my Media Blend Studio at Virginia MOCA.
Recently I have focused my attention on printmaking and mixed media. In the mixed media artworks I have incorporated Linoleum prints that I have worked on in the past. Over the years, I have collected many beautiful and unique papers that I am using to create new artwork.
Michele Barnes
Mixed media collage with linocut incorporated, Michele Barnes, 2023
instagram.com/michelebarnes2365/
Facebook: Michele Barnes
Website: www.michele-barnes.com
As WE move into the twelve weeks of summer, consider ways in which you might move beyond self-focus to connect and celebrate community in the WE field. As Rumi reminds us:
Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrongdoing, there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
As we grow together, consider one idea you can share, a way that you have experienced being supportive of others. Write it into your journal and feel free to also share with us if that feels right for you. This is the natural time to grow where you belong.
