"Hawaiians are notoriously adaptive"

The quote used to entitle this post comes from a TEDx presentation "Hawaii's Legacy of Literary" given by Puakea Nogelmeir, Hawaiian scholar and teacher of the Hawaiian language. Today is 'Ole Kukahi, the first of the three phases of the Hawaiian Moon Calendar where review, rest, restoration (along with weeding, repairing and editing) are worthy practices. I've done a little weeding, and yesterday pruned back my wildly advancing raspberries so the scarlet runner beans can get more sun. A wheel barrel is filled with weeds, and my hair is freshly washed and drying because it is a beautiful summer day in the Pacific Northwest. I have a story and a printed version of it in the making. The words are more finely tuned through editing, and now I have to learn to format it using new software. The story and book is a completely one-woman show ... I have a lot to learn, and every day I learn how my kupuna with their legacy of literary have been helping me all the way along. When I think I can't ... they come and show me how it was done before. And I keep at it.

Listening to Puakea speak, and seeing the mountain of literary described in his presentations restores my energy. I need that. The layers of meaning that comes from a simple story is what excites me, though I wonder who will get the many meanings? Patiently, and sometimes not so patiently, I write the story and take the medicine that is a flow of consciousness ... the words don't rhyme but the meanings are metaphoric and literal and then I find more meaning because the rubble of hidden treasure is busting open. Here. There. A pin folding one end of the meaning to the sentence hungry for connection. 

It's an 'ole moon and rest brings restoration. Listen to the treasure of the notoriously adaptive Hawaiians.

Busy with YOUR business

 

Mouse Woman: Dean Hunt

We were in the Quonset this morning, Pete was on the phone and I was hungry for breakfast so I was dishing up oatmeal. I need a little protein to eat with every meal something new to my food plan and part of the things that make for a changing way of taking care of my old(er) woman body. The lid on the almond butter I was after was locked tight. Motioning to Pete I asked for his help, even while we was talking. The man is a master at multi-tasking and admitted that when he has little or nothing to keep his fingers and hands busy he is a maven and a mischief maker (for himself and others).

Pete and I often refer to the narnauk Mouse Woman who has become one of our favorite akua of this place. Artist Dean Hunt, Heiltsuk, (and the artist of the work posted above) names and describes Mouse Woman this way:

---

MOUSE WOMAN:
"Mouse woman helps people, especially youth who are in trouble. She appears to those who require her help and gives them advice to remedy the situation they are in. In exchange for her help the person should gift mouse woman a piece of wool through the fire. Mouse woman will quickly retrieve the piece of wool from the flames before it is burnt and immediately start unraveling it with her busy little fingers. This pleases her and thus her gift has been repaid and everything is balanced. Mouse has appeared to me through out my journey usually in times where I have been in trouble and was unaware of the danger I was in. Through the spirit of this tiny creature the bind I was in, was revealed before the situation became unavoidable. Mouse Woman has helped me many times and for this I am forever grateful. This painting is a dedication to her, and her infinite spirit of compassion."

I discovered the stories of Mouse Woman this winter in a small volume written by Christie Harris called The Mouse Woman Trilogy. The stories and the lessons, and the introduction to the tiny creature spirit, Mouse Woman have seeped into my bones now. My own tiny fingers feel her when it is not my business I am busy with ... and perhaps it is not the right or proper use of my time, or energy? Well ... on with the story of being busy with what is your (or my) business. Astrologically, the planets this summer and for the next 2 yrs. are busy with Saturn lesson giving with regular boosts of "mutual reception" from the planet Pluto (or in some circles, the energy of Pele, goddess of fire and maker of new land). I thought it was worth some time to pin together some thoughts and stories to make the best use of the precious present (time and energy).

"Have you noticed this? If you sit and do nothing, wait to be rescued, you’re in deeper trouble by the day." - Elsa Panizzon

" For those of you who don’t know much about mutual reception, it’s a connection that forms between two planets when they’re each traveling through the zodiac sign that the other planet rules. In this instance, Saturn is in Scorpio, the sign ruled by Pluto, while at the same time, Pluto is in Capricorn, the sign Saturn rules.

" The Saturn in Scorpio/Pluto in Capricorn MR (mutual reception) will last for the entire 2 ½ years that Saturn is in Scorpio. Given that the time between Pluto’s stays in Capricorn is 248 years and Saturn’s tour of the zodiac lasts 29.5 years, the odds that Saturn would be in Scorpio at the same time that Pluto is in Capricorn are very slim. This is an extremely rare and potent combination, but every single child born on the planet in that 2 ½-year interval will have it. - Donna Cunningham

Personally,  the work I need to update is my older woman role/work/career along with the feelings of oppression that comes from ancient memories. (Saturn is in my 10th House-Public Reputation) / Capricorn is in my 12th House) to transform (Pluto 12th House /Scorp 10th House). How do I do this? For me, it means grounding (Capricorn) myself with help that is trustworthy and reliable. I seek out a trusted collaboration to address my health issues of high blood pressure in ways that fit my cosmology, my epistemology. Deep and unseen support come from my dreams, and from the memory that comes from the elements. My options are very different from many, but not unlike some who view life with a long view. It's not easy, but it's working slowly (like Saturn) and if I use the next two years wisely I make come away with more practical magic to add to my sewing basket.

How do I work with this transforming life? I write. I write the mythic memoirs that weave things together into story and put it out there, under the awning, and in The Safety Pin Cafe.

  “Whether you’re changing with the world or not can determine whether your practice lives or dies,” Kekuhi says. “We choose to live, and we choose to evolve, based on the principles and philosophies of our grandparents and their grandparents.” But even when the kumu are being at their most innovative, she says, “the style and the discipline and the ritual that goes into the preparation is the same. We don’t compromise those things, ever. The chants from long ago, Kekuhi says, are the “treasure chest of information” that the current generation of kumu refer back to. “But my grandmother forced us to make sure that we also make some contribution to that treasure chest,” she adds, “so it doesn’t remain only a pile of old chants, but is a continuing practice.” - Kekuhi Kanahele-Frias

The telling and retell my my story (from the 12th House with Pluto in Capricorn) heals the old, deep wounds slowly. Fairy tales with a trans-Pacific under-tone is what I'm after. There's nothing quick about Saturn and Pluto is deep. While I write, I research and read:

Pualani Kanakaole Kanahele writes

(from the chapter "Huaka'i Hele" Migration) "This section offers a significant description and explanation of migration. Especially noteworthy is the fact that the chants desribe the migration not of people or animals but of elemental forms--namely, the outpour of Pele. This literature was composed by people who understood the movement of magma and its spatial impact. In today's language, the composers understood their geological habitat and the weather system it affected in the space above, below, and laterally. the composers provided nomenclature to weather systems and earth changes; the contributory was Pele, or eruptive phases. These mele huaka'i inform the reader of the movement of lava from one homeland to the next."

Gleaning and absorbing the instructive lessons from this research, I take a stand to learn as much as I can about myself, my roots, and the "elemental forms ... of Pele" and eat the lessons to make my business palpable. Can I feel it deeply? Can I make the changes and write with the elemental influences? It's possible, and what was it Elsa said?

Two years (more of Saturn in Scorpio)... a drop in the bucket. Or, time well spent satisfying your bucket list.

Félicitations pour votre mariage

Our son, Christopher Kawika and Laurence Gilbert have successfully navigated the process for marriage in France. We wish them a grand life with moveable feasts and journeys worth taking. We wish we had been there to witness the union. But always we are there with love, love, love

... E kolu mea nui. Welcome to our family, Laurence!

Love,
Mom and Pete

Mercury is direct this week, but oh what a time!

"Expect people to project on to others this week, to the extreme...

 People will project their shadow, of course. They will also project their luck, their vision, their anger and their good judgement.

This is a week where whores and virgins can and will be confused."
Elsa P.

Mercury's three week retrograde changes gears today (Saturday the 20th) and that means thinking and projects needing extra attention to details can begin to move forward. However, it's a week where those hall of mirrors can throw a monkey wrench in the works. Elsa P gives a clear caution in her post and quote above. I know exactly what Elsa's talking about with projecting the shadow of my own extremes onto those closest to me. Like a volcano!

What I take from my astrologer's caution is the light and the possibility that I could project, and receive the luck, vision... and the good judgement in and amongst the chaos of the shadow and the anger. Energy is neutral until directed. Later today Pete and I are packing up a cooler (with marinated chicken wings and salads), taking the ferry across the pond and driving into Seattle for Bon Odori. The annual celebration of life, and a time to recognize and remember the dead, Bon Odori, or Bon Dance is something we have loved being part of. When we lived in Hawaii we began dancing with friends and strangers, joining the Japanese style street dances in a spirit of joyful companionship. If energy is neutral until directed, I am hoping that my ego is porous enough to allow for joy to fill in the gaps and give myself and others a break this week.

Last night update: Bon Odori was fantastic fun. The faces, families, the voices and the dancing. Just what we needed. Such a great time!

How about you?

Kuleana Project: Artist Interviews

These are the 'Ole Moons (link to a wonderful digital book  about Mahina and the Hawaiian methodology for tracking time and living time created by the Edith Kanakaole Foundation), not a good time for planting or fishing; a perfect time for review and weeding and mending nets and correcting errors.

The video included with this post expands on a previous blog post. Hear and see the artists involved in creating Project Kuleana for insight into contemporary Kanaka (Hawaiian) living and growing truth, pono and excellence.

"Control every outcome; miss a lot of magic?"

Saturn in Scorpio (2012-2015 transit) "How can I become an expert at exploring a labyrinth of powerful information, some of it hidden within me? How can I remember that if I try to control every outcome I will miss a lot of magic?" - Intuitive Astrology, Elizabeth Rose Campbell

Projected Labyrinth

More about Saturn in Scorpio from Cafe Astrology
-"The challenge will be releasing our fears and anxieties and expressing them without fear that we may be giving up our power in so doing. By denying our dependencies, we restrict ourselves. Saturn might require us to let go of one or more dependencies on others, a source of financial support, or an addiction. While this may initially feel extremely uncomfortable, ultimately we in fact gain a sense of personal empowerment."

Saturn is direct now. What? What that means if you are conscious of the labyrinth of connections that include the pull of the heavens (all that is beyond what we see ... the controllable) is the planet Saturn's migration no longer appears to be going in reverse. What Saturn governs (time and lessons to tend to over time) is moving forward now. Saturn in Scorpio moves through the Tenth House of my chart. It's the public reputation, and "career" house.

"... You need to feed your vision of what is possible, and vow to never allow yourself to be drawn into a situation that is defined by boredom, pettiness or the mere obsession with money ever again. In the weeks and months ahead you’re likely to discover that you have the capacity not just for a spiritual level of consciousness, but also to live as if that were the one thing that’s the most true about you." - Scorpio Horoscope for July, 2013 Eric Francis

Several wonderful connections and clarifications are happening in my life now. I use astrology and my on-going practice as makua o'o to navigate the labyrinth Elizabeth Spring refers to in the first quote about. Yesterday I was asked to visit a stone marked labyrinth laid out on a former meadow within a large spot of land. It is not far from where we live, and the land and labyrinth is used by many people each year. My kuleana is not labyrinths, but I do have a great respect for and affinity with pohaku, stones. There are questions about the labyrinth; its history and usage seem to have a story that is either fractured or in complete. Perhaps, the protocols of asking and listening have been mislaid. I was asked to ask. That is all I did. I asked, and fed the vision of what I found possible. It was not about making money from a 'consultation' but was instead a way to honor the stones and the place.

I chose not to enter and walk the labyrinth yesterday. Instead my chant E HO MAI was done at the foot of the labyrinth. My voice the gift. I stood with the woman who had asked me to come. She stood, I asked. The thing that happens when the protocol of permission is practiced with respect, is there is room for magic. If there is control that is needed the preparation is the discipline. So I bathed before, asked permission to take a sacred leaf as protection, and carried a stone from my part of the earth. The listening took time. Time was given. I noticed. The stillness around the labyrinth was visited by a very soft wind that only stayed on the hillside at the head of the labyrinth. Gentling the wind made her presence know. Later, I would acknowledge her.

The woman, the caretaker of the land, and I sat after the chanting and talked. She, the caretaker, has kuleana, responsibility. And she understands kuleana is multi-layered. She is a good listener. There are many people to involve in her daily undertakings. I shared my thoughts and observations and made suggestions. I posed questions, and left her with the la'i, the sacred leaf. I was honored to have been asked. She was thankful for the insight. When I returned home, I took a long warm shower to disconnect from the energy of the experience; the all important part of connections. My friend and gardener who invited my husband and I to the land and introduced me to the caretaker left me with that essential piece and protocol for connections: disconnect. When things are done. Wash it off. When the call is over, unplug. My friend's insight made me think of Lily Tomlin ... always room for joy and a laugh. Magic.

Mercury IS Retrograde, not Mercury IN Retrograde: Helpful uses for this time

"Mercury REtrograde periods are a natural and even helpful recurrent cycle, totaling no more than 70 days each year—it is part of the natural rhythm of life, just like the seasons. At these times, we get the opportunity to REthink, REview, and REvise our thinking and our written and spoken communication. If we use it to REexamine the flow of our work and our day-to-day lives, these little mishaps can teach us something about Right Action...PS. Helpful hint: If anyone tells you that Mercury is IN retrograde, feel free to ignore their advice.  They clearly don’t know Jack about astrology, or they’d say that Mercury is retrograde." - Donna Cunningham 

Ha, ha, ha. That, to set the record straight, is why I am an avid, and still-learning student of astrologer, and not, an astrologer. I am guilty of using the 'IN' word. I stand corrected and thank my former writing pal,astrologer Donna Cunningham, for the edit. The current Mercury Retrograde cycle began June 26 and lasts through July 20. The complete post on Donna Cunningham's blog is great information if you're looking for inspiration for using the energy of Mercury's retrograde. Link to the post above.

"... the early part of this retrograde period should be fairly smooth.  Enjoy it, because ’round about July 15th, which will be the last week of the retrograde period, things are going to get real sticky. This is because Mercury will get caught up with Uranus and Pluto at that time. Mercury turns direct on the 20th and he’ll clear out of this mess a few days later. This period (roughly between July 15th-23rd)  is jacked enough, it makes sense that you lower your expectations. People are going to be pressured and popping off, dealing with problems they could not have predicted...-Elsa P.

Regular readers here on Makua O'o know that ElsaElsa is my astrology homebase, I visit Elsa and Satori daily. What I count on from these women is the broad and the detail view of astrology in my real life. Mercury is retrograde in the sign of Cancer, and for me, the retrograde takes place in my 7th House of relationships, especially the intimate ones and the partners that I may be considering. I've an intimate relationship with a husband who is Cancer-Sun with lots of Gemini, and Virgo-rising. It helps me to know the potential for the sticky and volatile energy. No, it doesn't mean freeze in fear, but it does remind me to use the energy ... step aside (hard for a hard-headed Scorpio with lots of Capricorn) but that's where being an elder in training keeps me humble and less inflated with hubris, or is it that cowlick that's acting up again?

Riding to the New Moon in Cancer, Monday, July 8, 2013

" Saturday night the Moon in Cancer, its home sign, conjuncts Jupiter and trines both Saturn and Mars. This is the ride up to the new moon and it lights up the grand trine in water as a delicious prelude. Moon to Neptune is dreamy and Moon to Saturn is solid. Isn’t it romantic, okay? It’s an opportunity to feel the possibilities, the soaring fantasy of your dreams and the solid support of reality. It’s also a time to experience joy and hope and the feeling that you can make these dreams real. Whether or not that’s true, who knows. But it can feel true, so why not enjoy it?... - Satori

The New Moon in Cancer begins the newest cycle of possibilities. In the sign of the crab, the nurturer, it means a lot for my family so I look close to home and notice. The effects of the New Moon in the houses of astrology offer this for my family:

• 7th house – Nurture your partner
  
• 10th house – Communication in the workplace

"Nurture your partner" ... there's my clue for Monday's New Moon in the 7th house. "Communication in the workplace" ... both my husband and son will have the New Moon in their 10th house.  I can see how valuable it is for me to nurture my husband who cares for a lot of people in our community. He's got many irons in the fire, so I get that home base is precious space. It's easy to love him, keep him fed, and fuel us both at the same time. Time has taught me what Satori is talking about "to feel the possibilities, the soaring fantasy of your dreams and the solid support of reality. It’s also a time to experience joy and hope and the feeling that you can make these dreams real."

The New Moon, Hilo, in Kaulana Mahina (The Hawaiian Moon Calendar) is a time when fishing is good. A dark night sky the fish will be feed, and a wise fisher person will know which fish feed and where. Hilo moon is not a particularly good planting moon, the water within plants will not rise with growing energy. So wait to plant. See how this might apply to fishing and planting in your life?

Where will the New Moon be in your chart?

`A`ole a`e kau i ka pûlima Ma luna o ka pepa o ka `ênemi Ho`ohui `âina kû`ai hewa I ka pono sivila a`o ke kanaka

"No one will fix a signature

 To the paper of the enemy

With its sin of annexation

And sale of native civil rights"

(The English translation)

- Kaulana Na Pua

"Though the light feels like fall, the calendar says Fourth of July – the day that Americans embrace gunpowder and alcohol to celebrate their independence from colonialism, which they later inflicted on Hawaii, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and the "minor outlying islands."

-"Liberty and Justice for All" Kauai Eclectic, Joan Conrow

It's important to recognize the value of freedom in the light of a clearly revised history once you come to know it. With a big blast of what could only be an 'illegal' burst of fireworks not far from the Quonset, I sit at this electronic communication and let the kupuna say it. Kaulana Na Pua. Joan Conrow is always there on Kauai to remind me the battle continues. The duality of humanity is no more explicit than is this day: we celebrate the birth of a loved one, Pete; and say," 'A'ole a'e kau i ka pulima Ma luna o ka pepa o ka 'enemi Ho'ohui 'aina ku'ai hewa I ka pono sivilia a'o ke kanaka." (the translation into English begins this post.)

Happy Birthday, Pete

Moonlight Lady

"Moonlight Lady eyes dark as the midnight sky
Not too many men forget your smile.

Moonlight Lady arms strong as the valley walls
Not too many men forget your touch.

You work in the fields by day
In the sun while your children play
River sings their lullaby
And rainbows fill their youthful eyes.

Moonlight Lady voice like a running stream
Not too many men forget your song.

Moonlight Lady skin warm as the noon day sun
Not too many men forget your soul."

Lyrics by Carlos Andrade and Pat Cockett
Music by The Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band, Blah Pahinui sings lead

When I'm 64

The Beattles, Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?

You'll be older too
And if you say the word
I could stay with you

I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?

Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight
If it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck & Dave

Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?
Ho!

Mars and Kuleana: raw, thrusting responsibility to self and the living earth

I am a curious woman. Long a lover of books, and grateful to be able to read the paper versions again, I dig into Pualani Kanahele's Ka Honua Ola, and continue to glean the clues from her grand works. Today's post gathers and pins together the life work of Hawaiian scholar, hula kumu and elder Pua Kanahele; Pua's daughter, Kekuhi Kanahele-Frias, writer, author and earth activist Barry Lopez and astrologer Elsa Panizzon. Makua O'o they express their kuleana (responsibility) openly and passionately with a Mars flavor to it. Starting with Elsa's recent post about Mars, the gathering begins...

"Mars is a yang energy. It’s raw and male and thrusting. If you deny this energy expression, it becomes twisted and perverted and bad things happen. Disowning your Mars energy is one of the worst things you can do. Nothing good comes of it, that’s for sure. Have you ever heard someone say, ‘It’s eating at him?” That’s Mars energy that’s turned in when it should be expressed outwardly.

Pua Kanahele writes, "...[This book, Ka Honua Ola] is a resource for Hawaiian cultural information regarding rituals, place names, events, processes, and formulas that can--and should--be a foundation for diverse occupational lifestyles. This occurs as the ancestral cadences move the reader to heightened engagement with traditional Hawaiian perspectives and practices for ka honua ola--the living earth. The mele in Ka Honua Ola reveal that word and sound have substance; the reverberation of traditional mele into today's settings creates a venue for activation. A young genealogist will begin to see the wider ecological context of her lineage. A hula dancer will find the proper protocols and attitude for approaching and entering certain places. An environmental scientist will discover that his methodologies and findings are just beginning to catch up with the knowledge Hawaiians have had for centuries. The intent of Ka Honua Ola, therefore, is to expose Hawaiian mele as a pursuit of knowledge."

Scenes from Hanau Ka Moku

Leslie Lang interviews Pualani Kanahele and daughter, Kekuhi Kanahele-Frias

"There’s a scene in Hanau Ka Moku("Birthing the island" The stage presentation and hula)—which the troupe recently performed at the Smithsonian and the international Celebration of Sacred Dance and Music in Greece—in which Kekuhi’s husband, Kaipo, wears a black, tailed tuxedo jacket along with his malo (loincloth) and lei. The unexpected costume embodies a principle that Kekuhi says her family feels very strongly about: the idea that traditions must continue to evolve. She illustrates her point by describing a dream an uncle of hers once had, in which the family was conducting a workshop on a new lava flow at the beach. A man in a malo appeared and led them behind a stone wall, where he had a “full-on computer set-up.”

“Whether you’re changing with the world or not can determine whether your practice lives or dies,” Kekuhi says. “We choose to live, and we choose to evolve, based on the principles and philosophies of our grandparents and their grandparents.” But even when the kumu are being at their most innovative, she says, “the style and the discipline and the ritual that goes into the preparation is the same. We don’t compromise those things, ever. The chants from long ago, Kekuhi says, are the “treasure chest of information” that the current generation of kumu refer back to. “But my grandmother forced us to make sure that we also make some contribution to that treasure chest,” she adds, “so it doesn’t remain only a pile of old chants, but is a continuing practice.”

"[Barry] Lopez is, to my mind, the most important living writer about wilderness. And the defining quality of a wilderness, for Lopez, is that it make us "stumble". It removes a step from our stairs. In so doing, it draws our attention to the "narrow impetuosity" of our human schedules... Perhaps the best way to think of Lopez is as a postmodern devout. His prose - priestly, intense, grace-noted - carries the hushed urgency of the sermon. Irony and ambiguity are not in his repertoire. His is an unshadowed style, "transparent as a polished windowpane". For some readers, this urgency is too much. Jonathan Raban, in his fine book Passage to Juneau (1999), describes how he tried to read Arctic Dreams , but had to set it aside, feeling scolded. "I found myself," Raban remarked, "an agnostic in his church; embarrassed, half-admiring, unable to genuflect in the right places ... aching for more profane company."- Robert Macfarland writes about Barry Lopez

Most recently Lopez has written a very personal, and early experience with Mars' expression perverted and twisted. The essay which was published in Harper's is not an uncommon early experience with Mars, but is nonetheless harsh and imprinting. Lopez says about the story "Sliver of Sky", " This piece is the hardest he's ever written. The advantage that I had," he says, "is that I've been a writer all my life, and I had somebody at Harper's — Chris Cox — who was an exceptional editor, who could do what I could not do, which is I could not find and hold the emotional distance that I needed from this material in order to write about it in the way that I thought I had to, which is, in the end it's not about me, it's about us."

"Where is your Mars, and how do you express it?" asked my astrologer. Excellent question. I consider the answers, gather experiences that answer deeply and fashion my own here and that is why I count on astrology as one way to navigate a life as makua o'o. And you?