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:

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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.