Lono Season and Makahi Begins

Kalei Nuuhiwa posted the following mana'o on the Hui 'Aimalama FB page (a closed group) last night. I am reposting Kalei's message in its entirety. Mahalo nui loa e Kalei.

 With Kalei's message still fresh in my na'au I dressed warmly and headed to the muliwai where I knew there would be a tide that allowed me

 to walk the shore and be with the new Lono Season ... ho'olono causing me to hear what I was meant to hear.

 The high tides are extreme with the SuperMoon, I chose to walk quietly along the water's edge where the indications of the powerful movement were present as I gave thanks to the Akua, and huli that the new season promises.

 The sun creates clear shades and I notice 'pay attention'. Light and dark in the middle of the day. It was not quite noon when I walked.

The remaining mana'o is Kalei Nu'uhiwa's: 

1. ʻO ke au i kahuli wela ka honua
2. ʻO ke au i kahuli lole ka lani
3. ʻO ke au i kuka'iaka ka lā.
4. E ho'omālamalama i ka malama
5. ʻO ke au o Makali'i ka pō
6. ʻO ka walewale ho'okumu honua ia...

These are the first 6 lines of the Kumulipo and Iʻve spent some goodly amount of years just studying these six lines. There's so many ways that one could interpret them too. There's imagery of what some describe as the big bang, there's imagery of what some describe is the formation of the solar system. Some see a lunar eclipse, others see a solar eclipse, while others see the description of the development of a fetus upon the moment of conception. Some see chaos, some see a hulihia, some see a reorganization of time or of politics. All are correct interpretations. None are better interpretations than the other. It is part of the Hawaiian epistemology of allowing others to connect to the chant and acknowledging that there are multiple realities for each individual.
I will use this pule hoʻolaʻa aliʻi to describe the auspicious evening that we will all be experiencing tonight because the six lines of the Kumulipo can also be utilized to describe what is going to be happening today.
1. ʻO ke au i kahuli wela ka honua
During the time when the seasons are changing upon this earth.
2. ʻO ke au i kahuli lole ka lani
At a time when the atmospheric cycles unfold.
3. ʻO ke au i kuka'iaka ka lā.
At the setting sun when the shadows lean,
4. E ho'omālamalama i ka malama
It is the time when the moon will be extremely lit,
5. ʻO ke au o Makali'i ka pō
During the time when Makaliʻi is rising in the evening
6. ʻO ka walewale ho'okumu honua ia...
Tempting the foundation to begin anew...
Tonight when the sun sets in Hawaiʻi the star constellation known as Makaliʻi will be rising in conjunction with the supermoon. Both Makaliʻi and the supermoon rising hails in the changing of the political season, the recalibration of the Hawaiian lunar calendar and the start of the makahiki ceremonies and rituals. These rituals lasted from 4 days to 1 anahulu (10 days) followed by games and respite from the stringent politics. It is a time to honor those that have passed, celebrate the new year, pay tribute to the government with things produced or harvested, and at the closing of the ceremonies to honor the rites of passage of the young women in the community.The makahiki was normally a time of peace and setting time aside to enjoy life collectively with your community.
Many people have asked me if there was a Hawaiian term for the supermoon and I have to confess that I do not know if they had a special term for this event. But what I do know is that they would have recorded their important observations in chants and prayer, hence my utilization of the Kumulipo to express the Hoʻomālamalama i ka malama, the great luminosity of the moon.
During the season of Lono we can expect rain, thunder, lightning, flooding, huge surf, the arrival of huge storms, several meteor showers, landslides, active volcanoes and earthquakes. So now you know what we can be expecting at the commencement of the rising of the supermoon and Makaliʻi at sunet, yes?
Makahiki is a time when nature demands attention and man sits back and allows the natural processes to carry on. For me it is a very invigorating time.
So, in the spirit of Makahiki during this auspicious arrival of the new season I bid you all great peace and prosperity for a great new year.
E KĪHAIPAINANIOLONO!
LONOIKAMAKAHIKI!
LONOIKAMAKAHIKI!
LONOIKAMAKAHIKI!

Jun Ken Po 2016

E remember jun ken po?

After November 8, 2016 we've come up with a new version to raise a commotion, update the motions and get a new notion. SOLIDARITY means:

Get the whole story here, and then, pass it on while you put a pin in place...

Trumped

I have written my response of grief in The Safety Pin Cafe.  It begins:

"Today we grieve. Tomorrow we fight. Art & activism matter more than ever. So does community. Stay strong."- Terri Windling

"Mars in Aquarius will PROTEST. I'm just not sure people will feel up to it.  They may very well detach in order to deal with their feelings of depression and doom.
Tomorrow the Moon in Pisces will conjunct Chiron in the sign. This is not going to help. Endless, un-healable wound.  Arrgh.
I wish I had something better to say. These next two days will be rough." - ElsaElsa Astrology Newsletter

"Yes, Terri. Today we grieve. In the dark hour of midnight here in the Salish Sea I was shocked to read, "He is president." No amount of Flower Nation Remedy would change that, but I dosed myself anyway. Then I picked up Aurora Levins Morales' book of essaysMedicine Stories..."

Read the whole response here.

Omamori

 We took a drive up the island yesterday and found these clouds lined up across the sky while we

 parked along the Western shore. The three above, were trailing along the three at the top.

Just a few minutes ago I received an email from our friend Eko who has newly moved from Whidbey to live in Portland. When she left, I sent along a safety pin attached to a simple and elegant silver button. "Common magic," I told her.

The message she left me today confirmed that the safety pin was doing what it was intended to do. She said the Japanese word for that was 'Omamori.' Omamori refers to Japanese amulets, talismans and charms commonly sold at shrines for good luck or protection.

This bit of communication was just the talisman of good luck and protection I needed today. My friend's message reminded me of a very special woman who was my source of good luck and protection when I was a little girl. Aunty Lily lived next door and among the many omamori she shared with me were these things: looking to notice and watch clouds (I have never stopped), and listening to her voice when she wrote me saying, "You are a good writer (I have never stopped).

The giant safety pin that dangles a paper Heron is our daily omamori. Common magic. Amulets, talismans and charms to keep life's challenges and struggles in balance. Sometimes we forget the simple and common role of such things.

Arigato Eko-san, you have brought balance to my day,
Mokihana

Home

The three storms of the Full Moon in Aries passed through the Pacific Northwest and have shaken things up for us. The golden wagon, and the little light on the porch feels like home. A subtle and powerful shift has taken place. I've written more about that here.

An update: I'm thoroughly enjoying this feeling of being home. Just a few minutes ago Pete said 'This moon (cycle) has been really good."

I agreed, "New Moon in Libra committing to relationships here, between us, with this community. Believing we can do this!" Mahina is visible in the morning sky a La'au Pau moon. If you would like to read some beautifully written thoughts about home folklorist and fantasist Terri Windling's post "More thoughts on home" is a great read. I've just finished rereading the essay, and for at least the dozenth time finished rereading Windling's Wood Wife for reconnecting with 'home', magic, myth, Ancestors, edges, love.

Pray and Tether Protocol

"We cross borders without regard, ignorant or arrogant of the protocol native to the transitional spaces that take us from this place to that place. Traditions remembered and practiced would maintain and pass along the right things to do, at the right time, and in the right frame of mind. Have we all become wanderers with passports unstamped with the memory of teachings from the Ancestors and Nature? There are rituals to remember and common magic to induce respect and reverence for the beings and places that share this planet." - The Safety Pin Cafe

We have tethered our golden wagon of a vardo, cleared and prepared ourselves for the predicted storms that are moving through most of the western shores of the continental United States. A full moon in Aries approaches, and it makes sense to take precautions and be the balancing act as Satori suggests.

While Pete has applied his practical magic, once again, pushing the wheel barrel filled with potential flying debris, lashed our home and stocked up on batteries and bolts to secure the physical, I applied the other side, the balance to what I am calling the Pray and Tether Protocol. The traditions remembered and practiced, the rituals to remember and common magic to induce respect and reverence for the beings and places that share this planet.

Last year at around this time I began writing a medicine story called Pine Needle Dancers. While we still lived parked in the growing thicket of wild Huckleberries and Wild Blueberries, Salal and the Tall Stands of White Pine, Hemlock, Cedar and Fir the winds and the wet of a Salish Sea sent me more than rain as messenger. 

Last year for the first time in five seasons I noticed and paid heed to the pine needles. There was and is a story of medicine to balance the protocol of practices. When Pete left for a morning of visiting with an old friend I read the weather predictions of storm coming; I did the work of acknowledgement, and began reading aloud (and recording) Pine Needle Dancers so the Pine could hear my voice, and the story written for him.

The medicine story Pine Needle Dancers begins here for you to read. I put it here, press the Publish key, and send love all around. Read it aloud, read it to yourself, or in the company of those who matter most to you. 

Woop!

(If you like the story, I am working on creating a c.d. of this alive recording of Pine Needle Dancers along with a bit of written magic in an envelope to sell. It's a new venture of magic making and practical application rolled into one.)  

Tool Box, or Boxing Gloves?

Temporary tool: a step stool 

The old steps we walked for six years

Astrologically Elsa P. describes this week with these opening lines:

"Mercury in Libra will conjoin Jupiter all week. Expect people to blurt, preach their truth and think they are smarter than they are.
This situation will be exacerbated as our collective big (Jupiter) mouths (Mercury) will be fueled and intensified by the square to Mars and Pluto in Capricorn.
Now if you want to mix it up, fine. But be prepared to lose (Pluto) your social connections (Libra) and status (Capricorn) if you fail to control yourself and hit someone’s sore spot..."

Elsa continues her blog post with suggestions, and directives to her astrological workshops (many of which I have taken). I highly recommend those workshops if you have a few dollars.

Along those same lines, periodically I update the content on the page "What is Makua o'o?" 
I'm doing that now making notes using the 9 Tools of the Makua o'o to reevaluate how this recent move out of the forest and onto the gravel parking lot utilizes those tools.

"The nest of a home we built has been moved, transplanted from the wooded surroundings onto the gravel parking lot just a few yards ... just here to there. I am writing about the small and potent move turning the experiences into art, using the tools of the 21st century to explain while almost unconsciously applying the 9 tools Aunty Betty shared with me. Those tools of  kupuna in the making fit anytime, if I pause to recognize that.

1. Keep a keen sense of observation … NOTICE . Everything starts here. Noticing is not limited to what the eyes see though I am very grateful to be able to see the world with the aid of prescription lens. Sometimes, I don't put on my glasses, or forget where I left them. And then the next tool helps." (click here to read what other notes I've left on 'What is Makua o'o?')

 If you are new to this blog, the basic tools of an elder in training might be useful. A new tool instead of the boxing gloves might be a better choice. I admit, I've used the gloves as often as a tool. But at this age, my husband reminds me as he attempts to set us up with stairs to and from our golden wagon, "We can't afford to fall." The small hard plastic step stool with narrow steps and no rail has been a temporary tool, and solution as we make adjustments. Today Pete is working with his tools to reattach a version of our old wooden steps.

Just any old kind of stairs doesn't work for my highly sensitized body ... wet wood grows mold, my body collapses under mold. The old steps and rail have been washed of mold, and have been drying for the past week. It frustrates Pete to be stopped in his game; his drill is out and primed. I know it's a hard game to play this highly sensitive partnership. He blew when I mentioned the steps might not work.

He came in to apologize for his one-two punch of frustration. "I know honey," I said looking from these keys to his truly sad face. He and I have been at these cross-road so many times before. Without some tools, same tools, new tools, adjusted tools we would have split the sheets long ago.

As it is, we use the o'o (the digging sticks) or recognize the makua o'o is a maturing adult ripening over time; Pete works, I write. He rescues me, I rescue him.

If Elsa's right, refining the use of tools that work for you, for me, for us could be good medicine.