#ROW80 Lunar Power

February 23, 2015 — #ROW80, new moon, poems, poetry, season, writing #ROW80

ROW80

When I began the #ROW80 journey with fellow writers I had an expectation that I would become a poet by grinding out a poem a day for 80 days.  54 days of this trip are now water under the bridge. I am happy to report that I have not only established a habit and practice of writing poetry, but have learned a lot about creating better, richer written work. Both my plain brown paper wordpress blog and my illustrated poems on Tumblr need new perspectives, interesting characters, and dazzling descriptions of scenes to be more compelling. I am grateful to other writers who have shared works in progress and personal creative systems.  I have been too eager to finish and move on to another brief encounter with poetry to spend a proper amount of time revising and refining my first drafts.  I have rushed as if I had a quota of quickie poems to write, and then I would start creating more meticulous work.  I see the folly in this speed system.  I can only become meticulous by practicing specifically to choose each word above all other words for effect and artfulness.  I am practicing taking more time and trying on subjects I have not used in the past.  So far, so good.  I am going for quality, not quantity.

Lunar cycles are central to agriculture and other businesses that need to work with nature.  I observe the new moon each month with a clean slate for new intentions and projects.  I keep a bundle of marjoram in each of the four corners of my home.  This little charm grown in our garden is used to protect our home from harm, both physical and psychic.  I empty the old herbs and replace them with freshly picked marjoram that smells delightful.  The picking of the herbs includes a little ritual, and I treat the old plant material as depleted magic waste.  I return it to the earth as compost or as mulch in my back yard.  By refreshing these four sachets on the new moon I remind myself to start again on stalled projects, or refresh commitment to ongoing goals.  We have had two new moons during the 80 day challenge.  I do notice a difference in my willingness  to write creatively.  The first new moon found me enjoying the poetry discovery, but not personally applying myself very much to improve.  This second new moon that just passed last week was a commitment to the poetry writing goal, but with a shift in attitude.  The unexpected consequence of meeting writers and learning about their processes and goals is a much higher standard for my finished product.  I have a big realization that bursts of zen poetic flashes are just not sufficient.  The first shot is rarely good, so I need to go back to enhance my initial inspiration, work with my muses, and labor a bit.

Next month the new moon will include a solar eclipse on 20 Mar, 2015.  This event has symbolic implications beyond the normal new moon.  The shadow of the moon is cast on the earth, blocking the sun.  The solar eclipse is a time to turn within and come to terms with any unfinished personal business from the past.  Our 80 day written program will conclude just after this auspicious occasion in March.  I believe this exercise will benefit me long after we stop our check ins.  I think the next new moon will bring unexpected gifts.  We have only to find them and put them to use.

full moon