Day 4: Sunday Upcycling...Milk Jugs, again

 Our 2ce a month recycling is happening first thing Monday morn, so tonight I started the process of upcycling my pile of milk jugs, as seen here:

Day 3: More about Scorpio, plus upcoming Sag

Day 2: Scorpio Season New Moon Meaning

 Yay...Day 2, and starting off pretty early in the day for me. 

            Aside: part /of why I'm doing this daily writing challenge/mini-resolution is to follow thru on cycles...I'm great with ideas, and sometimes have an issue with starting, but *often* have an issue with follow-up, follow-thru, and/ finishing.

So...why start this challenge on a new moon? What is the meaning of Scorpio, and what is the meaning of a new moon, particularly a Scorpio new moon? Why even follow a lunar cycle at all?

I follow the lunar cycles to stay more in touch with the power of nature...the dance of the spheres (planetary system) and especially of the moon is a large, impactful and yet very personal embodiment of nature: we each have our own experience of our moon, no matter the phase. Moreover, the lunar cycle is a driving force on the Earth: it drives tides, an early way to measure time, (as was the daily rise and set of the sun and moon), and as Chaucer noted, don't wait for anyone. Further, for women, the lunar cycle and women's cycles are sync'd, more or less. Men too, follow their own, though less pronounced, lunar cycles. So aligning our lives with the cycles of nature is wholly logical, and, for me, makes me feel more in tune, tapped into the greater energies, and spiritually expanded.

Within the lunar cycle, the new moon is the beginning, the origination point, the start of the cycle, the seed of what will emerge. In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, the beginning of the cycle, a new beginning. It can be a time to set intentions and/ goals, and begin projects. During a new moon, one can mark the moment with a ritual, or rite, setting intentions for the next cycle of your life. Many mark this time of newness with a ritual bath, washing away the old cycle, cleansing ourselves to be fresh for the coming new experience of this next cycle. As the moon's gravitational force exerts a pull on the tides of the oceans, our internal cell waters may be affected* minutely too. Further, for all the millenia of animal and human lives, the only bright light at night was the moon, and during the new moon, it has always been barely visible, and, by definition, does not reflect light to us, except maybe a fingernail's worth...so it has been a time to stay home, stay safe, nest, if possible, looking forward to new

*However, even though the light is not present, we, like all animals, are probably affected by the lunar cycle: 

...lunar cycle has an impact on human reproduction, in particular fertility, menstruation, and birth rate. Melatonin levels appear to correlate with the menstrual cycle. Admittance to hospitals and emergency units because of various causes (cardiovascular and acute coronary events, variceal hemorrhage, diarrhea, urinary retention) correlated with moon phases....Animal studies revealed that the lunar cycle may affect hormonal changes early in phylogenesis (insects). In fish the lunar clock influences reproduction and involves the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis.    -https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16407788/

Thus the various effects of the new moon phase can affect us; however we can choose our direction forward at this inflection point in our month, setting our direction for embodiment and manifestation to peak at the full moon.

The lunar cycle is about a month (a moonth). The Sun's visit in each sign is also about a month, generally starting on the 21st of the calendar month. So the current Scorpio *solar* season, which always encompasses, appropriately, Hallowe'en, began at the middle-end of October, and will go to the middle-end of November. Meanwhile the *lunar* cycle, which always starts with the new moon in the same sign as the solar, but each phase only lasts 1-2.5 days, thus, this Scorpio new moon in the Scorpio solar season, kicks off a Scorpio-Taurus axis, the full being in Taurus, on Nov. 19, 2021, which happens to be an almost total lunar eclipse and super-moon. The goals and intents of the Scorpio New Moon energy should manifest fully by the Taurus Full Moon.

Scorpio is a fixed water sign; water represents emotion water....

...more about Scorpio in next  post

coming soon: vines & willow, nano, upcycling jugs, leaf preservation

New Moon Seeds: Writing Daily during Scorpio Season

So, years ago, I earned an English Language & Lit degree from a top University Lit department, and also a double minor in Comp. Sci., and in Media Arts, focused on digital arts/new media...*perfect* for a career as a blogger, yes? But I have disappointed myself in my blogging attempts over the years.  I have used various blogging platforms since basically before blogging was a thing (& now since it's 'over', kind of, via social media {though it's not really over: future blog topic!}), and yet I have not been consistent, and disappointed myself in some kind of perfectionism around what I thought I should have been doing/achieving in both career, and in blogging. Even in the past month...I thought I was going to do BlogTober...but...no...did not finish/follow-thru....😐😑😒

However, I just ran across a gorgeous blog FlaxandTwine.com (I think I ran across it years ago, too) while I was researching weaving & basket-making, specifically I was interested in grapevine and willow weaving, and general basketry, and this blog design was so clean and modern, and seemed on point with my interests, so I ended up digging back into her archives. I came across the concept of 'mini-resolutions', 12 per year...which struck me as a thing I could start today, literally I had the thought right as the new moon occurred, on the dot, 5:14 pm! She started her mini-resolutions at the new year, which is the classic time to start, but I'm starting today, right now, because: 

• right now it's after a New Year of a sort, i.e. Hallowe'en, and 
• on the day of a New Moon, 
• specifically...the New Moon in Scorpio...

...it is a great time to finally create this reality. This reality...MY reality...of writing, working as a digital creative, and coder, possibly as a digital nomad, sooner or later. But I have to prove to myself I can do it...so...

SETTING MY INTENTION...planting this seed: Scorpio Season, I will write here (& in other places), including:

• nanowrimo.org
• freecodecamp.com
• New Moon
• November New Moon
• November New Moon 2021
• Scorpio season
• canva's course offerings, like: canva.com/learn/work-plan/
• Lunar Flow
• Moon Phases
• Seed Intent
• Seeds
• Intentions

Looking at Anne's list of 12 mini-resolutions, I'm unwilling to lay out my 12 or 13 moons of the year ahead, as that will defeat the purpose of the lunar flow of my mini-resolutions being set up to their time, but I am interested in some of her ideas for resolutions:

1. Working Out Daily (5 days long, 2 days 10 min); yes, this one (modified from her 'Work out 5 days a week'
2. Write Daily: her 'Consistent Work Plan' which includes Time Management (she includes specific hours for her book in the morning, her blog in the afternoon) but for me this post you are reading is this very seed intention: Writing Daily, starting now, plus my nano writing, since it's November; this may be my Sag moon seed, or maybe will start out now, doing just 10 min daily as a break from writing
3. Probably skipping/subsuming her next 3 'Getting work-outfit prepped daily (shower, make-up, etc.)' and subsuming her 'Top 3 priority list' (blog, nano, code writing for me in my Writing Daily Seeds) and her 'Phone use only between 2-4pm'
4. 15 min. morning meditation...I like this idea; have included it in previous lists I've made, and have done it inconsistently in my spiritual practice, though not sure yet when this seed will be planted again; in a later post, she recommends: headspace.com
5. 'Done list + Gratitude list': Maybe the latter, even the done list if I do a seed about bullet journal posts?
6. 'Make art everyday'...have also tried this, & had it in my previous lists for every moon in each sign (which last about 1-2.5 days), as part of the monthly lunar cycle; not sure when I will include this
7. Probably skipping her next 4: 'Building community', 'No buying things', 'No sugar', and maybe 'Morning journaling' because, laudable as these at this point I'm not sure these are priorities for me, though I *have done* "Morning Pages" previously, and may again
8. - 13.    The other ideas I might try, once I've gotten into the habit of writing daily include intentional audience building using social media, I also like her previous idea of finishing wip's (work-in-progress/de-stash), also gardening daily is an obvious seed for me; maybe yoga daily?, a to-do & ta-da list (a commenter mentioned this) & gratitude list as in #5 if I *don't* do the bullet journal posts; last, but not least, maybe in association with #6 art often, a lunar sign cycle follow & journal &/OR reducing/reusing/upcycling daily  something/a category.

So...here it is...first seed planted, (plus I had to go make dinner in there)...the writing daily blog posted! Now off to work on nano, & some coding too!