Slack and Spare Change – Taking It All In
“Some go in front while others follow. Some are blowing hot while others are blowing cold.” Lao Tzu
Labor Day weekend in the United States carries an ambivalent vibe. On the one hand, a last blow-out of camping, barbecue and beer for those fortunate enough. On the other hand, it represents the end of summer vacations. The beginning of school and tighter budgets. Back to work in earnest. The last days of vacation until Thanksgiving. The fair relativity of baseball, unbound by time, gradually yields to the linear violence of American football’s dark will to power.
Almost forgotten is the fact that Labor Day is a synthetic holiday, part of a life that no longer engages the cycles of the Earth and skies. It is thus a fascinating synchronicity when the natural world falls into step, waltzing with artifice.
The weekend begins with the waining Moon in Pisces, then ripening across the Aries point. In between we sail, gently tacking down wind as the Virgo Sun gently reciprocates between Venus (30 degrees away in Leo) and Ceres’ daily bread (30 degrees away in Libra). On one side of the boat we let out the sheets and the tiller vibrates with the tension of Sun’s square to Chaos (a TNO in Gemini). On the other side we winch up the slack and coil it carefully on deck, waiting to be let out again. Or if we want to work a little harder, we could maneuver between a simpatico Neptune and Uranus, riding the Eastern breeze from Eris’s sextile and Nemesis’ trine to Chiron, cutting across our deck. At the end of the day we could take in our cloth and drift as we take in the perspective offered by Saturn’s waining Quincunx to the spreading triple conjunction, gathering our courage as clouds pile on the horizon and darkness creeps across the sky.
We have known the impulse forward and many of us have joined with it, there will be others to follow, chances to catch up. We have felt the shift in attitude even as our course remained steady, and for those off keel, there will be opportunities to correct. We have caught the spray and even the rain driven into our faces but it has invigorated us. For those who have taken a chill there’s tea below deck, the support of our crew mates.
The change we asked for is here. The voyage thus far has prepared us for what is to come and taught us to value and trust each other as we do ourselves. Some change (like Mercury’s station retro) will come quickly and we must take care that the bow does not come about from under our feet. Others, (like Pluto’s station forward) will be almost imperceptible, like the insinuation of fatigue on the night watch, and we would be wise to accept relief when it is offered. There will be more change to spare, and we Will pick it up when we find it and share it when needed. And if we can watch our change there will be enough to go around. And if we give our slack, it will be there to take in.
Like the Moon we have ripened to a new go `round. Unlike Luna, the choice of being “we” gives us the ability actually to grow into the next lap, carrying momentum forward, pushing the beat against all odds.
Back with you all for one more on Monday.
Offered In Grateful Service,
Len Wallick
Ahhh, tea below deck. That is how it has been this week for this Pisces.
I’m sensing a choice at hand, Len.
When we are at sea we can feel profoundly insecure – unsettled is understated. Yet there can be a peaceful, rhythmic acceptance and flow if we can embrace it. Lao Tzu indeed.
Will we let go? Or will we reach for the merry-go-round? Letting go means we can reach for newer shores.. I feel it and my desire is to reach for it – not grasp..
Thanks for this piece. Well crafted and eye opening for those in a position to receive. You haved shared your very soul. Great work and what next (after Monday), may I inquire?
Dear Len,
Thanks for this, as now expected, beautiful piece. I am grateful for the calm, strong, steady rhythm in your voice here as I find myself one of those on deck who seems to have missed part of the orientation and is now wondering where the life boats are, exactly. You give me hope that I can correct and catch up, with the help of skilled and loving fellow travelers. Quite a ride.