Happy New Year! I've chosen the word serenity as my blog theme for 2023. It is inspired in part by the opening line of the famous serenity prayer - "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
Happy Birthday to the Capricorns (Earth Sign) and the Aquarians (Air Sign)! Of special significance this month is the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit (January 22) which occurs in conjunction with the New Moon in Aquarius (January 21). This is a rough time of year for me, not only because winter is my least favorite season, but also, in astrological terms, the sun is in the opposite sign of my North Node Leo and my late summer birthday in mid-September, so I'm a long way from "home." I'm homesick for the sweet summertime, but here is a nice quote about winter that I will be meditating on during these dark, cold days as we await the spring Equinox and the return of the light:
"If you touch the sacred quality of winter inside yourself - that quality of everything returning to its most essential form - you find yourself falling off the end of the mind and into openness. You will start to experience this by not resisting the wintertime and just going with it as it opens you. It can be tremendously revealing, tremendously liberating to just return, return, return...." (Adyashanti, from "Emptiness Dancing")
So the key to serenity in winter....return to what is most essential, surrender and remain open-minded and open-hearted. I do love to see the essential form (the bones/the skeletons) of the deciduous trees in winter when they are aren't covered in leaves. Part of my "serenity practice" during this month will be identifying each day what I consider to be essential and being open to surprises!
The tree of the month pictured above is the lovely witch hazel. It is currently blooming in my garden and has a wonderful scent. It usually blooms around the time of the Chinese New Year and just happens to have yellow blossoms with a hint of red which are the colors associated with the celebration.
In writing news, I am pleased to share that my forthcoming poetry manuscript which is a memoir in verse was named a finalist for the 2022 Wandering Aengus Press Book Award, The winners and finalists were announced on December 23. I am trusting that 2023 will be the year that the book is chosen by a press for publication so I can share the title with you! I am excited that it will fit into both the poetry and memoir genres.
What I am currently reading: "Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy," "The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume IX: Virginia" (I have two poems published in this collection!) and "Pathways to Recovery: Al-Anon's Steps, Traditions and Concepts."
I plan to keep these blog posts short and sweet, to focus on the main astrology events, the holiday and seasonal highlights, plants, trees or flowers of the month, updates on my creative projects, what I am writing and reading, and my serenity practices.
Wishing you all the best,
Wild Honey, aka....Marianne