The Moon Dances

The Moon Dances to her own rhythm. As the crescent in the days before becoming ‘New’, when she is invisible to us, the dark of the Moon, she rises just before dawn. How unusual to see her rising above the trees just a short time before the Sun. Her entire movement of phases, one of her months, lasts just 29 1/2 days.

Since we follow the Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, each month has a usual 30-31 days. Except February, which is the short month of the year, with only 28 days normally and 29 in a Leap Year. This calendar was built to get the Equinox, Easter, and Solstices marked when they really occur.

But Moon doesn’t care. She is the goddess of the water, the fluid mover who appears 13 times a year. Moon governs the tides, the currents, the flow of each of us. Our bodies are so much water! Therefore, She needs her own calendar. Plus, every 3 years there are 2 Full Moons in one month! That second one is called the Blue Moon.

I was so intrigued by a photo from a distant relative showing the image above. I had to interpret it my way. Instead of a pale sun, I made this crescent moon rising before dawn to mark the time of it’s creation. In addition, that’s what all my moons are in my paintings. They are the ones I actually see in the night sky. This connects me to the Universe, to this moment, to this cosmic movement in time.

New Moon Rising takes in so many things I have learned up to this point of time. I don’t agree with the idea of approaching every piece of art as an amateur. Everything I’ve learned, every belief I hold, every experience I’ve had, changes me. I can never go back since I’m a different, and hopefully a better, person than I was.

So I started by drawing out the image with watercolor crayons. They offer many colors, will blend with water or paint, and can be changed along the way. I interpret the place by moving things around, shifting colors to those I love, and scribbling in tones as a base layer. I put brown in the lower left. Then, when I painted over the whole thing with acrylics, that brown influenced the blue paint turning that section into a rich tone of depth and interest.

The Moon Dances with the Sun and Earth as She Rules over winter skies.

I love the brilliant crisp moon and all her blanket of stars and constellations that soar overhead as the nights lengthen and temperature fall. As I flow into the Fall changing season, I curl up by the fire and read, create, and dream more. I’m still in healing mode, so this resting time, connects me to the quiet time of Earth, gathering her energies for the next year.

We went to the Look-Out, another one of the best things about a small New England town, and found the ‘other’ crescent moon. She is now getting full, and rising right after sunset. What a magical trip she has, flowing like a boat through the river of the Milky Way.

New Moon is time to organize and create new things. Navigating the year with the help of the moon, is powerful for me. Give it a try.

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