April 12th, 1997
THIS MORNING I LOOKED AT THE PAPER
By Jackie Giuliano
I don't usually look at the morning newspaper. It is a disjointed collection of stories of
the terror and horror in our society, lacking perspective and context. It creates fear and
hopelessness, suggests no solution, and appears to be primarily a vehicle for advertisers
to suggest that consuming is the only antidote for the fear. I insist that my students
avoid the paper and the evening television news and write about how that feels.
But this morning, I looked at the paper.
A roller skater and dance performance artist who was loved by all at Venice Beach was
murdered last week. One hundred and twenty skaters turned up at the beach for a memorial
service. His killer is still at large.
A giant 16,000 square foot Pep Boys automotive store will be built not far from where I
live; there already two or three of them within three miles. Santa Monica College in
Southern California is very proud because they have partnered with Disney, Columbia
Tri-Star Television, Warner Brothers, and Paramount to implement an Entertainment and
Technology Academy in the fall, designed to provide skilled entertainment technology
workers to those industries. Amazingly clever! Some of the largest and most profitable
companies in the world have gotten the state of California to train their workers, and to
charge the students for the privilege. And the state of California repealed the 1918 law
that required an employer to pay overtime to workers after an 8-hour day - just in time
for the entertainment industry training program.
And then there is the disposable diaper problem. I was looking at the ECOBABY catalog for
organic and natural fiber baby clothes because my sister is having a baby in June. Did you
know that those super absorbent disposable diapers do their absorbing because of the
sodium polyacrylate infused into the inner pad? This chemical has been linked to toxic
shock syndrome, causes allergic reactions in 70% of the one-month old babies who wear
them, will cause death if just 5 grams is ingested, and is lethal to cats if inhaled! Over
18 billion disposables are thrown into U.S. landfills yearly and it takes 3.4 billion
gallons of oil and over 250,000 trees a year to manufacture them. Since the landfill is
covered from the sun and the elements, the material degrades only minimally.
But these stories don't have anything to do with one another, you might say. Or do they? I
am thinking more and more that our fundamental problem, whether it be dealing with
environmental issues or workplace controversies, may be that we don't see the connections.
It has always been my belief that part of our disconnection comes from being out of touch
with the night-time skies. We don't notice the moon, the planets, or hardly even the sun.
We have lost the connection that our ancestors had - and that nature-based cultures today
still have - with the universe. The awareness that we are on a planet in a vast universe
is a powerful connecting influence.
In wondering what kind of new class I could create that might provide an opportunity for
students to notice the heavens above, I got the idea to do a class about the Earth's moon.
Yesterday was the first meeting of "The Earth's Moon in Culture, Literature,
Mythology, and Science." Students can choose to take the class for science or
humanities credit. During the next 10 weeks, students will be exploring the many faces of
the moon and how it has affected our world.
But it is really just a thinly disguised attempt to get the students to notice the heavens
and to see the connections. Have you ever really noticed the moon?
Almost universally in all cultures through the ages, the moon has been considered to be
associated with fertility. Many believed that the moon could impregnate women. Some
believed that the Great Moon Mother sends the Moon Bird to bring babies to women - the
origin of our stork image.
The phases of the moon have long been associated with a cycle of life on Earth. The new
moon appears small, then it grows to a round fullness during the month, just like a
pregnant woman. It is considered lucky to see a young moon - it is a time of new
beginnings. The waxing crescent moon has been seen through the ages as a sign of increase
of flocks and fields. Decrease follows as the moon wanes. This phase also represents
completion and maturity.
Early people knew that they had to understand nature's cycles and work with them. They
believed that nature's laws were governed by the moon. The new moon heralded the sowing of
seed or the harvesting of crops. During the waxing moon, all things that need to grow must
be tended to. The ground had to be prepared ahead of time so that the seed could be sown
during the first quarter or it would rot. Sheep must be sheared under the waxing moon so
that the wool may grow quickly again. Trees must be felled during the waning moon or the
wood will not mature well.
And women have a powerful connection to the moon. Did you know that a woman's menstrual
cycle is actually a powerful force that intimately connects women to the Earth and the
moon? It is speculated that before the time of artificial light or chemical contraception,
women may have ovulated and menstruated throughout the world at about the same time
because of the moon's influence! (see reference 1). Many women today have experienced the
synchronization of menstrual cycles among woman who are living or working together.
Extensive studies have shown that the average menstrual cycle is 29.5 days, the same as
the cycle of the moon.
For centuries, the phases of the moon were a woman's guide to her physical and creative
power. The waxing moon represented the phase from the end of bleeding to around ovulation.
The energies of this phase are that of the young maiden: generative, dynamic and
inspirational.
The withdrawal of light during the waning phases represented the withdrawal of physical
energy from the time of ovulation to menstruation and the increase in sexuality,
creativity, magic, destructive inner energies, and awareness. In this Enchantress phase,
as it was known, the creative energies which would have gone into making a child are
released and given form in the world. The dark moon represented menstruation. The Hag
Moon, as it was known, represented the woman's physical energies withdrawn from the outer
world and the turning in of her awareness to the inner world of the spirit.
What powerful and empowering metaphors! Yet today we still view the menstrual cycle as
something that makes women "less than" and weak, rather than the empowering,
life-giving and life-affirming gift that it is.
As our technology increased, as artificial light lit up the darkness, as our awareness of
the heavens faded, we lost our tie to this planet, each other, ourselves, and to life
itself. We lost the knowledge and recognition of the interconnectedness of all life. We
lost the awareness that everything is conscious and sacred, the empowerment of women and
all oppressed peoples, world peace, social justice, environmental harmony, the activation
of spiritual and psychic powers, and reverence for the Earth and the celebration of her
seasons and cycles - and those natural cycles of our lives.
Today, we have seen the affects of this folly. We have seen radioactive particles from a
nuclear accident at Chernobyl contaminate milk in the Netherlands. We have seen how the
destruction of rain forests in Brazil can change the atmosphere of our planet.
We must work hard to become as aware as we can be of the interconnectedness of all things,
of how we share this planet and its fate with many different creatures.
Go outside for a few nights in a row, or even during the day. The moon rises in the middle
of the day right now. Notice the moon. Notice the sun. Where in the sky are they? Notice
that they are moving. Glance up again in a few hours. We are spinning in space, a ball of
water, ice, land, and people, all connected, all the same, all created from the remains of
exploding stars. Just notice. Take a deep breath. Just notice. See how it feels.
REFRENCES and RESOUCRES
For information on the moon topics discussed above:
- Harding, M. Esther, Woman's Mysteries, Ancient and Modern, Harper Colophon Books: New
York, 1971.
- Miller, John, The Moon Box, Chronicle Books: San Francisco, 1995.
- Cornelius, Geoffrey, The Secret Language of the Stars and Planets, Chronicle Books: San
Francisco, 1996.
- Gray, Miranda, Red Moon: Understanding and Using the Gifts of the Menstrual Cycle,
Element Publishing: Mass., 1994.
- Brueton, Diana, many Moons: The Myth and Magic, Fact and Fantasy Of Our Nearest Heavenly
Body, Prentice Hall Press: NY, 1991.
- Long, Kim, The Moon Book, Johnson Publishing Co: Boulder, CO, 1988.
- Starhawk, The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess,
Harper and Row: NY, 1989.
- Visit the Ecobaby web site at http://www.ecobaby.com/ecobaby.htm
- For more on the issues with disposable diapers visit Midwifery Today at http://www.efn.org/~djz/birth/MT/Mtindex.html
{Jackie Giuliano can be found noticing the Moon [after he does his taxes this weekend]
in Venice, California. He is a Professor of Environmental Studies for Antioch University,
Los Angeles, the University of Phoenix, and the Union Institute College of Undergraduate
Studies. He is also the Educational Outreach Manager for the Ice and Fire Preprojects, a
NASA program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to send space probes to Jupiter's moon
Europa, the planet Pluto, and the Sun.} |
