LIVING YOUR HARVEST CYCLE

Often beauty is thought of as something that can be seen. This is not always the case. Imagine the new moon for a moment. Where is she? Why can’t we see her?

The new moon is not in shadow, she’s actually surrounded in light so bright that we cannot distinguish her form. In this moment of apparent invisibility, the new moon is aligned with the source of light and life from the sun. A sacred pause to reconnect before venturing out on her own orbit again.

WHEN YOU ARE LIKE A SEED

When you find yourself in the cycles of nature, you know that the beauty outside also resides within. There is beauty in a seed, closed up tight and full of pure potential. 

You are like a seed when it seems there is nothing to show for yourself except trusting what will unfold next. You have been in a seed stage of your life and you will probably find yourself there again. It can feel unsettling, and yet, there is beauty in the not yet. In the void of the unknown.

NOT YET

Beauty is found in contraction as well as expansion. The seed stage pulls us out of constant growth to consolidate and tend to our intentions before beginning a new cycle. There is no denying that this can be painful. And it is all part of the beauty of the seed. The pause. Recalibration.

The beginner's mind and starting over. The not yet.

The beauty of not yet is often overlooked in a society that prefers blooming over becoming and celebrates peak performance over daily practice. There is an undeniable pressure to be full all the time. While the full moon receives the most attention, the not-yet-full seems deficient. The no-longer-full is cast aside. 

Just like the sunflower in bloom - it doesn’t all happen at once!

Not yet is a starting place for A conversation with the self: “I’m not there yet. I am here.”

Honoring yourself as a cyclical being means appreciating the phases of birth, life, decay, and regeneration. Over and over.

THE FLOWER IS COMPOST IN BLOOM

When a flower drops all its petals, it sacrifices an outer beauty to become a fruit ripe with inner beauty. The petals must fall for life to continue. Like the moon, we must wane to see the wisdom of experience. After the fruit falls to the ground and begins to rot and merge with the earth many people turn away.

Decay is not seen as beautiful to those who only focus on the beauty of the flower. But the flower is only one step in the unfolding process. Each phase relies on all the others to be whole.

We are all at different stages of our personal harvest cycle. Some phases may feel better than others. However, they are all necessary.

PRACTICE BECOMING

Learn to see the beauty of every stage from seed to compost back to seed. Beauty is an unfolding process of expansion and contraction. Just like the moon. Become present to what is. Every phase offers insight into the essence of your cyclical nature.

Be guided by the lunar cycle to honor all the phases of yourself. 

Author: April McMurtry always has the moon on her mind and seeds of some kind in her pocket.

The 2022 edition of the New Moon Calendar Journal and Moon Mandala Wall Calendar are available in the shop! Order your copy today.

This simple and beautiful circular calendar establishes the new moon as the starting point for each monthly cycle. By using a circular calendar you perceive time in relation to nature more clearly, and patterns in your own experience become more apparent. It provides a structure for connecting to your inner wisdom and natural rhythms.