On Resting the Garden
and the Full Cold Moon in Gemini.
“On Resting the Garden” is an annual series that reflects on the experiences and lessons learned through tending to my small home garden, the garden that is life, and the confluence of ecological and spiritual correlations in between. Read the previous letter in the series from 2022.
Relatives, I am hosting the last Inner Ecology gathering for the year on Saturday (Saturn’s Day) December 28 at noon EST. More details are provided here and below.
The garden was tender with me this year, a gift I am so thankful to have received. It didn’t demand so much that I couldn’t keep up, it met me where I was and offered some of its labor to me in exchange for the little work I put in. There was, as there always is, an abundance of cherry tomatoes. We also had a good gathering of green peppers and a variety of greens: mesclun lettuce, spinach, and lacinato kale.
The garden was also smaller than I had hoped. Harvests were more humble than in previous years, and I spent much less time tending to the plants. I am trying not to be hard on myself. I am trying to remember that this past year—the year of the Dragon, in Chinese astrology—has been a whirlwind of activity and change. Dragons1 are mythological creatures full of cultural, mythological, and ecological meanings. And their characteristic dynamism has defined the past 12 months, for better and worse.
Earlier this year, I read an essay by astrologer and writer Alice Sparkly Kat (also known as Ace) that helped me think through the energetic dynamics in 2024. In the essay, Ace walks us through the symbolism of the Dragon and its zodiac significations. Unlike the medieval version, Chinese Dragons do not have wings or breathe fire. Instead, as Ace describes, they are “environmental forms.”
“Chinese dragons sleep in the mountains. Their mouths hold pearls. Their bodies are long. They can be as small as an earthworm and grow to the size of everything that we know.”
—Alice Sparkly Kat
Ace further explains the ecological significance of Dragons and relates their magic to the body of rivers and waters that flow. Their capacity to fly is not tied to the physical presence of wings but is connected to the element of Air. Dragons can symbolically flow through the sky by riding the weather, just as water can travel long distances across continents through the wind.
It is humbling to reflect on my garden, and how much it gave so freely despite my inattention. I think of the rain that fed the plants even when I wasn’t around to do the job. I think of the Sun interacting with all the green, and the photosynthesis that made flower and fruit possible. I think of the inescapable connection between ecology and cosmogyny: the origin of all things, of everything that we know.
As I look out onto my garden, my eyes move beyond the patches of snow, through the dry and brittle bits of plant material, down past the pale green grass, and into the cold soil. I know the worms diligently continue, slowly transforming the ground into fertile earth. I know the microbes both feed from and assist the process. I know the tendrils of mycelium share counsel with the roots of the understory, connecting everything underfoot. Death and rebirth layered together.
“Dragons care about one thing only. Dragons care about change. This is why the dragon as a zodiac sign is known for bringing new worlds into existence.”
—Alice Sparkly Kat
Early this morning, my child’s sweet voice woke me from a deep slumber. As we headed to the restroom, Bear determinedly pronounced, “I’m not tired at all mama.” I looked at the clock to learn the time and figure out what might prompt such a declaration. I read 1:36 in dim turquoise numbers on the kitchen clock. In a few hours, this year’s Cold Moon in Gemini would reach full ripeness, gushing over into the night, before waning its body toward renewal.
Another story is parallel here, to the last Full Moon of the year. With Jupiter (in Retrograde) co-present in Gemini, there is a reception with Mercury (currently moving out of Retrograde) in Sagittarius. In this lunation, ruled by Mercury, we find two planets in detriment, meaning they are in the opposite zodiac sign of their domicile, their sign of rulership; where they are most “at home.” Mercury and Gemini deal with communication and thinking. Jupiter and Sagittarius are concerned with matters of philosophy and belief. Their shared axis focuses on the dynamics of perception, and the access and interpretation of information.
While this is the last Full Moon of the year, it is not the end of the story. The Dragon-river that runs through Gemini and Sagittarius will weave into channels that lead us into the next Lunar cycle, the year of the Snake. Another popular figure in mythology, the snake conjures both veneration and fear. From a mythic body to a body manifest, ebb and flow, the breath of change continues.
The ripe Moon that hangs from the cosmic vine in the night sky is an opportunity for full reflection, to ask questions that yearn to be answered. Next year, the soil and the stars will have a different set of teachings to share. I will have new things to give, too. I embody the rhythm of my garden this season, and I rest.
Practice opportunity
In two weeks, I am hosting the last Inner Ecology workshop for the year. We will gather on Zoom to breathe and write together in honor of the Winter solstice, and Capricorn season. We will also spend time with the current astro-weather to inform, deepen, and embody our practice.
The gathering will convene on Saturday (Saturn’s Day) December 28 at noon EST. I have a discount code available for those who need it, and a recording will be available if you can’t attend live or prefer an asynchronous experience. You can learn more about and register for the gathering on the event page. There, you’ll also find a few tips on how to prepare for our time together.
According to Chinese cosmology, the origin of the Cosmos is connected to a sort of breath-motion-pattern cycle that modern science describes as space-time. Translator and poet David Hinton has written an excellent essay and sequence of poems on this subject. The piece, published with Emergence Magazine, is titled “Breath-Space and Seed-Time.”