The Perfect Time for Everything .... Using the Moon for Health and Home

I recently read a great book, The Power of Timing,  about using the moon to determine the best times to do something.  It has proven to be pretty helpful!

The basic theory is that when the moon is waxing (going from New to Full) it is a good time to bring things in and when the moon is waning (going from Full to New) it is a good time to get rid of things.  

There are also things that work best in the signs of particular elements ... Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are Fire, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are Earth, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are Air and Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are Water.  

And as each sign is associated with a part of the body, there are certain times that are better to heal or do surgery on each part of the body.

Here are just a few of the helpful timings I took note of....

AROUND THE HOUSE

Painting - waxing moon, not in Pisces, Cancer or Scorpio

Turn on the Heat -  in Aries, Leo or Sag

Winterize the Windows - in Gemini, Libra or Aqua

Cleaning - waning moon

Laundry - waning moon, in  Pisces, Cancer or Scorpio

Floors - sweep in waxing moon, wash in waning moon

Put Away Clothes for the season - waning moon, in Gemini, Libra or Aqua

Spring Cleaning - in waning moon, in Aqua or Pisces  (this is about removing all of the dust and dirt, not about reorganizing or decluttering)

IN THE GARDEN

Dig Up Beds - first in waxing Leo, then in waning Capricorn, then in waning

Plant Grass - waxing moon, in Virgo

Fertilize - waning moon, in Aries or Sag

Prune - in waxing moon

Weed - waning moon, in Capricorn  and on June 18 until noon
Plant Above Ground Flowers and Veg - waxing moon
Plant Bulbs and Root Veg - waning moon

Plant Tomatoes - waxing moon, in Aries, Leo or Sag

Plant Spinach - waxing moon, in  Pisces, Cancer or Scorpio

Plant Flowers and Herbs - waxing moon, in Gemini, Libra or Aqua

Plant Lettuce - waning moon, in Cancer

Plant Root Veg - waning moon, in Virgo, Capricorn or Taurus

Water Plants -  in Pisces, Cancer or Scorpio, NEVER in Gemini, Libra or Aqua

Harvest - from Sag to Gemini
This calendar has the optimal dates for every region!

BEAUTY

Haircuts - waning moon, in Leo or Virgo (not Pisces or Cancer)

Waxing - waning moon, in Capricorn

Massage - in waxing to rejunvenate, in waning to relax

Reflexology - waning moon, in Pisces

IN THE KITCHEN

Baking Bread - in a Aries, Leo or Sag

THE WEATHER TENDS TO BE

Wet - in Pisces, Cancer or Scorpio

Light and Airy -  in Gemini, Libra or Aqua

Warm -  in a Aries, Leo or Sag

Cool - in Virgo, Capricorn or Taurus

If you want to check out where the moon is on any given date, I love Moontracks.

Words of Love and Kindness.... Written on Your Water Bottle

A few years ago I read The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto.  

The book explains that water exposed to words (or images or sounds) of love and kindness becomes so filled with positive energy that it turns into beautiful ice crystals when frozen.  It also explains that water exposed to negative words is so filled with negativity that malformed ice crystals are created.  

We all know that our bodies are made up mostly of water.  So one would be able to infer that drinking water that has been exposed to words of love and kindness would bring the positive energy generated into our bodies.

I loved this idea and so I created custom water bottles over at CafePress for my daughters.  Each bottle has a loving and kind quote or word on it.  I hope it brings my girls an extra bit of positive energy each day!

How to Be the Person You Are Truly Meant to Be ... By Picking To Do the Things That Bring You Joy

I have fought a long hard battle to be the person I am truly meant to be.  Instead of the person everyone expects me to be.  I still have some skirmishes now and again but I feel really quite victorious!

But now I have recognized that my 10 year old daughter is waging the same war.  She is small and quiet and lives inside her imagination.  She like Legos and Minecraft and fairies and brussel sprouts. She barely answers when an adult talks to her and she is scared of most movies and roller coasters and butterflies.   She feels different from the other girls in her class and from her sister and from her friends and it bothers her.  Because she is trying to be the person everyone expects her (a 10 smart, beautiful 10 year old girl) to be instead of the person she is. 

And I want to teach her what I have learned.

To be the person I am truly meant to be.  A person who shines with a radiantly positive light.

By doing what brings me joy and to doing away with avoiding the things that cause me fear.

I have learned to ask myself  "What is my intention?"  before doing anything.  Before I agree to a lunch date on a jam-packed day.  Before I sign up to run the Book Fair.  Before I have a conference with a teacher.  Before I comment on a Facebook post.

Once I am clear on my intention, I decide if what I am doing is bringing me joy or if what I am doing is just running away from something I am afraid of.    Am I having lunch with a friend because I really want to see her or because I am afraid of making her mad if I say I can't make the time that day?  Am I volunteering at school because I want to support the kids and teachers or because I am afraid I will be looked down upon for not helping?  Am I going to the conference to hear the teacher's expert opinion or because I want to blame her for my child's challenges?  Am I commenting on Facebook because I really want to express a feeling or because I want to remind the poster how important I am in their life?

If I am doing something because it brings me joy then that is fabulous!  I let myself shine on!

If I am doing something in an attempt to avoid bad feelings or cover over bad feelings, then I stop and look deeper into those bad feelings.   Why am I afraid to put myself before others?  Why am I afraid to say 'no'?  Why do I need to assign blame for an issue?  Why do I need to be seen as important?   Why am I afraid to just be myself?

Even if I can't get to the bottom of those bad feelings, I can let go of the need to do something that does not bring me joy just to avoid them.

And this is what I want to teach my daughter.  To not go along with things that don't make her feel good just to try to avoid feeling bad.   I want her to keep playing Legos and Minecraft  and believe in fairies and eat her brussel sprouts even if none of her friends do. And I want her to tell her friends about  how happy those things make her.  I want her to be polite to adults even if she does not want engage in lengthy conversation.  And I want her to feel proud of herself for having beautiful manners and a happy smile.  I want her to wait at the bottom of the roller coaster while her friends take a ride.  And I want her to be excited for them when they come off and let them share all of their scary moments.   I want her to be herself.  And be full of joy and a radiantly positive light.

(I always want her to know that sometimes we need to do things that don;t bring us so much joy in order to have things that bring us lots of joy ... like taking ballet in order to be dance team, like paying taxes in order to live in the US, like taking tests in order to attend a certain school... but that is a post for another time!)