Many of us on this planet look to the heavens for spiritual guidance, inspiration, humility, beauty, awe and so much more. The dark sky in McCall is excellent as ambient light levels are low. The most amazing night sky view I have experienced was in Maui on Honomanu Bay and it is said the top of Haleakala on the same island is the best stargazing site. In one amazing Wally Pacholka photo, you can clearly see a “moonbow” over the crater-moisture illuminated by our nocturnal travel partner. On Monday we enjoyed, under clear Idaho night skies, the Wolf Moon. The Cherokee called the first moon of the new year the cold moon and the Lakota the hard moon. It is likely the Sioux who described this moon as “wolves run together.” Focus on the moon and beyond is not a new phenomenon.
This year the Hard Moon performed a magic illusion. On Monday just after twilight Mars was just below the full Moon and as their orbits continued Mars experiences occultation as it disappears behind the Moon. For over an hour Mars was gone and when it reemerged it was in opposition to the Sun, reflecting full sun light, Mars was at its brightest. Venus outshines Mars 25 to 1 so it is the brightest of the visible planets. Only the Sun and Moon outshine Venus. This month is said to be a planetary parade as seven planets are aligned. They are not actually lined up from the earth view perspective because of the differing orbits and distances but this is an unusual occurrence. I could go on but in case you fear all of these planets gravitational pull might disrupt our planet or solar system—the experts say not a concern.
All of this reminded me of that 1967 hit song by the Fifth Dimension, “The Age of Aquarius”. It inspired by the truth and love generation; us old Hippie’s dug it. The lines are memorable while not totally astrologically accurate. “The moon is in the seventh House—and Jupiter aligns with Mars—then peace will guide our planet—and love will steer the stars—This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. It is a memorable song performed by talented singers. The play ran over 3700 performances in the US and England and many others around the globe. As I do not see peace guiding our planet I was glad to learn the Sun is actually still in Aries and has been for over 2000 years. Coming up soon the Sun as seen at the celestial equator at the Vernal Equinox will be in front of the constellation Aquarius. Thank the heavens it is not too late for the lyrics to come to fruition.
I have learned so much from my seven year old granddaughter, Clio has worked tirelessly toward her
Taekwondo Red belt with the black strip. She has work to do to earn her next level belt before beginning the arduous process of earning a black belt. There is a great level of discipline required. You can see how the board breaks when her foot is properly “aligned” with the power created by the spin.
So a final farewell to Joe Biden, an excellent human being, a high level of integrity and passion for our country. History will treat him well in my opinion. It won’t matter who is in charge of the political landscape if our country cannot agree on the urgent need to mitigate the damage exacerbated by climate change. The cost of hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and floods are overwhelming the Insurance Industry and Federal and State budgets will be next.
Stay engaged and help protect our beloved democracy. Mike
Alignment
