"Official" Start of Spring

The news has been telling us that "Spring", what they consider to be springlike weather is coming a week early this year. They are basing this opinion on the fact that when consulting the Julian Calendar and applying dualistic logic to that subjective and fictional accounting of time, the seasons have everything to do with the equinoxes and solstices. Anyone who has been exposed to the ritual calendar of the tribal cultures around the globe know that Julius Ceasar is not powerful enough to set the time signature of life, nor is the dynamic sphere that we call the Globe able to be relegated to a mere scientific accounting. The officials are just plain wrong and it is time for all of us to question their other assumptions as well.

Spring actually began, according to the pagan calendar on, or about, the second of February. For those of us who work outdoors a lot, you could feel two things combining their efforts to change the season. The tilt of the Earth, combined with our slow annual revolution around the sun, combined to make the lengthening days most apparent. During these times, the day length jumps up in the largest increments of the year. In addition, the sun angle in our middle latitudes changed from it's lowest angle, that allows most of the sun's energy to reflect off the sphere of the Earth, back into space, to a much higher angle that has the power to melt even the occasional spring snows that fall over the next few moons. A friend called to find out if there was anything that they needed to know about the New Moon that coincided with the start of Spring this year. My view is that the New(no visible)Moon brings a time of new beginnings, of introspection, setting of goals and tuning in, if you will, to what resonnates within our own being. Once you allow yourself free reign over your inner talents and motivations, it becomes a time of reestablishing contact with the core of one self, so that new directions can be explored.

Like the walkabout of the aboriginies, we occasionally need to reset our moral and ethical compass and this reflective time every moon allows for that as well as many other healing processes. Letting go of what has held us back, putting new ideas into practice and renewing one's commitments to the most deeply held goals and aspirations fits right into the New Moon Energy, as well as the start of Spring. like being dealt a pair in Black Jack, doubling up on this energy of renewal can have profound effects on one's future. Many fear the future and what it may hold in store for humanity, those we love, or, in fact, our own lives. This is old way thinking. We are really on the doorstep of a completely different mind set, we just need the courage to let go of what we thought was real in the past. In feudal times, it was good to have a castle to run to when your land was being overrun by jealous forces, intent on raping and pillaging your towns and the fertile countryside. In those days, one's enemies were pretty obvious. Doing exactly as the king wished was a matter of life and death. Today, we are in a different world, one that allows our enemies to rape and pillage under the cover of authority and expediency. We are called to find a new way to protect ourselves and at the same time create new communities that are protected from a different kind of ransacking. Stone walls will not protect us from the type of attacks we are likely to face.
Our air may be contaminated from worldwide use of toxic compounds. Our water might be contaminated by people trying to dispose of hazardous chemicals by pumping them into our aquifer or thrying to "release" the last oil and natural gas from deep layers of the bedrock. the land may be rendered sterile by the use of anhydrous ammonia or bio-cides that were developed by industrialists to quell natural pests that swarmed over sick fields. These are the real and present dangers that we are facing at this moment in time, not fur clad heathens. In fact, if we are not careful, many more of us might have to become fur clad heathens if we are to have a chance at surviving the next major shift in our culture. The key will be in keeping our humanity intact whils letting go of many of the fictional accounts about who we are, how we got to where we are and the ultimate place which we occupy in the Universe.

Just as the Julian Calendar is not the true time signature of life, and the saying that humans are "brutish", cruel, self-centered and greedy is based on subjective analysis of long dead scholars, many other beliefs are outdated and need to be discarded if we are to have a chance at creating the world anew. Scientists have now proved beyond a reasonable doubt something that all parents knew implicitly. Children are magnanamous, compassionate and giving, until they are impacted by the world around them in negative ways. Abuse a child or neglect them and they begin to transform before your very eyes. That is where the "brutish" side is created. Sure, we were unaware of how it happenned back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but today, we can see our way clear to a new age, a new future that was obscured as we crouched behind the ramparts of our rulers. now we use the term official to squelch every form of questioning that makes those in charge uncomfortable.

As we approach the Equinox this week, and the fullness of the Moon that coincides with it this year, try to find a quiet place within yourself. or share that quiet space with others who can appreciate the abundant blessings that we all partake of daily. Feel the generosity of the unwounded child within, and attempt to reflect that generosity in everything you do for just one short month. I bet, that you will never go back to unfeeling, uncaring or unwitting participation in the "dog eat dog" world. If you need a guide or a mirror to reflect back to you the images and new found insights of this new way of being, I am available for consultations, classes and tours that focus exclusivly on reestablishing a deeper contact with our natural world. sustainability begins within each of us and can only be reflected by attuning ourselves to the laws of nature and the ever changing world that we live in.

As part of my own transformation to a new world order, I have been committing myself to a not-for-profit organization here in Northeast Wisconsin that plants native trees while providing experiences in nature. Our efforts have led to the planting of over 60,000 trees before we even registered with the State of Wisconsin as a non-profit. In the six years since registering with the state, we have planted another 60,000 trees and are in the process of reforesting over two hundred acres. The sharing that has taken place on these tours has been worht all the effort and time that we have put into it. Our staff is all-volunteer, so not a single cent of our donations is wasted on salary. Every dollar that we receive goes directly to purchasing seedlings, planting them, protecting and caring for them and many of the trees we have planted are already transforming the landscapes in which they were planted in positive ways. Many of the trees we have planted will outlive us and provide benefits long after we are forgotten. Participation in these efforts has changes many lives for the better and helped to stabilize the local environment as well as the climate of the entire region.
You can reach us to find out more about ECO-Tours of Wisconsin at: 1445 Porlier street, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54301. Or if you prefer to donate online, we do have a Paypal account at tnsaladino42@hotmail.com. It takes the combined efforts of many to get important things to happen, but if we each take responsibility for our own actions, understand the full effects of each of our choices and lend a hand in whatever way our spirits compell us to do so, thing will improve exponentially whatever the old way thinkers say. It is time for us to stand for the truth, however we come to know about it. Taking for granted that others, especially "officials" know more or better than the rest us has led to most of our problems. The time has come to take back our own power and lead, so that our leaders can follow.