Long before...well, just about anything, the visual influence of the moon's cycle was used as a planning tool for people of many cultures. It was everyone's "monthly planner".
It is now 2009 and we have a little over 20 days until The First New Moon of the New Year. That is what Chinese New Year is...the first new moon of the new year.
For Christians, the concept of "an empty vessell" is the equivalent of "the new moon" in the cycle. It's the time you empty the old, the stale, the rotted, the dusty and you make way for new ideas and concepts. It's when you plant a seed for something new to grow.
While everyone and their mother talks about New Year's Resolutions and the beginning of The Year of the Ox on January 26th, we all know what happens. By February everyone's back to same old, same old for a WHOLE YEAR! But if you grasp the concept of the rough month cycle of the moon, you have 12 chances for a "do over". We all need our "do overs" because life is too short to get only one shot a year to set goals.
Take your life into 12 priorities. Health, Family, Volunteerism, Adventure, Spiritual Renewal...just some examples. The problem with setting goals and resolutions on only one day of the year, is we tend to skip something important, and focus mostly on ourselves and our work. But if you give yourself TWELVE NEW DAYS in the 12 new moons, you can set a plan in motion 12 times in a year for 12 different aspects of your life.
Take a really hard look at that chart. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? Maybe you want to start YOUR cycle when the moon is FULL. How many people really want empty these days? Not many.
Maybe you want to start your cyle when "the glass is half full"! Yeah, that's the ticket! Room for new without throwing away all my good stuff that I want to keep. What do the Chinese know or the Native Americans, for that matter. I wouldn't trade their life for mine in a million years! Yeah...let's reinvent the Almanac, let's be rebels...Let's start a revolution!
...and let's do that again and again. Happy New Moon! Happy Full Moon! Happy...Happy!
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Ardell - funny thing - instead of setting "resolutions" this year - I put something I wanted to accomplish or a habit I wanted to create or change for each month - one new thing for each month! I didn't use the "new moon" I just used each month - but it's definitely the same concept - how funny (and timely).