one whole voice

finding beauty in darkness before dawn

To pray you open your whole self

To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon

To one whole voice that is you.

- Joy Harjo from Eagle Poem (excerpt)

waning crescent with venus before dawn

To listen to the “whole voice” that Poet Laureate Harjo speaks of - I ventured to the ridge where all the planets and constellations parade across the sky. A place that expresses the changing of the seasons from green to gold to bare.

This ridge faces east towards Tuyshtak (the mountain also know as Mt. Diablo where I grew up in the valley of her presence) and west towards the coast, the waters, where all the planets set.

A reminder of geological time in the shells that are sprinkled across the spine of this hilltop from the ocean floor. The way things are now is not how they’ve always been.

Somehow today this feels like hope.

shells on the ridge

Everything is in motion.

Dawn and dusk created by the rotation of the earth. The tilt that births the solstices. A shifting path of light that delineates balance and extremes. This ridge is a place where I go to stand still. To listen to my whole voice. A voice that is wise with full body awareness, that attunes to the cosmos and the earth.

The whole voice said: darkness is not evil, she is light’s companion. They cycle together seeking harmony not harm.

Finding beauty in darkness before dawn.

So much to pray for currently. Always, and yet more acutely now.

Feeling gratitude for everyone who is working towards ending, shifting, integrating, digesting, cycles of harm so that they don’t perpetuate on this planet. No war has ever been won, just creating the conditions for the next conflict or generations of unprocessed trauma that plays out in public and private.

I hope this is true, this is what I know from lived experience, and yet it feels so daunting on a global scale! May the inner work that lunar tracking supports, shift our outer reality.

May the dance of light and dark bring harmony rather than harm. May all matter of reconfigurations bring beauty forward from the one voice in us all.

“…and just as everything changes

the fact that I change it’s not in the least strange.”

— Mercedes Sosa from Todo Cambia

Thank you for being here, your presence is a gift!!! So grateful for all of you who chose to subscribe to Between the Moon substack. Wanted to let you know that I have temporarily paused paid subscriptions over the summer for some reconfiguration.

Sending many blessings,

April

p.s. It’s almost time to turn the page to begin a new cycle!! There are a handful of Lunar Wall Calendars left in the shop - use code SOLSTICE at checkout for 40% off when you order before this new moon on Wednesday.

california wild rose on a walk around the reservoir

And for those of you who would like some extra support and beauty during this season of your life, I have opened up my books for flower essence sessions in July. In my practice I focus on restoring harmony, courage, and radiance to individuals who want to shift core patterns that are disrupting the flow of their vitality, relationships, and creativity.

Learn more here: Radiant Flower Remedies