Why is the Pink Moon Pink?

Why the Pink Moon & Phase Calendar

  Rabbit, rabbit!

I'm sure at least some of you say this on the first (we will save the history for next month's Flower moon on Patreon- and in some traditions the Hare Moon) 

This month I'm working in the Hare early because of his ties with the Pink Moon and Easter's date, as well as the Trickster energy kicks off the entire month. (I hope you weren't fooled badly by anyone today, but if you were, Jistu was probably happy.)

 If you can, listen to *this recording of award-winning Cherokee storyteller Robert Lewis telling a traditional Cherokee Jistu story. Trust me, his voice and delivery is beyond compare, and he has quick a bit of trickster energy himself. Me writing about it would not do the rich oral tradition a lick of justice.

 ( *Start at 8:00-13:45 for the first story about how Creator challenged rabbit & he got his long ears, and 17:48 to hear about rabbit's trouble outside the council meeting and what his true talent is if you don't have 20 minutes to hear the entire Lewis segment.)

Jistu is rabbit/hare in Cherokee, and he is the traditional trickster in most Eastern tribe mythologies. Coyote is the trickster for Western tribes, like Navaho and Apache.

 April Moon / Pink Moon : This month's moon is called so because moss phlox is one of the first flowers to bloom and spread color in the spring. Another name is the Sprouting Grass Moon, and the Cherokee called it the Kawoni or Flower Moon although many others use that name for May's moon. There are a multitude of names for every moon within various cultures. Pink is fairly widespread, and I'm guessing it's because phlox is native to most of the Americas.

 Phlox is in the Polemoniaceae family and there are 60 odd varieties of phlox. Phlox coming from the Greek for flame, its color is bright and vibrant against the new spring grasses.  

Traditional medicinal uses for phlox included steeping the whole plant in a tonic for indigestion and using dried leaves as a detox tea, as well as topical application of a root tea for skin ailments, eye washes, and even venereal diseases. (Again- I am not recommending these applications, especially for the STIs. See a health care professional.)

 In the language of flowers, phlox means; Our souls are united. or We think alike. 

Using phlox in your garden to foster those harmonious warm and fuzzies seems a no-brainer, pink is always good for that 4th chakra whirl. The phlox flowers are susceptible to spider mites, eelworms, phlox bug, and powdery mildew (so probably whiteflies, too- bane of my existence) but so goes it with growing. Circle of life, get some green lacewings or ladybugs and watch them feast.

More things to come soon- just wanted to get the calendar link up for you to mark your moons if you wanted it. A full size downloadable print & PNG of the Pink Moon artwork will be coming to Tier 4+ soon, and a downloadable print of Hey, Jupiter is coming to Tier 3+ with the next line art upload when it's ready to scan.

Thanks for swinging by,

May the Pink Moon shine on new growth for you and yours,

May your heart sing like Jitsu's, even in the face of the Eagle,

May you teach others to dance to their heart's song.
~D. Renée

In the cauldron boil & bake...

 

The MOST wonderful time of the year is here! October may still be muggy and lush here in Florida, but it's always Samhain in my soul. 

I was born in the autumn and Midwestern fall was my season.

Perfectly cool days, cracking leaves underfoot, woodsmoke in the air and chilly nights. A Harvest or Blood Moon in the clear, twinkling autumn sky makes it easier to hear whispers through the veil.

  The one thing about Florida "fall" I'll give it, we can still plant and grow things. Gardening is my grounding go-to, so I'm okay with this trade off. These are crazy times. If I can't have a long walk in the cold, autumn air, I might as well be able to get down and dirty with muh plant babes.

 For my spooky autumnal Patreon project, this has worked out quite well.

Deciphering the Cauldron; Finger of birth-strangled babe; Foxglove. (It's only visible to the public for a limited time, so hurry over if you want a peek. It goes back to Patrons only this weekend.)
I go into what's actually behind all those weird and seemingly gross ingredients of the Weird Sisters witches brew in Macbeth. Hint- not really body parts. It's plants. Some are highly toxic. (Shocker!) Some are used in modern medicine, and a few are favorites of witchy types like Shakespeare (-cough--Francis Bacon-cough, sneeze, I have a cold, sorry) for astrological, folklore, and other various correspondences.

 I'll give you a taste of what's coming next, but fair warning- it's a toxic one. Even touching this ingredient can result in blistered skin. Most definitely don't eat it...

Fillet of a fenny snake, 

In the cauldron boil and bake

Macbeth, Act IV, S. I

Gross? Not exactly. As I've explained in the Foxglove post, most ingredients used in potions and brews by wise women were coded due to the secretive nature of their craft. This was for a few reasons, but the danger of laypersons fiddling about with potentially toxic plants was one of them. Also, King James hated witches, and Shakespeare really kicked up the nefarious a notch to pander to ol' Jimmy's disdain for the ladies of lore. 

Let's get down to it. 

Fillet = Filet = Meat

(Brits don't like to pronounce things the French way. Think Claret.)

Whenever an old Hedge Witch/herbalist/wise woman or even an alchemist  said to use the meat of a plant, they were referring to its fruit or berries.
We go over the corresponding secret code names for plant parts on the Patrons only post.

 Okay, then...

Wtf is a fenny?

It's nothing more than an archaic term for a boggy, wetland-ish area. Fenny = bog

So, we know we're looking for a plant in a boggy area that looks like like a snake and we need its "meat". Oh, wait! There's totally a plant that already is called "snake's meat" colloquially. Dang, Shakespeare made that really easy.

Cuckoo Pint / Arum Maculatum

aka; Lord's & Ladies, Naked Boys and Naked Girls, Arum Lily, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Soldiers Diddies, Starch Root, Adder's Root, Adam and Eve, the list goes on and on but, hey one more Cheese and Toast because that one's great, and heeeeere we go-

Snake's Meat

The plant obviously has quite a few names, and most of them refer to couples and doin' the deed, because of the spadix and spathe formation. It's pretty. It's cool. It's a plant. Humans are weird.

The entire plant contains raphides, calcium oxalate crystals. 

(Raphides under 600x magnification)

This means that if disturbed, the plant will produce these crystals, which will get onto you if you touch the plant. They are a skin irritant, and if eaten, your throat and airways can close.

That's just the rest of the plant. We need the berries.

Cool tidbit about these plants, they are little tricksters. To get a pollinator, they disguise themselves with a fecal scent and higher temperature than the surrounding air. This attracts owl-midges in particular. We'll come back to the owl-midge flies!

The bottom ring of female flowers is topped by a ring of male flowers on the spadix. The male flowers are then surrounded by a ring of tiny hairs that act as an insect trap. This keeps the insect stuck inside for a while. They eventually figure out ho to escape through a tiny hole, and they repeat the process on surrounding Arum plants, this time covered in pollen. 

The roots of the plant are large and hold a great deal of starch. It was actually used to starch the collars and ruffs of nobility and was the only way to make communion linen. You can imagine how hard that was on the hands of the women that had to do the work.

This was written in 1597 by John Gerard, 

 ‘The most pure and white starch is made of the rootes of Cuckowpint [i.e. lords-and-ladies], but most hurtfull to the hands of the laudresse that have the handling of it, for it choppeth, blistereth, and maketh hands rough and withall smarting’. 

Right. All for stiff collars? Jeesh. The root could actually be used for medicinal use and flour if cooked properly, but it was risky. 

Okay. So now that we know what a fillet of a fenny snake was,

why?

Well, what do you think?

Owl Midge photo from Cabinet of Curiosities

 We have the toxic aspect down, but keep in mind this is the first ingredient for the cauldron in this scene of Act IV. The sisters are kicking it up here for the visions/apparition prophesies.

I'm going to remind you that when they first said "Something wicked this way comes" at the beginning of the play, they certainly weren't talking about themselves. 

It was the overly ambitious and now murderous Macbeth. 

Macbeth who is represented within the play by an owl, Duncan by a falcon, and the Macduff family birds.

Macbeth the "obscure bird", or owl, that has killed, and plans to keep on killing. 

 If you want to see what's in the rest of Deciphering the Cauldron series, 

what's behind the printable line art page I came up with for Fenny Snake, or you want in on the upcoming potion bottle printables and  tutorial, head over to Patreon to pledge support and get access to more posts and free printables art & svg files.

 Thanks for stopping by, and be careful in your gardens. Always know your plants, and don't work with it if you aren't comfortable. See you pretties later!

I have to go catch a frog. Literally. There's tree frogs and toads all over the plants in the pool house. 

Frog poop everywhere. Tis the season!

 ~D. Renée

An Owl Furze Wisdom

Most of you know I love painting animals not only for their beauty and unique characters but also for their interesting and rich symbolism.
I'm sure you also know that most plants and trees have an abundance of historical meanings, as well.

In my latest watercolor, I have paired the wisdom and intelligence we associate with the owl to the gorse, or furze tree.

Work in progress.

This shrub, or hedge tree, is also sometimes called furze and is native to Europe and northwest Africa.
The bright yellow blossoms have a very long flowering season.
Between all of the different species of gorse, there will most always be sunny flowers to admire, hence the saying,
"When gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion".

The gorse has many layers of symbolism.
I won't bore you with more dry botany facts, but it's a fascinating plant and understanding its history and many facets can help you understand why it represents so many different things. Look it up sometime. :)

Here's a quick rundown of the powers or the furze;
Intelligence, protection, healing, love, vibrancy, light, industry, independence, fertility, symbiosis, intuition, hope, courage.

12" x 16",
Watercolor on Arches Cold Press

While the furze does represent intelligence (because yellow is the color of the intellect), I choose the gorse blossom because its meaning is so much deeper.

Wisdom is not intelligence quotient.
Wisdom is a culmination of the head, heart, body, and soul.
Wisdom is discerning when to use what and just how much.

Just like most of my paintings, it was a personal reminder to seek balance and nature is where I find it most. :)

For customizable on-demand prints, home decor and apparel, visit my online Society6 and Cafe Press shops. 
*(Custom on-demand prints will not be hand signed.)