Sense of Place

I drink my coffee and the less than full moon floats between strands of clouds in a strawberry sherbet tinted sky. Pelicans cross our point individually, in pairs and as squadrons, cutting dark, prehistoric shapes against the waxing blue of morning. Back on Tropaco Point, we're once again surrounded by water and sky, living within a patchwork of blues and greens and a 280 degree ocean view.

While lists still exist, my mind tired from taking stock of the details remaining to be finished, the instructions still yet to give or that need repeating, there is joyful momentum in the doing vs. waiting. The time has come to turn our floor plans, Pinterest boards and mental sketches into a physical reality. While plumbing snafus are still be worked out and WAPA electric bills are jaw dropping, we have our own roof over our heads and our own furniture in place. With the renovation, the light and sounds are different, walls have been removed to reveal new vistas and added to change the view, but here we are, Dave, Margo and I, inhabiting our old shell that has been reworked with a bit more room to breathe and a layout to discover.

The full moon in Taurus last Wednesday was very apropos in describing the mood for this moving in process. Taurus is a feminine earth sign connected to how we engage in the earthly and material world. Ruled by Venus, the bull desires harmony, beauty, pleasure, stability and security. Think of Ferdinand the bull who loves to lull in the meadow, lie under shady trees and smell the flowers. Contentment is the goal, but there can also be a hustle to this sign when it comes to obtaining the riches it so desires (or impressive athletic abilities when bee stings are involved!). These bulls are willing to sow their fields to ensure a harvest, using elbow grease or getting dirty, as long as there's time to laze when lazing is called for. For Taurus folk, it's all about making things beautiful and savoring the riches of their labor.

And when you consider the moon astrologically, the luminary that governs the night time sky, her domain involves the setting of our lives, both the internal and external landscape. She represents ever changing waxing and waning cycles; how we manage the flux and flow of the emotional and material world; the mother, the womb, our roots and how we nurture ourselves and others. The moon sheds light on the setting and nuance of our life's environment. Think of a director of photography when watching a film, is it a vivid and colorful action movie or a grainy, soft lit drama. Wherever our moon is placed in our natal chart brings awareness to the kind of stage on which one's life plays out.

With all of that said, my natal moon is in Taurus where the moon is exalted (has some powerful resources), and the past weeks of moving in (and possibly 20 months, or 50 years) have been all about deriving a sense of place. With this re-homing I meet both a hustle and awe in getting to unpack boxes, how to arrange our belongings, old and new, finding shelves, walls and corners for our paintings, plants and books. Handling the abundance of our life in the knick-knacks and photographs forces a reminiscing that can only happen with a move. Setting the stage for this mostly empty nest phase, I'm challenged by where to put Elsa's "My favorite work in the primary classroom", Harry's self portrait from elementary and Hugh's keyboard. But simply cutting through the moving tape and unwrapping the faded newsprint paper to unveil these treasures is the reward. I will either find a space to display these artifacts or wrap them up again for another time, another reveal. But new breathe revives me in their handling and I can't help but feel a tug of time traveling. Keepsakes are just that, keeping for the sake of remembering. Curated talismans from another time inspire moments of tenderness, strength and love in the present.

Even thought it's only been in few weeks since we moved in, there's a sense of personal urgency to get settled so that I can find some missing agency. Through the root and rise theme, I now have space to restore and grow. The waywardness has ended and here starts a new chapter with earth to sink my hands into as we plant our potted flora, ground to push myself up from in a variety of colors with the many tiles I've used and winds to lean and breathe into, be it on the Atlantic or Hull Bay side of the house. Yes, there are still an exponential amount of decisions to make, but gratitude grounds the chaos that comes at the tail end of a project.

And as the universe, spirit and God would have it, my favorite bird, the tropical bird, has come to play on our point as I finish writing. He dances before me, his whiteness alit as he flits against an indigo ocean. His lone, long tail feather shivers with his buoyant movement, reminding me of divine timing, joy and perseverance, beauty and abundance in the magic that shows up when you pay attention to your surroundings.

Feeling blessed,

St. Sunshine

PS- I'll soon be offering Sun, Moon and Rising Sign readings through the lens of ancient astrology. Until I get things set up on my website, the cost will be $40 for a written description of your birth chart as it pertains to the placement of your sun, moon and rising sign. Please reach out at stsunshinevi@gmail.com if you're interested!