Thursday June 22, 2023

– Crescent Moon Phase – begin, initiate, wish, project, set an intention

– Moon in LEO – Void of Course 1:01 PM – 6:35 AM Moving to Virgo

– Retrograde Planets – Pluto, Saturn, Venus (in Preshadow)

– Best Days (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – June 22 – Buy a Home, Dig Holes, Cut Firewood, Entertain Friends, Get Married, Travel for Pleasure, Mow to Increase Growth, Host a Party, Paint, Kill Plant Pests

– Planting Calendar (from the Farmer’s Almanac) –  June 20th – 24th – Poor period for planting. Kill plant pests, clear fencerows, or clear land.

– Aspect of the Aeon Sophia: (Wisdom): – Chinnamasta – Goddess Who Expands The Mind

– Aspect of the Aeon Thelete: (Will/Desire): Ian – God of the East, God of Wisdom

– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Month – New Moon in GEMINI SUN/MOON – 27 GEMINI: a young gypsy emerging from the woods gazes at far cities     (EARTH – 30 27 SAGITTARIUS: the sculptor’s vision is taking form)

SUN – 01 CANCER: on a ship the sailors lower an old flag and raise a new one

EARTH – 01 CAPRICORN: an Indian chief claims power from the assembled tribe

SUMMERFOLK

Yesterday’s post celebrating the Summer Solstice presented a picture and not much else. The picture was one I remembered from my past from a children’s book called The Summerfolk by Doris Burn. It was the companion book to another similar book called Andrew Henry’s Meadow.

I liked Andrew Henry better because . . . well it was my name. But like a good 5 year old, I went through the book and crossed out the word Andrew and wrote in Andy.

I have to wonder how much of my early education came from story books. I was a huge fan of Dr. Seuss. Horton, McElligot’s Pool, The Sneeches, Yertle the Turtle and of course The Grinch.

It wasn’t until later in life that my mother told me she hated them – more because they were difficult to read over and over again. She admitted to hiding my copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

But there were also all of the Micky Mouse/Disney Stories, The Little House, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, Where the Wild Thing Are.

We had a lot of books. We would demand multiple books with every Elementary School Book Order. And Mom would march us to the Library regularly. And the library’s summer reading chalange was not optional

It helped an awful lot that my Mom had a teaching degree and specialized in early childhood development. And she used her degree to instill that love of books in her kids. We later found out she would have preferred an Accounting degree (which she later got). But teaching was part of her life with both of her parents being teachers.

Worth a Thousand Words

My other point in this little walk down memory lane was about the pictures and the artwork. Yesterday I was thinking about Summer and the Summer Solstice. Thinking about what to write about. And the word Summerfolk came in my mind. And the image of that green covered book and the black and white drawings and quirky landscapes and houses.

I was transported back to a childhood memory. And it was a crisp and clear memory that I could not and would not escape from.

Later in life I learned that this was something with me. Photographic Memory is a real thing. I realized its value in college when I could recall exact notes that I had written – valuable as hell during tests.

But it is the pictures from my early years that I wonder about. I still dream through the pages of books I read and was read to as a kid. Thus the memory of The Summerfolk.

In fact, a few years ago I had recalled one of those books from my childhood. It was during that leftwing cleansing period when THEY decided some of Seuss’s books were controversial and they were disappearing them from the shelves of libraries and bookstores.

I recalled a specific story. It was about a creature that was looking for a better place to live. He had heard of a land that was perfect in every way and was travelling to that place. When he got there, he found that the doors to this perfect land were closed. There was a small creature that resided in the doors to the land that would not allow the key to open the door. Moral of the story was that there was never a “perfect” place and you might be just fine where you started.

I could remember the story and even many of the pictures. For my life I could not recall the name of the book. After a long search I finally found the name of the book – I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew. Then found how inconvenient this simple kids book was to the political situation where so many people were trying to enter our country from the Southern Border.

Not a shock that it was hard to find. And frankly I thought it was another case of the Mandella Effect. Then I found it.

Another Summer Reading List

Another favorite of mine for summer reading has been Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. I did not read this in its entirety when I was young. I was introduced to sections of it in a Lit class in junior high.

In the 70’s and 80’s, using Bradbury in the school system was not looked upon well. Sci Fi had not escalated to an art form there. Too much like Star Wars.

But Dandelion Wine is not sci fi at all. It is a particularly vivid look into Summer life from the eyes of a child. I think I will be picking it up again in a few weeks (I am in the middle of 3 other books at present).

So my question for the day is, What books do you read to remind you of summer. Think on it and comment. Tell us about it.