Tuesday January 24, 2023
– New Moon Phase – begin, initiate, wish, project, set an intention
– Crescent Moon Phase – challenge, growth, struggle, expansion, gathering
– Moon in PISCES –
– Best Days (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – Jan 24th – Get Married, Hatch Eggs, Mow to Increase Growth, Potty Train, Castrate Farm Animals, Start Diet to Gain Weight, Cut Firewood, Wax Floors, Cut Hair to Increase Growth, Wean, Dig Holes
– Planting Calendar (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – Jan 23rd – 24th – Extra good for peppers, tomatoes, peas and other vine crops. Fine for planting any aboveground crop where the climate permits.
– Aspect of the Aeon Sophia: (Wisdom): – Kali – Goddess of Beginnings and Endings
– Aspect of the Aeon Thelete: (Will/Desire): Seth – God of the North, God of Enlightenment
– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Month – New Moon in Aquarius SUN: – SUN/MOON – 03 AQUARIUS: an unexpected thunderstorm (& EARTH: – 03 LEO: an epidemic of mumps)
– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Year: –“a flock of wild geese”
SUN – 05 AQUARIUS: a council of ancestors
EARTH – 05 LEO: rock formations tower over a deep canyon
Good, Better . . . Better
When I began dieting for my health (about 12 years ago), I heard some advice that has stayed with me. The advice? Eat food that is as close to Nature as you are able to.
This is just a small piece of advice. But it is so profound when considering a diet. Each step away from Nature is a step away from your health.
But let’s face it. Our lifestyles and society make “close to nature” difficult. Unless you are living close to where the food comes from, you are not often seeing “fresh”.
I remember how difficult I found this moving from California to Pennsylvania. I liked fresh seafood. In PA, I was 150 miles from the closest seaport. I thought it was funny at the store when the signs said “Fresh Fish.”
In CA, fresh off the boat was pretty standard at a lot of restaraunts and markets. You expected 24-36 hours out of the water. And you can tell the by the flavor and texture. I had to get used to frozen. It was an easier pill to swallow than the lack of Mexican food. But you get the point.
That being said. in Eastern PA, the summer is a bounty of fresh produce. We are farm country here. Our summer meals are often fresh picked that day.
Back to Good Better Better
To put this idea into practice, you need to think about your choices. Say you want to add more vegetables in your life.
(Good) You could get a can of green beans, heat them in the microwave and serve it with dinner.
(Better) You could buy frozen green beans, boil them on the stove and serve.
(Better) Buy fresh green beans. Cut and prepare them, cook on the stove and serve.
(Better) Find organic, fresh green beans.
(Better) Buy from a farm market or stand.
And so on and so on. You can always find a better cholce. The question is whether each step is practical. Sometimes the best you can get is what you find at the store. And from there, if you cannot find green beans, you may have to opt for something different. But you get the idea.
Difficulty also lies in price for said food. As you rise along the “better” scale, the prices go up. As well as the cost of obtaining it. You may have to travel farther in order to find the better products you desire.
Strategies
When you are looking for the best, most healthy foods are, think about what you see in the grocery store. For the right stuff, follow the walls.
Dairy – Produce – Meat – Bakery
Health wise. Fresher is better. You find fresh produce – often refrigerated. Fresh meat. Fresh dairy. Freshly baked breads. As you delve into the middle of the store, the items are more processed. Canned juices. Sauces. Boxed, premade foods. Coffee. Soda. Cookies. Oils.
You need to find a balance.
Toxins
I will not go into deatails here, but the biggest problem you will find with foods are the chemicals used to bring them to market. And these range from the pesticides and fertilizers used on produce, to the medications and hormones given to livestock, to the MSG and other preservatives added to processed foods to preserve them.
The idea is to be aware of them and limit them wherever possible.