P is for pots, progression, planting and play

"Life is a story unfolding. The Progressed chart is one way to track your personal story. The idea is that a person develops over time. They “progress”... Your chart progresses slowly but when a shifts occur, they’re epic. If you’re satisfied with your progressed chart, you’ll be in no hurry for anything to change. If you’re in a jam, it can be excruciating as you can be “stuck” for many years... It’s helpful to consider your progressed chart and also to realize that the people around you are also changing. So often people want to put it back the way it was, but this is not possible. Keeping an eye on progressed charts reminds us, we’re evolving." - Elsa writing about "What Is a Progressed Chart?"

My pots of Motherwort, perched on piles of dirt surrounded by pots of tiny rocks. "Growing rocks," my neighbor asked? "Yup," I told him. "I've been playing with growing rocks since I was a kid." And it's true little stones and rocks have been playmates all my life. 

The hens have started crowing. They've lain eggs. We were awake much earlier today, me with my bowl of warm oatmeal and they quietly investigating the ground for their breakfasts. I was in my slippers but in my winter robe. Dew is on the ground and clouds are in the sky. Yesterday I spent a few hours with Pete's trenching shovel and the heavy rake beginning to clear and prepare land for Medicine Plants. 

When we pulled onto The Pond two months ago I ordered Motherwort seed, three varieties. Motherwort and I have a nice thing going on. Turned on to her by Susun Weed, the relationship we have is loving: we love each other. 

"In addition to its health-promoting effects on the uterus, motherwort heals the heart. It is, in fact, one of the world's best heart tonics. Its name means "lion hearted" or "strong hearted." Daily use helps new blood vessels grow to the heart. I call it "a bypass in a bottle... New research showing that the heart has the same memory cells found in the brain may lead us to another use of motherwort: to help relieve heartache, especially from childhood injuries. Let motherwort ease your bad memories and open you to more joy. Try 5-10 drops before meditating and see what happens." - Here's a link to a beautiful article S.W. wrote about Motherwort. 

Once they were about three to five inches high I transplanted Leonurus Cardiaca into pots. 

Motherwort tucked into a pot next to the wash tub filled with flowers and vegetables and another pot with an Eggplant 

The heat wave of June and the weeks of experiencing settling and planting ourselves now find us:

• surrounded by long, lanky and graceful pots of Bamboo People
• four pots of Kane'ohe la'i ti leaf stalks have roots and sprouts growing into "Camp Bamboo" goat compost on the west-facing side of the vardo
• an old wash tub is filled with Marigolds, Scarlet Runner Beans, Kale and slow coming Nasturtium
• a pretty blue planter/pot on the edge of the long re-purposed bench from the upstairs house is abundant with Oregano
• Sunflowers in clay pots are taller than I and face the rising Sun. Soon they will blossom.

Pots. All these Plant People are making their transitions from seed to sprout to upright plant or vine, or in the case of the Bamboo People from one place to another; and maybe helping us in our progression from nomad to rooted beings, in pots.

Progression. "Life is an unfolding story," writes Elsa Panizzon on her blog ElsaElsa. I've been reading, learning and following Elsa since the day I learned to blog and find ways to help Pete build our wagon home. Elsa continues, "The Progressed chart is one way to track your personal story. The idea is that a person develops over time. They “progress”..."

That's the thought and the experience I'm digesting as I consider the new step involved in moving Motherwort from the pot into the Earth. My nomadic genes might think "pots = moveable, transportable, temporary." But if I were to be curious and open to a new way of thinking as myself a being on Earth, there could be a change and progress in the making. Maybe I could prepare both plant and me to root into Earth herself.

So with astrology as one of my tools I took a look at my Progressed Chart and found (a lot) something to add to the percolating possibility about P is for pots and progression. Here's the thing (the 'aspects and angles') I found and am considering:

Play. I am now a Progressed Aquarius (born a Scorpio)-- 8 years into a 30 year stint -- of being an Aquarius, who is among other characteristics, a free-thinker and revolutionary. Across the chart in an 'opposition' are the planets Saturn (structure, time, boundaries) and Pluto (deep, dark, shadow, transformation) in the sign of Leo. One way of interpreting this progression in my chart and my life is to recognize my free-thinking Aquarius sun is opposing the 'heavy hitting' planets in the 5th House, of Creativity and Play.

Midara says this about the 5th House: "The fifth house is often overlooked in astrology in favor of the heavier or more “important” houses like the seventh or tenth. But to me, this is a mistake. Fifth house topics like fun and creativity are what make life worth living! The 5th house takes its meaning from being the joy of Venus. Venus, the fairer benefic, deals with pleasure, art, and fertility in all forms. So the 5th house represents the way we give and receive pleasure, the way we express our creativity, and most of all, the way we have fun!" 

The Earth beneath the pots of Motherwort is thick with roots from the Buttercups, Horsetails, Blackberries, grasses and Cedar who have lived here for a long time. There is very little top soil to receive the medicine plants. Medicine plants are Weeds ... wild plant people of the very best sort. They, the Medicine plants, can grow in many places and in all conditions. So I weigh out thinking about 'amending' the soil for Motherwort and her other companions I dream of. Saturn and Pluto are planets that represent structure and depth. Settling into the astrology and the application of my Progressed Chart maybe the way to have fun (5th House of Creativity) without being blind to the Aquarius who just wants life her way ... I could turn the opposition into an opportunity:

Planting and Playing

• have fun playing with my little pots of small rocks (5th House and Leo both are about fun and creativity)
• take time and effort to build the soil before transplanting Motherwort into the Earth (Saturn and Pluto would nod at this right?)
• give the Earth some extra love and amended nourishment (Motherwort is all about heart and nurturing)
• and then, set those loving roots into some yummy dirt with some sort of edges to keep the yummy compost-amended dirt from washing away every time I water (Saturn likes the sound of those boundaries;)

The cool cloudy Friday is a perfect combo of weather, temperature and mood for writing, and playing in the dirt. I'm back at the keys for a little bit while our neighbor drives his very big diesel dump truck back to its place across the road. When the diesel runs, I run for cover. It's a trade-off and a show-down of my Aquarius Sun who wants her way her way, and the lesson (Saturn) I'm learning that I can't have it all! At least not all at one time. In a few minutes, the air would have cleared, my mind and my heart will have enjoyed gathering a few more words for this blog and soon I'll be at my shovel and dirt playing and planting.

My friend Satori just published her Weekend Love Forecast, "Take Aim with Your Heart". She ends with these lines:

"Give yourself room to imagine an ideal outcome and room to take your shot. Take aim from the heart and believe in yourself."

Is there any wonder why I love this woman? Nope. 

If you have any thoughts, or experiences with the P words let me know in the comments. Do you track your Progressed Chart? Or have thoughts about planting in pots, or creative/low or no cost ideas for boundaries around the dirt mounds? How about your Heart and Play, are they having as much fun as the satisfaction you get from checking stuff off your list of to-dos?