May 3, 2004
... if you're not angry about the current state of affairs, you're probably in denial; and if you're not doing some kind of spiritual practice, you're probably not centered.
Potent Times We're In:
My Full Moon Wish
by Vicki Noble
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOONhttp://www.spaceweather.com/
On May 4th, sky watchers in Europe, Africa and parts of Asia can see a total lunar eclipse. The full moon will glide through Earth's shadow and turn a lovely shade of sunset-red. The eclipse begins at 18:48 GMT (2:48 p.m. EDT) and becomes total at 19:52 GMT (3:52 p.m. EDT).
In the late spring of 1970 I was living at my parents' home with my two toddlers while their father was in Vietnam for a year. One morning my mother and I were sitting in front of the t.v. watching the Dick Cavett show when Seymour Hersh came on with his mind-blowing expose of the terrible Mi Lai Massacre. This was a moment of profound significance in my life -- I have never been the same. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Seymour Hersh for turning the key in my political awakening process -- a karmic debt according to my understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. Today I listened to him again on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! as he elaborated on his recent exposure of the American torture and inhumane treatment of Iraqi detainees. His view of the American soldiers is measured and compassionate (he repeatedly referred to them as our "children," reminding us that there is a difference between our fantasy of "soldier" and the reality of the kids who are actually fighting this war). But his courage in bringing the truth of what is happening into the American living room is the same as it was all those many years ago -- direct and uncompromising: This is unacceptable, he seems to be saying, this is not who we are.
I have been thinking a lot recently about the apparent schism between political activists and spiritual practitioners. On Beltane (May Day) as I drove to the Bay Area I heard a wonderful show on KPFA about the International Workers movement. Interestingly we share that holiday, the Goddess movement and the International Workers of the World. Those of us involved in Women's Spirituality call it Beltane (Beltaine) and celebrate it as a "feast of fire," one of the four cross-quarter days between the Solstices and Equinoxes. International workers celebrate it as the true "labor day" and there are rallies around the world. A decade ago when I first went to Europe, I visited Switzerland on August 1st (another of the cross-quarters) and while riding across the country on a train, I saw the bonfires set on hillsides, all ready to light, in celebration of "Independence Day" for Switzerland. These important national and international holidays have been aligned with the ancient Goddess holidays for a reason -- just as the Catholic Church still celebrates Candlemas (February 1st) and we still acknowledge the spirits of the dead on Hallowe'en (Day of the Dead in Latin America). Buddhists celebrate the Full Moon in May (Wesak) as the Buddha's birthday and say it is the most powerful of all the Full Moons in the year. A total eclipse of the Moon on the Buddha's birthday -- three days after Beltane and the day before Cinco de Mayo -- seems pretty strong. As if to emphasize the point, the planet Jupiter goes direct on the same day.
For most of my adult life I have been involved in the Goddess movement. I have functioned as a spiritual teacher, mystic, and practitioner of female shamanism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Goddess spirituality. Yet it is frequently the so-called "political" types that inspire and move me to action. I listen to Democracy Now! every morning and feel better for having Amy Goodman in the world. I read the Nation and Harper's magazines every month. I love the courage and audacity of the Left, how their truth-telling stirs things up, and I value their incredible commitment to the long haul. I feel there is really no separation between us at all -- that like myself those writers and speakers are fueled from deep within by a profound spiritual fire. Whether they articulate the prinicples of social justice through song, written word, speaking into mircophones at peace marches, or proudly laying their bodies down in resistance to local or global injustice, they have served as models to me of what it means to be alive. Starhawk's global peace work (Reclaiming Collective) and the Catholic nuns who dismantle nuclear plants (Ploughshares) exemplify this radical solidarity and integration of spirit and action. One woman organizer on the May Day KPFA show sang a song, "Have you gone to jail for justice?" And I thought to myself, "Well, no actually, I haven't -- and maybe it's about time I did."
It's not that I think we all have to go to jail, but surely we must speak out even as it becomes more dangerous to do so. We can march for reproductive rights, or get out the vote, or stop pollution. We could refuse to go to work or stop paying taxes that support the war. These times are so unprecedented, they demand unprecedented responses from us. One longing I have is for more coalition to happen between the so-called spiritual and political types -- creating more synergy. We have a tendency to fall into two camps and keep a holier-than-thou attitude toward each other which seems ridiculous and wasteful, given what we're up against. Spiritual practitioners are threatened at the rage expressed by activists (heaven forbid we might sound angry), and activists seem to think we're flakey or airy-fairy (navel gazers). Yet it seems so obvious that if you're not angry about the current state of affairs, you're probably in denial; and if you're not doing some kind of spiritual practice, you're probably not centered. We need each other. We are fueled by the same source. I have long imagined political rallies as opportunities to do chanting or healing work, and have always used my own healing workshops as opportunities to raise political consciousness.
I've had some very interesting discussions in the last year with my friend Tulku Thubten Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist lama and reincarnated teacher whose work is fresh and non-doctrinal. He and I both feel a strong connection to the Black Dakini whose name, Throma, he told me means "angry woman." Throma is the wrathful female deity whose picture graces the cover of my 1991 book, Shakti Woman: Feeling Our Fire, Healing Our World. I believe Throma can be interpreted as a symbol of the feminist movement characterized by the sharp, critical intelligence known as "prajna" in Tibetan Buddhist terms. This is not anger in some small ego-centered way, like a personal grievance or reactive explosion, but rather the luminous wrath of the conscience -- awake, witnessing, and refusing to accept injustice. Like the Greek Nemesis, the Black Dakini says no -- and like an ancient Amazon, she arouses in us the necessary fearlessness required for egoless action on behalf of the whole.
So on this momentous occasion of the Buddha's birthday (remember Tara is a Buddha), the International Worker's celebration, and a total eclipse of the Moon at the midpoint of the Taurus-Scorpio axis, I call in Throma, the Black Dakini, and her retinues of sky-walking women and peace-loving men to inspire and awaken our hearts to the Fate of the Earth (as Jonathan Schell called his wake-up book back in the 1970's). May we go forth together in peace and courage, and may we be energized to create effective actions in these dangerous times. So that there might be a continuation of life into the next generation, let us act in solidarity and with great mindfulness. Eclipses are known to be magical doorways whose amplified effects may not be externalized for several months. Let's use this one to anchor ourselves in deep commitment to loving, fierce, spontaneous, and compassionate action. Blessed Be.
In love and solidarity, Vicki Noble