Usually, I blog in order to, according to my illusion, teach or share what mere things I think that I know, but this blog post is different! I’ve got a story in me that I’ve just GOT TO tell; its about an experience that I just had talking with mountain folk who plant vegetables and work their live stalk based on the Moon! And about me “coming out” and being “me” more than I ever have before amongst the intereference of Appalachian Christians.
You see, I was waiting for a car repair in a tiny little waiting area with some of the employees and customers. I was reading my book and basically ignoring the talk in the little crowd while I waited. Then I heard the word “Moon” and since I basically eat, drink and sleep astrology these days, naturally my ears picked up the conversation around me at that point. And I do mean within 3 feet or so of where I was sitting. The man who worked there was chatting with a lady about planting according to the Moon but was using terms like “in the bowels” and “in the breasts”. He was saying how his mama told him that “you never plant when it’s in the bowels”. And they lady agreed and they talked on about their beets and potatoes and so on it went. I tried to pretend I wasn’t listening and actually tried not to inject myself in the conversation, but when there was a lull I had to ask. “You’re talking about the astrological signs, right? What does ‘in the breast’ and ‘in the bowls’ mean?”, I asked.
I half knew the answer but wasn’t certain and so quite happily he says, “Well, here I can show you—I’ve got a calendar that shows it.” So he trots to the back and brings it out and says Moon is in the breast under a day and there below it is the picture of a crab—Cancer! So then I, of course, find this interesting how the farmers are using the astrological signs but correlating it to the physical body instead of the name of the constellation itself.
I think the whole conversation probably started because he was talking about planting his beans because right now the Moon is in the breast—today the Moon is in Cancer. So then I explain how the zodiac signs are right there on the calendar—like the mountain goat and so forth. So this is getting quite interesting and I am enjoying our conversation as he was teaching me some things and I correlating it with the signs of the zodiac. And of course, actually each sign does correlate with a part of the body so he was absolutely right but he kept on talking about all he knows is what his mama taught him about when to plant. And he says if people plant when the Moon is in the bowels the potatoes won’t come up and the beans won’t grow.
At some point, and I can’t remember how he brought it into the conversation, the man says he used to be a magistrate. And I wondered what Sun Sign he was, but didn’t ask right then. I was too interested in what he was saying about the pigs and cows bleeding and dying if you don’t cut the pigs tails and the cows horns at the right times according to the Moon. I had to laugh because he says with the pigs they put a combination of lard and soot where they cut and it stops the bleeding. That is, unless you cut at the wrong time of the moon and then the pigs bleed to death. Apparently, pigs attack one another’s tails or something—which I didn’t know. And as far as the horns on a cow, the horned cows attack other cows and so they cut the horns off (at the right time of the Moon of course) so they won’t hurt the other cows. Shows you how much I know, I thought only bulls had horns and he says no, cows have horns. (Poor cows and pigs having their stuff cut off!)
So anyway, this old guy is so entertaining and animated telling all these stories about when people don’t listen to him about when to plant, their vegetables fail and they learn and come to him to ask when is the right time to plant. And so finally, I ask what is his Sun sign and he points to the July calendar to the 22nd of the month. And the light bulb goes on for me—no wonder he kept talking about his mama and what his mama says and how smart is mama was. Cancer males have a strong connection to their mothers. Born July 22nd he is on the cusp of Leo and his Leo side was shining through with all this story telling about beans, potatoes, beets, cows and pigs and of course his mama. The other lady is agreeing with him all the way since her mother taught her about planting according to the Moon too.
So since the man is teaching me about some things, in exchange I tell him that he is part Cancer and no wonder he relates to the Moon planting (I left his mama out of it though) and that he’s part Leo too, because Leo Sun people are good story tellers. (I kept the magistrate part out of the correlation, but being in the court system, he probably got a lot of attention and Leo’s love being in the spotlight.) I just stuck to the story telling part because everybody in the place could see what a great storyteller he was, pacing back and forth and being really animated in a gentle way.
So I’m having a great time learning about these different things and up walks a christian to spoil the fun! And now it gets even more interesting in an irritating sort of way. Now, mind you, they are all mountain folk influence by backward self-proclaimed (never been to a seminary) Baptist ministers up here—I’m the only one in the room from “OFF”. That’s what they call people like me who were born somewhere else—a non-local born OFF the mountain.
In all her righteousness she comes to inform us all that we need to be really careful 
because of what it says in “the bible”. And then she throws in a few phrases like “work of the devil” and “the preacher says”.
I’ve got to back up a minute here and share that in the past I’d not have even had the conversation like the one I was having. Trust me; I know the mentality of the locals. Once upon a time about a year ago I saw a sign in the dance class studio up here that said “Yoga and Tai Chi Classes”. I nearly fell over and went inside to ask about it. The studio was closed but the pottery lady said that the girl has to take the sign down because the classes are not offered anymore. I must have looked disappointed and frankly I was. The pottery lady added that the Dance Studio proprietor was informed by her preacher that yoga and all those other things are the work of the devil and with that the pottery lady shrugged her shoulders and walked away. I’d like to say that my mouth dropped in surprise but, not. I had to shrug my shoulders and walk away too.
Anyway, there was the christian lady standing there warning about the devil and astrology and I waited a second to see if the old gentleman and the other older lady would say anything to the old bible thumper. He just said, “I don’t know about that; all I know is what my mama said about when to plant.” The other lady was mum. And me? I was so into being myself at that moment together with being irritated a bit that I said, “Naawh! They’re just trying to scare you.” And she continues about ‘the preacher says that the bible says’ and I said, “Think for yourself honey!” So with that she seemed to disappear. She must have turned and walked away because next time I looked over she was gone. I’d gone back to listening to the old man’s next story.
Now you may say so what? Well, I’ve run into this stuff before up here in the Appalachians. I know most of them have never been off the mountain. I understand that but have always felt that old soul wound that gets triggered by the burn-in-hell Christians. Past life burned at the stake stuff,and all that, you know? And so usually, I bite my tongue and come home and call my sister or a friend and vent. Today, something was different, I stood in my truth without any self-imposed gagging. The fear wasn’t there really and I felt empowered in a way I’d not felt before. Honestly, you’d have thought just because I told a christian to think for herself that I did something spectacular like land on the Moon. Maybe for me it actually was something like that and speaking of the Moon, I think today’s Moon helped me out. I’ve long said when the Moon is in Cancer, it’s my PMS time but not really because those days are long over if you know what I mean. It’s just that when the Moon is in Cancer there isn’t an argument with me that you can win—not that I’m argumentative by nature, but I don’t like being messed with when the Moon is in Cancer. Any other sign, I’m copasetic, but not when the Moon’s in Cancer! I must have released a lot of anger issues from years ago because nowadays that time of the month doesn’t trigger much fury.
Once a month when the Moon moves through Cancer, it hits my 12th house Mars, Pluto and Saturn stellium and anything subconscious will raise to the surface. I wasn’t angry at the christian as much as irritated and while I’d normally suck it up, today I didn’t.
Today I broke through thanks to the Cancer Moon. And that’s all I wanted to say except that I’d have to break through a lot more if the righteous christian lady would have known I was holding a book on past life regression in my hands!
PS—I still have some work to do because as I drove away, I remembered that the guy who runs the shop is a christian too. Once when I was in there he was looking up bible scripture to support his argument with a coworker that a young man in town who was a greecer type with rings in his nose and piercings on his lips and wherever else was born of the devil! Sigh! I started to think how that christian shop owner overheard our conversation and he has the power to fix my car or NOT. It is the only garage in town–not kidding either. And then I had to shoo that thought away and get a grip. Pathetic, I know! I’m also releasing the fear thought of him speaking to my landlady and my being asked to move out. Small town and all that. I’m sooooo not going there!!!!
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