Circle of Ancestors

Chinese New Year's Gathering and Dumpling Exchange 2/14

Come celebrate the Year of the Tiger with us!

Sunday, Feb. 14th, 3:30 to 6:00P.M.

At a private home in the Oakland Hills

In China, it’s customary to visit friends and family at the New Year, bringing dumplings as gifts to re-affirm ties with the community.

Please bring dumplings or other individual, appetizer types of food to share. It doesn’t have to be Chinese! Your own cultural dumplings are fine—we all have them. Meatballs, empanadas, pierogis, ravioli—it’s all good!  

We’ll be making offerings to the ancestors and there will be divination and a contest. 

RSVP to receive home address at info@circleofancestors.org

 

Ceremony at Otomi ceremonial center, Mexico.

 

One of the many blessing this new year was sharing ceremony with our young friends, Jocelyn and Gerardo.  I felt hope knowing that there are strong youth leaders behind us who are working for the new time.

I was honored to participate in the ceremony in which Puma, spiritual leader of the Otomi people, was delivering the staff that holds prayers for work done by the young adult movement to restore balance to all relations and earth systems.

At the ceremony we support Joscy who represents the work of the young to grow strong and sustainable communities. Puma cares for the staff (baston) of corn during a growing season, while Jocelyn was travels, taking seeds of corn to other parts of America.

Puma led the ceremony of people coming from downtown. Magically, it rarely rains in this place, yet at the beginning of the ceremony the sky clouded over and a steady rain accompanied us until we closed--signs of joy from heaven!

We celebrate with tlacoyos,the best street grub, blue corn treats with nopal and quelitas (local herbs).

The Chinese Almanac

 

I don't use divination or astrology to lead my life.  I will check in with varying degrees of intensity, depending on how intensely my life is moving.  Sometimes all it does is give me a few seconds to pause and wonder if the feel of the day is reflected by what the reading says, or help me focus on a certain area of my life.

If you're interested in Chinese Cosmology, then the Tong Shu is the place to look.  Tong Shu means "Everything Book".  It is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, and gives auspices for each day.  It is the oldest continually published book in the world.

Trying to find a translation of this book that was understandable has been difficult.  The literal translations made sense, but I needed a cultural translation.  My Taoist teacher led me to Tong Shu online.  I've been using it for the last couple of years.  A few weeks ago I noticed there was a link to the site owner's blog, which gives a daily interpretation and history of the symbols used in the almanac.  He also gives locations of the constellations for each day, a real blessing as I've yet to find a good map that translates the constellations into English.