Day 61: Dragon Magic

By some accounts, the Year of the Dragon began officially on the Chinese New Year, January 23.  (See Day 47: New Moon Monday, New Moon Year.)   In others I have read, it began on February 4, just as we began the weekend.  Did you feel a new surge of power?  Personally, I was exhausted, but by Sunday I had rallied.

Chinese astrology works in 12-year cycles.  According to legend, Lord Buddha challenged all the animals of the zodiac to race across the river.  The cunning rat got there first.  The sluggish pig took his time and arrived last.  The goat, which is Zoe's sign, came in 8th.  I washed up 10th, as a rooster.  The dragon is the fifth year in the cycle.

Babies born between now and February 9, 2013 will be dragons: the free spirits of the Zodiac, wildly colorful, flamboyant, extroverted, showy, confident, fearless, and probably very successful.  Dragons are gregarious and generous and make a lot of friends, but are secretly solitary at heart.

Apparently, not all dragons are alike.  2012 is the year of the water dragon, or the black dragon, and the dragon contains earth, water, and wood.  You have to use Chinese astrology to determine which of the five elements are dominant for you to know what qualities this dragon year will bring out in you.  If you want to avoid your work this morning, you can look this stuff up pretty easily.

The goat, which is Zoe’s sign (I only just found this out today, in my research) tends to be very shy.  My hope is that the dragon will give her the extra power she needs now.

In the Sun Dynasty (AD 960-1279) the dragon was described as having the head of an ox, the muzzle of a donkey, and eyes of a shrimp, horns of a deer, body of a serpent covered with fish scales, and feet of a phoenix.  The dragon usually clutches a pearl symbolic of its super-natural powers.  Accompanied by thunder and rain, dragons move like lighting and whirlwinds—all powerful yet totally unpredictable.

The water dragon of this year (the last one we had was in 1952) is not as bold as the other dragons.  According to one source:

Water has a calming effect on the Dragon's fearless temperament. Water allows the Dragon to re-direct its enthusiasm, and makes him more perceptive of others. These Dragons are better equipped to take a step back to re-evaluate a situation because they understand the art of patience and do not desire the spotlight like other Dragons. Therefore, they make smart decisions and are able to see eye-to-eye with other people. However, their actions can go wrong if they do not research or if they do not finish one project before starting another.

http://www.usbridalguide.com/special/chinesehoroscopes/Dragon.htm

But according to my sources, the dragon is considered the ultimate auspicious symbol of success and happiness, and it should be a good year for all.

In May of 2010, my husband and Zoe and I visited Blois, the birth place of the illusionist Robert-Houdin, who began his life as a watchmaker and became a magician and illusionist who inspired many who came after him, including Erik Weisz, who changed his name to Harry Houdini in homage to this great master.  There are some rooms devoted to him as well in this museum, which I recommend you visit if you ever happen to be in the Loire Valley of France and want to take a break from gawking at all the châteaux and tasting all the beautiful wine.

At the Robert-Houdin House of Magic, a dragon automaton on the façade of the building comes to life every hour.

If you look closely, that's me inside the chess pieces

A statue of Robert-Houdin

Our timid year-of-the-goat dog who is afraid of inanimate objects that look like critters but aren’t, including large ceramic animal shapes, snowmen, and over-the-top Christmas displays like the one we saw one year on our street of some reindeer at a bus stop, was, to our great delight, undaunted by the sight of these giant golden mythical creatures bobbing their powerful heads at us.

She had made a friend, a living friend, of her own kind, and was otherwise engaged when the dragons came out to breathe on us all.

Wishing everyone a year of dragon magic.

Day 47: New Moon Monday, New Moon Year

In some circles I have frequented, the new moon is known to be a good time for new beginnings.  The fact that it's happening on a Monday, the day of the week named for this celestial body, inspires me, even if the sky is black as I walk over to the studio to begin this day, and indeed, this new week.

In the Iyengar yoga classes I used to take in London, the new moon week was supposed to be when you emphasize standing poses, like the warrior sequence or triangle and side angle pose.  The idea was that you were setting out on a fresh start with energized feet, moving forward with renewed vigor.

For people who garden using the cycles of the moon, this is a good time for planting.  Except, of course, on the third week of January in a cold climate.

The new moon in January or February is always the start of the Chinese New Year. This time it's today, on January 23, so Happy Chinese New Year, everyone.  Go have some steamed dumplings, and find a festival near you.  Soon, February 4, the Year of the Dragon will begin.

http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/2012.htm

The festival lasts for 15 days.  I have been in Montreal and in New York when it was celebrated, and I loved the festive red streamers and delicious smells wafting all through Chinatown.  Two years ago one of my students went to Paris for it and reported on it vividly in her travel blog.

A few fun facts:

More than a billion people celebrate this holiday--a sixth of the world--and airports will be crowded today. In 2010, about 210 million people traveled, which one site says is "the equivalent to the whole population of Brazil packing their suitcases."

On this day, world records for numbers of texts sent are routinely broken.

http://gohongkong.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/a/Chinese-New-Year-Facts.htm

With all this auspicious energy out there, today is a very good day for new beginnings: a new lunar year for all.

So it's a marvelous time to bring new moon energy to new endeavors.  A good time to plant seeds or plant new ideas.  To make a wish.  Start a creative project.  Make a list.  Plan a trip.  Go on a first date or go out for coffee with a new potential friend.  Begin learning something new.

At the Asian market in Ottawa last month, we stocked up on dumplings without even thinking the holiday was coming.  We're having some for lunch with the last of the spicy, cured pork a dear friend gave us for Christmas as part of a delicious food package of French delicacies.  We like to mix things up--French and Chinese fusion.  Fusion everything--that's my world.  Zoe had a good whiff of the meat before I put it away.

I'm excited to start a new meditation class on Thursday evening of this week, and, by the weekend, to begin a new draft of my novel with a fresh, new approach.

But for now, I'm looking forward to the Chinese dumplings at lunch.  Almost as much as Zoe will savor sniffing out the last of the pork.

Happy new moon, gentle reader.  Happy Monday, and happy Chinese New Year!