Elements and Tides

Fire is the active, expansive principle of the four elements: hot and dry, the spark that leaps before there is anything to leap toward.

Water is the receptive, dissolving principle: cold and moist, the element that takes the shape of whatever holds it and quietly wears down whatever…

Air is the connective, mobile principle: hot and moist, the element that joins one thing to another and carries the word between them.

Earth is the stabilising, grounding principle: cold and dry, the element that holds shape and keeps faith with what was made.

The planetary hours are the oldest clock the tradition keeps.

The New Moon is the dark of the cycle: the Moon riding close to the Sun, her face turned away, invisible from the earth.

The Waxing Moon is the building light, the whole arc from the first thin crescent in the west through the half-lit quarter to the all-but-full…

The Full Moon is the height of the cycle: the Moon standing opposite the Sun, lit edge to edge, the night at its brightest.

The Waning Moon is the receding light, the arc from just past full through the disseminating gibbous to the last morning-lit quarter.

The Balsamic Moon is the last sliver before the dark — the waning crescent before dawn, almost spent, almost gone.