moondala moonday

A nettle moondala -- a May mandala -- or just #5 of 13 moondalas, my monthly sew & dye ritual -- there are many names for this little bitty cloth. It is a tulip-dyed moon on a nettle-dyed background, all wool with cotton embroidery threads. Little hairs are stitched onto the leaf-centered spiral, just like the little stingers on the nettle plant, herself. As nettle is a beloved plant to me, the nettle patch is one of my favorite parts of the garden. A perfect example of making food your medicine, we eat steamed nettles in the spring before she blooms and I drink dried nettle infusion year-round. Nettle also freezes nicely so we're able to have it in winter soups, too, or in any recipe that calls for a cooked green.

Today is a waxing moonday in the sign of fiery Leo. Since Leo's ruling planet is the Sun, Leo days may feel warmer than normal, something a person welcomes in the winter, but not so much in the summer. It's pretty hot here today, maybe the sun is making up for those freezing temperatures with snow that we had only a few weeks ago. If you find yourself more self-confident now -- enough to be extra-frank and straightforward with other people, well that's a Leo characteristic, too.

To sunny days ahead.