Welcoming the Dragon's Fire

Day 2 of the Year of the Dragon ( Day 24 of 2012) seems a perfect time to reignite the fire of these Earth Pilgrim Notes after a long hiatus.  How perfect that 2012, this long-awaited and anticipated year, is paired with the Year of the Dragon!  It's the most powerful sign of the Chinese zodiac, a year that promises to be exciting, creative, and over the top.  Of the nearly numberless internet commentaries, I like Jonathan Linneman's description that "Dragon is also a symbol for transformation, just like the phoenix rising. This is the year of spiritual transformation for humanity on a global level."

And speaking of Fire, here on this propitious day our Earth-home is literally being lit up by a sun flare so powerful that SpaceWeather.com describes it as "on the threshold of being an X-flare, the most powerful kind".  Hold on to your hat!  At the least we can start scanning the night skies for spectacular displays of the aurora borealis. 

As to other potent transformations, the anti-fracking movement here in New York State is gaining wonderful traction. Harnessing the New Moon's Dragon energies yesterday, hundreds of demonstrators stormed Albany's Capitol Building.* 

Brandishing loaves of bread, they chanted "Break bread, not shale".  I was absent from their efforts, busy with two like-minded women raising power of Dragon and Earth-energies here on Round Top Hill.  But, given the web that connects us all, I know we fed the fire being fanned in the Capitol.
         
And more.  As I got ready to start in on my very long-delayed writing this morning, I was thrilled by the visit of two Bald Eagles, an adult and a juvenile.  For several glorious minutes they both alighted in trees within sight of Dragonfly Cottage, giving me time to scurry outside with my binoculars for a closer look.  As the juvenile lifted from his perch (or hers) to follow his parent, the branch gave way and crashed to the ground. A better omen for the launching of my 2012 writing work I could not have.

When I see the eagles I am often mindful how not all that long ago, within my lifetime, they had very nearly vanished from the Northeast, victims of human mistreatment of land and waters.  Finally, with people like Rachel Carson sounding the alarm, concerted action was pursued to avert catastrophe. Slowly at first and then steadily the Bald Eagle's numbers grew and stabilized once more.  This recovery still feels a miracle, one of which we can be justifiably proud.

We have many more such miracles to perform as we work together to mend and transform the many damaged and broken places and things in the world.  But there are these hopeful signs and here we are at last in this auspicious year, 2012, augmented now by Dragon Fire.  Now that my life has brought me back to Note-taking, I look forward to documenting some of these encouraging events as they unfold in the months to come.

Let us be on our way!

* Times-Union article on Year of the Dragon Rally