Corn Planting Moon, May 23

Don Manual Quispe (Peruvian Q’ero elder shaman and teacher of our teachers) said the role of the shaman was to “grow corn.” We’ve let our dreams bud; we’ve practiced aligning our energy centers. What does it mean to grow corn?

The Corn Planting Moon in May is the last full moon before the Summer Solstice (next month’s issue), culminating the spring energies that have been building for the last two months. In the Spring, we say that Spring showers bring May flowers, and suggest that we clear the clutter that has accumulated throughout the indoor winter months. Indeed, Spring is the time to create anew, to capitalize on the earth’s new cycle of creation. However, it’s difficult to create anew on top of the decaying energies of winter; thus clearing your clutter (or the decay of previous activities) and appreciating spring washing/nurturing rains are wise advice.

This full moon represents the time to plant corn. Why now? Because the season has warmed enough that the new plants won’t freeze and die, thus jeopardizing this year’s crop and next year’s potential.

Corn to the indigenous peoples of the Americas was a staple food source and was reflected in their cosmology of life. Corn came in many varieties, representing abundance. In some indigenous cultures of North America, corn symbolized women’s mothering and caring because one single stalk nurtured only one ear of corn, contrasting with other plants that grow many vegetables per single plant. Corn also symbolized cooperation and the need to see life in a larger perspective, since a single corn stalk can only be fertilized by another corn stalk’s silk and nature’s wind blowing its pollens around the community.

Don Manual Quispe (Peruvian Q’ero elder shaman and teacher of our teachers) said the role of the shaman was to “grow corn.” But what does it mean to grow corn? To grow corn is first to know when the environment is no longer hostile to new plants, to plant the seeds in a community and in concert with Nature so the plants can fertilize each other, and to nurture them to grow. These tasks often became the responsibility of the community shaman who used his/her knowledge of the seasons and ability to communicate with Nature to predict when the timing was right. A community’s shaman frequently assisted in planning the planting and harvesting cycles.

Essentially growing corn is like the old adage of teaching a person to fish is to teach a person to feed themselves, rather than merely feeding a person one day. Today, this type of nurturing is not reserved for corn stalks, mothers, and community shamans. To grow corn is to help another person become their best; it is to help another become who they are meant to become. When we live our own destiny, we offer others the opportunity to do the same. When we shine as best as we can, we provide light for others to find their own light to shine. Growing corn is now responsibility of everyone.

This is the season to plant corn and nurture its growth. Ask yourself: What do you want to grow? What seeds are ready for planting? What environment is no longer hostile, so you can plant those seeds that need to or want to grow? Now is the time to plant your corn. Remember that as you plant your own corn, you begin to live your life of destiny, thereby making it possible for others to do likewise.

Next Month: The Strong Sun Moon reflects the Sun on the longest day of the year.