Illustrator: Bri Hermanson
[contents]
The Lunar Calendar
September 2011 to December 2012
august 22–september 22
virgo
This year’s Witches’ Companion calendar section focuses on activism: ways you can get involved in your community. Making a change in the world can seem like a daunting task, so here we focus on one topic each month, either in your home or in your community. We hope you’ll find the cause that resonates with you, so that you can be the change you want to see in the world! —Nicole Edman, editor
This year marks the twentieth year of September being Organic Harvest Month, as announced by the Organic Trade Association (OTA). Organics are a hot topic in the food world today, especially with the growing popularity of writers like Michael Pollen and Barbara Kingsolver. While the actual nutritional value of organic food is yet to be decisively proved, the environmental advantage can’t be ignored: organic production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, eliminate toxic and persistent chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically diverse agriculture.
Some people are put off from buying organic produce by higher prices in the supermarket, but the growing farmers’ market trade may provide a cheaper source of organic goods: it’s estimated that 40–60 percent of farmers at such markets operate organically.
How to get involved
The easiest way is the simplest: buy organic produce. To ease the transition, replace just one item per shopping trip with its organic equivalent. You could also look into Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in your area; eating organic produce is convenient when a boxful is delivered to you each week. Visit www.OTA.com/organic_and_ you/15ways.html for more ways to get involved in Organic Harvest Month. Happy eating!
New and Full Moon dates are shown in Eastern Time. You must adjust the time (and date) for your time zone.
september 22–october 22
libra
I remember diving into the world of Huckleberry Finn as a fourth grader (ambitious, yes), but it turns out I may owe those hours of enjoyment to a stubborn library staff: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the fifth most frequently challenged book of the 1990s.
Banned Books Week has been celebrated during this time of year since 1982. According to the American Library Association, Banned Books Week “highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of book across the United States.”
Books are challenged or targeted for banning from parents or other groups for numerous reasons: sexually explicit content, offensive language, material unsuited to age group, violence, homosexuality, anti-family messages, and religious viewpoints are among the most popular. Nearly 70 percent of challenges take place in classrooms or school libraries, with another 24 percent in public libraries. Censorship is a scary slippery slope, and the Supreme Court has upheld the free expression of ideas time and time again. The Library Bill of Rights states that only parents have the right (and responsibility) to restrict a child’s access to library resources. To let the library staff do so would be a violation of the First Amendment.
How to get involved
Visit www.ala.org and click on “Issues & Advocacy” for more resources, lists of frequently challenged books by year, and some frequently challenged classics. Encourage your local library to celebrate Banned Books Week, if they don’t already, and then snuggle yourself up with a banned book and read on!
When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.
~Desiderius Erasmus
october 22–november 21
scorpio
Vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, raw food diet, fruitarianism . . . what does it all mean? November is Vegan Awareness Month, and with an estimated 3.2 percent of U.S. adults (some 7.3 million people) eating a vegetable-based diet and 1 million of them following a vegan lifestyle, it’s worth understanding the vegan ideals.
Veganism is a philosophy that shuns the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other product. While some vegans focus solely on the human diet, the larger movement has its roots in animal rights activism in Britain. Donald Watson founded the Vegan Society on November 1, 1944. Vegans not only abstain from animal flesh and animal-derived foods like milk, honey, or eggs, they don’t use leather, wool, fur, down, or cosmetics or other products tested on animals. (In contrast, many vegetarians will consume animal-derived products such as milk or cheese.) Veganism is touted as a cruelty-free lifestyle, aimed at bettering the lives of animals, improving human health, and supporting the environment. The animal meat industry produces an estimated 51 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and is charged with a great deal of water pollution.
How to get involved
If you’re not quite committed to the vegan lifestyle, try a gentler approach this month by reducing your overall meat consumption. If meat is a must, buy grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and other products where the animal’s quality of life was taken into consideration. Outside the home, ask your cafeteria or local lunch spot to add vegan-friendly options to their menu.
On the non-food front, avoid goods made from leather or fur, and see if you can swap wool items for those made of cotton.
There is no sincerer love than the love of food.
~George Bernard Shaw
november 21–december 21
sagittarius
On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the aftermath of World War II, human rights was a topic of vital importance. An 18-member special commission within the UN, led by Eleanor Roosevelt and comprised of members from around the world, spent nearly three years drafting the seemingly simple declaration. When the declaration was complete, the member countries of the United Nations adopted it without dissent.
December 10 now stands as Human Rights Day, and December is Universal Human Rights
