28 MOONS

Happy Lunar New Year!

Across cultures and centuries, the moon has drawn our gaze upward. The simplicity of its form, and the certainty with which it appears in the night sky, makes it a powerful symbol of what exists beyond our earthly experience. Its cycle intrinsically links it to time, serving as one of humanity’s earliest preindustrial calendars.

— Will Calver

In celebration of Lunar New Year, artist Will Calver created 28 moon paintings. This series came to life on its own terms; what began as a commission for a single moon painting—created for a custom chocolate box in collaboration with andSons— slowly revealed itself to be something larger. Compelled by the work itself, the artist completed the full lunar calendar, leading to these 28 celestial works.

28 days is the approximate time it takes for the moon to complete its journey around the earth. It’s a cycle that honors both fullness and emptiness in equal measure. Waning is not loss, but preparation. What disappears always returns, and what returns will disappear again. In a fragmented world, the moon remains one of our few truly universal constants — guiding us on when to plant, to harvest, to rest, and to celebrate. All it asks is that you look up.

Last month, we gathered in the space between two energies—releasing the Wood Snake year and stepping into the Fire Horse. This new year brings velocity, passion, courage, and freedom.

Guests spent the evening in the presence of all 28 moon paintings, followed by quiet journaling and warm chai by aaja. Will also created a lunar animation that greeted guests as they arrived.

In honor of all that was shed this past year, and in welcome of the Fire Horse energy that has just arrived, we invite you to sit with the following journal prompts:

1. As the Fire Horse year approaches, what do you want to clear away to make room for the energy and momentum ahead?

2. Name three wild things you want but haven’t said out loud. Why haven’t you?

3. If the Fire Horse year were a color in your closet, which would it be - any are you wearing it today?

4. What daily ritual do you want to enact as this new cycle opens?

5. What conversation are you avoiding that might actually set you free?

6. What phase of the moon reflects where you are emotionally today?

7. What would you attempt if failure were just weather — passing and impersonal?

8. If your future self sent you a post card from the end of this year, what would the image on the front be?

A poem by Mary Oliver, offered here as a companion for this moment.

Don’t Hesitate by Mary Oliver

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

—

Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to those reflecting alongside us from afar.

Happy Lunar New Year!