Moon and omphalos 7 May 2020

The certainty of the phases of the moon provides predictability. And the omphalos from Delphi, or navel stone, is about being centred and localised. There are many ways of regarding lunar patterns apart from European customary ones. For the Tiwi in northern Australia the moon is a man who gradually withers away to a bit of skinny bone in the sky and then grows big again. He is associated with death and the waxing and waning of spirits, while the sun is a woman, huge and glowing. For the Tiwi male objects can be thin and small, while things of the female gender are big.  Today I was in pain after having an abscessed tooth removed - because of Covid 19 no dentists had been available and only today was I able to get treatment. What care and kindness from the dentist and his staff, eyes compassionate above masks. It is good to see one's own bony tooth out on the tray, and remember the larger cycles of time and renewal.   

Diana Wood Conroy, 'Moon and omphalos' 12.5 x 19 cm, 7 May 2020.