January 2023
January exists in a strange space, a quiet month that threads the connection between growth and calcification. It can be disorienting to feel pulled in two directions, to set intentions for a year ahead when the emotional ramifications and lessons from the past year are still amorphous. The cycle of a year happens so slowly that it can come as a shock when standing at the precipice of the beginning, while still deeply moored in the accumulation of the ending. It’s easy to feel caught off guard, as if the clock has run out midway through completing an endless task. The temptation to slough off the past is monumental, as is the desire to feel as though the completion of a cycle is a tabula rasa. However, a snake that sheds its skin still glitters with the same scales. A tree that grows a new ring still contains within its trunk a record of the years past. At Open Sea, we encourage you to embrace the fact that closure is not an ending—it’s a deepening, an acceptance, and a chance to breathe. As 2022 plunges into 2023, we hope that you take this moment to remember, above all else, to be kind and patient with yourself. You have come this far, and it is enough.
GARNET
Primordial Fire
Garnet, the birthstone of January, is a glasslike stone that glows with an internal flame. Garnet is not one type of stone, but a family of many diverse species and forms of gems. It represents cohesion, a unified expression of strength burning from a glittering variety of sources. Its name stems from granatus, Latin for seed, and it contains the spark of truth and growth. It serves as a wellspring of light, acting as protection from harm and a guiding force against the darkness of confusion and dishonesty. The color of blood and the heart, red garnet is a reminder to follow what is true and pure.
COURAGE - DEVOTION - TRUTH
CHRISTMAS ROSE
Although technically a buttercup, Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger, named for its black roots) pollinated by bumblebee is a winter-blooming flower that often emerges from the snow-covered earth. To see a flower blooming in winter is a comforting sight, a reminder that even in its stillness, January is brimming with concealed life. A flower blooming in the winter needs an insect to pollinate it, and the Christmas Rose relies on bumblebees and flies hardy enough to brave the cold. The insects are rewarded with food in the coldest months. Even when the skies are clouded and the trees leafless, the harmony of the natural world persists.
FULL MOON
January 6
WOLF MOON
The first full moon of 2023 is the Wolf Moon, named for the howling of the wolves that once roamed the full expanse of North America. Wolves howl to speak to one another, to foster connection over great distances. Their howling in the winter is in preparation for the spring, when new family ties are formed. To hear a wolf howl is a humbling experience, a reminder of the powerful creatures who share our world.
NEW MOON
January 21
POEM
who will the day catch then
if i am not the centre of its tongue?