six * kona winds, feather, point break, sunset
kona winds * six of winds
You want it to be perfect so bad, but it’s “blowin’ Kona.” The wind is “cutting” and unfamiliar, and disrupts your best laid plans. It’s unrideable and not as had been expected. The prevailing “soft and caressing,” island style breeze has been replaced. Travel plans are interrupted and complications arise. “Windmills” come to life, as the other, but “forbidden,” side of the island, is perfect, if only you knew where to go. Others become unreliable and you expect misleading directions, if not verbal jousts or more. Crowding and “surf queens” with tempers will set the stage at known spots, as a “knotted and disorderly” few, are sure to guarantee distraction and disquiet enough, to ruffle your feathers anew. In Chinese medicine, “strong wind removes heat from the body,” and all of the sudden you’re starting to “cool” to the idea of a difficult session. The winds could switch anytime, and you could wait things out, but sometimes things are a “total wash,” and kona’s waste an entire swell. You are rendered immobile.
Do not let conditions shackle you. Cool your jets, not your ardor. “Wind sweeps away fear.” Think less and follow your senses more. When going away to find something new, you need to know where to go, and how to deal with things. Wind disperses “fog.” When on “pilgrimage” or “exodus,” you must take action. Gain a fresh vantage point. A change up is good medicine. “Opposite trades” blow in new and different perspectives. Stay open and open minded. Shake things up. If you’re in need of some local knowledge, go see a psychic. Get your cards read. Accept the truth and deal with things. Some “die without the discipline to wait, or the wherewithal to make an adjustment.” Look for other avenues of financing. Look at problems afresh. Take care and be aware. Be watchful. You will find the suitable “setup.” That “other” spot could be just around the corner. Be discreet and keep secret spots to yourself.
illustration John Mason
feather * six of waves
Whitewater is symbolic, not only of chaos, but of temptation. Lured by her plume, we paddle hard in anticipation of the breaking wave. The feathering lip announces her seemingly imminent arrival, and starts our adrenalin flowing. The wind has whipped things up a bit and stirs a rush of feelings. The cresting, cream puff top heralds her beauty and our heart’s desire, coming so close, we can just “taste’ it. But she’s just teasing us, and is not quite ready to spill. With tides in flux, swell backs off in the deeper waters, and the wave subsides. What once feathered is now, but a foreshadowing to the “mane” event.
Feather by Patrick Parker
Left alone and sitting too far outside, we now feel abandoned and betrayed by our mother ocean. We believe in “give and take,” and that things are a “two way street,” and it’s not that we are wont to things just falling in our laps, it’s just that one can hold out only so long without “actual fulfillment.” It’s too high a tide and this spot is not “doin’ it.” This relationship is going nowhere. Our overpaddling is like “premature ejaculation,” and without faith that the “next one” is sure to come. She “didn’t really want it,” and was “likely to back off anyways,” so what’s a dude to do? “Martyrdom” and “self destruction” is not our thing, and we are tiring of waves that are “more show than go.” We feel foolhardy as “the tease” is at minimum unfortunate and takes us out of position, not to mention often rendering us even more emotionally detached. It’s not until dropping tide moves takeoff spot the ever further out to sea, and we hear the cry, “incoming!” ...that we paddle again for the horizon, this time with crest striking fear into our hearts, and now symbolic of grave warning, and fast approaching “Kali,” and her “Kundalini rising.”
Accept conditions as they are. The tide is high, and the reef is yet to show. It’s perhaps a necessary prelude. Find a new wave or spot, or become more social in the lineup. Test your resolve and patience. There is something deeper here nor there. Deepen your intent and make a commitment. Feel at one with the immensity of our ocean divine. Make no splash about it. Wait for the lower tide. Paddle inside or over to another peak. Sacrifice a set, and let the next wave go to another. Things will eventually “fall together.” Be easy on your expectations. “In earnest,” can still be “in fun” or “in jest.” Lighten up.
Illustration Victoria Trujillo
point break * six of rocks
Better than good, a rocky headland not only provides potential dreamscapes and is beautiful, but meets the ocean at rocky point, focusing dependable, long and reasonably predictable, lines and rides that are integral to, and emblematic of our experience as a surfer. It’s a different tribe and setup than a beach break. A sometimes heavy bowl breaks right outside beach strewn boulders with littoral drift of rushing waters flowing inbetween. Vibes are high, but can get heavy, as it’s hard work to crack the lineup, both literally and figuratively. In the lee of the point, there is room for guests, where servings are generous and pleasing, as the kelp helps keep the waves glassy, but up the point, at and behind the peak, sits the underground crew, who live life there as sovereign, within and under, their very own surf kingdom.
Supers by Stephen Bibb
Point breaks are popular and premiere spots within our surfing community. They receive plenty of recognition, and plenty of peoples and crowds in turn. They are also often easily “protected.” Hazards, Voodoo Reef, and Dead Man’s are self evident titles that well foretell the story of the local turbulence to be had. Local surfers are a proud lot, at times “overly covetous” and “hoarding” of waves, not to mention fearful. It’s hard to penetrate their spot, let alone their feelings. You will need to know how others want you to behave, and fall in. You are in their “social debt,” and must act according to their “code.” Good waves with bad apples ripple through the pack. They are not intent on sharing, and will call you out if they sense you’re a fraud. Behind stoic facades lies emotionally removed communications, as your cold fingers are symbolic of their “numb” and hence “untouchable,” emotions and feelings. Your subsequent social insecurity can be unsettling, and you will suffer grave disappointment when you know just how good it could be. And just when you think you’re “in,” doubts resurface, and you may think you’re “not getting your fair share.” Enthusiasm dampens as you are often left with a “less than expected harvest,” and may think again you’ve been let down by others. It’s a more difficult and dangerous go alone, and if your protection and preparation is not sufficient you will suffer the consequences. Urchins and rocks await those of no booties nor leash, while a late drop leaves you in on the rocks, with “lost” board paying the price in kind as well. Problems arise when you are thinking only of yourself and not of community.
When you are at a “rocky point” in your relationship, chances are you need to finish your “wave” to completion, and ride things out. Break old patterns. Let go of old conditioning. Setback is inevitable, but don’t sit back. Maneuver. Point in a new direction. Ingenuity often comes from within. Sometimes it’s “difficult to reconcile inner dream realms with outer worlds of harsher realities.” Do you believe that there is more than enough? Or do you believe in “scarcity?” See your future in good standing. Pursuit of your dreams eventually prospers. Have you thought things over and out? Be diplomatic and give things time. Wait for an introduction. Put your time in out on the water, and in the lineup. Are you satisfied with your preparations? Learn tides, swell and wind direction, and all in relation to the various seasons. Hard work pays sustaining dividends. Be generous. “Her” waves are gifts and are “shared resources.” Have you been as thoughtful as you can? Be “more than happy” to defer and let waves pass. It will be appreciated by others. Surf in harmony. Don’t be such a “hard ass.” Surfing is an exchange. Your softness begets and enhances your ability to receive. Break the code. Grow a tolerance for others and their variance of styles. Break the “bank.” Rake in the “good karma.” Make a heartfelt allowance and effort to “unite,” and “hold things together.” Keep the faith and make a sacrifice. Don’t worry about what might have been, just remember that, “well behaved women rarely make history.”
Illustration Odile Schlossberg
Illustration Hilton Alves
sunset * six of rays
The horizon is the line that lets you know you live on the edge of the earth, and are living in space, and upon our “spaceship earth.” Water emotion meets “mind” sky at “sea” level, and at our mind’s eye. The red sky is symbolic of life force and “mana,” which gives rise to the “majestic splendor” we see and feel at dusk. As twilight turns to nightfall, we more readily touch upon feelings of passion and sensuality, and are more likely to be thinking of our lust, and perhaps even of a “buck wild” eroticism. The mythical surfer summer romance is with the “not soon to be forgotten” beach goddess, where we share magical moments of beauty and glory, as “closing ceremony” and “climax” to a “feelgood” day, and a “summer of love.” Expansive under the “native sun,” we are “in the pink,” and in love, and nestled well within our “heart center.” Our soft and calming glow, reflects the serenity and sublimity of a day now put to rest.
illustration John Mason
We hate for it to end, as we sometimes reminisce on the day now passed. Trials and tribulations have been acknowledged, as the outcome is now evident, and the day’s tally in. For some, they were stuck behind computer and on the phone all day, and never got outside. Others were lazy and idle and didn’t give it their best, nor live a full day. For those not grateful or thankful for the day, life is unfulfilling and vague. “Arrogance dims any achievement,” and “unknowingly turns away or puts off those wishing to honor you.” There is tension from “missed opportunity,” and for no “people to see,” or “places to be.”
Lava Wave by Victoria Trujillo
Everything comes to an end. Accept things as they are and just don’t let things get so problematic next time. Sharks come out at dusk. Know when to leave and say good bye. Is the curtain closing on your “falling star?” Fortune turns overnight, and comes from an unexpected “source.” Your day will come again. Are things “slipping away” or “falling off?” It will “dawn” another day. Rejoin your circle of friends. Show your admiration and share an appreciation for things. Have you “gone off,” and out over the edge? Do you still believe that this “whole” earth is flat? Invite magic back into your life. Know her “amazing grace.” Daily maintenance and meditation are required. “Magic happens.” Give “thanks and praise” to her in gratitude. “Immediacy” is lesson learned. Are you living in the past, or resting on your laurels? “Conceit is self defeat.” Pay your respects to “this,” most glorious day. Develop faith in yourself. Are you prepared for naught? “See red.” Find courage, and the will power and strength, to give it your all. Exhausted from doing your best? Spare the time to call it a good day. Rest up and plan ahead. New board and swell will arrive just in time to accept that invitation to travel. At sunset our faith is restored.
illustration David Artavia
