As the October 2020 moon moves towards fullness…
(to reach 100% on Halloween night), I find myself musing on the Korean ceramic form, the Moon Jar.
(The image above is my favorite from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s collection.) Traditional Korean ceramics are one of my favorite art forms, second only to Contemporary Japanese ceramics.
Originally developed in the Joseon period (1392 – 1910), moon jars are so named because of their resemblance, in almost perfectly round form and milky white color, to the full moon. It is often said that the plain white glaze of the porcelain symbolizes the Confucian virtues of purity, modesty, simplicity.
Stately in size, traditionally they were made for royalty and aristocrats by anonymous potters, and they were very utilitarian, mostly used to store rice, soy sauce, wine, etc. That said, moon jars have become a hallmark of Korean ceramics and to this day, inspire contemporary ceramic artists worldwide.
Tonight, as I look up at the almost perfectly round moon, only hours away from completing the waxing half of its cycle, I wonder… If it were a jar, could we fill it with all of our current worries, concerns, anxieties? Could we send them up to it and fill it to the brim? And because it’s the moon and not a jar, rather than storing all of these dark, heavy, burdensome thoughts, it could take them with it as it embarked on the waning half of its cycle. All of our worries, concerns, anxieties could thus fade away, could be taken into the black vastness of the galaxy.
And could show up with the bright round fullness of the November full moon (three days after Thanksgiving), transformed into calmness, confidence, satisfaction, serenity, gratitude.