Today is Tangaroa-ā-mua, a productive and abundant phase in the maramataka. It’s a time that traditionally calls us into activity—into gathering, planting, harvesting, fishing—into working with what the whenua and moana are offering. There’s a pulse in the taiao right now that says, “Get ready. There’s work to do. The season is speaking.”
And quietly, above us—Matariki sets.
One month from now, we will welcome her rising. But today, she disappears beyond the horizon, descending into the embrace of Rarohenga. For me, this moment carries deep wairua. It’s a tohu. A signal. A time to pause and listen carefully to what is being asked of us—not just from the sky, but from the soil, the seeds, the weather, and from within ourselves.
This is not a time for big fanfare. It’s subtle. It’s a time to prepare.
In the māra, I feel the rhythm shifting. The nights are cooler, the soil is heavier, and certain plants are starting to wind down. There’s a gathering-in feeling, an inward pull. Even the light feels different—it’s angled, golden, subdued. The environment is whispering its instructions, if we choose to listen.
The setting of Matariki marks the beginning of a transitional period—a liminal space. We’re in that stretch between endings and beginnings. Just as the equinox divided the seasons, this moment divides our attention: one eye on the closing cycle, one on the new.
This is a time to reflect on what has been harvested—not just in the māra, but in our lives. What was fruitful? What needs to be composted, released back to Papatūānuku? And what dreams, still quietly tucked away in the soil of our intentions, are waiting for the warmth of the new year to rise?
Today, I give thanks for Tangaroa and the bounty of the moana, and I honour the setting of Matariki, the guiding light of our celestial ancestors. I take a breath, sink into the rhythm of this phase, and prepare—for the remembering, for the dreaming, for the welcoming that is to come.
Ngā mihi o te wā, e te whānau. Kia āta whakarongo ki ngā tohu o te taiao. Kei reira te mātauranga, kei reira te māramatanga.