1. nvt. Stargazer, reader of omens, seer, astrologer, necromancer; kind of looking glass (rare); to watch closely, spy, examine, look around, observe, forecast. Cf. hākilo and below. Kilo aupuni, political expert. Kilo ʻuala, to examine sweet potatoes as in a new mound in order to thin. hoʻo.kilo Caus/sim. (PPN tiro.)

One big takeaway at last weekend’s ʻAimalama Conference (lunar conference on climate change) is the importance of kilo: watch closely, examine, observe, read the omens. Do this daily, multiple times a day. Note the moon cycle, the seasonal changes, the weather, the plants, the ocean, the fish. And so on. Pay attention to how the climate and the environment is changing. Global warming is real. If you haven’t felt the effects (outside of the weather), then you need to upgrade your kilo skills. The ocean and the bounty it provides is different. The earth is wetter. And dryer. In extremes. And it is having an effect on its bounty.

This post is not about the changes that are occurring so much as it is about each of us honing in  on our ability to kilo – to observe what is going on day after day and night after night. Pay attention to the rains and the winds, the clouds, the creatures. And figure out ways to adapt. I noticed the absence of honeybees (important pollinators) on my ʻāina. It got to the point where I had to hand pollinate my lilikoʻi. Now I have a beehive. Hoping that the bees will increase my small crop of lilikoʻi and create a larger bounty of kabocha in my yard and help my ʻōhiʻa lehua and koa to thrive.

I am making a concerted effort to improve my kilo skills. I am completing my Kealopiko moon journal on a daily basis and have even set up a spreadsheet in my google drive.

Check out the moon phase project online. Post your photos to twitter and hashtag them #hiloiaapaa #kaulanamahina.

But more importantly, Use your kilo skills to be more aware of YOU and your surroundings. Every decision you make reverberates outward to the universe and causes change. Make it good change.

OLA!