Wawata - Moon Dreaming

Dr Hinemoa Elder, author of Aroha, New Zealand’s top-selling non-fiction title of 2021, shows us how to reclaim intimacy with others, with ourselves, and with our planet using the energies of Hina, the Māori moon.

Hina, the Māori moon goddess, has 30 different faces to help illuminate life’s lessons – a different face and a different energy for each day of the month. And with her changing light, new insights are revealed.

This book gives us the chance to connect to the ancient wisdom of the old people, who reach forward into our lives, with each of the moon’s names as their offerings. Their reminders are a source of strength in our strange modern world, where we have been stripped of much of the connection and relationships we need for our wellbeing through successive lockdowns. We now see just how important these things are!

This book leads you through a full cycle of the moon, to consider 30 aspects of life. And lessons we thought we had learned come back around with each month’s cycle and remind us of deeper layers and blind spots. And when we do find a growing awareness of place and harmony, there is a sense of release. A new kind of freedom starts to emerge, soothing our modern-day pain and suffering.

This book is designed to open up our moon dreams, for a deeper affectionate connection with ourselves and others.

Author Biography

Ko Parengarenga te moana, Parengarenga is my ocean.

Ko Tawhitirahi te maunga, Tawhitirahi is my mountain.

Ko Awapoka te awa, Awapoka is my river.

Ko Kurahaupo te waka, Kurahaupo is my ancestral canoe.

Ko Potahi raua ko Te Reo Mihi oku marae, Potahi and Te Reo Mihi are my traditional meeting places.

Ko Te Aupouri, ko Ngati Kurī, ko Te Rarawa, ko Ngapuhi nui tonu oku iwi, My tribes are Te Aupouri, Ngati Kurī, Te Rarawa and Ngapuhi.

Ko Hinemoa taku ingoa, my name is Hinemoa.

Dr Hinemoa Elder is of Te Aupouri, Ngati Kurī,
Te Rarawa, Ngai Takoto and Ngapuhi nui tonu and is the mother of two adult children. She has lived on Te Motu Ārai Roa, Waiheke Island for more than 25 years, and is the author of New Zealand’s best-selling local non-fiction book of 2021, Aroha – Maori Wisdom for a Contented Life Lived in Harmony with Our Planet.

Hinemoa is the Kaiarahi Oranga Hinengaro at Te Hiku Hauora, Muriwhenua. She also provides youth forensic court reports and neuropsychiatric assessment and treatment for tamariki mokopuna experiencing complexities in their recovery from traumatic brain injury. She is a deputy psychiatry member of the New Zealand Mental Health Review Tribunal.

In 2019, Hinemoa was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit,for services to psychiatry and Maori. You can also find her on Instagram and TikTok @drhinemoa.