Blue Moon

Tonight's full moon is in fact a Blue Moon - one of those special occurrences when we have two full moons in one month. 

The term 'Blue Moon' has been around for centuries - cropping up in almanacs, folklore and stories for around 400 years. The relative rarity of the event gave rise to the phrase, 'Once in a blue moon' which we still use today when something happens rarely. Because of this unusualness, a Blue Moon was considered to be very special and amongst pagan communities, a deeply magickal event. One view is that the Blue Moon marks a time of heightened or clearer communication between ourselves and the Goddess - particularly the 'Crone' form of the Goddess who embodies the great wisdom which comes with age and the passage of time. 

As I have spoken about before here, I tend to feel heightened emotion around the time of any full moon. My sensitivity peaks and at times I feel like something beyond me is making feel inexplicably sad or anxious. Every time, I am unaware as to why or how I am behaving differently and it is usually afterwards that I realise it is the full moon and I should have gotten used to it by now! 

Do any of you experience this - the sensation that, like the moon, you are full to the brim and about to bubble over? I'd be interested to hear your stories.

Brightest full moon blessings. 

Flower Moon

Like my beautiful anemones, tonight's moon will be full and blooming. 

May's full moon is often referred to as the Flower Moon or Planting Moon. Some traditions name it the Hare Moon and with its associations of fertility and romance, it is easy to see why. This month has seen an array of flowers blossoming and the feeling all around us is buoyant and lively.

Use tonight's powerful lunar energy to consolidate plans that you have been working on in recent months. Get your fingers into the ground and spend time cultivating your garden - be that literally or metaphorically. This time of year is perfect for focussing on professional and personal development and turning those seeds you have been sowing into tangible progress.

As a ritual this evening, you could plant or tend your garden, offering blessings under the moonlight. This symbolic act shows that you are releasing positive energy into your endeavours allowing more fruitful blossoms to arise from your work. 

You could begin a scrapbook of positivity, using images, thoughts and messages from others. This will represent a growing source of warmth and love which will be of great comfort in the colder and darker months when our energy is naturally lower. 

Alternatively, return to your lists of aims and wishes from earlier in the year and focus your mind - and the energy of commitment which flows from this full moon - to reaffirm your goals. For each goal you have already achieved, light a candle and, in the growing light, meditate on those hopes which you still wish to work on. Repeat your affirmations and ask your chosen lunar goddess for her assistance in keeping your will strong and your focus steady.

Full moon blessings to one and all.  

Seed Moon

April's full moon is often referred to as the 'seed moon' because the season marks a time of growth, fertility and moving forward. We are encouraged to be bold with our actions, take chances and make the changes we have been planning over the colder months. 

This year I will be taking the symbolic 'planting' to a literal level as I pot up more herbs, some salad leaves and strawberry plants in containers for my teeny tiny garden. My goals for the coming months are to be eating more of my own grown foods, sourcing more local produce and cutting back on meat. I hope these small steps will mark a move towards improving my own health, as well as helping the environment. 

What seeds will you be planting this full moon? 

Storm Moon

Whilst meandering from site to site, admiring the many blog-worlds you wonderful people are creating, I stumbled upon the fantasy artist, Molly Harrison. Her work is hugely reminiscent of the likes of Amy Brown and Jessica Galbreth, whom I have admired for many years. These particular illustrations seemed apt representations of today's Storm Moon...

March's full moon is variously called the Storm Moon, Wind Moon, Seed Moon and no doubt known by many other names. It is the moon of change, prosperity and sweeping away 'cobwebs'. Some choose to utilise the high energy of this full moon to 'spring clean', with rituals involving the besom or dried heather to physically enact the sweeping of negativity or old habits from one's life. Others focus on the 'abundant' nature of this time of year, channelling the energy into desired change. 

This moon's power colour is green - one of the reasons these images seemed so suitable for today - and it is usually associated with personal growth and prosperity. As with our Ostara blessings, rituals that work well under this moon's influence are those which focus on particular desired achievements, both spiritual and practical. 

Throughout this whole season, it is important to focus our energies on renewal, repair and regrowth. For example, The Domestic Witch's fantastic 'Spring Cleaning' programme works towards de-cluttering your life, both inside and out. It may be that you use today's energies to reaffirm your determination towards reaching these goals.

You may prefer a simpler ritual focussed on a specific aspect of your life. This prosperity charm posted by Liz over at Lizzie's Logic is perfect and uses materials which can be found round the home and garden. 

For me, there are some particular influences I would like to invite into my space, in order to use my time and energy more effectively. My reasons for using these images in this post were twofold: not only do they conjure the symbols of the day, they also represent to me something which I want to focus on over the forthcoming months - a return to creative practices. Illustration used to be a pastime of mine and I haven't really drawn for a long while; I also want to write more. These along with some other goals are the focus of my ritual today. 

Brightest blessings.  

"Old moon fades into the new...

...soon I know I'll be back with you."

With its apt timing - the moon has indeed just turned dark - I thought I would share this lyric from a favourite song of mine, a live version of which you can see here...

Currently finding myself having a short separation from my beloved, this song has embedded itself within my mind as it so often does when I am away travelling. This time it is I who is staying home, waiting for B to 'bend time' and fly back to me.

I hope the new moon brings with it the wonderful opportunities you wish for, my love.

And to everyone else who is out there hoping for change, I am sure you will see your goals realised as the moon burgeons once more. Brightest blessings.

Lunacy

I get a bit jittery at this time of the month. The new moon quite literally brings out my dark side and I’m prone to feeling anxious and on-edge. I have several friends – women in particular – who claim a similar effect at this point in the cycle. One, without fail, is inconsolable each month and then every time claims surprise when I tell her – yet again – that the moon is dark. It’s a powerful thing, our little satellite. The magnetism between her and Earth is such that she pulls our tides. Somehow that makes it not so hard to imagine her pulling little me.

Here she will rise, reborn, in the early hours of the morning and this month she does so audaciously and conspicuously, blocking the sun. Our first solar eclipse of 2010. Historically, eclipses were considered bad omens but whilst this isn’t a commonly held belief today, I find many magickal practitioners are reluctant to use these days for casting. The energies are unpredictable and the new moon is perhaps best used as a time to reflect.

To me, an eclipse often marks significant change and I like to contemplate quietly the things I am thankful for and the personal growth I hope to make with the waxing moon over the forthcoming month.  Whether you consider the meeting of these astral bodies as symbolic of the god and goddess embracing, the balance of masculine and feminine energies or the combination of light and dark in everything; whether you cast, pray or simply give thanks, I hope the day is an auspicious one for all.

With brightest blessings...