The Moon
I am the shadow of the moon, the hidden magick of the soul
I have always been fascinated with the moon. I look up to the sky and there she sits this beautiful orb looking down upon us. Nothing touches me with such magic and wonder as staring into the night sky.
I am always finding myself gazing upwards. I am touched by such a rush of magickal feelings and energy. To see the soft silvery glow, a bright blue or a dark hazy red. To watch in amazement as the small sliver of a crescent grows each night into a bright Full Moon that looks so big and close that I could almost touch it.
I think it makes perfect sense why the moon plays such an important role in our path. Unlike the sun we can look up into the sky and stare directly into the moon's beauty. We can feel the essence of her pull and watch in wonder as she appears, shifts, disappears each night as she makes her journey through the different phases. She is the closest heavenly body to us and has been a faithful symbol within the night sky. I can only imagine how the first humans felt looking up in the sky and seeing the Moon, not quite understanding what it was but feeling its magickal presence.
The Moon as a symbol of the Goddess & connected to women’s mysteries plays a very large role within my practice as a Dianic Witch.
We honor the ever-shifting phases of the moon as She waxes, grows full, wanes, and hides within the darkness. Just as the Sabbats follow the Sun, we have the Esbats (a ritual other than a sabbat usually referring to those during the full & new moon) which follow that of the moon’s phases.
During the Sabbats we honor the changing seasons and have festivals, feasts & all around celebrations. Esbats, are more focused on magickal work, divination, and ourselves as priestesses.
As I explained the Moon phases play a huge role in my craft and spiritual practice. I pay significance to each changing phase and honor the Goddess and hold rituals during these times.
Moon Phases and Menstrual cycle
While there are Masculine Deities associated with the Moon, the Moon is mostly seen with Feminine qualities. Our own menstrual cycles have been tied with that of the lunar cycle. Even today you can do a quick search of websites focusing solely on the menstruation cycle and find that most have a mention of the Moon!
"The very word menstruation is etymologically related to moon. The terms "menstruation" and "menses" come from the Latin mensis (month), which in turn relates to the Greek mene (moon) and to the roots of the English words month and moon — reflecting the fact that the moon also takes close to 28 days to revolve around the Earth (actually 27.32 days). The synodical lunar month, the period between two new moons (or full moons), is 29.53 days long."
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"Throughout all cultures, the magic of creation resides in the blood women gave forth in apparent harmony with the moon, and which sometimes stayed inside to create a baby. This blood was regarded with reverence: it had mysterious magical powers, was inexplicably shed without pain, and was wholly foreign to male experience. Early menstrual rites were perhaps the first expression of human culture."
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I think that women especially have a very strong connection to the Moon right there. If we as women wanted to have a stronger connection to nature and focus ourselves more along with the flow of energy and balance, then we would most definitely begin by looking to the Moon and Her energy.
Today in our society we are usually more disconnected from nature. You may want to check out the book: "Lunaception : a feminine odyssey into fertility and contraception" by Louise Lacey. It discusses the theory of how the moon’s light affects our cycle and the effects of the artificial light that surrounds us.
Moon in Astrology & Symbolism
In Astrology the Moon rules Cancer and represents emotions and the unconscious. Its element is water, representing the hidden below/within. gaze down into the water and it shows you the inner reflection. This is a major reason why divination is important and linked to the moon.
While the sun sign is our ego, the moon represents our emotions, intuition, our inner-self.
Moon in tarot
illusion, intuition, uncertainity, subconcious, secrets, anxiety