W E A R E T H E W E A V E R S W E A R E T H E W E B
The last moon phase of the year is the Long Nights Moon in December, also called the Cold Moon or Big Winter Moon.
Correspondences:
* Colors: White, red, and black
* Gemstones: Obsidian, ruby, serpentine
* Trees: Pine, holly
* Gods: Minerva, Osiris, Athena, Persephone and
Hades
* Herbs: Ivy, mistletoe, holly and berries, cinnamon
* Element: Fire
As the days get shorter and Yule approaches with the longest night of the year, we force ourselves to get through the darkness because eventually we will see the sunlight and warmth again. Think about the things in your life that you've had to endure. Sometimes, a part of us must die in order to be reborn. Now is the perfect time for spiritual alchemy -- time to evaluate your life, and know that you'll survive the dark times.
If you've already put the darkness behind you, take your good fortune and share it with others. When it's cold outside, open your heart and home to friends and family. Reach out to people who might be suffering from the chill of winter, either spiritually or physically.
Full Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior. European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names. Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year. Here is the Farmers Almanac's list of the full Moon names.
In addition to -- or instead of -- holding a monthly Esbat rite, some Wiccan and Pagan groups prefer to have a season-specific full moon ceremony. During the chilly winter months, the season begins with the Long Nights Moon in mid-December, and continues through January's aptly-named Cold Moon and the Quickening Moon of February. If you'd like to celebrate one or more of these moon phases with a ritual specific to winter, it's not hard. This rite is written for a group of four people or more, but you can easily adapt it for a solitary practitioner.
While it may be too cold to hold this ritual outside, it's also possible to keep a group warm with a good fire, at least for a while. Don't feel bad, though, if you have to hold the rite inside. Ask each member of the group to bring an item to place on the altar -- something that represents the season. Decorate the altar with these goodies. Some ideas would be:
* A basket of pinecones, fir boughs, mistletoe or holly
* Cranberries and nuts
* Bright suns and stars
* Cinnamon
* Ribbons in seasonal colors
You'll want to include quarter candles*, as well as a cup of wassail or other seasonal drink. If you're including Cakes and Ale as part of your celebration, place your cakes on the altar as well.
The person in the north quarter lights their green candle, holds it to the sky, and says:
We call upon the powers of Earth,
and welcome you to this circle.
You hold the seeds within you, warm and deep,
waiting for the return of daylight.
Keep the roots of life sacred within your womb,
until it is time for growth to begin once more.
Place the candle on the altar.
The person to the east lights the yellow candle, raises it to the sky, and says:
We call upon the powers of Air,
and welcome you to this circle.
The whirling winds of winter
bring snow and cold to our hearths and homes.
They also bring with them change,
opportunity, and renewal as they blow.
Place the candle on the altar.
Moving to the south, light the red candle and hold it to the sky, saying:
We call upon the powers of Fire,
and welcome you to this circle.
May you keep us safe, and warm our homes,
the spirit of the sun.
Place the candle on the altar.
Finally, light the blue candle to the west, and hold it to the sky, saying:
We call upon the powers of Water,
and welcome you to this circle.
Snow and ice, sleet and rain,
wash away that which we no longer need.
Place the candle on the altar.
Have everyone in the circle join hands and say:
We gather tonight to rejoice by the light of the moon.
We celebrate the season of darkness,
knowing that the next turn of the Wheel will bring light.
We use this time of darkness for thought,introspection, and growth.
As the moon above, so the earth below.
Go around the circle, passing the wassail. As each person takes a sip, they should share one change
they plan to make in the coming months. Now is a good time to make plans for future, with the coming
change of seasons -- what goals have you set for yourself? How will you make them manifest?
Take a moment to reflect on darkness of the season, and know that without it, there can be no light.
When everyone is ready, either move on to your next ceremony -- Cakes and Ale, Drawing Down the
Moon, healing rites, etc. -- or end the ritual.
Tips:
* Quarter candles are colored candles based on the colors of the four cardinal directions: green for
north, yellow for east, red to the south and blue in the west.
What You Need:
* Candles for each of the four quarters
* A cup of wassail or other seasonal drink
* Symbols of the season to decorate the altar
submitted by Teralyn
Full Moon Ritual for the Winter Months
paganwiccan.about.com
Dorothy Morrison's book "Moon Magic." .
The Moon exudes a cool, feminine, silvery-feeling energy that rules the life-giving waters of our planet--the rains, tides, and dew--as well as those in the physical body, such as menstrual cycles and other bodily fluids. She also rules all emotional responses. Raw, properly focused emotion energizes magic. For this reason, many practitioners work in conjunction with a phase of the Moon's cycle that is in harmony with their magical intent.
*Waxing*
This phase occurs when the Moon grows from dark to full. In this phase, the Moon provides the proper energy for magical efforts maintaining growth or enhancement. It is a good time for beginnings, fresh starts, and new love, and is of benefit in building businesses, friendships, partnerships, and financial prosperity. The waxing phase also provides suitable conditions for planting herbs, developing psychism, and increasing physical health and well being.
*Full*
The Moon's energy is most intense when She reaches abundant fullness. Any magical effort, especially difficult ones, can benefit greatly from the potency of this phase. Use the full Moon to amplify magical intent and to give spellworkings additional power.
*Waning*
The shrinkage of the Moon from full to dark is called the waning phase, and it offers an energy suitable for recession, peaceful separation, or elimination. Use the waning Moon to end undesirable eating patterns, break bad habits, or to remove yourself from dysfunctional partnerships or stressful situations. Its energies favor any magical effort requiring decrease or removal.
*Dark*
Some practitioners use this phase as a period of rest. They find it useful for regeneration, relaxation, and gathering for the creative phase of the waxing Moon.
Others prefer to use it for meditation, psychic power enhancement, or for delving into past life memories to help them better understand current difficulties. Dark Moon energy also lends itself to divination and matters where truth is an issue.
Submitted by Hazel Eye Gazer
Moon Phases
• Full Wolf Moon - January Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January's full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.• Full Snow Moon - February Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.
• Full Worm - March Moon As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.
• Full Pink Moon - April This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month's celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.
• Full Flower Moon - May In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon.
• Full Strawberry Moon - June This name was universal to every Algonquin tribe. However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon. Also because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June . . . so the full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry!
• The Full Buck Moon - July July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time. Another name for this month's Moon was the Full Hay Moon.
• Full Sturgeon Moon - August The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.
• Full Harvest Moon - September This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering.
• Full Hunter's Moon - October With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can easily see fox and the animals which have come out to glean.
• Full Beaver Moon - November This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.
• The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon - December During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.
