Wicca 101, October 2, 1995 Topic- The Celebration of the Moon Teacher- jwaters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- jwaters-- Okay, welcome to another #wicca101...once again, the opinions presented tonight are strictly my own, from my particular tradition and way of practicing wicca/witchcraft For those of you who do not know me, I am not a wiccan per se, I call myself a witch, as that was the way I was trained... There are some differences, as their are differences in all the various traditions in wicca/witchcraft, but that is a class all in itself *laugh* If you have any questions about things we talk about tonight, please feel free to ask me about them, either after the class, or privately through email. If you want to teach a class of wicca101 in the future, please email me what you would like to teach at jwaters@computel.com We are always looking for volunteers So tonight's classes is on the Moon, why do we celebrate, and how can we more effectively use the moon in our magick. In ancient times the Moon was the symbol of the Goddess, she changed in appearance every night As she was growing, towards the full moon, the light would increase, so that one could see all the mysterious silvery shadows.... As she was fading towards the new moon, the darkness would fall across the land...making it impossible to see at night.... There are reasons why we do particular types of magick at different times of the moon phases The moon is the closest "planet" to our own earth, and just as the tides of the ocean are affected by the moon, so are the tides within our own bodies... There is a lot of truth to the full moon theory...people that are more sensitive to energies are highly influenced by the moon tides The more magick that you do, the more in tune you become with the cycles of the moon, and the more you have what we call, 'The magickal tides" in your own body. So why do we celebrate the moon? The time of the full Moon is when the Lady, or the Goddess is in her full power...the tides of the earth, and in our own bodies are at their highest...it is an incredible time to do magick. If you are lucky enough to live outside the city, and can see the full moon away from the city lights, you know the "magick" of that silver glow that She casts upon the earth... The Full Moon represents the time of the "Mother" aspect of the Goddess...when she wants to bless as her children The New Moon is the Maiden aspect of the Goddess....time of all possibilities, The Dark Moon, two days before the new moon, is the time of the Crone, we will talk about three of those.... At the time of the New Moon, and if you were born under a new moon, this especially applies to you. The time of the New Moon, is the time of new beginnings, we have a whole new cycle starting. There are some covens that do rituals at both the New and Full Moons...I always do my own private thing at the new Moon, and a coven thing at the Full, but that is just the way we do it in my group. The New Moon is the time that you want to take advantage of the "growing" essence" of the magical tides. If there is something you want to bring into your life, you would do magick between the New Moon and the Full Moon... As the moon grows towards fullness, the thing that you desire, will also grown and come to you Provided of course that your intention for doing such was pure...and the gods willing *laugh* The New Moon is often related to Diana the Goddess of the Hunt, the maiden aspect of the Goddess It is feminine energy in all its pureness. As a side note, if you want your hair to grow faster, get it trimmed on the new moon, if you want it to stay basically the same length, get it cut after the full moon Of course anytime you want to plant herbs, especially for magical uses, check the phase of the moon, you would want to plant them under a new to full moon, and in a water or earth sign... My home page will be up and running soon, and one of the things that will be there is the sign the moon is in and the phase, if you want to check it The new moon is a wonderful time to start new things, even if it is not of a magical nature...but anything that you want to grow and evolve... It is a great time to look for a job for example, or anything new you want to bring into your life At the full Moon, as I have already stated, most coven celebrate the Goddess and get together to do what ever magick is deemed necessary by the group The Full Moon relates to the aspect of the Goddess as the Mother...she in her abundance who gives out to her children For those of you familiar with the Charge of the Goddess by Valient....it is based on the full moon. It is truly a lovely charge, if you would like it, I will be glad to email it to you, just let me know The full moon is when we get together to do serious healing magick in my tradition As the tides in the body are at their strongest, it is a good time to be able to release from our own abundance We also do things for the planet and for people we know who has asked... I usually do something privately as well during that times. Normally at a full moon celebration you would try to use silver on the alter to reflect that aspect of the Goddess...a silver chalice for example... A very simple but very powerful ritual that I know to do with a group is this.... You take a silver chalice, fill with wine or juice...which ever you prefer depending on the group and how they are with alcohol Standing outside, this is very important...you try to catch the reflection of the moon in the chalice... The acting priestess blesses the wine/juice, catching the light of the moon in the chalice... She passes this to the person next to her deosil, with the words, "Partake of the abundance of the Mother, may your needs all be met".... As the person takes the chalice, they look into it, catching the light of the Moon inside, and drink....then passing it to the next person with the same blessing I have done this in woman's circles, it is very powerful, and a very gentle way to introduce people to the love of the Goddess At the full moon time, if you are going to use flowers on your alter, try to use white flowers...white carnations, or something similar... I also have a very good shortbread recipe that we cut into shapes of the crescent moon for the cakes.. if you would like that, email me... So the full moon time is mainly a celebratory time...a time to partake of the goodness of the Goddess, and to do magick for others, with their permission of course... After the full moon we come to the time when the magical tides in our body begin to decrease This is the time that you would want to do magick for things that you want to leave your life... Example, you want to lose weight *laugh* Most women I know do.... There are some simple things you can do to help yourself to do such, burning a candle while visualizing the weight slowly leaving your body If you are in an unhealthy situation and would like to get out, this is the time to do magick...BUT...be sure that you have done everything possible and this is the last resort Magick should always be the last resort, you should make every effort to change things through ordinary means before resorting to magick Depending on what you are using the herbs for, there are some herbs that are harvested at this time traditionally, i.e., the "witches' herbs" such as nightshade... After the full moon, as it decreases to the new moon, is mainly a time of resting, of getting ready for the next cycle... The last two days before the new moon are called the Dark Moon...the time of the Crone In my particular tradition we do not do magick at that time. It is a very powerful time for meditations and going within yourself ... There is plenty of time the rest of the month to do magick, without doing so in the dark moon For people who were born under the dark moon, which from my personal study of astrology, is about 75% of pagans...it is a lifetime of working on your spirituality The Dark Moon is similar to the time of the year between Samhein and Yule, where there is no light, and again, in my tradition we don't do magick The Crone rules during the time, and she can be a very harsh teacher... A very powerful one true, but you can get the same lessons from the Mother or Maiden aspect of the Goddess If you chose to do magick during the Dark of the Moon, I would only l recommend those things that you really want to leave your life Because they will So be very sure for what you are asking Then the cycle begins again at the New Moon....as the light once again begins to grow and change daily There are actually eight phases astrologically that the moon goes through As wiccans/witches, we only acknowledge three for magical purposes If you are interested in the astrological aspects of the moon, email me, and perhaps we can do another class based on that I am going to open this up for questions now, this was a very basic explanation of the Moon, a more detailed astrological class may be given at a later date if there is enough interest So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask bear-> Julie, What about healing during the dark moon, as well as between Samhein and Yule? Oishda-- fascinating about what you said about being born during the dark of the moon ...how would one find out ? jwaters-- Bear: The healing done during the dark of the moon, would only be for things such as cancer or AIDS...serious life threatening diseases...most things can wait 2 days for the new moon BUT...sometimes the dark moon is appropriate, just be really aware of what you are asking for during that time jwaters-- Oishda: Have an astrological natal chart done, it will tell you what phase of the moon you were born under... As a practicing astrologer, I see a lot of pagan folks, and have just noticed a trend of about 75% being born during the dark of the moon....something I have found fascinating I love the astrological aspects of the moon, but it is not really wiccan/witchcraft...if anyone wants to know about it...just email me and maybe we will do a class on that bear-- Julie, what about the second half of my question- healing between Samhein and Yule? jwaters-- Bear: Again, if it is something that absolutely can not wait, sure you can do healing during the dark time of the year, but again, be aware that you are under the time of the Crone...be VERY specific about what you are asking for We just generally do not do magick during the time, as the Goddess has to rest, so do we...a time to reflect and meditate...HOWEVER, if something is really needed, I would certainly do it Any other questions about the moon? Oishda-- jwaters how long have you been involved in the craft ? jwaters-- Oishda: 14 years seriously. I was born into a pagan family...but took my place on the path 14 years ago -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note from Ilana: This log has been spell-checked, reformatted, and cleaned up a bit. Original log cam from SkyDragon, formerly RedCelt.