Become more aware of Moon in the sky—and feel her flow!
Seek guidance from Goddess in her changing face.
Experience the magic of Moon within!
First Quarter Moon April 5—"Spring forward!"
Give your new beginnings an extra charge!
Spring has sprung, daylight savings time begins April 2, and signs of seasonal change are appearing daily, as our Aries Ram, with his pipes of Pan, leads us on our way. A few inches of the leaves that will soon be my daffodils have pushed through the soil and peek through the last of Autumn's leaves that lingered through winter. This clearly shows me that I'll have to get out the rake—among other work that waits for me to clear the debris of the past to make way for changes to come. Old Saturn, dragging along in retrograde since November 22, turns direct in motion on the day of First Quarter Moon, April 5. Saturn can be our most helpful ally when we shoulder our responsibilty to do the work that must be done to manifest our goals. At First Quarter, the Moon is half light and half dark, poised for increased light. She signals us to decide, to have courage, to take action, to allow NO further delay in moving ahead toward the full light of what we seek. Some of you, though, may be like I've been, all too often lately—feeling bogged down by too many competing demands (and the piled-up things that go with that) cluttering my focus. So, I'll be following my own advice and doing this First Quarter ritual, excerpted from Chapter Nine of my Moon Tides, Soul Passages. So join me to first "clear the decks" of all that clutter, and then let's recharge our priority focus.
With First Quarter Moon in Cancer, zodiacal sign of the 4th house of the home, a rite of "spring cleaning" is especially appropriate.
First Quarter Rite of Spring Cleaning
Intent: manage the "crisis of action" (as Dane Rudhyar characterized First Quarter phase) by clearing your space. By so doing, you also clear your head and create a staging area to more productively move forward.
Clearing Space for Effective Action
This is a variation of a little "spell" I learned in attending a business seminar on creative management. (It was an eye-opener to find out how "new age-y" such workshops have become.) My desk is a prime candidate for occasional repetitions of this ritual, and it always works to help me move forward again more effectively.
Required tools are a trash container, a stick of clearing incense, water, cleaning fluid and a sponge. Light the incense and define the space you intend to clear while chanting the rhyme.
Air and Fire, my desire
Cleared for action, here shall be
Only things that serve my goal
This is my will, so mote it be!
Pick up each item of the clutter in your working area only once. Immediately decide and then act to handle it in one of these four ways (be ruthless, assertive, NO exceptions!): 1. Throw it in the trash. 2. Move it our of this area and take it to its proper place, immediately. No procrastination allowed. 3. Do with it—NOW—what you intended to do by having it in this place, then get rid of it (as in 1 or 2). 4. If it is here because it will remain consistently essential to your current activity, only then should you keep it here.
Once all the clutter is reduced to only those things that are constantly essential, use the water and sponge to clean the surfaces of your space, and neatly organize the things you are keeping within it. Done! Ready to move forward in your work with greater ease and new energy.
Full Moon in Libra, April 13—A Rite of Sharing
Full Moon occurs at 12:40 pm EDT on April 13. This is also the day of Passover. Though we've already celebrated Ostara, the date set for Easter is late this year. Why? Because the dates are set by celestial pattern. Passover is the first Full Moon after Vernal Equinox. Since the Last Supper is thought to have been a Passover Seder, and the Resurrection was the following Sunday, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon following Vernal Equinox.
Libra is the sign most closely associated with relationships, so this is a time that certainly calls for sharing the moonlight. Celebrate this Full Moon with your special someone, or in a gathering with others of like mind. The highest form of magic is that in which nothing mundane is asked for, but instead you simply seek attunement with Spirit. So, cast your circle of sacred space with music and beauty—some flowers of spring—and sweet cakes to share. Meet to celebrate the gifts of Spirit and all your many blessings. Stand beneath the Moon, draw down the Goddess energy and feel it move through you. Then gather Earth energy from beneath your feet, feel it move through you, and send it up toward the Moon as you give thanks with joy.
Sun Enters Taurus at Last Quarter Moon
Springs sets in more fully, as zodiacal energy shifts from intiating to stablizing. Your most immediate goal, charged at First Quarter Moon, is hopefully handled, or at least firmly lauched in the direction you intended. Now, though, at Last Quarter lunar phase, you may be experiencing a reevaluation and reorientation in some aspects of your thinking or activities. Last Quarter begins with Moon in Aquarius, late evening in Eastern Time, 11:28pm. Moon will be in the innovative, independent and inventive sign of Aquarius until Saturday evening. Take some time off from your usual routine during this lunar transit and aid your reorientation with some of that Aquarian energy. Try someting you haven't tried before. Go somewhere new. Open yourself to unexpected inspiration. Enjoy!
New Moon in Taurus
New Moon occurs at 7 Taurus 24 at 3:44 pm EDT, April 27. When Moon is in Taurus, the energy is steady and calm. Thoughts turn toward what makes us comfortable.
Ritual for the New Moon in Taurus
Two Taurean desires we might work with in New Moon rite are stability or prosperity. To bring either of these gifts of Taurus more fully into our lives, let's form sacred space and then, within it, create something of beauty from a product of Earth. Two alternative suggestions that come to mind are these: 1. Plant a perennial shrub as a lasting symbol of your magical intent, or 2. Create an object from an earthy material (wood carving or a clay model—it is easy to find sculpture materials at a local crafts shop that are either self-hardening, or can be baked in your kitchen oven). Be sure that you firmly focus your intent before you begin the work. It would be well to use salt water and incense from circle casting to cleanse your materials before you begin, and then charge the completed project. Here is a charm that can be chanted as you work. (Insert your choice of the words in parenthesis.):
As Moon is new, by heart and hand
A work of magic this shall be
Made from your gifts, oh Mother Earth
My symbol of (stability or prosperity)
To charge my purpose and intent,
This is my will, so mote it be!
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