The Full Frost Moon: A Solitary Night
The November full moon was a remarkable one. It is often referred to as the Full Frost Moon for this is the month that the first frost often appears. This year the November moon was also what is called a Super Moon. A time when the moon appears the largest in the night sky due to its proximity to earth. The moon is the closest that it has been to earth since 1948 and wont be this close again until 2034.
The few days leading up to the full moon night showed some remarkable views of the moon in different shades of yellows and pinks as it rose into the sky. The night of the full moon for us in Tennessee was completely clear and the crispness and brightness of the moon was truly amazing. Both of us felt like a solitary night was in order after an incredibly busy and stressful last few weeks. So, we each celebrated on our own and in our own way.
Ayda
My night was about sending strength and positive coping energies to a loved one going through a difficult time. I started the evening by going outside and standing under the moon, basking in the light. I went inside to my working altar and I called to the powers I regularly call on. I thanked them and asked them to aid me in the night's working if they saw fit to do so.
I poured loose herbs, bay, rosemary, cinnamon, and calendula blossoms, onto a charcoal disk in my cauldron and started chanting as the smoke from the herbs and the dragon's blood cone incense drifted up and surrounded me.
I am an artist at heart and knew I wanted to create something that was a visual representation of the energies I was working with. I started by covering the canvas with positive words, letting them flow through me as I wrote, letting the emotion build and letting the tears fall on the canvas as they fell. Continuing to chant, which had turned into a whisper, I started sketching an image that I had been thinking about for a few days. As I sketched the image changed and the stag had turned into a turtle shell. I grabbed my paints and started filling the image in. I worked until I felt I was finished for the evening, knowing I would come back to the painting several times over the next few weeks.
I drew some cards as part of the working to gain some insight into the situation, before heading back outside to stand under the moon again and thanking those I had called to. I whispered my hopes and pleas to the moon and asked for guidance from those that walk with me and returned back inside to end the night.
It was such a deeply personal evening. So much of my witchcraft lately has been in a group setting, which I have loved dearly, but I have been neglecting and not acknowledging those deep personal feelings and emotions that a more private experience can have. I needed this night more than I knew and left the space feeling thankful.
Silver
The wheel turns as the seasons change and our lives change with them. Those of us that have sought a deeper connection to the natural world around us feel this change deep in our bones. The very marrow seems to resonate with the echos the coming season creates in our lives. This Samhain we focused on letting go of things that we needed to release and this theme continues in the dark half of the year.
I chose to use the energy of the full moon to focus on filling that void with the positive changes I need to move forward. As we shed that which is no longer of use to us we must look to those things that we must bring into ourselves to move forward and grow. Growth is not always comfortable or easy but just like the seasons, change is what keeps the circle going.
The moon was well overhead when I finally moved outside to begin my ritual. I set up my alter with the intent of channeling the moon's energy and merging it with my intent. I smudged, rang the bell, raised the hedge, and called to the spirits that usually attend my workings. After stating my intention for the evening, I lit the fire and added herbs to the flames in offering (Rosemary, sage, thyme, cinnamon).
I took my place before the alter and did my spell working for the evening, a call for bringing positivity into myself. I took up a chant as I felt the energy build and spiral around the space. After sufficient energy had been built, I used this powerful time in my ritual space to focus on circular breathing and chakra work. It was a powerful and vivid spell that was deeply personal and illuminating.
I thanked the spirits and closed my circle for the evening but I was not yet ready to head inside. I sat by the fire, thinking, feeling, and soaking in the light of the moon until there were only embers left and I began to feel the cold.
It was a deeply personal night filled with obstacles over come and new challenges accepted. This witches rest will truly be a time of personal reflection and growth in hopes that I will be a better witch, person, and friend when I come out on the other side.
Blessings to you all.
