Full Snow Moon

Photo by Alan Gillespie

Tonight is the full moon called the Snow Moon. We've not really had low enough temperatures for snow this winter.

Tonight is also Yuan Xiao, the 15th and last day of the Chinese New Year Festival. Yuan xiao means "first night", meaning the first time that the full moon is seen in the New Year. This festival's other name is the Lantern Festival, because on this night folks make or buy lanterns of all kinds: shaped like flowers, or boats, or birds; made of bamboo, silk or paper; decorated with paintings, embroidery, paper cuts, tassels, and fringe.

Everyone takes to the streets to display their lanterns. It’s like a carnival: Children dress in costumes and watch parades with lighted floats, fireworks displays, puppet shows, and dances.

We are now at the peak of the high-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the low-energy yin time of the waning moon.

But today it's time to CELEBRATE! The full moon is a time of fruitfulness, creative energy, and completion, and also strong (sometimes overwhelming) emotion. This month I feel hope and sadness in equal quantities, and I want to acknowledge and embrace the whole spectrum of my emotions. 

Today I will celebrate how far I've come and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.

Agenda for today:
1. Journal queries
2. Celebrate receptivity

3. Extend Love Mantra
4. Make tang yuan, sweet dumplings
5. Hang a lantern
6. Riddle guessing

7. Full moon ceremony

1. Journal queries:

The full moon shines a bright light on everything, and I might experience intuitive and creative breakthroughs. I might be shocked by the clarity of my insights. 

At this phase, I'll see the work I've been putting in begin to pay off, but also see where I need to work harder. I might see some ugliness - the full moon illuminates all the things I've left in the shadows, some heavy truths and some embarrassing mistakes.

Today I sit down with my journal, and my New Moon list of goals, and I seek the truth:

Do these aims all still seem vital? What are my deepest reasons for persuing these goals?

What beliefs, obstacles, doubts, or attachements are holding me back? Can I release them now? 

What opportunities for growth do I see today? What are my next steps?

Make two lists:

1. Write out the things I want to celebrate: My achievements, and events of the last two weeks that deserve commemoration.

2. Write out a few things I'd like to release this month: Habits, beliefs, obstacles, and attachments. 

2. Celebrate receptivity:

My theme for this Holiday Moon continues to be receptivity; like the earth- accepting the seed, and willing to nurture it. Receptivity requires that I be open and available, and also requires that I do the work to care for what I receive. I've giving attention to my relationships, spending time with family as well as I can, and keeping in touch with friends. I'm also taking lots of time for contemplation, and working to understand myself better. Today I get to celebrate my accomplishments and reaffirm this theme for the next two weeks 

What better way to celebrate receptivity than to spend it caring for my grandson? Today I'm going to enjoy baby playtime, go on a wonder walk in our yard, and maybe a stroller walk to the park.

3. Extend Love Mantra:

My real purpose on earth is to grow in love; our world needs more love. With more love, we could do away with war - we would have no prejudice, oppression, or violence of any kind. Everyone would have enough food because we would feed each other. We would care for the environment because we love our planet, and the animals, and our children too much to harm it.

How, then, do I create more love in the world? I simply need to open my heart wide as often as I can, wider and wider - throw open my door to love. Love is energy. I can produce the energy of love and extend it to the world so that it grows out from me in ripples. We can never have too much love in the world, and I trust in love to save us all.

 I long to touch that place of bliss and peace, where I have a sense of unity with all people and all creation; where I have a sense of being pure Love.

I wrote this circular mantra a few years a go to help me remember to extend love all day long:

SPIRIT - in sky, earth, trees - I EXPAND

THOU - infinite, ultimate Love - I OPEN

ME - awake, grounded, present in this moment - I AM

4. Make tang yuan, sweet dumplings:

It is a tradition to eat these round sticky dumplings on the Lantern Festival to symbolize the full moon and also family togetherness. 

They are delicious, but very rich, so only cook a few for each person, and freeze the rest to cook later. I used two different fillings- sweet bean paste (you can buy it ready to use at Asian Markets), and one made with black sesame seeds. The recipe is here.

5. Hang a lantern:
In China, the lantern is a symbol of eternal hope. I make a new lantern each year to hang on the front porch.

I used a yellow cellophane around the jar on the left, and white tissue
on the small jar in the center.

Supplies: A clear jar, tissue paper (optional), red paper (we used butcher paper), double stick tape, wire, gold cord

1. Choose a clear jar, big enough to hold a votive candle.

2. Cut a strip of yellow or white tissue paper to wrap around the jar and overlap just a bit (I used cellophane). Tape the strip where it overlaps. Or you can leave the jar clear.

3. Cut many 1-inch strips of red paper a bit longer than the height of the jar; you will need between 11 and 20 strips.

4. Put a small piece of double stick tape at the top and bottom of each strip and attach them one at a time to the rim and the bottom edge of the jar, overlapping each strip by about half.

5. Add a wire around the top rim if you want to hang it outside. Decorate with gold cord around the top.

6. Riddle guessing: 
It’s a custom at the Lantern Festival to have riddle-guessing contests; people copy out a puzzling riddle onto a paper lantern, and hang it at the door, with the promise of a reward to any who may succeed in unraveling it. 

Here are some of my favorite riddles:

• What always goes to bed with his shoes on? (A horse)

• What has feet but can't walk? (A yard stick)

• What has eyes but can't see? (A potato or a needle)

• What has hands but can't feel? (A clock) 

• What has ears but can't hear? (Corn) 

• What has teeth but can't chew? (A comb)

• Take off my skin - I won't cry, but you will! What am I? (An onion)

• There is an ancient invention still used in some parts of the world today that allows people to see through walls. What is it? (A window)

• What gets bigger the more you take away from it? (A hole)

• At night I come without being fetched. By day I am lost without being stolen. What am I? (A star)

• The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it? (Darkness)

• What must you keep after giving it to someone else? (A promise)

• What is lighter than a feather yet harder to hold? (Your breath) 

• If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don't have it. What is it? (A secret.) 

• When you say my name I disappear. Who am I? (Silence)

• What is always coming, but never arrives? (Tomorrow)

7. Full moon ceremony:

The full moon is the right time to celebrate wins and release losses. Since it's a time of high energy and emotion, I use this simple and quiet ceremony:

1. Take the two lists I wrote, along with a lit candle, outside after dusk and look for the moon in the northeastern sky. Plant my feet firmly on the ground, take some slow breaths, and soak up the light of the full moon.

2. Read out my list of things to celebrate: My achievements, and events of the last month that deserve commemoration, and thank the universe.

3. Read out my list of things I'd like to release this month: Habits, beliefs, obstacles, and attachments. Hold this list to the flame and watch the smoke and ash float away.