Full Snow Moon

Tonight is the full moon called the Snow Moon; also called the Atchiulartadsh, or "Out of Food" moon by the local Kalapuya.

Agenda:

1. Vision walk

2. Celebrate receptivity

3. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft"

4. Ongo journal

5. Love cycle

1. Take a vision walk:
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. 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'm going to settle in to silence and access my intuitive mind - my connection to the Creator and the Inner Guide - by putting myself into a relaxed, trance-like state, and seeking a leading of the spirit with an open mind and heart.

Queries:

In what areas of my life do I want to be more open and receptive? What blessings am I seeking?

 

How do I open myself to hope and happiness when the future looks bleak?

 

How can I be more openhearted and patient with the relationships, new projects, ideas, and missions I am nurturing in my life?

How do I bring mindfulness to the practice of kindness in the ordinary setting of every day? How can I create a habit of generosity and easy-going open-handedness?

2. Celebrate receptivity:

My theme for this Bitter Moon cycle continues to be receptivity. Receptivity requires that I be open and available, and also requires that I do the work to care for what I receive. I've been spending time with family, and keeping in touch with friends. I'm also taking lots of time for contemplation, and working on my patience skills. 

Today I will celebrate receptivity by:

• Sitting in reflective worship.
• Listening well to my Earthcare group.
• Share a moon sharing time with good friends

3. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft":

I'm reading this sweet little book by Sarah Lyons (2019) that I got from my daughter for Christmas. The subtitle is A Guide to Magical Activism.

Chapter 1 is A Witch's Place is in the Struggle. And I'm on a section called The Power of the Witch Today. 

She says she is excited but also disappointed. Witchcraft has so much potential to help - to give power back to women and other marginalized people - but it is been commercialized. "Capitalism is really good at neutralizing a threat through commodifying it. Put a price tag on something and you can own and control it."

This is a great time for witchcraft to thrive because of how it can shape reality, now, when consensus reality is breaking down, and we cannot agree on what is True anymore. "Things once considered impossible are ... happening before our eyes. The old world is dying -- you can feel it -- and a new world that we haven't seen before is being born.  ...we have the power to be the ones who give that new reality its next form. ... It's long overdue that we fight like we have something precious to lose and the power to win. ... Now is the time for revolution." 

4. Ongo journal:

I'm going back through this book by Catherine Madden and Jesse Weiss Chu (2022), focussing on the solo practices. I'm into Week 6, and Day 1 is Unpacking Core Beliefs. "Core beliefs are our fundamental conceptions about ourselves and about life. They reflect our history - the lie experiences that helped to shape who we are today."

Core beliefs are usually about deficiency, struggle, suffering, danger, and dichotomies - things like "I am not smart enough," "I am alone," "I have to watch my back," and "everything is either right or wrong".

"Core beliefs are defined more by the primal sense of discontent it provokes in us than the words used to describe it." They filter my reality, but if I can recognize them as expressions of past attempts to meet my needs, I can bring compassion to them when they arrive. 

The practice is to think about a situation that was hurtful, and think about the thoughts I had about the situation, then discern which thoughts or feelings are that "familiar old story" that might be a core belief.

Today I've been thinking about thoughts of fairness - I hear myself saying "that's not fair, or true", and then lashing out. My core belief here is that "Life isn't fair, but it should be." It's a dichotomy. And the underlying needs are respect and emotional safety.

3. Love cycle:

Years ago I wrote this month-long meditation on love, with a daily reading and work. Day 14 is Love my Self.

As a bodhisattva-in-training, one essential practice is to cultivate loving-kindness. I learn to first love myself; when I am indifferent towards myself it’s hard to feel loving towards others. So I accept myself as I am, with all my anger, defensiveness, and odd attachments. I seek a friendship with myself- with great interest, attention, honesty, gentleness, and curiosity. When I can be this kind of friend to myself, then I can be a friend to others as well. This simple direct relationship with myself is called maitri, and it has four qualities: 

·      Being present-centered and tender; 

·      being persistent and committed; 

·      being honest and clear sighted; 

·      and staying with my emotions and fears. 

The goal really is not self-indulgent happiness, but the deeper joy that comes with persistent GROWING UP.

“Maitri is based on connecting with your full self. And compassion is based on connecting with your full self. By "full self," I mean your ability to open your heart, and your tendency to close your heart. Your ability to keep your mind open, and to look at things clearly without prejudice, and your tendency to feel a lot of prejudice, a lot of anger and disapproval and judgment; all of these things are what I mean by our "full self."” –Pema Chodron