Approaching Full Flower Moon – Photo: L. Weikel
Full Flower Moon
Nope; not yet. But when it does arrive – at 6:45 a.m. EDT on Thursday, May 7th, 2020 – we will be enjoying what’s known as the Full Flower Moon.
I just thought I’d give everyone a little heads up. After all, who wants to miss a full moon whose name conjures images of abundant bouquets of heady-scented, multi-hued blossoms?
Sometimes I wish I could smell the colors of some of the flowers we encounter on our walks. Take these precious little gems sunning themselves beside the creek that flows parallel to our road:
Wildflowers – Photo: L. Weikel
Moon Shadows – Already
As Karl and I walked early this evening, our eyes kept getting drawn toward the waxing moon above our heads. Of course, as we continued along our trek and the sun disappeared completely behind a bank of dark slate gray clouds on the horizon, she became brighter and more brilliant with each passing minute.
By the time we reached home, our forms – and everything around us, especially the trees – cast sharp, unmistakable shadows. And this with two and a half days left until she reaches her fullest expression!
I don’t know what it is that makes me catch my breath every time I see them, but there’s something magical about moon shadows. When I am lucky enough to be outside when the moon casts her brilliance powerfully enough, joy bubbles up and I feel what I can only describe as childlike delight. Magic.
I took the photo above early in our walk tonight – well before the sun even approached the horizon. Something tells me, if we’re lucky to escape cloud cover over the next few nights, we’re in for some serious urges to howl.
A Little Forethought
Remember, full moons are the perfect time to release those feelings, thoughts, or perspectives on circumstances that have maxed out on their usefulness in our lives. As Grandmother Moon is already beaming her message of reflection to us in these days preceding her technical fullness, perhaps she’s encouraging us to spend a little bit of this Covid-19 isolation reflecting on what might not be working for us anymore.
Is there an attitude, a belief, a perspective on life that we used to hold very dear (and which may have worked well enough), but which might not serve us anymore as we adjust to a vastly different world? Is there a rigidity lurking somewhere within ourselves that we might release, perhaps by symbolically blowing it into a tiny stick and willingly sacrificing to a full moon fire?
Intention is Everything
Remember, a full moon fire can be as simple as a tea candle on a dish. The power of any ritual rests in our intention.
Perhaps we can take advantage of the next day or two to reflect on what we’ve experienced ‘enough’ of and wish to release. This month’s Full Flower Moon is arriving at a time when most of us are realizing that this – all of this, this new reality – is, indeed, real. And perhaps here to stay for a lot longer than any of us would’ve believed a month or two ago.
If we’re going to slow down and revel in the beauty and aroma of the flowers that are only starting to bloom in our lives, perhaps we better first clear out the dead beliefs about how things are.
(T-571)