Full moon festivities, what's all the fuss about?

When initiating a conversation with a sceptic regarding a full moon ritual you can expect to be met with reactions ranging from raised eyebrows to a downright huffy dismissal. But don't let that stop you, the benefits of taking the time to honor the majestic moon in all its glory at least once a month will leave you feeling more connected, energised and will heighten your awareness of the mind blowing powers of the natural world. Once people see the positive effects it has on your life, they are likely to become increasingly more curious to share in the magic!

The lunar calendar plays a fundamental role in many religious, spiritual and cultural groups and our ancestors would often plan festivities and rituals around that time of the month. In the Western world many of us have allowed ourselves to disconnect from the relevance of this monthly cycle and are subsequently missing out on the opportunity to tap into the potency that presents itself with reliable regularity and is free of charge. Even better.

Most people, whether they are aware of it or not will experience sensations in their body and emotions when the full moon is approaching. Often you will find it harder to sleep during this time, this can be attributed to the increased cosmic energy in the skies directly affecting the energy levels within you. This feeling of vitality is also a hand me down from our fore fathers who, in the absence of electricity, would use the light of the full moon for night time activities.

When you think about the impact the gravitational pull the moon has on the tides of the oceans, its no surprise we would also feel these affects within our physical bodies- we are made up of about 70% water after all. However the power of the lunar cycle can also have some implications that would be construed as negative, for example if you are already feeling a bit down in the dumps at this time of the month the feeling might well be exacerbated. During the flower moon in May this year, which coincided with the date that would have been my Dad's 69th birthday (he died in November 2019), I completely fell off an emotional cliff and couldn't get out of bed for 2 days. Thankfully it was during the covid crisis (every cloud) so I could allow this dark period to pass naturally and I felt generally emotionally cleansed after filling my pillows with my salty tears for a couple of days, but that's a shining example of how the lunar energy can blow you sideways even when you think you're doing fine. That one was supposed to be the Flower moon as well, bringing all sorts of positive energy to the world, a period of spring time abundance and fruitful reproduction, but although that wasn't directly my experience I do believe the powers rightly forced upon me the time to clear recent traumas and properly grieve for my Dad.

So by now can I rightly assume you're interested to hear more about about what kinds of things you can get up to to celebrate the moon in all its glory? If not, look away now...

108 sun salutations

My first experience of this ceremony was back in Bali in 2019 during my Yoga teacher training, it fell on the 3rd week of the course on Wednesday of the full moon and all the students performed 108 sun salutations together in the Shala. Although it was physically demanding the energy in the room was infectious and pillared us all up to collectively complete the challenge. The repetition of the movement allows you to totally disconnect from your thoughts and reach a meditative state, the transitions between the basic asanas combined with the focus on the inhale and exhale as your body works through the motions activate your mental, physical and spiritual awareness. Despite it being a pretty vigorous workout (and you'll feel your hamstrings the day after for sure) you will walk away feeling powerful and positive due to the stream of prana (energy) flowing freely round you body. Although this is an individual challenge, it's great to share with a group of yoga buddies as well. It normally takes between 45 mins to an hour depending on your pace, and don't feel like you have to do full sun salutations if your arms feel like they might drop off- put your knees down and just keep going.

Intention circle

This is a great activity to do with a group of pals sitting outside under the light of the full moon. The idea is you all write 3 things down on separate pieces of paper- the 1st piece you write something you want to burn or get rid of from your life, the 2nd piece you write something that you have in your life that you are grateful for and the 3rd you write something you want to manifest into your life in the month ahead. You need a candle in the centre of the circle, you each take it in turn to set fire to the thing you want to burn from your life- feel free to share this or keep it to yourself, it's totally up to you and the group. Then you might want to share in a collective prayer or a wish to the full moon, and you take the other 2 pieces back to your room and put them next to your pillow when you sleep that night.

This is my wonderful friend Jen during our October Harvest Full Moon ceremony, we cracked out the candles and the bunch of sage at our altar for extra effect this month, we've had some pretty massive things to manifest so we put our all into it!

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Positive affirmations and goal setting is common place in the dialogue these days regardless of the full moon bit, so why not add a little magic to the process? It's been proven that being grateful for the things you have supports in the manifestation of abundance, when you take steps to increase your awareness of how lucky you are you notice all the little things that bring joy to your daily existence which naturally makes you feel more bountiful. Thought, leads to words that result in action and creating an intention to dispose of something that is holding you back is an enormously positive step forward. When I first did did this ritual the thing I burned was 'having negative thoughts about my body image'. I knew I was prone to comparing myself to others- particularly impressively flexible yogis whose nimble bodies clearly didn't emulate my wooden hamstring issues, stiffened beyond belief by 11 seasons on the skis. But for some reason, letting go of this negativity that I'd created around what my own body was capable of gave me the energy and focus to keep progressing in my yoga practice with discipline and strength. It also reminded me how mind bogglingly incredible my body was at recovering and renewing itself despite all the traumas I put it through, I finally became grateful for it and started to nurture and look after it a lot better giving me significant progress in life both on and off the mat.

Fire ceremony

Absolutely perfect for getting any full moon skeptics to join in the party! Fire has been an intrinsic part of our human existence for centuries and it still provides us with a magical opportunity to disconnect from the digital world, get outside and spend valuable time sharing stories, ideas and dreams with our friends and family. The ability to connect deeply with our kin (often around a fire) is what has enabled the our species to progress exponentially through the stages of evolution to the heady levels of scientific knowledge and technological advancements we now possess. Fire breeds renewal and fuels re birth not only on the physical, but on the mental and spiritual planes also. I read a great book once called Yoga for Witches that talks about different goddesses that appear in various parts of mythology. I fell in love with the story of a Goddess named Brigid who apparently is the goddess of new beginnings and has historically been worshipped by lighting fires, eating spicy food and drinking rum. This kind of ritual, most people can get on board with.

Regardless of whether or not you choose to bring the worship of a goddess into your ritual, or just spend some time outside basking beneath the splendour of the cosmic energy of the full moon, it presents a perfect opportunity to get outside and re connect with nature at least one night a month. I enjoy bringing some sage out these days to add a little 'erb to the evening, not only does it smell great, it has been used since ancient times to dispel negative energy, sharpen intuition and bring clarity. All the good things.

Anyway... that's enough for today- let us know your plans for the end of October, you have 2 chances to join in the magic this month as we have 2 full moons in 1 month. The next one is known as the 'blue moon'...