☾✩☽ Guest Luminaries ☾✩☽
Layla O’Mara is a writer, five element acupuncturist and motherhood and matrescence guide. She works with women navigating the rite of passage that is motherhood, helping them to shed what is not theirs to carry and to reclaim the skills, tools, compentencies and sacred feminine energy that motherhood can engender. Her online platform NuaNua runs courses for mothers helping them to navigate the rite of passage known as matrescence and to explore how we as mothers can have a catalysing role to play in the axis shift our planet is going through. Layla also treats women on a body, mind and spirit level as an acupuncturist from a tranquil treatment space beside her home. She lives and works at the foot of the Wicklow mountains with her husband, composer Brian Crosby, and her three children.
☾✩☽ Astrological Resources ☾✩☽
Here is a selection of some of our favourite Astrologers you can tune into across 2022.
↠ Blue Rose School https://www.andrewsmith.ie/introduction/
↠ Mystic Mamma https://www.mysticmamma.com/astral-insights/
↠ Chani Nicholas https://chaninicholas.com/about-chani-nicholas/
↠ Virginia Rosenberg https://virginiarosenberg.com/about-virginia
↠ Lorna Bevan https://www.hareinthemoonastrology.co.uk/lorna-bevan
↠ Paramatma Siri Sadhana https://spaceweathertransmissions.com/paramatma
↠ Matthew Stelzner https://www.youtube.com/channel/
↠ Jennifer Racioppi https://jenniferracioppi.com/
☾✩☽ Other Recommended Resources ☾✩☽
↠ Find out more about Layla O’Mara on her website
↠ Find out more about Layla’s composer husband Brian on his website
☾✩☽ Cosmic Intel + Teachings ☾✩☽
Full moons are a time to look at everything in full light and make changes as needed. They can represent endings, completions or something coming to a ‘peak moment,’ The lunar qualities of emotions and instincts reach their peak at a full moon. The energy of a situation is at its fullest potency and potential. We fluctuate with the moons energy and the Full Moon is time of release. La Luna affects the gravitational pull of tides, birth rates, can regulate menstrual cycle, sleep, moods, plant growth, Emergency Room, Crime Rates. Every 29.5 days the Moon reaches its full phase and so do we…..
The Moon in astrology is associated with the feminine and in particular the Mother archetype. She rules the emotional body connecting us to our instinctive wisdom and our most basic needs. She helps protect and guide us by gifting us with information about our feelings and about the wellbeing of our nature. She enables us to penetrate our deepest recesses in the personal and collective unconscious and our roots in the past, our ancestral inheritance.
We are in a time of collective and personal awakening to what has been in the shadows, oppressive and imbalanced across our implemented systems as well as our personal realities. The process of awakening can be painful, because new realities precipitate trajectory shifts. In the process of things dismantling, disassembling, and crumbling, we can feel unstable and this is why change is often so dreaded. But we are the change makers of this time, and we are here at this time for a reason. We each carry our own truth, but a universal truth is that we’re all here ultimately to learn to love and be loved.
As Above: Astrology and the Celestial Realms
Every 29.5 days the moon reaches its peak illumination, lighting our sky with its nurturing rays. Astronomically, this happens when the moon and the sun are exactly opposite of one another and the near side of the sun’s light is fully reflected on the moon’s surface.
Full moons occur when the moon and sun are opposing each other in the sky, shining a light and illuminating areas in your life which may require evaluation or change. Astrologically speaking a Full Moon at its core is an attempt to balance two opposing forces.They are a time for releasing what is no longer working, signifying the culmination and completion of what was started at the time of the new moonThe Full Moon, by definition, has the quality of revealing what has been kept in the dark. Some keywords associated with the Full Moon are illumination, clarity, culmination, and manifestation.
It’s significant, potent and full of mystery — a time when the veils are thin and ancient wisdom is remembered. It’s a chance to really see, into the unseen and into the depths of truth, in a way we have never been able to before.
Axis of Opposition – dancing with the opposites
Thesis – Antithesis – Synthesis. Thesis = the beginning position, Antithesis = a negation of the thesis and Synthesis = the two conflicting ideas that are reconciled to form a new proposition. In astrology, we have 12 signs distributed in 6 axes. As with any Full Moon, we work on both sides of the axis. On the one hand, we have our values – those things we care for, no matter what. On the other hand, the Full Moon comes to illuminate a higher truth, and puts things into perspective.
Full Moons always highlight the polarities of our inner and outer worlds. They display where we are at odds. When the creative force is at odds with itself and its other, the soul’s is preparing for a growth spurt . Like an old fashioned poultice - the polarities create a new pathway.
Opposition
With Full Moons, we are working with a Sun/Moon opposition. Oppositions mean duality, opposing values, habits, perspectives, and needs. Oppositions help us recognize the delicate balance that's needed in our lives and in our relationships in particular. They show us where we are lacking as well as what our strengths are. The sun in astrology acts like a spotlight, roaming through the terrain of each zodiacal sign. The monthly full moon acts like a counter or balancing light.
Cancer Full Wolf Moon
We are meeting emotions and fears and creating a container for resilience and nurturing and release.
This January Full Moon is known as the 'Wolf Moon' from Indigenous Tribes of North America, who gave names to each of the moons, in relation to their qualities connected to nature and the seasons. This particular moon was when the wolves would appear in the middle of winter, howling with hunger in villages.
Wolf Medicine, representing ‘Teacher’, great wisdom, wildness, and inner freedom is beckoning our attention. Maybe you are already feeling it in your bones and are ready to dance and howl! This Wolf Moon reminds us of the importance to express our heart's truth and our wildness, to live feeling free.
In the sign of Cancer, this full moon mirrors the importance of 'Home', living in rhythm with Earth and 'Mothering' in the world with Feminine Leadership.The Mother Moon of Cancer is the medicine that mirrors the importance of 'Home'. The home is our own body temple, our physical dwelling place, and feeling "at home" on this planet. She reflects the importance of honouring the sacred waters of your physical, intuitive, and emotional bodies. This can amplify the Light of your Leadership and also Illuminate the shadows that need clearing, healing and transforming.
Cardinal water sign Cancer, symbolized by the Crab, is ruled by the moon itself, which, in astrology, oversees intuition, security, and our feelings. Given that Cancers are best known for being innately nurturing, sensitive, and spending time in their emotions, this full moon could be particularly intense as you grapple with what's in your heart.
The sign also serves as the ruler of the fourth house of home life, so Cancers are incredibly emotionally attuned to their close people, family-oriented, and deeply invested in the bonds that are intertwined with their sense of inner peace. Given how closely the moon is connected to your feelings, and how adept Crabs are with tuning into the energy of any moment, a negative turn of events could result in them acting quite and retreating into their shells for some self-care time.
Cancer full moons require you to recognize and work through your deepest feelings. The good news is that because Cancer is the cardinal water sign, their lunar events aren't only about sitting in your emotions. Instead, they offer up an innate go-getter energy that makes it possible to actually do something with how you feel.
Axis (The Dance of the Opposites)
This month will be emphasized by Capricorn/Cancer themes:
Cancer And Capricorn – Inner And Outer Security
We cannot think about Capricorn without thinking about the opposite sign, Cancer. We can only understand the essence of a sign in relation to the opposite sign. Two opposite signs have the same energy, but they express it in completely different ways.
Cancer-Capricorn is the axis of security.
With Capricorn, we look for security outside. We climb the ladder. We get promoted. We get diplomas, awards, and certifications. We get recognized. All in the name of security.
With Cancer, we look for security inside. We draw our strength from within. We have solid emotional foundations. We build a home. We express our feelings with no fear. We have strong relationships with our family. We embrace our culture.
Cancer is the lowest point in the zodiac, and Capricorn the highest. Capricorn is the tree, Cancer is the roots. We cannot have one without the other. Cancer is a water sign and represents our emotional security. Capricorn is an earth sign, and represents our material security. But if we only look for security outside we never feel truly safe.
Cancer teaches us how to locate, understand and process the feelings that arise, inform and guide us. Capricorn teaches us how to be in the world, fulfill our promises and be responsible even when we don’t feel like it. Cancer beckons Capricorn home to refuel, replenish and remember what is at the heart of life.
Capricorn takes Cancer’s reluctant hand and guides it through the outer world showing it how to utilize that precious heart in the outer world of accomplishments. It really depends on where Capricorn sits in your natal chart. But we can all agree that Capricorn is about structure, hierarchy, authority, systems, responsibility, and a strong work ethic.
AS ABOVE
“goodbye moon. ice womb moon. moon of frozen in or frozen out. mother father moon. feelings & moods moon. moon of firsts & lasts. biological urge moon. healing past hurts moon. moon of powerful needs. listen moon. snow moon. moon to sleep with the bears. safe moon. support moon. moon to suckle the ice. home moon. within moon. moon of nurturing through every stage of life, death, the between.” Virginia Rosenberg
SO BELOW (EARTH MEDICINE)
The Celtic Wheel is an ancient Map – a repository of knowledge passed on from our ancestors .It is connected to Earth + Cosmos. It holds polarity – both / and aspects. The Celtic Wheel is non–linear. It cycles and it spirals. Feminine energy is expressed in three forms: the Maiden, the Mother and the Cailleach/ Crone and all are essential in life. We are currently still in the Feminine half of the year {Giamos}, so we will honour this. We are still with the Cailleach.
At Samhain the Sun god (giver of life) was sacrificed to the earth Goddess. At the Winter Solstice the Sun God is reborn again. At Winter Solstice the sun "stands still". It reaches the depth of its descent into the darkness, the nadir. This is the void, the zero point, the abyss. We are deep in the cauldron. The cauldron is a central metaphor in Celtic mythology for the transformation.
The turning point at Winter Solstice is when the light penetrates the darkness and the emptiness is filled with light. THis takes place at the chamber in Newgrange.
The mode of being that is required at this time is rest, passive attentiveness to the unconscious influences of the otherworld, together with an openness to growth that is slow and unforced. This is the dream time, where the seeds of life, new ideas and new projects are nurtured. When the winter solstice has passed, the journey back out from the depth of darkness and winter begins, slowly.
☾✩☽ Moon Medicine Rituals ☾✩☽
Create an altar. Create a sacred space in your home - see our guide in aftercare.
Connect with the Moon. Whether or not you subscribe to astrology, the moon is always in the sky, and attuning yourself to the moon's cycle can guide self-care.
New moon: At the beginning of the lunar month, the moon is a new moon. Metaphorically, it's a time to plant the new seeds of goals, intentions, and actions.
Waxing phase: Her growth from new moon to full moon is the waxing phase. This the Warrior Phase—where we gain momentum in our actions.
Waning phase: The Sage Phase happens as she wanes from full, —where we gradually power down, restore ourselves, and integrate lessons learned.
Dark moon: The last few days before the new moon is called the dark moon. Here's when we retreat to our proverbial caves to rest and reflect, preparing for a new cycle ahead
Cleanse. Sage your Home, Bedroom, Chariot & Office. Energetically cleanse the energetic wombs of your life, where you find yourself “creating”.
Observe. Select a journal, and record your dreams, thoughts, insights, experiences and observations.
Collect items: pen, paper, tarot cards, candles, incense, herbs, symbols to represent Luna: mirror, mother, water, seashells, etc.
Have Patience. Have patience with yourself and the journey you’re embarking. Allow yourself the emotional space to process, release, learn, develop and heal.
Lavender Oil. Have lavender in your home, bed or altar. Lavender can bring stillness, and calm an overactive mind.
I Feel. Acknowledge your emotions and journal with what emerges.
Breathe Deeply. The pull of The Moon can bring up strong sensations and emotions – and sometimes this is uncomfortable. However it’s a prime opportunity to feel more and allow the emotion to unfurl. A very practical and grounded way to do so is to focus on the breath and breathe a little deeper than you would normally. Place your hands on your Womb and Heart and take a few deep breaths and feel.
Go For A Moon Walk. Walking in the lunar light in nature can be particularly magical.Watch how the trees move and interact; with The Moon, the wind, with you, and listen, really listen in to the sounds of nature. Moon Bathing can be a truly magical and intimate experience.
Take A Loooong Luxurious Bath. The Moon affects the tides, the Oceans, the water in our body.
To get in touch with this aspect of nature within and around us – take a long bath.Add in Epson Salts, your favourite essential oil, play some soothing music, light candles and relax.
Tending to your Temple: BodyLiving consciously starts with taking care of your body; the temple that houses you, here on this planet. So, scan yourself from head to toe. How does your body feel? Give yourself all the O2 and H2O your body needs.. Your body will thank you for that.
Ground, Ground, and Ground
The magnetic pull of The Moon is strong so Grounding is super important. If you do nothing else at The Full Moon – ground. It’s especially helpful just before bed as being rooted in the body aids a better sleep.
Beannachtaí 💚
from Kathy and all at The Trailblazery xo