christowitch:

May: The Hare Moon

The May full moon is also known as the Flower Moon, Milk Moon, Corn Planting Moon, and Corn Moon. The energies around this moon are ones of health, romance, love and wisdom. We are encouraged to begin to take action on the things we’ve recently been planning.

Once April’s rains and winds have subsided, the sun begins to warm up the earth and we’re able to get the gardens planted. Thus May is the month we begin to sow our crops. Get out in the garden under a Flower Moon and put your hands into the soil. May’s Moon brings us energy of love, wisdom and health. Spring is a time of fertility, and May is a fiery month indeed — full of lust and passion! It’s called the month of the Hare’s Moon — and we all know what hares are busy doing in the spring.

Correspondences:

• Colors: Red, orange, yellow
• Gemstones: Ruby, garnet, amber, Apache tear
• Trees: Hawthorn, rowan
• Gods: Kali, Priapus, Cernunnos, Flora
• Herbs: Cinnamon, members of the mint family
• Element: Fire

Gems and oils to boost the energy of the Hare’s Moon

Gemstones: Malachite, Jade, Emerald, Peridot or any other green-hued stones. These gems help enhance the energy of the heart chakra, which governs our compassion, generosity, love and harmony. If you need a boost in any of these areas, simply slip a green stone into your pocket, or put on a piece of green-gemmed jewelry.

Essential Oils: Eucalyptus, Thyme, Sandalwood, Pine, Melissa, Bergamont. These oils will help you connect with your unconscious mind and set the intention of love, wisdom and compassion

The May full moon is a time when we begin to really notice more light in our lives. The days are longer, the grass is green and the flowers are starting to bloom. The energy at this time is playful and light, energetic and buoyant. If you want to really celebrate this moon and the energy it brings, you can do fun things like:

• host a pot-luck with a spring theme
• visit your local elementary school and volunteer during art class
• light a green candle and meditate on your thankfulness for the feeling of renewal and rejuvenation.
• Other ideas: Another great way to connect with the Hare’s Moon is to bless some seeds, seedlings or garden plants, and then plant them. Doing this involves intentionally adding positive energy to these plants, and then nurturing their growth and health. This is a powerful symbolic exercise that will help you focus your energy on intentionally giving “good vibes” to your environment. Doing this will make you feel empowered, positive and loving.

This is also a good time to work on magic related to careers and jobs. Thinking about switching to a new position, or perhaps trying a new field altogether? Want to take a class or get your degree? Take the seeds you’ve planted last month, and allow them to bloom and grow in your favor. Do some fire divination this month to help guide you on your way.

christowitch:

April: Wind Moon

In April, the thunderstorms of March are beginning to subside, and the wind picks up. Seeds are being blown about on the breezes, spreading life all around from one place to the next. In fact, this month’s full moon is the aptly named Wind Moon, although in some traditions this lunar cycle is often known as the Seed Moon. Trees have buds on them, spring daffodils and tulips abound, and the birds are nesting once more. Spring is well underway now that the soggy chill of March is past, and while it’s still soggy in a lot of places, there’s hope yet, because as the saying goes, those April showers will bring us flowers in May.

Now that April’s here, It’s a time to welcome new beginnings, and do magic related to conceiving new ideas and projects. Much like March, this is a time of conception and fertility and new growth. What do you want to see taking root and growing in your life?

Correspondences: 

• Colors: Bright primary colors — red, yellow, blue — and their combinations
• Gemstones: Quartz, selenite, angelite
• Trees: Hazel, forsythia, lilac, willow
• Gods: Ishtar, Tawaret, Venus, Herne, Cernunnos
• Herbs: Dandelion, milkweed, dogwood, fennel, dill
• Element: Air

It’s the time to stop planning, and start doing. Take all those ideas you’ve had brewing for the past couple of months, and make them come to fruition. This is an excellent time to work on magic related to new beginnings. Looking to bring new love into your life, or conceive or adopt a child? This is the time to do those workings.

christowitch:

March: Storm Moon

 Storm moon is, according to weather folklore, the moon which occurs in March during shifting weather patterns in the northern hemisphere. It is also called seed moon, moon of winds, crow moon, moon of the snow-blind, and Full Worm Moon.

As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern Native American tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.

This is the month when Spring finally arrives, around the time of the Equinox, and we see new life begin to spring forth. As the Wheel of the Year turns once more, heavy rains and gray skies abound — the earth is being showered with the life-giving water it needs to have a fertile and healthy growing season. This is also a time of equal parts light and darkness, and so a time of balance.

Correspondences:

• Colors: Green, yellow, light purple
• Gemstones: Bloodstone, aquamarine
• Trees: Dogwood, honeysuckle
• Gods: Isis, the Morrighan, Artemis, Cybele
• Herbs: High John, pennyroyal, wood betony, apple blossom
• Element: Water

Use this month for magical workings related to rebirth and regrowth. New life is blooming during this phase of the moon, as is prosperity and fertility.

christowitch:

February: The Quickening Moon

The full moon in February is known as the Quickening moon, it marks the official end of winter, and the quickening, the renewal of all things. While the skies are still gray, and the weather is cold, beneath the surface life begins to secretly stir. 

This moon phase is a time of abundance, ripening and completeness, heavy with fertility and female divinity. It is a time when the potential of all things begins to stir towards birth in spring, a time to work on our own inner power and confront personal truths in preparation for birth. This moon sheds enough light to help us see into our darkness, so that our energy can make its way to the surface to prepare for growth and healing.

This is the season of Imbolc, the days when we know that if we can just hold on for a few more weeks, we might get lucky and see little green shoots peeking out through the snow and slush.

Correspondences:

• Colors: Purple and blue
• Gemstones: Rose quartz, amethyst, jasper
• Trees: Rowan, Myrtle
• Gods: Brighid, Aphrodite, Juno, Mars
• Herbs: Hyssop, sage, myrrh
• Element: Fire

The word Quickening is also used to describe the first moment in pregnancy when a woman feels the movements of her baby. So too, this a time when new life is beginning, but still lies dormant. Pregnant animals, due in the spring, begin to feel the quickening of their unborn young. The earth itself is quickening, as seeds and bulbs far beneath the soil begin their journey towards the light. We know these things are coming — and we know also that this is a good month to make plans for the future. We can dream and hope, and set goals for ourselves. Accept responsibility for mistakes you’ve made in the past, and move on.

Magical workings this month should focus on personal achievements and advancement. This is an excellent time for fertility and childbirth spells

 

christowitch:

January: Wolf Moon

This first full moon of the new year is a time of silence and sitting by the home fire. As the wild winter howls, appreciate the warmth of home and family. 

Now is the time to go within and plan the changes you will make in the spring. Consider now what you will plant. Start a moon journal to record your lunar tides and write down your spring dreams.

Correspondences:

• Colors: Black and white, silver
• Gemstones: Hematite
• Trees: Birch, Hazel
• Gods: Inanna, Freyja
• Herbs: Thistle, nuts and seeds, marjoram
• Element: Air

Full Moon names started with Native Americans as tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. The names actually applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the names based on tribes. European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names. 

Sometimes it is also referred to as the Cold Moon, Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but Wolf Moon seems most appropriate, in native cultures, because amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside their small villages, huts, and teepees. Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year.

This is a good time to work on magic related to protection, both physical and spiritual. Use this time to develop your inner self, and advance spiritually, becoming closer to the higher aspects of your deities.

christowitch:

September: Harvest Moon

September brings us the Harvest Moon, sometimes referred to as the Wine Moon or the Singing Moon. This is the time of year when the last of the crops are being gathered from the fields and stored for the winter. There’s a chill in the air, and the earth is slowly beginning its move towards dormancy as the sun pulls away from us.

Correspondences:

• Colors: Browns and greens, earth tones
• Gemstones: Citrine, chrysolite, peridot, bloodstone
• Trees: Bay, larch, hawthorn
• Gods: Demeter, Brighid, Freyja, Vesta
• Herbs: Wheat, valerian, witch hazel, skullcap
• Element: Earth

This is a month of hearth and home. Spend some time preparing your environment for the upcoming chilly months. If you don’t already have one, set up a hearth or kitchen altar for those times when you’re cooking, baking and canning. Use this time to clear out clutter — both physical and emotional — before you have to spend the long winter days inside.

Also Known As: Wine Moon, Singing Moon

ladyluna333:

moon phases by ~tractorpirate

(Source: crystalkittten, via tarotblades-deactivated20120802)