This Full Moon window gives us a great push to consolidate the visions and dreams we have awakened to during the reign of the universal signs, beginning at the Winter Solstice. Attuning to it can help us lay the foundations for Springing off into Aries with a smashing, strategic start.

These, the brightest moments of the current lunar cycle, invite us to fulfill the promise seeded by the intense Pisces New Moon, an opportunity to recreate each day of our lives as an Act of Power. The strong Virgo, Saturn and Jupiter energies of this Full Moon can help us structure and work to release those elements of our modus operandi which would otherwise relegate our winter visions of power and love to the realm of fantasy.

The Sabian symbol for this New Moon, a volcano in eruption, reminds me of a warning, quoted from Jesus in the apocryphal Book of Thomas, "If you draw out the power within you, it can save you. If you do not draw it out, it can destroy you." The Pisces cycle during which this Full Moon takes place puts us in touch with the dreamer within, who, if she stays in the attic of her mind, can end up dissipating her creative love powers in fantasy, evasion or substance abuse.

The Virgo Full Moon now comes along to metaphorically force our inner dreamer out of the attic, exorcising the ghosts of the past, shedding bright light upon our dreamtime, as she helps us discern: Which of my dreams and fantasies generates love for myself and others? How am I working on a daily basis to consolidate those dreams and shine that love? After pulling the inner dreamer out of her attic (bar, cell, or other place of reclusion) with such sobering considerations, Virgo Luna then drags her to the loom, and helps her press ahead with the daily work and healthful habits that will eventually lead to a masterfully woven work of art, a life of power and spiritual achievement. If we work with her, this lunation can help us tidy up our dream-grounding strategy in preparation for the Equinox, with its Aries push for action (described by Maya in her General Influences).

As Dena L. Moore has written, this Full Moon’s explosive potential calls for a strong ritual. The East Cherokee prayer bundle provides such medicine, starting with its implicit, empowering recognition of the Great Spirit within anyone who chooses to create and use their bundle. Furthermore, this particular ritual is designed to shake us out of our complacency, align us with the grandmothers and grandfathers in the invisible plane, and all other cosmic and terrestrial forces that can reaffirm our energy essence as beings of power, capable of emerging from the attic of our past, of leaving behind those ghosts and fantasies which would keep us from moving on, renewed, into a dynamic, creative Springtime of our existence.

Pre-prayeration

Have ready the following materials for each person:

• An approximately 4" x 4" piece of red cloth, preferably cotton or cotton polyester mix.
• 3 pinches of tobacco.
• A slip of paper.
• A piece of red or blue yarn to tie the bundle.
• A feather.
• A notebook or piece of paper and pen.

NOTE: If you have made any notes from this web page at previous lunations since the Winter Solstice, refer to your hopes and dreams as identified then to make the most of this ritual.

Each person should have their own gifts for Virgo Luna’s current ally, the spirit of the South (which is related to the past, and will help us align with the releasing potential of this lunation). These can be natural or personal objects such as a very special shell, crystal, piece of wood or jewelry, and so on.

To quote the anonymous East Cherokee source for the bundle’s general instructions, "Remember, you're asking the spirit of that direction for catalyzing help; so don't be "stingy" about your gift or gifts. What you put out, you receive in return."

Considering the focus of this Full Moon, if you have a small object or two which you have held on to, despite the fact that it "isn’t really you," put that or them in.

Making the Prayer Bundle

1. Light your incense and candle, and call on whatever Native Guides and Spirits you choose, including powerful Grandmother Deer. Ask for their help to elucidate those webs of shadow-fantasy that would reduce your love consciousness, and especially those types of self-criticism which might hold you back from consolidating your dreams. (Those who have been focusing on creating their dream life since Winter Solstice, as suggested in the most recent meditations on this web page, will find it helpful to use their notes.)

2. In a notebook or on a sheet of paper, write those ways in which destructive fantasies, escapism and self-criticism behind may be holding you back. (If done in a group, this part may be shared.) Then write:

I AM THE GREAT SPIRIT, AND TO ALLOW THE FULL EXPRESSION OF THAT WHICH I AM, I DECLARE MYSELF FREE FROM WHATEVER DOUBTS AND CONDITIONS WOULD KEEP ME FROM FEELING GREAT AND BEING THE LOVE I AM.

On a slip of paper, write a decree to the effect that:

In the Name of the Great Spirit and aided by the light beings that attend her, with this prayer bundle, I release all fantasies, escapism and self-criticism which might hold back the expression of the Power, Beauty and Love that I AM.

If there is some particular situation or condition you wish to be freed from, add that here.

3. Wrap your prayer slip, gifts and three pinches of tobacco in the piece of red cloth and tie it with a piece of yarn.

4. Give thanks that the guides and spirits are assisting you in moving beyond any fears you may have had in relation to expressing your highest purpose, and that they and the Great Spirit are now moving in your consciousness and in all creation to help those dreams come true.

5. Take your prayer bundle to the most natural woodsy or bushy area you can find, and tie it to a branch on the south side.

6. Interestingly, this prayer bundle is said to begin showing results within two weeks, if your free will can choose them. Given this time frame, it would be most effective along with a daily affirmation for receiving your dream empowerment during the remainder of this lunar month (two weeks), such as,

"I AM THE GREAT SPIRIT, AND TO ALLOW THE FULL EXPRESSION OF THAT WHICH I AM, I DECLARE MYSELF FREE FROM WHATEVER DOUBTS AND CONDITIONS WOULD KEEP ME FROM FEELING GREAT AND BEING THE LOVE I AM. I AM ACCEPTING THE FREEDOM TO FULFILL THE DESTINY OF LOVE AND EMPOWERMENT THAT IS HERE FOR ME NOW."

7. Continue to design each day ahead as an Act of Power. (For more ideas on how you can do this, see the meditation for the Pisces New Moon, in whose cycle this current Full Moon takes place.)

The quote from the book of Thomas is from the book Beyond Belief by Elaine Pagel. Special thanks to the East Cherokee Nation, as well as all Native Wise Ones who offer their support during this magical Moon Cycle. Thanks and blessings to Claudia Schimmer, who sent us the original prayer bundle method, and to Dena Moore for her enriching and poetic observations on this lunation, on her web site, Moonhaven.