by Crystal Pomeroy

At this Samhain portal, the sun’s rays are becoming veiled in the Northern hemisphere, where the archetypical curtain between dimensions has thinned. The earth begins a period of rest, the sun has moved into Scorpio, and the themes of death, endings and transmutation seem to thicken the softly lit air. Traditionally, this lunation honored the animals and plants that had died so that people could live, as well as the older animals that were customarily sacrificed at this time to spare them a slower and more painful death during the approaching inclemency of winter. The Blood Moon evokes our connectedness: with those beings whose blood we have sometime shed—literally or metaphorically—with the Great Spirit in the midst of life’s most transformative moments, when we ourselves symbolically lost blood; and with forebears who have died large and small deaths on our behalf.

The power behind that connectedness is Love, a vibration so great that it can restore meaning to our existence, even in times of grief, and assure victory in the face of the loneliest challenges this year may have witnessed. These themes show through in the chart for this lunation, in which Pluto returns over the Galactic Center, a signature of the past Winter Solstice which indicates that 2007 has been, and still is, a cycle to consolidate our life path of power. Venus, conjunct the Moon in the New Year’s chart, opposes Uranus, echoing the focus on love, now from a freer and freeing standpoint. It is an intense portal, seasonally and astrologically, and the Full Moon ceremony and prayers below are designed to augment its potential.

Blood Moon altar-ations

Connect your prayer space with the reigning transformative energies by decorating with elements like those that follow:

• Red candles, clothing and/or decorations
• Cinnamon or other spice incense
• Cinnamon tea, cider or red wine
• Autumn leaves, Indian corn, apples, squash and pumpkins

Slowly light your incense, saying something like:

I offer this incense to the Angel of Divine Love, in whose name I honor my ancestors, as well as the Presence that accompanies them (pause to think of a departed dear one in particular) and all created beings, filling our processes of transformation with meaning and resurrecting only good from them.

Then light your candle, while repeating ideas like these:

This flame symbolizes my awareness of the Love that joins me with all beings, the Divine Kindness that accompanies and blesses us all. This Presence is with my ancestors and departed dear ones, guiding and assisting each one (pause to remember specific persons). It is also guiding, blessing and assisting anyone I have apparently hurt along my path. This same Spirit of Infinite Good accompanies and assists me now in any change that’s necessary to see me through to consolidate my path of power.

Finally, spend the next ten to fifteen minutes repeating this treatment as suggested below:

In the name of the Angel of Divine Love, I honor my ancestors, as well as the Presence that accompanies them (pause to think of departed dear one in particular) and all created beings, filling our processes of transformation with meaning and resurrecting only good from them.

My attention pays tribute to the Love that joins me with all beings, the Divine Kindness that accompanies and blesses us all, guiding my ancestors and departed dear ones (pause to remember specific persons). This Omnipresence is also with anyone that I have apparently hurt along the path, guiding, blessing and assisting them, too. The Spirit of Infinite Good is also accompanying me and assisting me now in this situation (name or think of one specifically) and in any change that’s necessary to see me through to consolidate my path of holistic realization and success.

Feel free to incorporate any compatible ideas of your own.

Follow up by repeating this treatment for several minutes daily, at least until the next New Moon.

Happy Samhain!

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Bibliography
Morrison, Dorothy, Everyday Moon Magic (Llewellyn, St. Paul, 2003).
Morrison, Dorothy, The Craft, A Witch’s Book of Shadows (Llewellyn, St. Paul, 2004).
Pottenger, Rique, compiler, The American Ephemeris, 2001-2010 (ACS Publications, San Diego)
Roderick, Timothy, Wicca, A Year and A Day (Llewellyn, St. Paul, 2005)

Web site references:
Bouska, Nina, Daily Success Guide, October 2007, www.daykeeperjournal.com
Hayes, Lynn, Skywatch for October, 2007 http://www.astrodynamics.net/Skywatch/Skywatch-October-2007.htm
Moore, Dena L., Full Moon in Taurus, http://www.throughnightsfire.com/fullmoon.html
Pomeroy, Crystal, 2007, Alchemical Portal, http://www.daykeeperjournal.com/aarch07/0701jan/feature.shtml