Moon of Welcome Review

Began - Monday 9th January
New Moon - Monday 23rd January
Ended - 6th February

The first half of this moon has been tough for me. It began in the wind of Initiator and ended in the wind of Nomad. Welcome and Initiator, oh my....

I was in pain, but not really ill until the Moon moved into Welcome and from there I had two really hard weeks. That Wind was certainly pushing some buttons. I briefly revisited some old themes, such as rejection, being alone, not belonging to a group and rejection as well as entirely new ones. The ear infection turned out to have some strong lessons on being more aware of the noise around me, listening to the world....

Gracefully and powerfully dealing with death and injury and illness have been really strong themes in the lives of those around me both in my real life and in my online life. I am not sure I managed the awe inspiring attitudes I have been proud to witness, but I did try and I learnt a lot.

But there has been some really cool things too, from all this difficulty. I dreamt of a herb, sage, which turns out to be perfect for me - I have had no sage tea this weekend and I am looking forward to my next cup - it seems to be exactly what I need and I am so grateful for that dream. I met a wonderful new ally and was re-united with an old one, well maybe I was re-united with both, but I just don't remember. I dreamt of a drum. I stood up to my Boss and honoured my right to have feelings and express them.

The second half of the moon has been much quieter, in an awful lot of ways! It has just been less intense. I finally got better as well. I have also been endeavouring to listen more and to not use music as a way of blocking sound. I often switch the radio off on the way to work now and I try to be more conscious of sound when I am out an about. Sometimes this is difficult. For instance I was stood in a queue in the Post Office yesterday and I decided to listen. There was the noise of three people being served, another receiving advice, the people in the queue, including a phone call and a cougher. It was a little uncomfortable opening myself to the noise without tuning any of it out.

Although it has been less emotional, I have not been sleeping well. My dreams have been pretty zippy and full, but with nothing much clear to hang on to and examine, but here are a few snippets that I did cling to. Being abducted and stuck on an underground train that just went round and round the city. A ruin by the sea that was a tourist attraction but full of worms that you had to avoid touching, anyone touched had to be cured before they could leave but there was a couple removing their infected child without realising. Having a Yellow Bonnet (I think this is a wasp) flying around my face (I was stung on the face by one as a baby, during my first Moon of Welcoming...hmmm). A strange mystical symbol around Glastonbury, maybe I should draw it....


So my Dreamboard... I can see so much of how the moon turned out in it. I can see the feelings of being alone in that lonely lighthouse, and the moon above the barren landscape, but yet they are beautiful in their ability to be there and be themselves. It has certainly been a month of riding the wave too - and letting those winds take me where they will. But at the same time, it has been tranquil and beautiful, being ill has made me chill. I am not sure exactly what butterfly has been birthed, but I have no doubt one has...

But there is a rebellious element too - of being yourself and being proud of it, of doing things society frowns on slightly, but needs all the same. The teen rebel making unerground art. And the Sea Gull... Putting that there was a way of accepting this energy, and I needed it... And the man's arm - I love this picture! This arm says so much - this man works for a living, hard work, he is utterly comfortable in his skin, contented, and more than a little bit cool. Kind of how I want to be (except for the male bit)

I also needed to choose a picture that symbolises this Moon journey for me and I found the art of Arbor Lux on Flickr (Go have a look at his art! It is absolutely amazing!). This picture is the one I have choosen to represent my moon. The picture is called Snow Child and yesterday, in my Amazon books recommendation, there was a book called Snow Child, of course I had to order it and when they release the paperback it shall arrive...

All month I have been writing and developing a story in my head, a modern myth for this Moon of Welcome, my Moon of Welcome...

Once upon a time there was a Moon Baby who lived in the sky. At first, his eyes were closed, but that was fine, because he could feel the warmth of the Father Sun on his body sometimes, and at others he could feel the pull of his Mother Earth below and at still other times he could hear the songs of his cousins, the Stars all around. He was happy and he started to grow.

One night, it was time for him to open his eye and take his first peek at the Universe. He opened his eye cautiously and it was all black, everywhere, all around. He could not see Father Sun, or feel Mother Earth or hear his Cousins singing. And in that moment he was scared, he panicked, and he could feel it rising up through him and until he could hear nothing and feel nothing, till all there was, was blackness.

And like terrified creatures often do, he froze. And in that moment there was a seed of acceptance of whatever dreadful thing might happen to him next. And from that seed grew a moment of peace and as his thoughts quietened, he realised there was a faint song and then there was two voices. His Aunt Venus and Uncle Jupiter sang of their presence there and they crowded closer so he could see them shining in the growing dark.

They sang songs about how as the last warmth of Father Sky vanished, other cousins would awake and sing with them, and so they did, all around him, stars sang and suddenly the Universe did not seem so big, or dark, or terrifying any more. And that night he sang with them and he was content.

As the night wore on, the planets and stars slowly sang of sleep and vanished one by one, but the last ones to go reminded him that if he was peaceful and paid attention, he would always feel the presence of his Mother below, the warmth of his Father would always return, and the gentle snores of sleeping stars could be heard even when the sun shone.

As the Moon Baby grew he always found those inbetween times, between dark and light, were moments where he felt so very much. Sorrow for the leaving. Joy for the welcoming. Bittersweet.

But there was always that little bit of fear in the back of his mind, a tiny moment, what if....