Spirit Mystery's Spiritual Palace

Place your list in a safe place until New Year's Eve, then open it and see how much you've achieved and how many goals you've revised or let go. Affirmation for the Cold Moon; I choose goals within my grasp, that are my own desires.

For our Full Moon ritual, we focus on Brighid and Her fiery nature. Brighid rules over the spheres of poetry, healing, and smithery. Decorate your altar with a red cloth and set three candles out: black, red and white. Add a jug of cream as a libation to the Goddess, then, around the base of the altar, arrange the items you use in your art, writing, or other creative projects. Cast a circle and invoke the Lady Brighid, then light the candles. Say: Lady Brighid of forge and fire, hear now my heart's desire. Bless these tools with which I create, woo for me the hand of fate. To reach my dreams, inspire me, as I will, so mote it be.

Spend some time in quiet meditation after this simple but effective ritual. Affirmation for the Quickening Moon: I am creative and inspired.

This Full Moon take a hard cooked egg and, on the shell, paint runes and symbols to represent something you want to see happen in your life. When dry, take the egg, a small clay pot, a packet of nasturtium seeds, and a trowel out into a patch of woods.

Cast a circle and invoke your gods and goddesses. Fill the pot with soil. Hold the egg and focus on the creative force of the Goddess, the strength of your desire. Place it in the pot. Next, hold the nasturtium and focus on the generative force of nature, the force of the God. Circle the egg with the seeds. Cover with soil and say: Mother's egg and Father's seed, bring me what I desire. Quicken now my wish and will, by powers of earth, air, water, and fire.

When the flowers begin to grow, plant then in your garden. Affirmation for the Storm Moon: I embody the power of growth.

The Wind Moon of April is a good time to let the fresh breezes blow through to remove stagnation. For the Full Moon, make a list of things that have been cluttering your life on an emotional or psychic level. Decorate your altar with a white cloth, fresh flowers, and a bottle of sparkling water. Also have handy either wind chimes or a beautiful-sounding bell. Light a lavender colored candle. Cast a circle and invoke a god or goddess of the sky. One by one, read aloud each item from your list, and imagine what it would feel like to be rid of it. Close your eyes, and imagine the wind sweeping through to carry it away. Ring the bell three times and say: End to clutter, end to strife, remove stagnation from my life. Tinkling breeze blow through my rite, bring clarity and brilliant light.

Then take a sip of the sparkling water. Proceed through yout list, and when you are finished, burn the list and cast the ashes to the winds. Affirmation for the Win Moon: My path is clear, free from obstacles.

This month, we honor the union of the God and Goddes and the life that springs forth. For this ritual, decorate your altar with a purple cloth, a chalice of wine, your athame, and two green candles. Arrange armfuls of flowers around the altar. Cast a circle and invoke the God and Goddess. Sense the energy of the Goddess and Her mate, and draw that power into yourself. Feel their connection as they embrace. As the energy builds, hold the athame over the chalice, focusing on its symbolic connection to the phallus of the God. Plunge the tip slowely into the chalice, which represents the vagina of the Goddess, and say:

As this athame enters the wine,
So the God enters the Goddess
Their mating brings life tot he Earth.

When finished, sip the wine and feel their power and passion within you. Offer the rest as a libation to the Earth. Affirmation for the Flower Moon: I am filled with strength and passion.

This month let us turn to the oceans, lakes, and streams for our inspiration to cast a spell for peace and happiness this Full Moon. Decorate your altar with a pale blue cloth and a pair of gold candles. Light the candles, cast a circle, and invoke Aphrodite, foam-born Goddess of the Sea. Now take a glass gallor jar and spread a layer of blue aquarium gravel in the bottom. Atop the gravel, layer quartz crystals, silver beads, and seashells of varying sizes. Fill the jar with water, and tint it a pale aqua. Cap the jar tightly. Focus on peace and happiness filling your life, and say: Ocean Mother, Father Sun, let my will now be done To this spell bring joy and love, roses wild, gentle doves. Aphrodite smile down on me, as I will so mote it be. Set the jar out under the morning sunlight and leave to collect the rays of brilliant light from this, the most joyous of months. Affirmation for the Strong Sun Moon: My live reflects the joy in my heart.

July arrives with lazy days and leaves with the sense that summer, while still around us, is running on borrowed time. In honor of the sense of freedom July brings to our hears, we stretch our minds out to the world to strengthen our connections with the universe.

For this months' Moon ritual you need nothing more than a blanket and few free minutes. Spread your blanket under the night sky as the Moon rises full. If you like, bring your favorite crystal, wand, or other sacred object with you.

Focus on your connection within the great cosmos of ours, and feel your energy unite with all of the planets, stars, and other life forms that make upi our galaxy. Sense your interconnection to the great chain we call life. Affirmation for the Blessing Moon: I sense my connection to the Universe.

As Lughnasadh, the harvest of grain and corn, arrives, we begin to think about the coming autumn and winter. Before the harvest can be reaped, we must rid ourselves of excess clutter.

Decorate your altar with a gold cloth, ears of corn, and a chalice of wine. Have ready a cauldron or stainless steel bowl in which you can burn paper, and a black candle. Cast a circle and invoke your gods and goddesses, and light the candle.

Prepare a list of those things you are ready to sacrifice from your life for this season, for example: giving up the need for constant control of your life, or sacrificing the need for perfection.

When you have your list, then focus on letting go of these unnecessary impediments from your life, and touch the paper to the candle flame. Drop it into the cauldron and offer then tot he spirit of the first harvest. Be sure to have water nearby in case of an unforseen accident. Affirmation for the Corn Moon: I sacrifice that which is no longer useful in my life.

Gather friends together if can, and have each person bring food to donate to your local food bank. Create a colorful altar with gourds, apples, and bottles of port and sherry. Cast a circle and invoke the God and Goddess. Place all the donated food in the center of the circle and join hands. Say: Lady of the silver Moon, Lord of the Golden Sun, Join our rites this harvest night, in laughter let your will be done. Bless this food we've gathered here for those in want and need. As we walk the ancient paths let our hearts reflect our deeds.

After you've blessed the food, drink a toast to the season, the gods, and each other. Share a protluck dinner and then distribute the donations to the charities of your choice.

In preparation for the winter, for the introspective time of the year, we seek to clean out the old. This month, we focus on cleansing out ritual spaces for the darker days to come. Our first step is to collect all old spell workings and discard them in a prper manner. Then thoroughly clean all of your ritual tools ( while you're at it, dust and organize the rest of your living space too), and wash your altar cloths. Smudge the space with sage or cedar. After you have done this, light a stick of frankincense, cast a circle, and invoke those gods and goddesses with whom you share your life. allow the energy to settle around you as you focus on the coming months. We are entering the time of thought, of cerebral activity. For some, school awaits. For others, the winter months are those spent cooped up inside due to inclement weather. Now is a good time to take stock of your goals and to plan ahead for the approaching winter. What do you want to accomplish? Affirmation for the Blood Moon: My mind is alert, I observe with keen insight.

On Samhain we remember our ancestors and mourn those we have lost. On the Mourning Moon, we reconnect with our roots so that we may be strong through the winter months. Lay a black cloth on your altar. Decorate with autumn leavfes, gourds, orange candles, a mirror, a plate of cookies, a bottle or port wine, and pictures of your ancestors, your beloved pets who have crossed over, and anyone you might care to remember who has made the transformation from life to death.

On the night of the Full Moon, cast a circle and light the candles. Invoke your chosen gods. Focus on each picture, thinking about how that person touched your life, in ways both good and bad. Give thanks for the lessons and joys each person taught you. Toast them, and when you are done, leave the wine and cookies on the altar for the dead to feast on, and in the morning, leave the food and drink in a sacred spot for the Earth to reclaim them. Affirmation for the Mourning Moon: I learn and frow from the past.

We have entered the holiday season. Tension builds this time of year, so we focus our ritual on releasing stress. Buy a bottle of your favorite bubble bath (this applies to you men, too). Cast a circle in your bathroom; light candles. Fill your tub with warm water and add a generous amount of bubble bath. As you remove each piece of clothing,, shed one more worry from the daily world. When you are naked, step into the foaming bubbles. As the water leaches tensions from your body, lean back and close your eyes. Imagine yourself drifting in a tropical sea, with the Sun gently beating on your face. Slide into the ocean, as tension is carried away. Sense the life that pulses around you, in the waves and under the glassine surface, and yet, none of this activity interferes with your peace. Give up the worry that permeates your days to the water mother. When you leave the bath, take a cool rejuvenating shower. Affirmation for the Long Nights Moon: I remain serene in the face of the chaos around me.

January - Wolf Moon
February - Storm Moon
March - Chaste Moon
April - Seed Moon
May - Hare Moon
June - Dyad (pair) Moon
July - Mead Moon
August - Wyrt (green plant) Moon
September - Barley Moon
October - Blood Moon
November - Snow Moon
December - Oak Moon

Blue Moon - Second Full Moon in the month
Harvest Moon - Full Moon nearest Mabon (fall equinox)

COLONIAL AMERICAN
January: Winter Moon
February: Trapper's Moon
March: Fish Moon
April: Planter's Moon
May: Milk Moon
June: Rose Moon
July: Summer Moon
August: Dog Day's Moon
September: Harvest Moon
October: Hunter's Moon
November: Beaver Moon
December: Christmas Moon

CHINESE
January: Holiday Moon
February: Budding Moon
March: Sleepy Moon
April: Peony Moon
May: Dragon Moon
June: Lotus Moon
July: Hungry Ghost Moon
August: Harvest Moon
September: Chrysanthemum Moon
October: Kindly Moon
November: White Moon
December: Bitter Moon

AMERICAN INDIAN (Cherokee)
January: Cold Moon
February: Bony Moon
March: Windy Moon
April: Flower Moon
May: Planting Moon
June: Green Corn Moon
July: Ripe Corn Moon
August: Fruit Moon
September: Nut Moon
October: Harvest Moon
November: Trading Moon
December: Snow Moon

AMERICAN INDIAN (Choctaw)
January: Cooking Moon
February: Little Famine Moon
March: Big Famine Moon
April: Wildcat Moon
May: Panther Moon
June: Windy Moon
July: Crane Moon
August: Women's Moon
September: Mulberry Moon
October: Blackberry Moon
November: Sassafras Moon
December: Peach Moon

AMERICAN INDIAN (Dakotah Sioux)
January: Moon of the Terrible
February: Moon of the Raccoon, Moon When Trees Pop
March: Moon When Eyes Are Sore from Bright Snow
April: Moon When Geese Return in Scattered Formation
May: Moon When Leaves Are Green, Moon To Plant
June: Moon When June Berries Are Ripe
July: Moon of the Middle Summer
August: Moon When All Things Ripen
September: Moon When The Calves Grow Hair
October: Moon When Quilling and Beading is Done
November: Moon When Horns Are Broken Off
December: Twelfth Moon

ENGLISH MEDIEVAL
January: Wolf Moon
February: Storm Moon
March: Chaste Moon
April: Seed Moon
May: Hare Moon
June: Dyan Moon
July: Mead Moon
August: Corn Moon
September: Barley Moon
October: Blood Moon
November: Snow Moon
December: Oak Moon

NEO PAGAN
January: Ice Moon
February: Snow Moon
March: Death Moon
April: Awakening Moon
May: Grass Moon
June: Planting Moon
July: Rose Moon
August: Lightening Moon
September: Harvest Moon
October: Blood Moon
November: Tree Moon
December: Long Night Moon

NEW GUINEA
Rainbow Fish Moon
Parriotfish Moon
Palolo Worm Moon
Flying Fish Moon
Black Trevally Moon
Open Sea Moon
Tiger Shark Moon
Rain & Wind Moon

I received this information from the Purpent@egroups.com mailing list.

The following was received from the BellDragoness mailing list.

Snow Moon November

Also Called: Dark Moon, Fog Moon, Beaver Moon, Mourning Moon, Blotmonath (Sacrifice Month), Herbistmanoth (Harvest Month), Mad Moon, Moon of Storms, Moon When Deer Shed Antlers.

Novern was the ninth month in the oldest Roman calendar. In the Celtic tradition this was the beginning of a nw year. The Celtic year ended on the eve before Samhain and began again on the day after. They considered it a Moon-month of beginnings and endings.

The Isia, or rebirth of Osiris, in Egypt was time of the receding waters of the Nile floods. This rebirth does not mean reincarntaion, but a rising from the dead. After an anactment of the story of Osiris' death at the hands of his brother Set, the people followed the mourning Isis to her temple.

There the drama continued with the combat between Horus and Set. Images of Osiris were made of paste and grain; they were watered until the barley sprouted and then floated down the Nile with candles as part of the planting ceremonies. James Frazer, in The Golden Brough, translates a "Lamentation of Isis" which has the goddess say that she is the Osiris's sister, child of the same mother, and that the god shall never be far from her.

The Japanese festival honoring the goddess of the kitchen range honored the women who prepared the daily meals in back-handed way. Commonly called Kami (deity), this goddess was important because, through use of the harvested food, she protected and provided for the family. The goddess Hecate had many celebrations throughout the year. November 16 was known as the Night of Hecate, the Three-formed. Hecate is part of the most ancient form of the triple Moon goddess as Crone or Dark Moon; Artemis was the Crescent Moon and Selene the Full Moon. Most of Hecate's worship, and especially on this night, was performed at a three-way crossroad at night. Food was left there as an offering to her. She was known to rule the passages of life and transformation, birth and death. her animals were the toad, the owl, the dog and the bat. Nicnevan was a Scottish goddess, whose name means "Divine" or "Brilliant," a form of Diana the Huntress. In Scotland she was said to ride through the night with her followers at Halloween (The Celtic Samhain). During the Middle Ages she was called Darne Habonde, Abundia, Satia, Bensozie, Zobiana, and Herodiana. In Tibet, they celebrated the Feast of Lanterns, a Winter festical of the shortest days of the Sun. Among the Incas it was a time of the Ayamarca, or Festival of the Dead.