Aries Full Moon~ Ceremony of Fire
Welcome to Autumn! How have you felt over these last two weeks of waxing lunar and waning solar energies? The transitional seasons, autumn and spring, give us a chance to find our balance between the extreme cycles of summer and winter. Spring is ushered in by the Aries new moon. Like lighting a brand new candle that lights up a dusty room, urging us to action, the Aries cycle is inspiring, energizing and full of promise. Autumn is generally brought in by Libra, and while the day of equinox is still the day the sun entered Libra, if you recall, we had a Virgo new moon this month. The mutable earth powers of Virgo have felt extremely appropriate for me the last couple weeks as I have been cleaning, sorting, packing and moving.
Plus, not sure if you felt it, but last week we had some celestial action as Pluto, ruler of sex, death, power and transformation, came out of retrograde in Capricorn and squared equally intense Uranus, our lord of electricity and liberation, who is rockin out in Aries. These 2 outer planets don't square very often, but this was the 2nd of four face-off's they will have in the next couple years. Even if this was the only major celestial event of 2012, which it's not, it would signal that we are in a time of great, great change. In case you had not noticed.
Virgo brought in lunar Autumn; Pluto, Uranus, Aries and Capricorn line ups and we had the equinox in less than 14 days. Everything is being shaken up and we need, now more than ever ever ever, to let go. To let go of what is not true, real, appropriate or sustainable for you, your loved ones and the planet.
Enter the Aries Full Moon.
I have been reading a lot of other astrology reports about the final chapter of 2012. I am not an astrologer and am happy to recommend my peeps who are if you want to get the authentic low down of what is happening, but I feel pretty sound in stating that this full moon is an opportunity to really let some s&^# go. Aries new moon brings in Spring, Aries full moon releases summer and welcomes Autumn. Fire initiates the waxing cycle of each year, illuminating our goals and keeping us hot and bothered enough to take action. Now, let fire be your guide in burning away that which does not need to continue into the rest of the year or into the next one. Let fire either soothe you or singe you, as is necessary to really get honest and brave about what is required for your spiritual growth. Fire does rule the spirit, as air rules the mind or earth the body.
The veils between the worlds get thinner and thinner as we move towards Samhain (Oct 31st/Nov 1st) the traditional end of the year when we are able to fully immerse ourself in spirit and deep rest during the darkest weeks before Winter solstice brings back the light. What do you really need to keep you warm in the cold and the dark? Initially, that question might make you want to actually pack in all you can to make you feel safe. No one likes to be alone on a cold, dark night. But if you really meditate on it, real comfort is not brought on by material or surface gratification. Real cold gets into your bones, and only the fire of true love and spirit can warm that.
The Aries full moon requires a sacrifice, a fire ceremony. Fire ceremonies have been practiced with awe and reverence for as long as we have had the gift of fire. I have been truly blessed to participate in a variety of fire ceremonies, from Peruvian Shamans to Native Americans to Goddess practice. Not to mention the ceremony of watching a wild fire or even the fire you make in your fireplace. Fire is sacred, no matter where it burns. Fire is true alchemy, it changes EVERYTHING it touches! Are you willing to let it touch your spirit this weekend? Are you willing to stand under the brilliant harvest full moon and say to the flames "Please take this from me! Please accept this offering of all that does not truly serve me." These offerings should not just be easy ones. Dig deep, which should not be too hard as Pluto has pulled so much of our wounds and fears to the surface, but we still might not want to look at that stuff. Aries demands raw honesty. Nothing else will satisfy this moon.
Your ceremony can be done however you want. What makes a ceremony a ceremony is intention. Rituals are usually done the same way every time. I am not asking you to do a ritual, I am asking you to do a ceremony, which means there is no right or wrong. It is a dance between you, spirit and the Aries full moon and as long as you do it honestly and fully, it is perfect. Aries is also represented by the child, being the youngest of the signs, and as the warrior, since she is rules by Mars, as well, of course, as an aspect of the lover: passionate, heated, unsatiable. This gives us a broad spectrum of how to approach our offering. Sit with what you want to let go of. Fall is a great time for inventory. Write out where you are right now, where you have been this year and where you really want to be, looking at spirituality before anything else. Then, think about what and how you can release. Maybe you have gotten too serious and lost your joy. Make your ceremony bright and fun. Light candles, dance, sing and play as you feed the flames slips of paper or autumn leaves that represent what you are offering up. Or, if you have had too much play, not enough focus or discipline, create a bigger fire, call in your strength, your inner warrior and hold that image as you burn away what you need to. Or, perhaps you have been too much child and too much warrior. This is a great moon for "sexual healing," which can be done alone, or with someone else, of course. Create a steamy space, candles, music, whatever connects you to desire, an aspect of fire. I would recommend some kind of heating movement, ahem, take that as you will, and let your sweat be the offering and release. But you gotta work up a sweat! and consciously, as you get hotter and hotter, feel yourself burning off the old, purifying body, mind and spirit.
You get the idea, yeah? It can be anything you want, as long as it is both an offering to the fire and a sacrifice of something you know you don't need. There are going to be a lot of witnesses to this full moon, Uranus, Pluto, Mars and the moon herself are just a few of the honored guests. The whole universe is paying attention right now and we need to stand up and show our courage and commitment to growing, transforming and evolving. If we can honestly and thoroughly honor the ceremony of fire for ourselves, I truly feel our individual flames will grow collectively and we can create a purificaton for this whole planet. Whether you invoke the child, lover or warrior on Saturday night, do it with conviction and passion. Meet fire with fire and surrender to the heat of spirit. This release has to happen, understand that, please. As always, we have the choice to go with the flow of earth/moon/universe or to resist, which is futile. Welcome this chance for communion, catharsis and cleansing with everything you have, and let go of the rest. I will be with you in the circle of fire.
