The full moon this Easter - and how to weave it deeper into your work and your life.

***Pssst - I've put together a little Moon playlist for you at the end to enjoy!

A couple of nights ago I saw the moon, nearly full. For the first time in a long while I felt her* power.

I was privileged enough to be standing on a small hill, in a wheat field and between me and the moon stood a large roe buck, looking at me.  Time froze - until Cora, my working cocker, decided to play tag and 'normal' life returned with a bump.

I felt called to.  

Blessed and privileged in a still moment of realisation.

It was such a relief I cried.

I've been feeling hazy about my connection to nature lately.  

Maybe too much time indoors?  Or cold, wet weather?  Or trudging through ever deepening mud on dog walks only to have to hose Cora down at the end.  Feeling outdoors was somehow an endurance, not a delight.

I tried to connect, but couldn't quite shift it.

Standing in the dusk with the moon and the roe buck shifted something deep within me.  The stirrings of longing for a relationship.  A deep relationship.  With nature once again.

It felt like a relief.  23+ years of shamanic work, and deep connection with nature, and I seemed to have had my senses dulled lately.

But in this moment it felt like I came home to myself.

And I want to share this with you.

This experience reminded me to switch my focus with you back to nature from time to time - in a way that helps you to deepen your relationship with the seasons and cycles of nature that will be helpful to your soul and to your everyday work and home life.

Because not to connect with nature is going against our DNA.  Against our heritage.  Against our mammalian selves.  And eventually, with too much distance, the way this plays out in the world is all too  distressingly evident to see. 

I truly believe that as we reconnect and restore our own connection with nature we rebuild ourselves and this helps create harmony that spreads to those we meet.  Whether this means spending time out in the woods, the fields, the parks, the gardens... or syncing our work with the cycles of the year and the Moon.

Easter is interesting

And Easter is placed in a fascinating part of the cycle of the year.

Did you know that the date of Easter is determined as the first Sunday after the first full Moon after the Equinox?   This year it's on Good Friday - 7 April.

It is a natural place in our cycle of events (which the church cleverly corralled in order to help persuade pagans to follow the new way of Christ).  It is a time of fertility - Spring - and as the moon is full plants and animals experience more light during the 24 hour period when skies are clear, so more growth is possible. Sea tides rise higher.  And sap rises.

So what does this full moon mean to you?

I've never been one for big rules or dogma about what the moon 'means' at any time of month.  I believe the most powerful meanings are personal ones - those we divine through our own interactions and experiences that are perfectly true for us (our essential or true selves, not what society tells us).

In fact, this lack of certainty was the premise of a (rather fabulous - thanks entirely to the Moon!) programme I held a few years ago with some wonderful women.  I wanted to know more about the moon and her impact upon and meaning for individuals as well as collectively.  Through weeks of commitment we discovered with full, felt experience, the moon's personal meaning and relationship for each of us throughout a full month's moon cycle.  We used rituals in nature, journalling, water essences and shamanic journeys to find our own, 'essential' or true self's truth.

And yet, even with this bespoke individuality, it was reassuring and delightful to see that there were themes that clearly crop up every full moon for nearly every person.

Full Moon Rituals with an Intention For You

As the moon gradulally passes from full and starts to wane, we see her appearing to diminish as she reflects less of the sun's light towards the earth.

And so we see one theme of the full moon helping us in releasing, letting go, offloading, decluttering.  At Easter we are powered by the fecundity of Spring, energising our desire to change, powered by the fast changes taking place around us this season.

This can apply to anything that calls to you.  Are there

• emotions you'd like to let go of?
• clients you'd like to pass on to someone else?
• boundaries that are no longer serving you?
• material things you'd like less of - clutter, collections, mess, admin, paperwork, emails?
• habits you'd like to lessen or stop entirely?
• patterns of behaviour it's time to release?
• people or chores that drain you that it's time to reduce your exposure to?

Pick as many as you can hold in your heart with full attention and intention! 

Intention is the key to all spiritual work.

I usually find picking one main aspect to let go of helps me focus more

NB. for those of you who know how to use your Martha Beck Wayfinder Body Compass you can use this to choose - or a shamanic journey to ask what to let go of.

The good news is we can work with the full or new moon energy for about 3 days around the event. 

So we have plenty of time to do a little moon ritual this Easter... or any month around the full mooon.

And by declaring your intention to let go of this thing/habit/feeling/pattern in whatever way feels right for you, and asking for the moon's help, you may just notice the shift you're looking for coming around with a little (or a LOT!) more power than usual.

Your ritual could be any of these or something else that just calls to you.  No rules or dogma, remember!  Trust your intuition.  It can be long, or short.  Minimalist or maximalist.

Some Suggestions For Rituals

Even in cloudy skies the intention is enough (but if there's a clear night, make the most of it to hop out and work with the Moon then as you'll feel the connection more easily).

• Write a letter to the moon, saying what you want to release, and read it to her.  You could also tell her what you love about her so there's reciprocity.
• Go outside (always best!) and tell the moon what you're ready to let go of, and ask for her help.  In return you could express your gratitude to the moon.
• Or create a full moon mandala out of natural objects.  This is an offering and a commitment all in one, and done with the right intention can be a devotional or gratitude practice along the way!

Some people like the full 5 star ritual approach - a clear intention, inviting friends or family, getting dressed for the occasion, creating a circle in nature and stepping into it to mark the start of the ceremony (as we step into liminal space - the space between things), candles, something to burn or sprinkle, a fire, incense or essentail oils, and a way to end the ceremony.  Followed by a feast!

Others like a more minimalist way to create ceremony - a clear intention, stepping into liminal  space in a way that's marked but simple i.e. stepping over something, or on to a blanket, or simply closing your eyes, and then stepping out at the end.

What matters is how your approach impacts you. 

Enjoy or need the fullness of maximalism? Go. For. It.

Prefer a pared down approach? It's yours for the taking.

As ever, I'd love to hear what you choose.  Please do feel share.  Let me know what you're releasing and what you do to or have done already in ritual.  I'd be honoured to reply.

So to finish up with my little gift to you, I've put together a little Moon playlist to get you in the mood for the moon...  

And hope you're inspired to do your ritual this Easter.

One more thing - do email or DM me (buttons at bottom of page) to let me know how you get on!  I love to hear and it's an honour to reply.

Joanna x

* One last but important thing.  The gender of the moon is curious. Like all spirit bodies, gender can be very fluid and/or cultural.  Sometimes 'she' appears as a she (in fact, most often in my experience), but not always.  When we work one to one with the moon shamanically, animistically or by just 'experiencing' being with her, or even with meditation, you may experience the moon being male, female or something else entirely.  And that is just perfect.