Blood and wolves and lunar eclipses Full moons….

Blood and wolves and lunar eclipses Full moons….By. Brandy Givens  The image conjures up many things for people. In our society the full moon has been a topic of many myths and legends. Across time and space and throughout all cultures the stories abound with magic and mystery. Tales of restlessness, insanity, fertility and shapeshifting are still told today all over the globe.  Perhaps they are just tales but just ask any medical or law enforcement professional about peoples behavior during a full moon and they will tell you that people are more likely to end up in the hospital or in jail during that time of the month than any other. Believe it or not, either way the moon is powerful. Her ability to pull our oceans into the ebb and flow we call our tides , well, that alone should make us stand in awe of her power. It is easy in the modern world of artificial light and electronics that seem to guide our every move, to forget about the moon and her effects on us. unlike today the ancient world had no choice but to live close to the earth and to follow along with her cycles.  Magic and mystery aside the moon always had a very practical use for the people of the ancient and not so ancient world. In addition to giving illumination , the moon was and still is, the simplest and most effective way of gauging the passage of time.  Unlike the sun which shines with unchanging consistency, the moon face changes greatly throughout the month . Its waxing and waning made keeping track of the passage of time possible long before we had any kind of written calendar system. The visual changes of the moon have allowed people to keep track of what was happening to themselves, their society and the natural world by tracking the different phases of the moon. The use of lunar phases was long accepted as the method for tracking the passage of time until Pope Gregory XIII introduced the solar based calendar in 1582. The Gregorian Calendar , as it is known, is still in use and is used today as our secular calendar. Try as he might Pope Gregory just couldn’t make an exclusively solar calendar work. That pesky moon just wouldn’t release her hold on the heavens and all that dwell within them. As a result we have had to add an extra day every four years to keep the solar calendar moving forward with some celestial accuracy . The day we now call February 29th is simply there to keep us in alignment with our lovely and powerful moon. Many cultures will still use a purely lunar or a lunar with a solar correction calendar. These calendars are usually used in a religious capacity .  This is why the holidays of Easter, Passover,Ramadan and Diwali do not fall on a set date on the secular calendar each year. Those days and many others like them are dictated by the lunar calendar. Why all this information on the moon? Well, I think knowledge is power and power comes from being aware of what is going on around us. Despite the fact that we no longer seem to need the moon, it’s still  hanging up there effecting us. Awareness of how the moon is constantly working behind the scenes of our lives empowers us to work along side nature to create the things that we want in our lives. Being in touch with the natural flow of the earth and the heavens is a way of staying in touch with ourselves and every living thing in this universe that we call home. Okay,okay enough general knowledge about the moon…So let’s talk about the moon in January of 2019 and what it means for us.  The full moon in January 2019 is a pretty special moon.  Interestingly, each full moon of the year is named after the features largely associated with the season in which it falls. The full moon in January is known as a Wolf Moon. This ancient title probably relates to the howling wolves that would gather around the camps and villages during the harsh winter months looking for scraps to eat. This months Wolf Moon will reach its peak on January 21,2019 at 12:16 A.M. EST or 9:16 PST.This year we get a cool treat with our full moon in January. This Wolf Moon will be a super moon, meaning it will be closer to earth making it look larger than normal. As if a huge wasn’t enough,it will also be a Blood Moon. What is a Blood Moon? A Blood Moon is any moon that is eclipsed in the earth’s shadow.  The moon will take on a deep red color due to the scattering of earth’s sunlight. The eclipse will peak at 5:13 GMT or 12:13 EST and will leave the earths shadow about two hours later. So fellow seekers you may be asking yourself “What does this really mean?” and “Why do I care?” Well apart from being a really cool phenomena to witness, this moon and more specifically its lunar eclipse, signifies the end of a long period of the Leo/Aquarius eclipse season which began in August of 2016. The last time this alignment ruled the heavens was in 1999. Much like the Y2K hysteria of the late nineties the world as of late has been dominated by an overwhelming sense of fear . The combination of Leo’s childlike qualities and Aquarius’s demand for attention has set the stage for childish attention seekers to dominate or world and by our world I mean the media. The perfect tool to instill fear in the hearts of mankind.Well thank goodness there is a reason for all this insanity! Honestly I’m not sure we can blame it all on Leo and Aquarius but it certainly helps explain somethings. This is the perfect time to release the negative patterns that have found their way into our lives and the collective life of society. How do you do that? Choice. Conscious choice. Learning to understand somethings or someones hold on us is only part of the process. It is a hugely important part but only a part. Here is some suggestions for how to use the awe inspiring power of a full moon in total eclipse.Now is a great time to disconnect from the media. Honestly there is no bad time to disconnect but think of this as a reboot. Try turning it off and on again… much later. Try doing that for yourself too. Self care during this cosmic reboot is important and powerful. Personally, I like taking a ritual bath in sea salt with a dash of frankincense surrounded by a few black candles. It is a perfect way to wash away the old ugliness that has been hanging around for far too long.  Make sure that you set  your intention before you enter the water. Use the time to meditate on releasing the negative influences in your life. Then get out, dry off and DO something about it.  One great way to release is to write out the negative things on to a piece of paper and burn it. Just let it all go.We let so many things eclipse our needs and our well being. And even if it’s really cool that our moon will turn red and then disappear for awhile, it’s not cool when we do that.So as our moon reemerges from the earth’s shadow make a decision to reemerge from whatever shadow you have been hiding behind and let your light shine as brightly as the full moon.