Dear reader,
The full moon in its brightness has woken me up three nights in a row at 3 am. Because we are in rainy season here in Costa Rica, it is rare to receive so much moonlight, or to even see the moon at all as it is usually cloaked in clouds. But the past three nights, when the moon has been in the highest point of the western sky, I have woken up to my house filled with moonlight so bright I thought it was daylight.
Rather than fight it and try to go back to sleep, I went outside to sit in the moonlight. I told her, I have relationships with other planets now, but it was always you. You will always be the first. All of the others are because of you. It’s always been you.
I am writing this during those sleepless hours, bathing in moonlight.
One of my first words was moon.
I remember at our house on Locust Lane where we lived before I was 5, going on the deck at night with my dad holding me as I pointed to the sky saying “Moonie.” La Luna has always been one of my first loves, first obsessions, first fascinations, first sources of enchantment.
As a Peace Corps volunteer in the small rural village of Nianfarde in Niger, the moon was our electricity. On dark moon nights, the village was quiet, hard to get around. But around the nights of the full moon, the village would come alive at night, illuminating the pathways, people walking around going kwara ra and staying up late talking. Full moons were festive, a time of communal connection and celebration.
I have always loved the moon, but it wasn’t until later in adulthood that I started to actively cultivate a deeper relationship, planting seeds on new moons, celebrating on full moons, and attuning to the energy of waxing and waning between. Feeling my own moon cycle being pulled by her (currently bleeding around the full moons). Thanking her for her teachings and beauty. Leaving offerings. Writing love letters.
I write the moon letters. This is one of my main practices, a part of our relationship, my love affair with the moon. I thank her for her beauty and support and all that she teaches me. I ask for support in whatever seeds I am planting or celebrating or shedding. I thank her, over and over again.
The moon was a gateway celestial being into relationships with other planets and astrology (I’m still a baby astrology nerd). The moon opened me to the magic of the skies and working in relationship with the energies of the planets (if you don’t believe me, try it. I dare you :).
In that spirit, I’ll give you an example.
On the full moon, I always like to return to the new moon in that same sign (which happens about 6 months before) to see what seeds I’ve planted and how they’ve grown. I return to the letters from the start of the lunar cycle to see what I was working with, what has come to pass in the moons between.
From my Pisces new moon journal (from the CHANI app):
On the Pisces new moon back in February, I planted the seed of Enchantable! It was a few weeks later on the spring equinox and Aries new moon that I sent out my first post, but the seed was planted those weeks before. Intentionally, out loud, to the new moon. So with the Pisces full moon, I celebrate the seeds I planted and how this little newsletter publication has been a source of joy, creativity, and connection these past 6-ish months. And I celebrate you, dear reader! Thanks for being here :)
This full moon is also taking place near Saturn, the planet of commitment and discipline, which also moved into Pisces around the time of that new moon. I smile to this, bow to Saturn, knowing that it has taken discipline and commitment to write these posts every week, and that ultimately it is an expression of my commitment to my dreams of writing and teaching and learning out loud. Thank you, Saturn.
(And this is what I mean by gateway celestial body- once you learn about and deepen relationship with one, it almost inevitably unfolds that your relationships will grow with others. Celestial polyamory, if you will :)
This full moon was a super moon blue moon- super, as in closest to the earth at its time of fullness, thus appearing larger and brighter, hence my sleeplessness; blue, being the second full moon of this calendar month. A moon of many blessings, a special and unique moon. We won’t see another like it for 14 years.
Last night, we attended the funeral of our dear colleague’s brother (may he rest in peace), which meant we were out in the city at night which is also a rarity. As we left the church, everyone gasped at the brightness of the moon, then still hidden by clouds. Before we got in the van, the sky finally cleared and everyone joined in mesmerized gazing. As we drove through the city, the moon was playing hide and seek. Flirting. Peekaboo. Behind the clouds, then peeking out. We wound through the streets of San José, changing directions, and the moon was dipping behind us then shining alongside us as we headed southwest. For the long ride home, we played this game. Each time the moon reappeared, it felt like catching eyes with a crush across the room.
Developing a relationship with the moon and honoring lunar cycles has been a relearning journey: of cultivating more-than-human relationships and other ways of relating to time, of remembering and attuning with natural cycles. My relationship with the moon has taught me how I am affected by other beings not just on but beyond this planet. The moon teaches me about the rhythms of life, and nonlinear cyclical time, that some of us through modernity have forgotten. The moon has been reteaching me this, and so much more.
The moon teaches me that there is a time to shine and a time to rest.
The moon teaches me to honor the phase that you’re in, that they’re all necessary,
The moon teaches me about the beauty of existence.
The moon teaches me about relationships with the beyond-human world, that if we listen and pay attention, there are energies at play we can align with, conversations to be had beyond words, support that is available if we just ask for it, with gratitude and respect and reciprocity and honoring.
We have spent three sleepless nights together, dear moon, but it is time for you to let me go rest.
Bowing deeply to my celestial lover and teacher.
Happy full moon, dear reader!
May the moon shed light on all the conditions for happiness and causes of celebration in our lives.
May it illuminate our gifts and help us shed anything we no longer need to carry.
May it remind us of the exquisite beauty of being alive in this precious planet.
May it remind us of our place in this vast, mysterious cosmic dance.
P.S. If you want to deepen your relationship with the moon, I highly recommend Sarah Faith Gottesteiner’s work (including the Moonbeaming podcast, the Many Moons lunar planner, The Moon Book, and her many offerings through the moon studio) and the CHANI app (now available on Android! :)
This entire post enchanted me! Thank you, both Stephanie and Mama Moon, for brightening my day with an unexpected source of beauty, wonder, mystery and hope.