Harvest Moon Eclipse Ritual
   September, 1996

Occasionally, you find yourself with an opportunity that is rich with magickal potential. On such a night as this, a full eclipse of a harvest moon, there were a lot of amazing energies going around. I encourage everyone to take advantage of such moments. Before you do any ritual, first ask yourself why you are doing the ritual... We all have reasons, so what are yours? The purpose of your ritual would define how you would use those energies.

Once you have defined a goal for yourself, next take a close look at the energies you’ll be working with. The energies of this Harvest Moon Eclipse were:

Full Harvest Moon
This moon lends us the energy of abundance, and gathering in that which we have sown. The energies of this moon help us to prepare for turning inward after the harvest, as well as reinforcing the sense of completion and fertility.

Full Lunar Eclipse
This is when the Moon becomes darkened by the Earth’s shadow. The magickal significance is seen symbolically as the Lady overcome by the Mother, revealing the “Dark Mother”. This is a time of revealing hidden knowledge, connection to death and rebirth, as well as a heightened “psychic buzz”.

“Blood Moon”
This means that the conditions are right for the moonlight to be bent by the atmosphere in such a way that the moon will appear to glow red. This is considered a time of intense magickal significance. Red is a vital, powerful color associated the energy of life. Those who honor blood as the carrier of the life force may choose to honor a “Blood Moon” with a few drops of their own as a personal sign of respect.

I created a ceremony to release me from the emotional pain of a traumatic year. I took advantage of this convergence of energies and used them as appropriate for the purpose of my ritual.

I went out when the moon was still bright and white, and drew Her down into my heart. I meditated on all that had happened to me in the past year, and let the Bright Lady illuminate the lessons that I had learned from all that had passed. I reflected on my strengths and the growth and progress I’d made.

As the Earth’s shadow began to eclipse the Moon, I began to reflect on the pain that I had experienced in the past year. I tried to dredge up every little wound and grief, and shared them with the Lady.

By the time the Moon was fully eclipsed, I had begun to cry. I sobbed bitterly. I screamed out my pain and howled up into the Bloody Moon. As the pain and tears ebbed (as they always do), I asked Her for a symbol for healing. I meditated on this as the Moon’s light was hidden. The symbol that I was given was written on a piece of birch bark, and sealed with a drop of my blood. I meditated on this symbol as the moon revealed Herself again.

I thanked the Lady for her insights and healing, and ended my Rite. Afterward, I slept soundly that night, and arose refreshed the following morning.

The Eclipse lasted for several hours from start to finish. I knew that this was a process that would take quite some time. I had to dress warmly, and took some refreshments outside with me. Although I preferred to do the entire ritual in solitude outside, I did do portions of it inside, due to the cold. (I’m a practical witch!)

This Harvest Eclipse gave me the opportunity for deep, transformative healing work. I encourage everyone to create such moments for themselves.

~Flame RavenHawk