Ritual 47: Monday, November 19, 2007

Waxing Moon

You may be excited about this week's Thanksgiving holiday. You may be dreading it. Or you may not even have noticed that the beginning of the secular winter season is upon us.

Holidays inspire a gamut of emotions. They are the times when many families — however far flung — convene to catch up and rekindle their loving connections. Unfortunately, family bonding sometimes looks like bondage — we get tied up in old roles, entangled with old tensions. Even those of us who have escaped difficult families of origin may find ourselves recreating troublesome patterns in our new chosen families.

Whatever constellations in your family relations, you can diffuse Thanksgiving's potential dramas and traumas with a special concoction: Moondust. Moondust draws on the power of the waxing Moon and Her kinship with the astrological sign of Cancer, whose domain is family and home. Moondust is a mood-enhancer that will help ease family interactions during the holiday season.

Gather a bottle of white sparkles from a craft store and a piece of carnelian crystal from your local woo-woo shop. Carnelian resonates with the sign of Cancer and brings a stabilizing energy to the home. It dispels the deep emotions that can trap us in old family patterns. You know, feelings like envy, fear, and rage. If you can find a pink carnelian, you're in luck — as this stone, especially, promotes love across family generations.

Place the carnelian in a bowl and pour the sparkles over it. Pause for a bit while you recall happy family experiences. Even the smallest snip of a memory will do. If the notion of "happy family" is too elusive, focus instead on a feeling of universal good will. Without pushing, let your feelings of good will or happiness well up inside you. Envision that feeling cascading down your arm into one of your hands. Use that hand to stir the sparkles in a clockwise direction around the carnelian while you chant this incantation:

Harmony for you and me
Loving in our family
Happy home — light and easy
Giving thanks — this will please me
Mother moon, take good care
That this good will, we all will share

Immediately rub some of the Moondust on your heart and throat. This creates a connection between your loving and your speaking capacities, ensuring heart-felt communication.

Pour the sparkles back in the bottle if you can or cover the bowl with a lid. Bring the Moondust with you to family gatherings this season. You can dust yourself lightly with it, sprinkle some on the holiday table as mood-enhancing decoration, or leave the Moondust out in a bowl for people to anoint themselves with.

Pull up a chair, Moon-maven. Let's give thanks and eat!

After the ritual, share your experience in our community section.