I went to a ceremony yesterday.  A beautiful woman led the smudging and prayers in Cherokee as we welcomed Grandmother moon.  Over fifty women of different colors (and a few men) and backgrounds banged on drums and shook rattles and sang.  It was an empowering group.

I didn’t fully understand what Mercury in Retrograde meant but I found out what it meant for those around me and myself.  Life changes, extreme life changes, deaths, perceived failures, loss, new paths…

Eva explained that now is the time to start focusing only on the positive.  All things that did not serve us have fallen away.  We are waking at this time in full female energy.  The Super Moon means that the moon was closest to the earth than it will be all year.  An embrace, Eva said.  The lunar eclipse.  Venus glowing brightly in the east in a haze of dawn color.  The Cherokee harvest moon.

From here on out we get stronger.  We get wiser.  We see our bountiful blessings and we are filled with gratitude.  In this ceremony we prayed to release one thing and replace it with something better.  I traded poverty for prosperity.  I traded our family’s hardships this year for strength and love.  I traded lack of inspiration for wisdom and joy.  What a beautiful way to bring in Autumn.

I always teach my students, as I was taught, to place their medicines in the full moon each month.  The moon’s cycles have a profound effect on us down here on earth.  Women’s menses, the ocean tides, biodynamic farming, and many other things are influenced by the waxing and waning of the moon. All of my medicines glowed like stars from the balcony hanging onto the Grandmother moon’s rays.  As she turned red and dark then light and embracing, the power of the moon made the medicines match the frequency of our own bodies.  A fascinating fact.

During this harvest season and through the feminine power of Grandmother moon and Venus in the east, I wish you prosperity, peace, love, strength, and child-like joy.