 |
| Transition Catherine Al-Meten |
Between the last sighting of the waning Moon and the first glimpse of the New Moon’s Crescent, is a period of time called the Dark of the Moon. Lasting between 1 to 3 days, the Dark of the Moon is a term that has been used by astronomers, mariners, and and astrologers to distinguish the time before the New Moon from the sight of the Crescent of the New Moon. From earliest times, the patterns of the New Moon’s lunation have been used to follow the seasons, guide ships and travelers, and determine the ebb and flow of the tides as well as the best times to sow, nurture gardens and crops.
The Moon casts no light of her own, but instead reflects the light of the Sun in various degrees on the Earth. Luna is said to be a subtle influence, connecting us to the rhythms of our own bodies, the Earth and all the elements around us, and to the more profound and intuitive essence of our inner being. Our physical cycles and bio-rhythms operate in tandem to the phases of the Moon. Our emotional nature is affected by both internal and external influences, forces, and energies, the Moon being of significant importance.
The period of the Dark of the Moon has traditionally been a time of retreat, reflection, healing, dreaming, and discernment. According to the author of The Dark of the Moon, Demetra George, “The earliest peoples understood that the power of life lay in the darkness of the moon.” These next three days before the New Moon can be likened also to the fallow times or wintery times of our lives when our energy and focus assumes a more passive role in our lives. Consider this a time of preparation, when we sort through our ideas, goods, plans, and activities, to determine what we want to take with us on the next leg of our journey.
Just as endings in life signal new beginnings, so too does the Dark of the Moon period open us to a deeper understanding and awareness of what is calling us from within and what is being signaled to us for our journey in the world. Dark Moon times allow us a brief period to heal, rest, renew ourselves, and come to understand how our fears are gifts to be acknowledged, released, and replaced with the wisdom of release and receptiveness to our greater good and guidance. These next few days before the New Moon can be a powerful time in which to listen to our deepest longings, become clear about our intentions and true desires, and to face whatever fears or blocks are hindering us from receiving our highest good and Divine guidance.
The Dark of the Moon in conjunction with the retrograde movement of both Mercury and Uranus over the weekend, also leaves us feeling in need of rest and recuperation, perhaps more than usual. It is also a time when we need to listen to what we require to bring our own bodies and minds into balance. It’s a time to practice attuning ourselves to how our intuition, inner wisdom and knowing, manifest. Our dreams, our intuitive knowledge, and all aspects of our emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual being are moving with the natural flow ebb and flow of life. By focusing with more intention on how that flow is nurturing, inspiring, calling you to rest and take pause, seek spiritual guidance, and become more at peace with yourself in alignment with the Divine, this can be a period of time when you can receive more direct inner and Divine guidance in areas where you are in need of and desirous of changing and learning.
Astronomically, a lunation is a term used to describe the passage of the moon from one dark moon to the next. A dark moon, according to an Astronomical definition, is defined by the plane formed when the Sun, Earth and Moon are perpendicular to the Earth’s orbital plane. Different cultures operate according to different calendars. The Chinese culture operates by two calendars; one determined by the Sun, the other determined by the Moon. Since about the 5th Century BCE, the Chinese calendars have been determined by calculations (rather than observations as some religious traditions do), and are therefore called, rule-based.
“The Chinese solar calendar denotes a series of solar years which are divided into "solar terms". The Chinese lunar calendar denotes a series of lunar years which are divided into lunar months. A solar year always begins at the (northern) winter solstice, on or around December 21st in the Common Era Calendar. A lunar month always begins on the day of a dark moon. The beginning of a lunar year (i.e, lunar new year's day) is more difficult to define (but see below); it always begins from about January 20th to about February 20th, i.e., about a month or so after the start of the Chinese solar year.
The Chinese Calendar assumes a prime meridian of 120 degrees East. This means that a day (or rather, a nychthemeron, a day and a night) is taken to run from midnight Beijing standard time (BST) to the next midnight BST. This is in contrast to the Common Era Calendar, where a nychthemeron runs from midnight Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to the next midnight GMT. The time difference between Beijing and London is eight hours, so nychthemerons (or nychthemera) in the Chinese Calendar begin eight hours earlier than days in the Common Era Calendar” (from The Structure of the Chinese Calendar by Peter Myers). For a fascinating discussion of the structure of the Chinese Calendar, visit Peter Myers’ website.
The Moon casts no light of her own, but instead reflects the light of the Sun in various degrees on the Earth. Luna is said to be a subtle influence, connecting us to the rhythms of our own bodies, the Earth and all the elements around us, and to the more profound and intuitive essence of our inner being. Our physical cycles and bio-rhythms operate in tandem to the phases of the Moon. Our emotional nature is affected by both internal and external influences, forces, and energies, the Moon being of significant importance.
The period of the Dark of the Moon has traditionally been a time of retreat, reflection, healing, dreaming, and discernment. According to the author of The Dark of the Moon, Demetra George, “The earliest peoples understood that the power of life lay in the darkness of the moon.” These next three days before the New Moon can be likened also to the fallow times or wintery times of our lives when our energy and focus assumes a more passive role in our lives. Consider this a time of preparation, when we sort through our ideas, goods, plans, and activities, to determine what we want to take with us on the next leg of our journey.
Just as endings in life signal new beginnings, so too does the Dark of the Moon period open us to a deeper understanding and awareness of what is calling us from within and what is being signaled to us for our journey in the world. Dark Moon times allow us a brief period to heal, rest, renew ourselves, and come to understand how our fears are gifts to be acknowledged, released, and replaced with the wisdom of release and receptiveness to our greater good and guidance. These next few days before the New Moon can be a powerful time in which to listen to our deepest longings, become clear about our intentions and true desires, and to face whatever fears or blocks are hindering us from receiving our highest good and Divine guidance.
The Dark of the Moon in conjunction with the retrograde movement of both Mercury and Uranus over the weekend, also leaves us feeling in need of rest and recuperation, perhaps more than usual. It is also a time when we need to listen to what we require to bring our own bodies and minds into balance. It’s a time to practice attuning ourselves to how our intuition, inner wisdom and knowing, manifest. Our dreams, our intuitive knowledge, and all aspects of our emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual being are moving with the natural flow ebb and flow of life. By focusing with more intention on how that flow is nurturing, inspiring, calling you to rest and take pause, seek spiritual guidance, and become more at peace with yourself in alignment with the Divine, this can be a period of time when you can receive more direct inner and Divine guidance in areas where you are in need of and desirous of changing and learning.
Astronomically, a lunation is a term used to describe the passage of the moon from one dark moon to the next. A dark moon, according to an Astronomical definition, is defined by the plane formed when the Sun, Earth and Moon are perpendicular to the Earth’s orbital plane. Different cultures operate according to different calendars. The Chinese culture operates by two calendars; one determined by the Sun, the other determined by the Moon. Since about the 5th Century BCE, the Chinese calendars have been determined by calculations (rather than observations as some religious traditions do), and are therefore called, rule-based.
“The Chinese solar calendar denotes a series of solar years which are divided into "solar terms". The Chinese lunar calendar denotes a series of lunar years which are divided into lunar months. A solar year always begins at the (northern) winter solstice, on or around December 21st in the Common Era Calendar. A lunar month always begins on the day of a dark moon. The beginning of a lunar year (i.e, lunar new year's day) is more difficult to define (but see below); it always begins from about January 20th to about February 20th, i.e., about a month or so after the start of the Chinese solar year.
The Chinese Calendar assumes a prime meridian of 120 degrees East. This means that a day (or rather, a nychthemeron, a day and a night) is taken to run from midnight Beijing standard time (BST) to the next midnight BST. This is in contrast to the Common Era Calendar, where a nychthemeron runs from midnight Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to the next midnight GMT. The time difference between Beijing and London is eight hours, so nychthemerons (or nychthemera) in the Chinese Calendar begin eight hours earlier than days in the Common Era Calendar” (from The Structure of the Chinese Calendar by Peter Myers). For a fascinating discussion of the structure of the Chinese Calendar, visit Peter Myers’ website.
For the Islamic religious tradition, Ramadan, the sacred month when Islam prescribes all devoted Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, begins on the next New Moon. There is always much discussion about just when the New Moon actually occurs. This argument focuses on how differently we define the terms. For many, the New Moon occurs at the exact time the Moon and Sun conjunct (when they are aligned directly with one another in the heavens). To others, the New Moon is determined by the first glimpse in the night sky of the first sign of the Crescent Moon. To determine when the holy month of Ramadan officially begins, certain religious scholars and holy people are charged with actually spotting the Crescent Moon, and then they send the word out so others know Ramadan has begun. Whether lunar movement is determined by calculations as the Chinese calendar is, or by observation as the Islamic calendar is, our relationship with the Moon and its transits and alignments influence our lives.
The Dark of the Moon is considered one of the most powerful times of the month for inner reflection. It’s a time whenour deepest longings and emotions are stirred, and when our need for quiet, meditative and restful time is heightened. Some compare this period of time each month to the heart of winter when we spend more times indoors and tend to be in more a reflective, dormant season. The monthly Dark of the Moon time comes anywhere from a day and a half to three full days prior to the New Moon. We are entering that phase now, and find may perhaps find ourselves inclined to be more reflective. We may feel in need of more rest and sleep or feel as if we are getting prepared for something.
New Moons signal times when we can plant the seeds of new ideas, new projects, changes, or when we can expect and look forward to changes and shifting patterns in our lives. The period during the Dark of the Moon is a time when our spiritual energies, dreams, sensitivity, and emotional awareness are heightened. It is a time when it is important to make time for reflection, prayer, meditation, and being receptive to the energy, power, signs and symbolic messages that point you to or call you to responding from your spiritual depths. The Dark of the Moon is also a time for clearing, culling, releasing, and preparing for the new lunar month and the next phase of life.
For all those who are preparing for Ramadan, and for all who are seeking some time to rest, reflect, and recuperate from all that our exterior lives demand and call us to do and be, use the period of the Dark of the Moon to allow yourself to breathe more fully, become more receptive to Divine guidance, rest your entire being as you prepare for the coming of the New Moon. Allow this sacred time to connect you to all that is working for the good of our collective healing, our need to heal and repair our broken relationships, our responsibility to become peaceful warriors, turning our energy into directions that honor our Creator’s will for us to do no harm, and to build ourselves and one another up. Seek the peaceful warrior within you, and honor the need to take make your intentions, plans, and commitments come into alignment with that which your soul calls you to do, be, become, and create within yourself, within your relationships, within your community, and within the world in which we all live. Find the strength that comes from being courageous, loving, kind, and responsible for how you honor and use your gifts. We have been given the gifts to choose life or death. Seek during this time of reflection and sacrifice, how to choose life.
No comments:
Post a Comment