Dark Cold Moon
Deep peace of the dark moon to you
december 1, 2024
Centering
Place one hand on your belly and one over your heart. Breathe in, feeling your belly expand. Breathe out, out, out, feeling your belly contract. Pause here for a count of three.
Following your own rhythm and pace, take several more deep breaths, pausing with intention after each exhale.
Learning
The cold moon is, of course, named for the cold season that we have entered into. The nights are getting longer. The days are getting shorter. And yet our lives do not necessarily follow the natural rhythms around us. There are so many things that keep us from slowing down along with nature.
The cold literally slows nature. Water freezes. Animals hibernate or rest. Snow blankets the landscape. And yet, most of us have responsibilities outside the home, and so we shovel the front stoop, scrape ice off the windshield, or slide our way down the sidewalk to get to where we need to go.
Much of our routines don’t change with the seasons, of course. For the most part, our responsibilities to our household, work, and communities are not altered with the weather or the hours of sunlight and darkness. But in December, for what many folks becomes the busiest season of the year, can we make room to allow the frozen molecules around us to invite a different pace in the darkness?
For last month's beaver moon, we focused on preparing our physical spaces. For the winter months this month, I invite us to reflect on our schedules and our energetic spaces.
Imagining
Reflecting
What brings you the most joy in this season, and what feels the least joyful?
Is there someone that you can ask for help to make this a more joyful and less stressful season? Is there someone that you want to reach out to to help make their season more joyful and less stressful?
Light a candle for something you want to add to your routine this month. Light a candle for something you want to eliminate from this month.
Suggested Practices
Go for a hike.
Host a movie night or dinner party and invite guests to contribute funds or items to a local shelter (always check with orgs first to find out what they need and can accept!).
Turn off the tv, put away your phone, and just quietly drink a cup of tea.
Kindly decline an invitation to something that’s not singing to you.
Write down something that you’re cutting out of this season and (safely!) burn it, bury it, or release it in a body of water.
Closing
As the world around us gets darker, colder, and quieter, may we receive the invitation to pause, notice, and wonder.