The Moon will be full on 29th October 2012. This time of year the Moon is known as The Hunter’s Moon more commonly but other names are the Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon.

The Moon governs moisture and this is why it has been historically followed by farmers as a guide to planting, sowing and harvesting times.

Pliny the Elder, the first-century Roman naturalist, stated in his Natural History that the Moon “replenishes the earth; when she approaches it, she fills all bodies, while, when she recedes, she empties them.” cited in the 1994 Old Farmers’ Almanac.

This might explain why emotions run high at the time when the Moon is Full, we become emotional, tears flow easily. This is logical if you think of moisture rising as it would follow that our emotions/tearful outpourings are close to the surface.

It is also the time of completion of a project that had begun at the New Moon so it is a time for celebration of achievement, a welling up of proud tears, where you heart swells with love  as you experience a good harvest, a good result.

So those who follow the Moon phases for magickal workings are actually following a well known cycle for planning and fruition. The only difference is that they use the phases to plant, grow and harvest plans rather than physical bulbs, seeds etc. You CAN DO all of these physical things but see the seeds/bulbs as a symbolic representation of your plan or as we call it “intent”. I am intent on doing this, achieving this.

The word “intent” is used a lot in magick. State your intent. Be clear about your intent. Do not be ambiguous. Do not be vague. “Intent” is what one intends to do or bring about, a resolve,  a settled solid determination. The caution not to be vague or ambiguous is to prevent random variables from coming into play.

Or conversely, I am intent on reducing this, being rid of this, banishing this.. This kind of working would be done in the phase AFTER the Moon has been Full, when it is waning. The aspect in your life that no longer serves you would not grow but shrivel up and decrease to nothing, during the time of the Waning Moon, when the moisture is drying up. It will not be sustained. Do the working, plant the bulb/seed and leave it at that. Release it emotionally, do not give it focus or attention. Do not tend to it. It is no longer cared for. It is no longer in-tended, not shown any tend-erness.

There is another factor that is beneficial to use during the Full Moon. It will fall in a certain sign. As an easy guide, the Full Moon falls in the opposite sign as that of the current Sun sign. Any birthdays coming up in the next few days? They are Scorpios. There are 12 signs of the zodiac so count six signs along and you will see that the Full Moon is in Taurus.

What does that mean in terms of intents and magickal/psychological work?

Taurus is an earthy fixed sign, very concerned with comfort, security, beauty and sensuality. It makes sense for this time of year if you look at it. We are coming to the end of the year, the party season, when we want to look and feel our best. We start thinking about being secure and cosy for the coming winter months. We begin to shiver as the weather gets colder and our thoughts turn to warm cosy jumpers and bedclothes, warm things that we can snuggle into and feel secure against the outside. We are likely to spend more time at home so we will be fixing things, all to feel secure. Taurus rules the 2nd zodiacal house so money matters become highlighted. Probably 2 more paypackets until the festive present giving/receiving season.

As Taurus is fixed you will notice that people become stubborn and cling to their ideas, plans, tenaciously like their life and soul depend upon it. Well, this Full Moon energy can make it feel like that as it highlights what makes you feel secure physically, emotionally and mentally.

In a psychological sense, if you look at the Moon as ruling the unconscious, if you feel a little unsure about something, if something is making you feel a little bit unsure or insecure in yourself, you might be able to use the full light of the Full Moon to help you to unearth what is troubling you. Spend a little time in meditation or quiet thought and see what rises into your conscious mind, into full light, into awareness. If you have a realization that there is something that no longer serves you and you need to remove it from your life, you could work with that after the Full Moon (leave it for three days until the waning really starts) when the Moon will decrease gradually from sight until we cannot see it. Plant an intent to banish it from your life, deliberately in a bad time for growth, when it will not grow but reduce to nothing.

Or, if you discover in your meditation, feelings or dreams reveal something to you that you lack at present or that you want to increase to feel more secure, wait until the New Moon and plant your new intent then and carry on with your daily life with a spirit of expectancy, knowing that your seeded intent is swelling, growing in tune with the natural cycles.

It is a Hunter’s Moon. It is an opportunity to go out on a “hunt” and have fun. I love car boot sales and such things and when I go I call it hunting. I just go and see what I notice. Sometimes I just have a day out with no particular destination in mind. I call that hunting too. I go wherever I feel pulled/moved to go. I see what catches my attention and it is often things that were there but I did not notice them. I follow my hunter’s instinct and I often have a very interesting time or I find something interesting to buy. A good Goddess image to “carry” with you to inspire is Artemis or Diana, who are Goddesses of the Hunt. A God would be Cernunnos. Gods/Goddesses symbolise an ideal, a human quality, something we as people can relate to, something to lend us their qualities so they can be task specific. I come home with my quarry, either an experience that energises me or a physical object that I cherish as when I look at it, it reminds me of a successful hunt. Try it and see.

The other consideration about this Full Moon is that it will exert its energy over Samhain/Halloween. When you look at it, what makes us feel really secure is our belonging to a family or close group of people. I will write more on Samhain in a dedicated post but it is a time when we think of the past and our ancestors. It can be used as a time to reinforce our sense of secure identity within a chain of people who have come before us and also, who will come when we have passed over. We will then  become their ancestors, the ones that come to mind for them at this time. Our place in the family lineage is fixed and really feeling and acknowledging that blood connection will give a boost to your feeling of security and a place in the web of life.

Enjoy your Full Moon experiences. It will actuallly fall on the day named after the Moon, Monday at 19.50 GMT

 The above is a photo that I took of a Full Moon which I “drew down” into my crystal ball. I held the crystal ball in my left hand and aligned it with the Moon and click, hey presto, a photo.

Rose Dixon