The days following a New Moon phase are auspicious. The actual day of the New Moon, the balsamic or dark Moon period, marks the beginning point when the heavens shift from dark to light. On the following days magic is in the air and the inner life is awakened.
This is a perfect time to tap into your inner wisdom with a Celtic Cross Tarot reading and prepare for a new beginning in your life. Imagine the first crack of an egg. It takes work and diligence to crack that egg open and expand toward new dimensions, but the effort is always worth it in the end.
This metaphor illustrates the potential available to each of us the day after a New Moon approaches. The following quote expresses the essence of the New Moon’s potential.
“A New Moon teaches gradualness and deliberation and how one gives birth to oneself slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe.” –Rumi
The New Moon: The Fool
“Behold, a sacred voice is calling you. All over the sky a sacred voice is calling you.” –Black Elk
Do something different for a change. Dare to be lighthearted. Change what you wear. Surprise yourself with a new attitude. Shine the light of magic and wonder in all that you do and see. Watch the birds take flight from tree to tree. Free yourself from old routines that tie you down and exhaust your immune system. Allow the vibrations of the New Moon to awaken your inner life with fresh perspectives and promptings.
Suggested flower essence: Shooting Star … discover yourself again and embody the genius of your soul!
Crescent Moon: The High Priestess
When each day is sacred, when each hour is sacred, when each instant is sacred, Earth and you, space and you, bearing and sacred through time, you’ll reach the fields of light. –Guillevic
The crescent Moon has been associated with Isis, the Egyptian Goddess known as She Who Makes Right Use of the Heart, or the Mother of Heaven. Isis’s headdress is often depicted with the horns of a cow on her head, and the solar disc between them. These horns are a symbol of the crescent Moon and are representations of immanent fertility and prosperity.
An intuitive spark of heart and mind have been lit. You now bear the torch. Be still while you listen and visualize. Take note of the seeds that have been planted within your garden of life and do everything you can to bring nutrients to the foundation of your life. Moisten and deepen your attunement to inner truth. The crescent Moon offers a force of light pushing forward within you.
Suggested flower essence: Cat’s Ear … attune to the magic of your intuition and act accordingly.
First Quarter: The Magician
“You must become the change you want to see in the world.” –Gandhi
The Magician is one who has become seasoned and attuned to the conscious aspects of life ready to manifest. The Magician leads the whimsical wandering of The Fool into a clearer stream of consciousness that can actualize miracle upon miracle. You must now understand the world of matter and turn that which has been unseen into visible creations. Be productive, active, goal-oriented and joyous in every endeavor. Nothing can remain stagnant at this stage of the Moon’s phase. The theme of creative movement is evident in the flow of life.
Suggested flower essence: Iris … the creative paintbrush of the soul. Paint your dreams into manifested joy and deliberation.
Gibbous Moon: The Wheel of Fortune
“How shall I begin my song in the blue night that is setting? In the great night my heart will go out. Toward me the light comes, rattling. In the great night sky my heart will go out.” –Medicine Woman Chant
The gibbous Moon phase can be called the womb of potential. Life is a constant process of transformation and movement involving integration, disintegration, generation and degeneration. Having recently experienced a rebirth cycle, you are now ready to embrace all that is expanding and growing in your life. Confront your opportunities and challenges in order that a permeable reality may evolve. Learn new things, stretch your imagination, seek new experiences and take in an interesting movie or documentary and study. Fill your life with interests and activities.
Suggested flower essence: Mountain Pride … the great warrior of the heart moves forward, actualizing dreams and goals. Perseverance is the key.
Full Moon: The Sun and Moon
“Each night Lady Moon gathers unto herself all the discarded memories and forgotten dreams of mankind. These she stores in her silver cup till dawn. Then, at first light, all these forgotten dreams and neglected memories are returned to Earth as Moon-sap, or dew. Mingled with lacrimae lunae, ‘the tears of the Moon,’ this dew nourishes and refreshes all life on Earth. Through compassionate care of the Goddess, nothing of value is lost to man.” –from the Legend of the Moon by Sallie Nichols
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” –John Wesley
The force of the Sun and Moon are illumined and the pure potential of both lights are fully active. The chalice cup is full, life is brimming over with expectation, and the cornucopia horn of plenty has been placed at the center table of life. Wisdom shines outward. Share your gifts, talents, joys and manifested creations through teaching, writing, dancing and community sharing. This is the peak of light and you are filled with its radiant glow.
Suggested flower essence: Lotus … flower of water and air bringing the unconscious forces into conscious knowing and insight.
Disseminating Moon: The Star
“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” –Mary Oliver
This is the time to pour forward all that you have accumulated by networking, sharing news, offering service and find the joy to be the light of the world. You know the mystery of life and you live according to the secret wisdom found in the Full Moon phase. Share in the mystery and walk in the beauty of your true self. This is a time to reach for the stars as they become more visible with the decreasing light of the Full Moon. You may ask yourself, “How may I serve the world?”
Suggested flower essence: The Rose … deeply rooted in the Earth, the rose blossoms into the beauty of love. The rose opens the heart chakra so that we may do our very best work on Earth.
Third Quarter Moon: Judgment
“From joy I came, for joy I live, and in Thy sacred joy, I shall melt again.” –Yogananda
Look deeply now to assess all that you have become responsible for. We have countless opportunities to weigh our pros and cons in life. Seek to negate all polarities and opposition within and roll them back into the deep soil of the past. Now is the time for a renewed self-reflection and once again you are prompted to spend some quality time alone, read a good book, get a haircut, clean out closets, move things around. It will beneficial to fast for a day or eat lightly so that your body may purge and cleanse. You are preparing for another turn of the Moon … and darkness in the sky brings bright wisdom within.
Suggested flower essence: Sagebrush … cutting through all illusion and confusion, sagebrush cleanses the aura and the field of light around the heart chakra.
Balsamic Moon: The Hermit
“Yet it is in this loneliness that the deepest activities begin. It is here that you discover act without motion, labor that is profound repose, vision in obscurity and beyond all desire, a fulfillment whose limits extend to infinity.” –Thomas Merton
When the dark Moon resides within the heavens, a sweet quiet is pervasive. Meditate, contemplate, pray, chant and rest. There are many ways to experience the descent into the unconscious successfully, and the more attentive you become of this inner need, the greater balance and immune health an individual will attain. Strengthen your connection to the invisible worlds, seek the cave and find the light within.
Suggested flower essence: Queen of the Night … desert cactus flower that blooms in the night offering the inner light of the unconscious.
The Moon phases are the magical wheel that we dance upon each month. In your own birth chart you have your own progressed Moon phases that coincide with the eight phases that I have written about in this post. Each progressed Moon phase lasts approximately 2 1/2 years. You might like to find out which house your progressed Moon is passing through and what sign it is in. It’s great to understand the mapping of your own inner sky.
Justice signifies the principle that although things sometimes seem askew the Universe is ultimately fair. We may not see or understand why things happen, but most of us sense there is in fact a reason and that balance exists even when we cannot see it. Justice denotes fairness regardless of who you are. At its purest the forces embodied by Justice give us the power to see without bias, and the courage to be accountable for our actions. These powers also test our faith at times. These powers also give us the tools and strength to fight injustice in our everyday life. All we have to do is use them.
Completely feminine and the counterpart to The Magician, the High Priestess is the Gatekeeper of the subconscious, the unknown. She travels in worlds which most of us only glimpse in our dreams. Her realm is that of unseen truths, untapped potentials, and hidden dangers. The Calling of The High Priestess is to go beyond the obvious and visible to tap those powers which are veiled from normal vision. While she is passive by nature, she has the power to uncover unknown potential and is very aware of the infinite potential all humans harbor within them. She is also very patient. She can wait for events to blossom in their own time.
The Emperor is gifted with the skills to successfully lead others. He can turn chaos into order, provide structure to that which is unbound. He is quick of mind and confident in his power and right to rule, and does so in a just manner. Although stern by nature, he truly is the ultimate father figure. He will provide as needed, teach those with unanswered questions, protect the vulnerable, set and maintain boundaries. His perfect world runs on schedule and is free of any disturbances. What the Emperor must be wary of is setting boundaries and rules where none are needed. If he isn’t he may well become a tyrant.
This card represents the dreamer in you, the idealist, the mystic. The Fool desires to do great things, but is often unaware of just how difficult great things are to do. He must always be very careful of the choices he makes, and remember knowledge is his ally. The Fool often symbolizes a new beginning, unrestrained optimism, and curiosity that hasn’t been dulled by time. While The Fool may well indicate a lack of experience or grasp of the pitfalls along the path he is taking, it is equally true that his lack of experience leads him to believe all things are possible, which brings even impossible goals within his grasp.
First and foremost Death does not specifically pertain to our physical death. The Death card marks ends and beginnings. Although most illustrations of the Death card tend to be morbid, the forces behind the Death card are actually quite exciting. Yes Death does mark the end of something. But ends are often brought about by completion and not loss. Most endings are actually good, and make room for us to begin new adventures.
Witches Of The Craft® 
You must be logged in to post a comment.