The phone never rang last night. It was an amazing feat to get fifteen people to the apartment that I share with Brigid without spending an hour giving our guests directions. Of course, many of them had been to the place before. “Once you make it once, the trip will become easier the next time around!” I keep repeating words of reassurance that the difficulty getting to the cramped city venue, finding parking in one of the most crowded sections of Arlington, and navigating around the complex quad-building cluster are all completely worth it, because it becomes second nature after awhile.
Of course, it is by the first metro train stop into Virginia from the District of Columbia. And, the quick sight of the Iwo Jima Memorial against Arlington National Cemetery while walking to the building is attention-getting.
Iwo Jima Memorial
Tomorrow is the Full Strawberry Moon, and we had gathered in my Virginia apartment to celebrate the lunar energies that were about to hit their peak, to celebrate our growing community, and to celebrate life. Our handmaiden (Nancy) and our quarter guardians (Brigid, Willow, Patrick, and Mike) do a wonderful job of getting our altars set up. Our summoner swept the space and smudged it, as well as the participants in it. We gathered around the circle, and commenced to call the quarters.
She volunteered to call East, and ended up setting up the East altar. Though I found this out later, and despite the fact that she’s my roommate, I had forgotten that this was Brigid’s first ritual in roughly the 10 to 13 years she’s identified herself as Pagan. She faced the East and called out, “Hail to thee, Oh Spirits of the East, Powers of Air. We call you to this full moon circle to guide and protect our workings.” Turning to the participants, she continued, “I ask you all to take a few deep breaths. Feel the nourishing air as it fill your lungs and travels through your body.” She paused for a moment. “Feel the thought forms in your mind for the pure movement of energy that they are. Hear the vibrations of my words as if each sound was a speeding car traveling down a country road. Calling out to the element, “Spirits of the East, magnify our work here tonight, so that it shines with us through this entire month. Powers of Air, Hail and Welcome!”
Everyone confirmed, “Hail and Welcome!” And Brigid lit the candle on her altar set aside to complete the summoning.
Willow took the lighter from Brigid and held her hands out, calling out to Fire. “Hail to thee, Oh Spirits of the South, Powers of Fire. We call you to this full moon circle to guide and protect our workings. I ask you all to put your hand over your heart. Feel the hot blood as it pumps through your system, the hot, fiery lava of your life force. Feel the passion that you have growing, expanding around you…the passion for life, for love, for your career, for your Craft, or whatever drives you.” Willow began clapping. “Let the rhythm carry you as if the universe were created on this very beat. Spirits of the South magnify our work here tonight, so that it shines with us through this entire month. Powers of the Fire, Hail and Welcome!”
With hands outstretched, Patrick called out to the West. “Hail to thee, Oh Spirits of the West, Powers of Water. We call you to this full moon circle to guide and protect our workings. I ask you all to close your eyes and reach out into the dark, unknown abyss into the murky waters of your dreams. ( Recall a body of water by which you found peace or positive energy. It may be an ocean, a river, or a lake, but see that body of water in your mind. Feel the movement of water as you gaze at it. Is it still? Is it flowing? Allow this feeling to carry you as if all life-giving waters of the universe originate here. Spirits of the West magnify our work here tonight, so that it shines with us through this entire month. Powers of Water, Hail and Welcome!”
Mike reached out to the North. “Hail to thee, Oh Spirits of the North, Powers of Earth. We call you to this full moon circle to guide and protect our workings. (To the participants) I ask you all to feel the movement of energy that we have been building through your body and slowly become aware of your feet. Suddenly, they are not your feet, but you have begun to grow roots into the ground. These roots travel through the floor of this apartment, through the ceiling of the one below it. They continue to move through the other floors, the inhabitants oblivious to the tree roots that have taken over their homes. Down, down, down…your roots grow and grow and grow through the first floor and down into the ground where only the insects and animals live. (Pause) And, like them…you feed upon the earth, allowing energy to flow up your roots, through your body, and to your energy center. Allow this channel of energy to stay open through our working. Spirits of the North, magnify our work here tonight, so that it shines with us through this entire month. Powers of Earth, Hail and Welcome!”
Then, I took a deep breath and stretched my hands out high into the sky. “Hail to thee, Great Spirit! We call you to this full moon circle to connect the Powers of Earth and Fire and Water and Air. Reach your hands into the sky, for now your are a great tree. Not only do you have impressive roots, but you have great branches that reach, reach, reach for the sky. Your branches extend up and up until you can see the tops of all of the buildings and the monuments around. The big silver buildings next to you become an arm rest and the Potomac River becomes nothing more than a vein on your foot. Soon, you are staring at the black abyss of space, the same black abyss that you saw when you closed your eyes. (Pause) You see the stars as neighbors, and like them…you feed on the divine energy that swirls in the cosmos…allowing energy to flow down your branches, through your body, and to your energy center. Allow this channel of energy to stay open through our working. Great Spirit, magnify our work here tonight, so that it shines with us through this entire month. Hail and Welcome!”
“Father God, we call you to this full moon circle to shine down your blessing. It is you, the Sun, that nourishes the plants and warms the land. Hail and Welcome.”
“Mother Goddess, we call you to this full moon circle to shine down your blessing. It is you that is the fertile earth that feeds the plants and animals. Hail and Welcome.”
In instructed everyone to take a seat on the floor, on a chair, or to continue to stand. Positioning myself where everyone could see me, I began to read. “We are here to celebrate the Full Strawberry Moon tonight. The actual full moon occurs at 2:12 pm June 7th, this Sunday afternoon. In the Celtic Tree calendar from May 13th through June 9th is The Hawthorn Month, making this also the Hawthorn Moon. Hawthorn is a prickly sort of plant with beautiful blossoms. The Hawthorn month is a time of fertility, masculine energy, and fire. It is a symbol of the coming summer, hope, and pleasure. On June 10th, we will transition into the Oak month, which is a time of strength, cleansing, self-confidence, and optimism. The Oak moon falls during a time when the trees are beginning to reach their full blooming stages. The mighty Oak is strong, powerful, and typically towering over all of its neighbors. The Oak King rules over the summer months, and this tree was sacred to the Druids.
“Other names for this full moon include the Rose Moon, because roses are in full bloom at this time, and the Hot Moon, because, well, this is when it first starts to get hot during the year. It is also called the Mead Moon, the Dyad Moon, and the Honey Moon. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, Native Americans named this full moon the Strawberry Moon, because of it’s occurrence during the short strawberry harvesting season. This name was universal to every Algonquin tribe.
“Fragaria is a group of flowering plants in the rose family, which are commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many hybrids. The most common strawberries grown commercially are the garden strawberry. Strawberries have a taste that ranges from quite sweet to rather tart. Strawberries are a very important commercial fruit crop.
“The strawberry is false fruit; in that the fleshy part is derived not from the ovaries which are the “seeds” but from the peg at the bottom of the floral structure that holds the ovaries. So from a technical standpoint, the seeds are the actual fruits of the plant, and the flesh of the strawberry is modified tissue that holds the seeds together. It is whitish-green as it develops and in most species turns red when ripe. All strawberries have seeds that are visible from the outside.
“In mythology, Strawberries are connected to the Norse goddess of love, Freyja. Also, a Norse legend exists where the spirits of children enter the afterlife by hiding in strawberries that are taken to heaven by Frigga, Oden’s wife.
“According to About.com, Greek mythology places the origins of the wild strawberry with the Goddess Aphrodite who, upon the death of the beautiful, but mortal Adonis wept with such passion that her tears fell to the ground as small red hearts… strawberries. Not surprising, then, that in the Middle Ages, strawberries became known as the fruit of temptation and seduction, both for which Aphrodite was well known.
“Strawberries in Winter” is a Slovakian Cinderella story about a beautiful girl whose father dies and she is left to live with her step-mother and step-sister. As we know, she ends up doing all of the housework. Meanwhile, her step-sister meets with prospective husbands. The sheer beauty of the “Cinderella”, however, is enough to distract the suitors from the step-sister. The step-sister and mother realize this and begin sending her on what seem to be impossible missions. She is asked to gather strawberries, as well as violets and apples, in the middle of the winter. They do this in hope that she will freeze outside and not come home. Each time she becomes extremely cold she happens upon the Council of the Seasons and asks if she can warm herself by their fire. They consent and help her to gather whatever she needs to return home. On the third outing she comes home with only two apples. The step-mother and step-sister devour them. Wanting more, they decide to go out and search for some. They too run into the Council of Seasons, but warm themselves in the fire without permission, and they are rude to the members of the Council. Knowing who these individuals must be, January sends out a storm of snow and ice, and they never return. This shows that it is better to be like the beautiful sister and the strawberries: modest and “sweet in life and character.”
I placed my athame and reinforcing hand over the strawberries and projected the positive energy that we had raised into them. “Fertile Goddess, we ask you to bless these strawberries to allow us to take the lesson of modesty and being sweet in life and character with us. As we eat of the flesh of this fruit, allow us to retain this lesson throughout the season. So mote it be. ”
“So mote it be,” everyone reaffirmed.
We passed the strawberries around, each person taking one and enjoying the fruit. Before closing the circle, we partook in cakes and ale. Brigid and I had picked up name tags at the drugstore, so that our participants could call each other by name. After blessings the cakes, I turned to Brigid. As I made eye contact, smiled, and genuinely wished her well, I said, “Brigid, thou art Goddess. May you eat and never hunger.” The cakes made their way through all 16 participants, and then back to me. We had to use our large bamboo cutting board to support the little cups of ale. Fair trade cups, might I add. Gary contributed grape juice, while Elizabeth brought a bottle of “the best mead there is,” of which she is the sole distributor in the United States.
After closing the circle, we exchanged hugs and cleaned up. Everyone stayed around for about thirty minutes to socialize.
It was the best ritual that we’ve had yet.
