It’s January! The month named for the Roman God Janus, the two faced God. Janus rules over endings and beginnings, a time that’s liminal and very well embodied in the month of January. We’re excited for the new year but still feeling a little of what lingers from the year that’s ended. A lot of people rush to make plans for the new year before January, but the truth is that January itself is a bit of an in-between time making it an ideal month to keep planning and getting settled into your new groove.
Interesting January Lore…
Some believe that the first 12 days of the new year can predict the weather for the next 12 months. Each day of these 12 days represents a month of the year, giving a hint at what the weather for the year will be like. So, for instance today here in my part of San Diego it’s foggy and raining. It’s the 11th day of the month which corresponds to the month of November. By this weather lore we might expect to see mostly rainy foggy days in November 2017 in San Diego. Interesting!
A couple big things are happening, or have happened up in the skies in the last few days. Mercury Retrograde has begun to do its dance to go direct again. Remember, there is a post-shadow period to retrogrades. If you still feel a bit of the heat from this retrograde just relax. The last day of the post-shadow is the 27th, but you’ll see the energy get back to normal every day here on out. Thank the Gods!
The other thing is that we’re coming into the first full moon of 2017. January brings us the Wolf Moon in the sign of Cancer.
The Cancer full moon is a time for focusing on nurturing yourself, your home, and your family. It’s a time for reconnecting with those close and making amends where needed. It’s also a great time to reconnect with your spiritual family, both those in the physical world as well as those in the cosmos. The Cancer full moon is a good time for working devotions to the Gods, especially the Goddess, since mothering and nurture are favored now.
This Cancer moon is also the Wolf Moon, the first full moon of the year. The Wolf Moon has a little in common with the Cancer energy because this moon also asks us to connect with those we hold close, our pack, if you will. It’s a time to shed any last bits of the passing year and releasing anything that wont serve you in the months ahead.
Thanks to all the different agricultural societies in the world that made a habit of naming the moons, you can find an animal association for each full moon from around the world. This gives us a little extra energy to work with each month, specifically the spirit animal medicine that each power animal carries.
Wolf medicine has a lot of layers to it but one that I always feel is most fitting for this first full moon is the medicine of strength and courage. Which is actually a little ironic because today when I pulled the daily cards on Instagram using the Spirit de la Lune deck I pulled the cards Strength and Courage. Totally unplanned and unexpected! That gave me all the more reason to want to create this full moon magick for you.
This month’s moon magick is for helping you to harness strength and courage to do something that you have going on or coming up in your life during the next few months. You can also use this in a more general sense to simply give you the strength and courage to live your life, walk your path, and embrace your inner wildness.
Use this spell tonight or tomorrow to harness this Full Wolf Moon to get 2017 off to a strong and courageous start.
Full Moon Spell Mats!
This month brings an introduction of a new little feature here on the blog. Monthly Full Moon Spell Mats. They are printable PDFs that essentially create a portable altar surface for you to take either on the go or to work at your altar at home for the spell of the month. Just print it out, follow the instructions below, and off you go!
Full Wolf Moon Spell for Strength and Courage
You Will Need:
- Silver or White spell/taper candle
- Purple spell/taper candle
- Lunar, Full Moon, or Jasmine oil
- Piece of Moonstone
- Piece of Hematite
- Pinch of Catnip
- Pinch of Thyme
- Pinch of Bay Leaf
- Black cloth or charm bag
- Wolf Moon Spell Mat printed
- Pen
- Lighter
- Candle holders
- Bowl to mix the herbs
- Regular altar tools as desired
Print out your spell mat and gather your supplies. Set up your altar with any additional items you usually use. Cast a circle or create sacred space in your usual way.
Using your pen, fill out the blank spaces in the petition on the spell mat. There is a space at the time to include any added inscriptions like runes, symbols, sigils, or glyphs that you wish to work with for this ritual.
Place the mat in the center of your altar.
Dress each of the candles with a few drops of your oil. The silver honors the moon and calls on the Wolf Moon energy and the medicine of Wolf. The purples honors you and your personal strength and courage. Place in your candle holders and put them in their spots on the mat.
With a little oil still on your hands, hold your moonstone for a moment and focus on where you need your path forward with your situation to be illuminated. See the moon lighting your way and bringing clarity to your path. When you’re ready put it on its place on the spell mat.
Do the same with the hematite while focusing on feeling strong, protected, and safe. How does it feel to be able to do what you need to do with courage, knowing that you are watched over and being guided on your journey? When you’re ready add this to where it belongs on your mat.
Next, take your herbs and mix them together. Sprinkle half around the base of the silver candle and the other half around the base of the purple candle.
Set the charm bag aside for now.
Light you candles and take a moment to get focused on your intention. Go into a meditative state and visualize yourself finding success in your challenges with ease, feeling strong and confident, having the courage to do what needs to be done without hesitation. Really take your time to connect to what it feels like for you to embody the energies of strength and courage.
You can also go a little deeper with connecting to Wolf if you wish. See yourself standing outside in an open space under a large, silvery glowing moon. Again, bring to mind these feelings of strength and courage. As you begin to feel these energy really reach their pitch within you, you hear the howl of a wolf in the distance that quickly begins to get closer and closer. You stand strong, unafraid of the unknown animal coming your way. You keep your gaze on the moon and soon hear the wolf right behind you. You let your hand drop to your side and the wolf comes right up and sits beside you, nuzzling your hand to let you know he’s there with you. Take a moment to sit with your wolf, asking if your particular wolf has any messages or guidance for you. When you’re ready you can thank your wolf and send him back off in to the wild knowing that any time you need him you can come back here and call for him to be with you. Slowly begin to come back to your body and when you’re ready open your eyes.
Take a moment to come fully back into this present space and with strength and conviction in your voice, knowing that your desire is already manifested, read the petition from the spell mat out loud. Take a moment to feel the resonance of energy from your voice.
Allow the candles to burn down completely. Finish up your ritual in your usual way.
When your candles burn down, clean up your spell mat by removing the candles and carefully bending the paper to collect the herbs and crystals into the center. Use this to pour the stones and herbs into your spell bag. If you wish you can also fold up the spell mat into a square and add it to your bag or you can keep it out for additional work through the month. Tie up the bag and you can carry it with you or keep it on your altar or other sacred space. Meditate with it when you wish to focus on this work and carry it with you when you are going to be doing something related to this issue needing strength and courage.
Happy Full Wolf Moon!
A Few Quick Reminders
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Excellent post and awesome petition! Thanks a lot!