One Year of Full Moon Circles

We are coming up on the next full moon, the wolf moon, that marks one year from when I started organizing these monthly circles for women and children. What I had been wanting was a way to include my children in the life changing magic of women's circles, to make this a part of their normal life. For my sons as well as my daughter, I wanted them to witness the magic that happens when women gather intentionally. Part of creating men who honor and value women and what they create together, is bringing them in to witness it when they are young. The format of these circles is simple and I am planning as I host these in the next year, to weave them all together as an instructional book for making these happen in your community too.

The simple formula was created by simply bringing together what I wanted more of in my life. I figured other women and mothers would be desiring this as well if I was. I wanted to learn about the moons and incorporate that rhythm into my life, each one is different and brings a different energy. This naturally flows into understanding how to work with the time of year and season that we are in. I wanted to understand how the astrology of each moon fits into what we are feeling and going through at that time. So each circle is an opportunity to share that knowledge with others. The history, the astrology, what we can reflect on and how we can work with the current energy. A little ritual that children can do too is worked into each circle, as well as a chance for everyone to share what is on their hearts. Singing together is one of my favorite parts of circling because it is so powerful in a group, so we always do that too.

Outside of the actual circle, I plan a seasonal craft that is simple enough for most ages and involves nature in some way. We usually work on this before the circle while everyone is eating and the kids can do it whenever they feel like. Most of the time the children spend the whole gathering playing, sometimes they all watch a movie together if we are at someone's house. Sometimes they all participate in the circle, sometimes none of them do. Sometimes it's outdoors at a park and random mothers join us. The beauty in it always being somewhere different is that each one is a totally different energy depending on who shows up and where it is. This is also what makes sharing a potluck meal together so special, it's different every time!

I could never put into words how much I have loved organizing these the last year, there were only two moons we didnt gather for, the worm moon in march, which I still celebrated at home, and the sturgeon moon in august where I didn't do a single thing as I was deathly ill with pneumonia. That is the one moon I have no photos of, otherwise I have shared some photos from each moon below. These are also on my Instagram as a post I recently did. I wanted to share here to go into more detail because these have been the best part of my whole year and I am looking forward to the coming year and the magic we will create together. If you want to join these and are in the greater Portland area please send me a message or check the homeschool calendar as I add them there.

Here is the Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSiwMDdkk4P/?img_index=20

January: The first circle, the wolf moon gathering. We did a candle ritual to welcome the return of the light and made compostable bird feeders out of orange halves.

February: The snow moon gathering, the next day it snowed for a few days! We made heart paper chains out of wrapping paper scraps and did a honey ritual which we then made sugar scrubs out of during the circle.

March: The worm moon. My oldest had been sick so we didn't gather for this one, I had planned a ritual honoring the 4 elements that I did at home anyway.

April: The pink moon gathering. We made these stick looms to weave flowers in and did a tea ceremony. This was the first gathering we had at a park.

May: The flower moon gathering. We made flower crowns and a 3d flower vase craft with holes punched in cardboard that you stick flowers in. We did a seed planting ritual during the circle with sunflower seeds to plant later.

June: The strawberry moon gathering. We made cards with pounded flowers on them and a flower mandala. We also made one of my all time favorite tea blends specifically for the strawberry moon during the circle.

July: The buck moon gathering. We made a gorgeous earth altar mandala during the circle and crafted flower garlands. We also mixed up some sidewalk chalk paint for the kids.

September: The corn moon gathering. We made little pipe cleaner corns with wood beads and did a harvest ritual with corn kernels during the circle.

October: The harvest moon gathering. Possibly my favorite of the whole year. We set up a harvest table and decorated pumpkins. We had the circle in the forest on my friend's land and did an apple and honey ritual as well as an animal offering ritual where we left some treats for the animal and forest spirits.

November: The beaver moon gathering. We made beaver lodge prosperity jars during the circle and crafted leaf wands.

December: The cold moon gathering. We made these solstice wands to throw in the fire on the winter solstice, as well as a variety of other crafts with foraged cedar and pine as well as dried oranges and cinnamon sticks. During the circle we made a protective herb and salt blend to sprinkle around our doorways and windows for protection during the winter.

Check the homeschool calendar for the next gathering happening on January 3rd! Cheers to another year of community, crafting, delicious food and honoring the cycles of nature and the seasons.