BLOOD MOON: October’s Full Moon – A Moon for the Bleeding Hearted

A Full Moon is always a special time for a Witch! And October time, going into Halloween is one of my most favorite times of the year. The full Moon of October is called the Blood Moon. The Blood Moon is the Full Moon closest to Samhain, so the spooky Witchy vibe is going to be in full swing! By consciously working the Blood Moon, you will be able to reap the powerful benefits of Her lunar energies which will allow you to gain more self-awareness, spiritual growth and make major changes.

THINGS TO FOCUS ON THIS BLOOD MOON: Letting go, evaluation, transformation, self love, purification, authenticity to yourself.

NOTE: Other names for the Blood Moon are: Hunters Moon, Shedding Moon, Falling Leaves Moon, Freezing Moon, Winterfelleth (Winter Coming) Moon, Ten Colds Moon, Drying Rice Moon, Migrating Moon and Moon of the Changing Season.

WHY IS IT CALLED THE BLOOD MOON?

The full Moon names come from a number of places which include the Native American, Colonial American and multiple European sources. Each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month not just to the full moon specific day/night of the full Moon.

Some sources indicate that the Dying Grass, Sanguine, and Blood Moon names are related to the turning of the leaves and dying back of plants with the start of fall which makes sense because they are all kinds of various reds and browns, which I absolutely love (btw). Others indicate that the names Sanguine and Blood Moon are associated with hunting to prepare for winter which is obviously in reference to the blood shed of all the animals that will dying in the hunt.

The Almanac refers to this Full Moon as the “Hunters Moon” which is unique in the fact that the name is not directly related to folklore but is rather tied to the autumnal equinox. What does this mean? This means that Hunter’s Moon is the first full Moon to follow the Harvest Moon and it can occur in either October or November used to signal the time to go hunting in preparation for the cold, harsh winter ahead.

NOTE: Whether you call it the Blood Moon or the Hunter’s Moon, either name is for this months (October) full Moon because of their association with the blood that comes as a result of the hunting or slaughtering or the color of the changing autumn leaves which resembles the color of blood.

Did you know that the month of October was originally called “Octem”? The Blood Moon month of October gets its name from the old custom of killing and slaying of livestock before the winter arrives. Cattle and animals of all kinds would be hunted or slaughtered because during the winter months, it would not be possible for them to live through them, because the people would not be able to be feed them (they would only keep selected stock through the winter months).

To relate this custom to our modern day practices, you can compare it to the preparation we all begin to make with the winter coming. For example, you might freeze left over meals you made from the harvest months, make jams and pickle jars full of yummy things you can eat during the colder winter months. You might gather in all your garden equipment and start winter proofing your home and finish off with a clean! things like this.

THE FESTIVAL OF THESMOPHORIA

This Greek festival is a 3 day event starting on the 11th of October and ending on the 13th. It is in honor of goddess Demeter and is for women only. The main focus of this festival is to remember Persephone’s (Kore’s) return to the Underworld. Although Demeter is mostly known as a grain goddess, she also has strong connections to the Underworld.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE FESTIVAL OF THESMOPHORIA?

Members of the group share a sacred barley drink and cakes. They then determine a list of offenders against women and the sacred laws. The Priestess will then read the list of the offenders before the doors of the goddesses’ temples (especially Demeter and Artemis temples)

NOTE: It was believed that anyone whose name was on the list would be cursed and would die before the year ended!

The First Day of Thesmophoria – a ritual called “the kathodos” took place. This is where the already purified Priestess would take sacrificed piglets deep into the chasm of the sacred inner shrine of Demeter. Here they would leave the sacrificed piglets and take back with them, the remains of the piglets from the previous years ritual.

The Second Day of Tesmophoria – a ritual called “Nesteia” was the focal point of the 2nd day. This is where the initiates displayed the remains of piglets they retrieved the previous day on their altar.

The Third Day of Tesmophoria – The remains of the previous years sacrificed piglets were removed from the altar and sown into plowed earth to symbolize the fertility of Demeter and all She provides for us.

CORRESPONDENCES for the Month of the BLOOD MOON:

To enhance your magickal connection with the Blood Moon of October, here are some suggestions of ways in which you may achieve this. You can wear or, decorate your altar/sacred space using the colors dark blue and dark green, dark orange, blood/dark red. In your spell work or magick add a tourmaline, opals and turquoise beryl. You can even just add these to your altar or add to your outfit as a piece of jewelry for the day or night.

Incorporate the flowers marigold and cosmos to your decor or magick (maybe even add them to a ritual bath?), along with the scents of strawberry, cherry and appleblossom. Cyprus as well as Yew and Acacia are all trees associated with the month of the Blood Moon. If you are wanting to connect with deities or nature spirits you should focus on making connections with the plant and frost faeries or, the following deities: The Horned God, Demeter, Kore, Ishtar, Astarte, Hathor, Lakshmi and Belili . If you wish to incorporate birds and animals, the robin, crow and heron are good options and the ram, stag, elephant and scorpion are great correspondents for this moon month.

When working your magick, focus on letting go. This power flow is all about your inner cleansing. Focus on the balancing out of karma and your inner justice. When meditating, think harmonizing your inner world, be just with yourself and balance out any imbalances you may find.

Corresponding herbs for the month of the Blood Moon are: thyme, angelica, burdock, catnip and pennyroyal. Incorporate these herbs into a tea fusion to enjoy while studying or relaxing. You can also magickally charge and add to meals or spells.

Durga the Great Mother is one of the triple goddesses – Uma, Durga & Parvati – and rides a lion defending against demons with a spear. She is the personification of the fighting spirit of a mother protecting her offspring – strong and ferocious! Her role is to restore peace and order in the world during times of hardship and crises.

WHAT MAGICKAL PRACTICES SHOULD YOU FOCUS ON DURING THE BLOOD FULL MOON?

Practicing self-care is super important for everyone but even more so for a Witch. The healthier you are the more you can draw on your own power from within. Full Moon’s are the best time to really make sure you set some time aside to focus on yourself and your magickal workings. Use the Blood Moon’s gravitational energy and pull and align your energies with that of the Moon and keep learning, gain perspective and keep trying to understand yourself deeper & deeper …

Working with the magic of the Moon you can intensify your spiritual practices and clear, develop your emotions and intuition. Rituals are a good way to heal your mind and body so that you can be a better person, Witch, mentor, teacher etc. Doing regular Full Moon rituals will help you disconnect from everyday life and connect with your spiritual, magickal side.

NOTE: The full Moon is when the energy peaks and releases! ready for you to tap into and connect with.

Simple things you can do at the Blood Moon and every Full Moon:

• Write down your intentions, goals and dreams
• Write a letter and burn it
• Take a ritual bath or shower
• Meditate in the moonlight
• Walk in the moonlight
• Eat a simple healthy, natural, tasty meal
• Give thanks to the Universe, or any specific deity you choose
• Clean and cleanse yourself and your space
• Ground yourself in nature

NOTE: This month is a time for the celbration of the Full Moon Festival of Ciuatoel (the Snake Woman) Goddess of the Aztecs & Toltecs and the Full Moon Festival of Freya to Mark the Beginning of the Norse Winter (the Disirbolt or Disabolt) – for you to keep in mind if you so choose.

Purification Ritual To Do During the Blood Moon

As we all know, no matter what you do you can still get uninvited spirits and entities into your home and other personal spaces. Sometimes they can be quite difficult to get rid of! This can cause you a lot of problems and disruption to your life. But, for every problem there is a solution so do not fret!

HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE ANY UNWANTED GUESTS?

Some of you may be very familiar with the following signs that I’m about to share with you, some of you may not. Being aware is key, so pay attention to when these start to happen as you just might have some spirit, or entity that you need to clear out and get rid of:

• You have a creepy feeling that you just cannot shake
• You and/or your family are getting sick too frequently
• Your a clumsy and more accident prone (way more than usual)
• Things are consistently going wrong financially
• Plans fall through for no good reason randomly

If you have 1 or more of any of the above it might be time for a thorough spiritual purification clean of your home and yourself.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR A BLOOD MOON PURIFICATION RITUAL

What you need: Banishing incense (or powdered frankincense), dish, spoon, matches, charcoal, incense burner, Chalice with water, sea salt, bell, tray for all of the latter.

STEP 1: Plan where you are going to start the ritual in your house making sure you end up at an outside door (you can draw this down on a piece of paper if this helps you)

STEP 2: Gather everything you need and place on the tray, fill your chalice with purified water and a pinch of sea salt and put on the tray.

STEP 3: Start the ritual at a point in your home, furthest away from the outside door you will end at

STEP 4: Light the incense and circle your first room clockwise with the incense burning, making sure you get smoke into all corners, crevices and cupboards.

NOTE: You can keep adding more incense to burn as is needed.

STEP 5: Now take your bell this time and retrace your steps, ringing the bell

STEP 6: Now take your chalice of salt water and retrace your steps again, this time touching the side of every door, window and mirror with your forefinger

STEP 7: Move to your next room and repeat the ritual.

NOTE: If you have a basement or attic, make sure you include these spaces too!

STEP 8: Once you have completed the ritual in all your rooms and your at your outside door, open the door and let the smoke of the incense rise towards the door and the outside and say the following:

Be gone you foul, menacing, disruptive entities, you are not welcome here, BE GONE!

STEP 9: Close the door and mark the side with the salt water from your chalice. Put down your tray of incense, bell and chalice and say with your arms raised up high:

I welcome all light and helpful entities into my home

Fill this home with your presence and blessings

Keep out all the dark, negative, malevolent entities and bring my (our) life back into correct balance.

NOTE: It is very important that you fill the void that is left when you banish the negative entities. ALWAYS, invite positive entities to fill the void. If you don’t, the entities you just worked so hard to banish will come right back in!

WHY DOES THE FULL MOON HAVE SUCH A STRONG EFFECT ON ME?

As a Witch, we understand that the full Moon holds a stronger pull over the waters of this Earth. Not only the oceans, rivers and lakes but also the waters which reside in us! During any full moon phase you will begin to notice changes in the behavior of the ocean. If you go down to the beach you should notice that the waves roll in much higher during a full moon than any other moon phase.just as our emotions tend to do too!

NOTE: If you pay close enough attention, you will notice a stir of emotions rising up within you, sometimes things may rise up that may startle you like unexpected emotions that you suddenly experience as if out of the blue.

We are all made up of approximately 70% water therefore, the Moon’s magickal force is affecting us the same way if affects the vast oceans, rivers and lakes. A Full Moon is a gifted moment where we can use this energy which is being stirred up inside us and acknowledge whatever it is that may rise up. Now is the time to own your emotions! Master your feelings. Control the power that you have inside of you. Allow the Full Moon to light and guide your way. Remember to be aware of what is happening and acknowledge this but try also not to be reactive. Embrace whatever may emerge from within.

TIP: Try to be as aware as you can about your behavior and nay patterns you notice. Make a note of this. Stop yourself from slipping into unconscious behavioral and thought patterns.

NOTABLE FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS IN THE MONTH OF THE BLOOD MOON

October 7th: New Year celebration in Sumeria honoring the Goddesses Ishtar & Astarte

October 11-13th: The Thesmophoria (Greece) – a women only festival to honor Goddesses Demeter & Kore

October 12th: The Fortuna Redux (Rome) – a celebration for happy journeys in Rome

October 14th: The Durga Puja (India, Nepal, Bagladesh) – honoring the victory of Great Mother Durga over evil

October 16th: The Festival of Lights (India) – also known as Lakshmi Puja or Diwalii

October 18th: The Great Horn Fair (Britain) – honoring the Horned God

October 21st: The Day of Orsel of Ursala the Slavonic Moon Goddess

October 22nd: The Day of Willows (Mesopotamian) – a festival for Astate or Belili

October 25th: The Festival of Han Lu (China) – honoring the Moon and harvest goddess

October 26th: The Full Moon Festival of Hathor (Egypt)

CONCLUSION:

The full moon is a precious moment in time where we can all feel the divine feminine energy. In astrological terms, the Moon represents our emotions and the inner self, offering you a moment in time to do some potent magick! Whether you choose to release some suffering, manifest your goals, or offer your gratitude and appreciation for what you have accomplished so far! Honor what you have created and give thanks to the Universe that has also played its part. Use the energy of the Blood Full Moon in a way that best suits you and where you are at in your life journey, as none of us are the same, we are unique but we are all connected … the Moon is one way in which the Universe unites us all … blessed be!