Teachings that go with this moon phase offer us opportunities to make some changes in our lives, letting go of what is no longer of help to us in this life-phase and, instead, re-focussing our ideals and efforts so that we move toward what we actually want to bring into our lives. This can be a challenge for some of us since, here in North America, we are moving into the holiday season and our old traditions, as well as expectations from our loved ones, and this can leave us feeling as if we have less power over our lives than we really do. If this is the case, it is of even greater importance to take this time for reflection and adjustment.
Before our modern age inserted the hustle and bustle of preparation for a busy holiday season, members of our species paid more attention to the natural flow of life that came with the changing of the season. Once the snows began to move in, our efforts with crops was finished for the year, we had no more canning to do, maintenance on our homes was completed and we were ready for the cold months. There may have still been some hunting to do to sustain us through the winter, but once snow was on the ground and we left tracks, it also became a greater challenge to hide our locations from the animals being hunted, and so most hunting will have also been finished by this point too. Lakes are not fully frozen yet, during the Snow Moon phase, and so ice fishing was not yet an option. We spent more time being indoors, perhaps with some handicrafts to keep us busy and to repair clothing and household items, but for the most part this was a time to simply "Be". We spent more time reflecting, paying attention to our thoughts and feelings. We spent more time paying attention to our relationships with those closest to us as we were, at this point, by their sides day and night indoors. Most of us no longer live a farming lifestyle, however, the Snow Moon is still the perfect phase to allow Self to make some shifts, if only we give ourselves permission to slow down and make some efforts here.
If motive is needed to put this into practice, how about all of those "shoulds" that we experience each year that drive us up the wall? The obsessions with shopping, the unhealthy spending of exorbitant amounts of money, bracing ourselves for get-togethers with those family members and others who just can't seem to say a kind word. We do ourselves harm by trying to be oh-so perfect, checking everything off of our to-do lists such as with the cooking and baking and decorating and corresponding and organizing and making sure that we have the right wine to go with everything. Much of this can actually be fun and rewarding... as long as we let ourselves keep things in line with what actually makes us happy in connecting with our community and loved ones. However, if things get out of balance and we don't allow ourselves some time to just "Be" we lose track of who we actually are and what we actually want.
The Snow Moon only lasts a few days --- just the time that the moon seems to look full to the naked eye. We love to see the moon in the sky and spend a moment or two admiring it anyway, so why not use the chance for some time on self-reflection? Just taking a minute to breathe and come back in to Self lets us feel Ease and Peace. If we notice that we are not feeling either of these, then taking a few more minutes to ask ourselves why is incredibly important. Taking a few minutes more to make some healthy decisions can end up truly paying off, both short term and long term. We can spend 10 minutes in total, or really do ourselves a favour and give ourselves a half hour or hour to daydream about it all and, hopefully, re-align our life paths to directions that we feel more comfortable with, whatever that may look like to us. We know that exercising our body and mind is important... exercising our Free Will is equally important.
I send out "Snow Moon" wishes to One and All with the hope that you allow yourself the life path you deserve and feel comfortable with. May all of your self-reflections be happy, and may you recognize your own power.