Bi-monthly Card Reading

 This reading is using my upcoming card deck: The Sacred Circle Spirit Animal Oracle. 

 This is a one card reading done on the North American Sacred Circle or Medicine Wheel. The card sits in the center of the circle and represents the Creator or Center Stone, which is said to contain the Void and all of creation—the stars, planets, Animal Kingdom, Plant Kingdom, Mineral Kingdom, etc. This Stone is governed by the Great Spirit and our Highest Self.  It is the place of balance at the heart or center of the Sacred Circle where we can go within ourselves to access the wisdom and guidance needed from every aspect in the cycles of life.  

Question: As we approach the full Long Snows Moon (November 22-December 21), what is my Soul’s message?

Card #34: Stone Medicine: The Long Snows Moon (November 22- December 21)

Teaching:   The Long Snows Moon is the Final moon of Mudjekeewis and the last moon of the Gregorian Calendar Year.  It marks the end of the Autumn Moons and the final time of preparation before entering the power of the three moons of the North. The Long Snows Moon brings quiet contemplation where you can enter the silence to see beyond Ordinary Time into other worlds. Here, you will be able to revel in true inner peace and journey to Great Mystery, the Source, the Heart of Creation, or the Great Void where you can connect with the Divine and receive its message through the portal of the Long Snows Moon. That message is for you to begin working at a slower pace that allows you to let go of any trivial details and focus on what is truly important. The Long Snows Moon is influenced by the Thunderbird Clan whose element is Fire in all its forms. 

The North American celebration of Thanksgiving takes place during the Longs Snow Moon, which makes it a moon of reflecting on deep gratitude for everything you have in life. It encourages you to celebrate that gratitude with family and friends as the long, cold nights of winter begin to set in. But it is also the moon that ends closest to the Winter Solstice—the longest night of the lunar year. This Solstice marks the time when we can rest deeply in the womb of the Divine Feminine and her moon energies before the sun begins its journey taking us back to the Divine Masculine. 

This moonstone gifts you with mental strength when facing emotional fears.  It sits in the place of fearlessness, insight, determination, and independence on the Sacred Circle and is the place where you can develop your communication and teaching skills in group settings.  The Long Snows Moon is the moon of open-hearted clarity—a clarity that teaches you how to be both gentle and strong in your dealings with others. But It warns you against becoming argumentative or too opinionated in your current relationships. 

Soul Message: : The Long Snows Moon heralds a time when you can learn how to mirror the thoughts and feelings of others for deeper understanding. Like the Thunderbird Clan that governs it, this moon ushers in a time of intense energy and energetic paradoxes. It teaches you how to find the balance point between being soft and strong or dark and light. It is the place where you can learn about your ability to live with the dualities of nature and life. This moonstone portal will also help you find the ultimate balance between your individualism and working with a group to achieve your goals and dreams. You just need to ask and be open. 

During this moon, you can recognize that your greatest challenge might be overcoming being too busy. While you may have a myriad of things to discover, tasks to do, and people to meet that keep you constantly on the go, this moonstone reminds you to stop, take some deep breaths, and listen to all the things that are around you. It encourages you to go at a slow, steady pace that assures completion as you tackle your daily tasks with “slow deliberation” transforming them into a work of art that lives in the present moment. Since this moon occurs at the end of the calendar year, it can teach you how to take “breathers” while promising that you still have plenty of time to see and experience everything you wish to accomplish. It promises that you will never feel satisfied if you don’t slow down and savor your life from time to time. And it guarantees that when you take the time to approach your tasks from a loving, slow-paced state, the things that once were burdens become blessings. 

The Long Snows Moon teaches that one of the best ways to savor your life is through gratitude for all the wonderful gifts afforded by the Earth Mother as well as those afforded by the Divine Cosmic Father on behalf of your relationships, work, or aspirations. It encourages you to take the time to reflect upon your life, the lessons you have learned, and rewrite them into a positive narrative as the calendar year draws to a close. As Mudjekeewis begins to fade into the Spirit Keeper of the North and its moons, it asks you to celebrate your stories as the successes they truly are. 

Stay tuned for the message from Elk—the Animal Guide for the portal of the Long Snows Moon in two weeks. 

The Long Snows Moon (November 22-December 21):  

Pick the haiku that resonates most with you.

Moon of Paradox

Help me find the balance point,

B-e-t-w-e-e-n dark and light

Long Snows Moon, mirror

The thoughts and feelings swirling

Around my conscience

Moon of Reflection

Temper my intensity

With Deep gratitude

Actions  

•  Breathe slowly and deeply. Athen, meditate on the haiku outside in nature, on a nature walk, or while listening to your favorite music. 
• Write down at least 5 things for which you have gratitude in a notebook or a journal.  
• Repeat this process either in the morning or at night before you go to bed for 30 days. What have you learned about yourself during this process? Has it changed your thoughts or experiences for the positive? Why or why not?
• Choose at least one thing you are grateful for to celebrate at the end of each week. Then, celebrate by taking yourself on a date: curl up and read a favorite book, go to a movie, a concert, a lecture, a museum, go for a meditative nature walk, or do anything else that brings you joy. Make this a regular occurrence once a month or once a week. How does it make you feel to celebrate you? 
• Take time to slow down and do some breathing exercises. Breathe in 3 slow breaths and imagine yourself inside a crystal where only positive energies can dwell. Imagine that, like a crystal, you can feel the pulse beat of Mother Earth. Is it slower or faster than your own heartbeat? Can you continue breathing while synchronizing your own pulsebeat to match the Earth’s? Keep working on this until it becomes a habit for you. 
• Hug a tree, walk in the sand, make mudpies, do some gardening—anything that helps you connect to the Earth and her rhythms. Then write some gratitude statements in your notebook or journal for everything you have experienced. 
• Think about one of your more challenging moments. Can you discern which lessons it may have taught you? Can you rewrite the narrative to reflect the positive lessons the experience brought you? Once you have done this, celebrate the positives, the lessons, and all that you have become because of it.
• Prompts: Imagine you are a priestess or guardian of the moon from the past. Research or create a water ceremony you can offer the moon in gratitude for her as the guardian of mid-November through mid-December. What would it include? Why? Go out in nature, if possible, or create a sacred space in your home where you can initiate this ceremony. Assess your connection with the Long Snows moon from this experience. 
• Journey (You can drum or play some meditative music prior to taking this journey and/or record the journey ahead of time using your voice): Take 3 deep breaths and imagine yourself inside a moonstone crystal. In the center of the crystal, you can see into the heart of the Long Snows Moon, and she shines her light softly upon you. She surrounds you with her stillness and you step out of the crystal and into the moonlight. As you gaze up at the moon, it transforms into a portal that allows you to see beyond the ordinary realms of reality. At first you see myriads of stars, gases, realms, and galaxies swirling around in cosmic colors creating a symphony of silent sounds. Imagine yourself connecting to the sounds and rhythms of those stars, galaxies, and realms which resound at the Center of the Galaxy and beyond. Imagine that you are a part of the stillness and the flow of those rhythms. That you are a part of the harmony of silent songs from the beginning of creation. You listen and watch as they permeate both the ordinary and non-ordinary worlds of reality. Through this moon’s portal, you can revel in true inner peace as you journey to Great Mystery, the Source, the Heart of Creation, or the Great Void where you can connect with the Divine and receive its messages. The portal of the Long Snows Moon whispers its song into the stillness with the message that it is time for you to begin working in balance between the Divine Masculine and Feminine inside and outside of you. It urges you to go at a slower pace that allows you to let go of any trivial details and focus on what is truly important. You are illuminated by the light of this moon which sends you even deeper into the silence of the Void to contemplate. As you go deeper within, you realize that this moon ushers in a time of intense energy and energetic paradoxes. It teaches you how to find the balance point between being soft and strong or dark and light as well as between the paradoxes of the Divine Masculine and feminine. It whispers that through this moon’s portal, you can learn about your ability to live with the dualities of nature and life and embrace them with gratitude. The Long Snows Moon illuminates the many places within where you can discover gratitude. It softly sings about all the things you can be grateful for and admonishes you to sing your gratitude for all the simple blessings you have received. As the portal begins to fade, you see the face of the Long Snows Moon gazing down at you with radiant light. And you feel and acknowledge with gratitude the warmth of her visions and blessings. You carry her warmth, her stillness, and her visions with you as you step back into the moonstone crystal.
• You come back into your body and begin to wiggle your toes and fingers. You circle your hands, feet, and neck, yawn, stretch, and come back into your body fully in “real time
• Record your experiences in your journal or notebook. Also record any messages you may have received during this journey. Take time to reflect upon them and your experience.
• Feel free to take this journey again and often. For the next few weeks through the Solstice. As you journey with the Longs Snows Moon more frequently, you will become more perceptive and receptive to all the gifts she has to offer. You will become more in tune with the Silent Songs and rhythms of the Earth and the Cosmos, and you will be more empowered with the Long Snows Moon’s gifts of balance, stillness, and contemplation.