Rivros, Solmōnaþ, Snow Moon

Photo by Riccardo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/ice-river-photography-300857/



GOOD NEWS!  I found a web page (two actually) that has reconstructed an Anglo-Saxon calendar. The good news is that I wasn't far off with my own haphazard timing of things.  This is the one I'm using. The other one is only off by a day, and seems to be depending upon whether they are starting it when the moon is dark, or just the first sliver.  Either way, I can now assign those brains cells to other things.

For our month names.. The Anglo-Saxon month is Solmōnaþ, which seems to be "mud month" or "month of hearth cakes."  Commentators I read seemed to think these hearth cakes were mud-like so that would be the two names?  From the Gauls, it is Rivros (Riuros), which is "cold month," and the Almanac terms the full moon for this month "Snow Moon."  

I sense a theme....

Kondratiev's next line from the Song of Amergin is "I am a lake on a plain."  He calls this the "Moon of the Flood." Earlier, at the Moon of the Tide, we dove into the mystical waters, and the tide carried us to the House of Tethra, Fomhoire king of the sea.  Not a place of terror, but a place of deep healing and rest.  For this month, we are aware of these waters as they gather.  At the full moon, we connect with the goddess of the land* and uncap the well, so that these deep, healing waters flow and spread out around the land (flood).  As the moon wanes, the water level rises and we are lifted up towards the sky.

These themes are hard to reconcile, if you're trying to do that along with me. One obvious similarity is the role of water, whether it's snow, ice, or flood, and its mingling with the land, causing mud.  We are starting to head into the warmer parts of the year where I live, and it's often a muddy mess!  You could focus your lunar rites on the cold and snow, but also how that snow transforms the land and prepares it (and you) for what's to come.

_____

Astrologically, at the new moon we are in the Sign of Aquarius.  Aquarius is a sign known for commitment to the common good, social reform, and striving for a better future, so it is a good time to assess your role in your community. It is a good time try something new and look at the big picture. Really, the song "Age of Aquarius" says it all.   At the first quarter, Aquarius Sun is square Taurus Moon bringing friction between Aquarius's global focus and Taurus's practical issues of comfort and financial security.  The full moon in Leo brings a tension between creative self-expression (Leo) and group expression (Aquarius), and is a good time to work on the balance between the two.  The last quarter again brings friction between Aquarius's intellectual approach and Scorpio's intensely emotional approach.  The lesson for the month is navigating between the heart and mind to balance group and personal needs. 

____

Keep in mind:  The energies for community are from cruithneachd (wheat) bringing us harvest, nourishment, and abundance.  For ourselves, we are tearing down what needs to be removed, or having it torn down for us with the rune hagalaz  Around the full moon though, the energies shift.  The community energy is garbhag an t-sléibhe (fir club moss) speaking to initiation, beginnings, and power.  For us individually, Eihwaz  brings us strength and connection.  (See those larger discussion here and here.)


-----

*Kondratiev's cycles focus on a sovereignty goddess of the land and a many skilled god of the tribe, often referring to Bridhe and Lugh, but not always.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"I don't believe in Mercury Retrograde"

Image
Photo by ZCH: https://www.pexels.com/photo/planet-mercury-in-full-shot-photography-12498795/ I know, people say that a lot...so... Okay firstly, retrograde is a real thing, astronomically.  You can find a more technical, but still accessible, explanation  here .  If you think about cars going around in several lanes of traffic, going the same speed and starting out parallel, eventually the the car in the shortest lane (usually the inside track) will get ahead of the car in the longer lane. It can  appear  then that as the first car passes the second, the second is actually going backwards.  If we think about planets in our solar system, they are all doing the same thing, and sometimes they pass each other. When Earth "passes" a planet during its orbit, that other planet is said to be retrograde.  Looking at them in the sky, the planet appears to move backward.    How often a planet becomes retrograde relative to Earth depends on not only its proximity to the Earth, but also
Read more

Imbolc is my favorite

  Okay, you're right. they're all my favorite.  But Imbolc is different! No, I really mean it.  Imbolc holds many memories of awesomeness on my path, as does my relationship with Brigid (or Bridhe or whichever other spelling you want.) When I first embarked on this path, it was because I wanted to be more familiar with the spirituality of my ancestors. my immediate ancestors were varieties of Christian (Evangelical, Catholic, or Methodist) but i wanted to go back further. One branch was Irish and since that was the cool white ethnicity i explored it. The others were varieties of German and English, which in my mind had historical baggage i didn't then want to engage with. So from the beginning, Bridhe was it.  even when I meandered into heathenry later (having made some peace with that ancestry) and even Vodoun for a bit, she was a constant.  I became a  flame keeper  (next shift February 11).  I made sure I had a fire pit at my new home, I have three shrines (two indoors a
Read more

June Solstice-a-Long Day 6: Child of Light (South)/Divine Champion (North)

Image
Good day! And welcome to Day 6 of the Three Cranes Grove Solstice-a-Long! There’s little doubt that the solstices are associated with spirits of great power, whether at their birth or their strength. We take this time to honor both of those. Northern hemisphere :   Honor of the divine hero or champion, defeater of dangerous wild powers of nature (Giants, Titans, for example), or brings about the much-needed skills and items to the folk. Southern hemisphere :   Child of light in many cultures (Angus mac Og, Mabon ap Modron), bringer of hope and light in the darkness. Light the previous candles and then light the sixth, placing the appropriate symbol and offering.
Read more