SYLVAN
WICCA /SHAMANISM
LESSON 11
Lesson Eleven: Esbats
It was a clear summer night, the full moon hanging like a rich, ripe
fruit in the starry sky.
Our Coven's ritual had just ended; all of us were hot and panting from
another
enthusiastic spiral dance, led by one of our younger members. I wandered
off alone,
sitting in the midst of a nearby field while the rest of the coven talked
and milled about,
exchanging stories of the previous week and making plans for the coming
days.
There, in the darkness, sitting alone in the grassy field, I gazed upon
the face of Luna
and wondered what my ancestors thought and felt when they gazed up at the
same sky.
One by one, my Coven-mates came and joined me and we talked about the
past, about
the legacy our ancestors had left us. Did they realize that the moon was
a satellite that
orbited the earth we live on? Or was it simply a constant companion whose
light ebbed
and flowed, setting the lunar month? We talked about what each of us
would feel if,
unfettered by the words of science, we stared up at the moon with a
mystical awe. How
would we feel simply knowing it as a soft light in our night sky, whose
phases mirrored
the cycle of growth we saw in the Goddess?It wasn't a book we were learning from, or even a physical teacher. We
learned from the
moon itself, from the magick that permeated the air from our Circle and
spiral dance. It
was the whispered voices of our ancestors that spoke to us, as our minds
let go of the
bonds of time and slipped back through the centuries to earlier rituals.
And for the first time, as we lay in the open field, gazing up at the
light of the full moon,
I didn't just know what the moon meant. I understood.
In modern Witchcraft, the moon is associated with the Goddess. The new
moon
symbolizes new beginnings; an appropriate time to perform magick that
begins a new
chapter of our lives or blesses a new undertaking. It's like a blank
canvas, waiting for
the touch of our magick, just as it is waiting to peek out of the earth's
shadow and
reflect the sun's light once more. As the moon tiptoes just past new,
waxing toward
fullness, it represents the Goddess as Maiden. When the moon is new, the
lunar month
is fresh and ready for change, to tie it's energy to a new undertaking,
regardless of
whether it is a magickal endeavor such as crafting a tool, spell or
charm, or whether our
goals are more mundane, such as looking for a new job or beginning a
large home
improvement task; the possibilities it holds are endless.Just as we grow and mature, so the moon waxes and grows full. In the full
moon we find
a time of bounty and fullness, the perfect time to charge ritual tools
and stones with
lunar energy. It is symbolizes the Goddess as Mother, fertile and full.
It is a time of
harvest, a time when the lunar energy saturates the night air.
As the lunar month continues, the moon begins to wane, the time of the
Crone. Though
the moon's light is fading, we are filled with the wisdom that we have
gleaned since the
moon was new, all through the lunar month. This is an appropriate time to
cleanse ritual
tools and stones in moonlight, leaving them on a window sill or under a
tree, letting the
waning moon take the old energy with it as it fades, leaving the items
clean and fresh as
the moon becomes new.
Exercise Twelve: Understanding the Sacred Moon
This exercise takes place on two nights, one during the new moon and
one
during the full moon. While I personally try to hold my observances
on the
exact night of that moon's phase, traditionally you can observe that
lunar
phase within three days of its occurrence - either three days before
or three
days after. When you add the night when the moon reaches the peak of
that phase, you'll find that you have a week's leeway to find a time
to do
the exercise.Find a safe place to sit outside under the moon (if you live in an
environment that isn't particularly safe, make the proper
adjustments; even
if it means sitting inside and observing the moon through your
window).
As you gaze up into the night sky, let the thoughts drift from your
mind
until it's reasonably clear. As you sit there (or lay on your back)
gazing up
at the moon, imagine that you're a young Pagan villager centuries in
the
past. Most likely you're illiterate. You believe strongly in magick,
that the
world around you is alive, and that spirits exist in every living
thing.
You've been chosen by one of the spiritual leaders of your community
to
begin studying to take their place when you've grown to maturity. As
you
gaze up at the moon, imagine what it means to your people, how you
see it
from your perspective within your tiny village. Can you imagine the
rites
your people may have done to celebrate its phases? Can you imagine
certain symbology it may have for you and your community? What your
spiritual elders may teach?
What this exercise does is begin the process of connecting you to the
magick of lunar
energy. Way back at the beginning of this course, you learned to connect
with the energy
of the moon, to see it as something magickal in your life that you could
tap into. Now
we're making another shift, slipping a little deeper into the magick, and
learning to see the
lunar cycle in a slightly different way.Modern Witches often set aside a night, traditionally held within three
days of the full or
new moon, to quiet themselves, to hold a ritual to reconnect and
recharge, to work needed
magick, to grow, or to simply celebrate with other Pagan friends. We
refer to this night's
ritual as an Esbat and, while full moon Esbats are more common, many
Witches celebrate
the new moon Esbat as well.What do you do on these nights? That, my friend, is up to you. To
continue to grow, to
develop your own path, you need to begin using the tools that you've been
given to find
your own way. Look at your life and determine what processes you're going
through.
There may be specific issues you want to address. You may find that you
simply want to
ask the energy to aid you in your growth. You may find that a specific
phase of the moon
is perfectly suited to observe a milestone, much like the ritual we held
for the Crone in the
last lesson. The new and full moon Esbats may be as simple as a time when
you can
practice creating and carrying out rituals until you feel comfortable and
confident with the
process.As you look through modern Pagan literature, you may also find that
certain moons have
certain names associated with them. The Oak Moon. The Wolf Moon. The Moon
of Geese
Returning. While it may seem exciting to adopt a system of moon names as
your own, I'd
encourage you not to do so. Within the path I teach, moons are named
based on natural
occurrences in the environment you live in. While Witches in New England
may observe
The Moon of the First Snow, it's not a very useful name to those Witches
living in
Southern California. Finding our own system of names for various moons of
the year is a
topic we'll address in Phase Three of this course.
Until then, simply use the moons as a guide to working ritual and
reconnecting with the
magick around you. It may seem a simple task to do so but, like many
things on this path,
the simple things are often the most powerful.
The First Cycle course is written by Graelan Wintertide
and is © 1999 All Rights Reserved