FULL MOON RITUAL: ???<P> Ritual Leader: ???<P>

   Nym' picked up her glass of wine and followed her granddaughter outside. Meghan loved Luna and the reaction of seeing her in her glory tonight prompted a heartfelt "WOW" out of the two year old. This was her little Moonchild, a child of her heart and spirit.. as Meghan joined her on the porch swing, Nym' gave her a warm hug and said, "Let me tell you a story Little One".

   The moon shone softly into the dark, bare little house, filling it with silvery mist. The woman walked in silently and sat by her husband. "My honorable cousin, the mayor, refuses our request," said the woman sadly, "we are too poor to adopt an orphan." "Did you mention that unless we raise a child in the tradition of our ancestors, we may never have better luck?" asked the horse- farmer. "Yes. He knows that if you cannot have a child, you must adopt one to raise as your own, or the spirits of your ancestors will be displeased - they need children and grandchildren to remember their names. But he feels he cannot risk the child starving. He pointed out that we don't have a single horse left, and the village can no longer help us."

   They sat by the window together for a long time. They wanted a child so much, and now had no hope at all. Suddenly the moon shone brighter, and a single moon beam entered through the window. It wandered around, finally settling on a table. A small dot hurried down the beam, growing all the time, until a tiny silvery-white horse, no bigger than a mouse, came through the window. On his back he carried a red-flowering cherry branch, with most of the wine- colored flowers closed. A deep, comforting voice filled the room. "Do not be sad. I, the moon, will trust you with one of my children. Look at the cherry branch." One flower slowly, magically, opened its petals. Among them sat a tiny baby, the size of a fingernail. "This is Moonflower," continued the moon. "She will bring you happiness and good fortune. However, she cannot marry an Earthman, and must return to me when she is eighteen years old. Use the years wisely, and all will be well. Now pick her from the flower and put her on the mat."

   Moonflower began to grow, and in a few minutes reached the size of an Earth baby. Her hair was black as the night, her eyes bright as the stars, and her skin the color of a golden peach. She wore a pink kimono, embroidered with wine-colored cherry blossoms, and held a huge, magnificent star ruby. The little horse rubbed his nose against the baby's glossy hair, waved his tail cheerfully, and rode up the moonbeam. "Remember to use the years wisely!" rumbled the moon's voice, as the moonbeam slowly faded.

   The next day the horse-farmer sold the ruby for a fortune. Some of the money was used for the improvement of the farm; some was safely saved for the future. Years passed. The horse-farmer and his wife did very well indeed. They greatly improved their horse-breeding stables, and warriors came from all over the country to purchase the best horses from them. But riches meant little to the horse-farmer and his wife, except for the pleasure of giving Moonflower everything she could wish for. So they did little else, good or bad, with their money.

   Moonflower grew to be so clever, beautiful, and kind, that everyone in the village loved her, especially the mayor; he considered himself her uncle, and treated the family with much respect. Perhaps he thought it was really he who brought them this lovely moon child by refusing their request! None of them could forget, however, that Moonflower was destined to leave them. She worried about it, too, because she loved her parents with all her heart, and was very happy on Earth, playing with the village children and helping to raise the beautiful horses. One day, when she was ten years old, she heard her mother say to her father: "when Moonflower leaves us, not only will my heart break, but the spirits of our ancestors will still be displeased, because there will be no grandchildren here on Earth to remember their names! They will not be satisfied with grandchildren on the moon!"

   Suddenly Moonflower had an idea. She went to her parents and said: "I think it's time I had brothers and sisters." "The moon will not send us more children, my dear," said the mother, surprised. "He did so much already by sending you." "I do not mean moon children," said Moonflower. "You are rich now. Surely the mayor, my honorable uncle, will not refuse to let you adopt some of the orphans in our village? They need a good home so much, and you will have children and grandchildren to carry on the tradition on Earth, even if my children must be born on the moon. The spirits will be pleased, and most important, the children will be a comfort to you when I am gone!"

   They stared at her, stunned by her wisdom. The idea never occurred to them. "Perhaps the moon meant exactly that when he said we should use the years wisely," whispered the horse-farmer. "Yes," said his wife. "All this joy, all this money, and we did nothing in return.. I will visit my cousin, the mayor, tomorrow morning." The mayor was happy to oblige. As the years went by, he allowed them to adopt three boys and two girls, whom they raised with the same love and care they gave Moonflower.

   When Moonflowers turned eighteen, her parents, though sick at heart, invited the entire village to a big birthday celebration. Golden lanterns glowed in the large courtyard, colorful paper decorations hung in the trees, musicians played lovely music, and the tables were covered with enough food and rice wine to please everyone. At midnight, the moon suddenly shone brighter, and a single moonbeam entered the courtyard. It wandered around, finally settling on a red- flowering cherry tree. Soft, hazy figures floated in it, first at a great distance and then closer and closer. The villagers stared, frozen with awe, as the figures materialized and one by one the moon people slid down the silvery beam, each riding a magnificent, silvery- white moon horse.

   They were cheerful and smiling, as beautiful and as well-dressed as Moonflower. The women wore embroidered silk kimonos, the men dressed in the finest warrior's outfits. They mingled with the village people, danced, drank rice wine, and acted just like old friends. The villagers very quickly lost their fear of the visitors. One young man stood at a little distance, holding the reins of a horse. Moonflower thought he was the handsomest person she had ever seen, and could not help smiling at him. He must have felt a little bolder by the invitation, because he bowed to her and her parents, and said: "this is your horse, Moonflower, the one that brought you here. He lives in my stables, waiting for your return, and I rode him tonight. Will you do me the honor of riding him back to the moon with me?" Moonflower smiled again.

   Somehow the return to the moon seemed just a little less tragic. Her parents smiled. They were still sad, but they felt the moon could not have chosen a better husband for their daughter than this well brought-up young man. Moonflower put her hand on the snowy head of her horse, and he nuzzled her gently. Then the deep, comforting voice of the moon rumbled through the courtyard: "My friends, you have used the years wisely, sharing love and good fortune with children who needed it. As your reward, you will not part from your daughter Moonflower forever. Every year, on her birthday, she will come for a long visit, and her husband and children will accompany her. It will be just as if she married into a good family in a far-off village!" And so the birthday party turned into a wedding party, the most wonderful the villagers had ever seen, because the moon people started handing everyone many presents and surprises to further celebrate the occasion. Strange wines, foodstuffs no one had ever seen before, sweets for the children in the shape of stars, silk clothes and jewelry glowing with moonlight.

   The party lasted almost all night. Just before dawn, the moon people mounted their horses. The horse-farmer and his wife could let Moonflower go without the heartache of eternal separation, and with the expectation of many happy reunions. They stood and watched her riding up the moonbeam, waving until they could no longer see her. And as they turned their eyes back to Earth, they were surprised by one more gift from the kindly moon, a gift that reverberated through the centuries and still gives joy today. Under the cherry tree stood two moon horses, male and female, glowing silvery-white in the light of the rising sun.

   Nym' raised her glass to the moon. Thank You Blessed One!...

   …Owl hears the words of her sister and walks out onto the deck, gazing at where the Moon will appear tonight. “Hmmm,” she says to herself, “A Full Moon Ritual, and an Eclipse visible in my hemisphere. OK:”

   ”Calling all Witches!
   Calling all Witches!
   The Moon is full and so are we,
   of life and love and things yet to be!
   As shadow befalls her, and night glows without,
   the Witches will gather and cavort about.
   As the eclipse approaches and coats the Moon red,
   nary a one will take to their bed.
   But stand silent sentinel her face to behold
   as the promise of Moon glow, will again be retold.
   So join with me here in the world of the Spirit
   And sing out her names so that all will hear it.”

   ”Tonight's ritual will be a bit different. Nope, we don't have days to submit petitions, or call Quarters. I ask that everyone step outside during the eclipse. Call to the Quarter/Elemental you choose. Invite all to celebrate this special event. While the Moon is in shadow, ask all guardians to be En Garde! And as she comes back to us in all her Full glory, let us give thanks and realize how bereft our world would be without her constancy. Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna. We all come from the Goddess and to her we shall return. Like a drop of rain flowing to the Ocean…”

   …and dancing in the maze, with all its new greenery of early summer and the tiny, sweet white flowers hiding beneath the leaves, Deer had paused and also looked skyward. Images of Nym's telling passed across his mind's eye and he, too, saluted the unbelievably full moon before returning to the task upon which his feet led him. But not before a silent "Thank you," to his sister and her wonderful moon child…

   …Jess stood on her porch admiring the wreck of her back yard. Patches of freshly tilled earth soaked up the rain falling from overcast skies. Hidden in the darkness was an herb garden slowly flourishing (four kinds of basil, two kinds of thyme and sage, mint, oregano, dill, parsley, rosemary, calendula, fennel, and cilantro), a barrel of lettuce and arugula, and a vegetable patch (zucchini, squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, corn, green onions, and one pumpkin vine for Samhain). And weeds. Lots and lots of weeds. “Green is green,” she thought, “but I just know there's poison ivy out there in the back.” More work, more tilling, more planting lay ahead. More color, more insects, more life lay ahead.

   The cloudy sky obscured the lunar eclipse, but she looked to the moon anyway. "Bright Lady, thanks for the space. And to the green things, and the brown things that keep the green things green, thanks for the bounty I'm about to consume!"

   Later, Jess went to bed with visions of elaborate salads and grilled veggies dancing in her head…

   …Adrianna walks out into the moonlight with deep sadness of heart, the light of the night flowing all around and softening the edges. Always in the night sounds of nature there is healing and lifting regardless of the every day world of humans. She feels communion, both with the realm of spirit - the Goddesses and their energy in our lives - and the knowledge that others of her new found sisters and brothers are also standing within the moonlight. A feeling of togetherness.. of not being alone. The sorrow is for friends, women within the Circle and the decisions made by their companions that brings havoc to their lives. It' a human helpless feeling being able to do nothing except to bring it within the land.. within the Circle.. within the arms of the Goddess, surrounded by light, and trust that all is within Highest Good. And leave it there in prayer. “Sorry for the delay in joining. I needed quietness before words,” Adrianna whispers to the night sky. “Blessed Be.”

   Moonflower (or how the Moonhorses came to Japan) – a traditional Japanese Folktale