I’ve been working on building a regular gratitude practice. If you read my other blog, you may have seen what I wrote about it. When I first began this practice, I did it outside. But in the last few weeks, as the weather has turned colder and wetter, I’ve been doing it in the cozy proximity of one of my altars. You can’t hardly blame me, right? It’s autumn and it’s Oregon!
But this morning, a small voice urged me to walk outside with the puppy.
The sky was clear. It’s a new moon and my area is blessed to have little light pollution, I could see thousands of stars, including Orion, who seemed to hover directly over my back yard.
I’ve written about the New Moon being an ugly time, like when the overhead lights suddenly come on at the end of the party. But the New Moon can also be a softer time. Without the presence of the moon to overshadow them, the stars have more space to shine.
The Moon is like the super charismatic person at the party—the one who brings the party, as they say. They will probably emcee the Karaoke, They will likely get the dancing started. Everyone seems glad that they are there, but they also take up ALL THE SPACE.
But when the party quiets down to some simple and deep conversation, the Moon character no longer fits.
In the night sky, the Moon is the person who constantly turns the conversation back on themselves. It’s as though they lose themselves if they are not the center of discussion.
But three or so days out of the month, the Moon stays home. That’s the time when the quieter voices come out–when the people we might call “wallflowers” speak up. It’s the time when the chorus takes center stage and puts the diva to bed. It’s a textured time, when we can pay attention to the smaller voices that speak to us…when we can have those conversations with the stars in the way we can have conversations with the quieter folx once the loud-mouth has gone home.
Because of my new book, I’m doing a lot of work with Hekate these days.
One of Hekate’s gifts is the urge to follow that quiet voice inside of me, asking me to do the strange things—the middle-of-the-night candle lightings, offerings at the crossroads on certain days. This morning, that voice told me to go outside with the puppy. Because I did, I saw those beautiful stars.
Tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday nights—make space to listen to the little voices.
These voices are the ones that ask you to do things you normally wouldn’t do, such as “Call the friend you haven’t talked to in years.” “Wear the pink, not the green.” “Eat the chocolate and fuck-all the calories.”
There may be a key in there to something that will unlock greater Magick, or other sorts of opportunities. Then again, it may just be Spirit trying to gift you something, in the way that Hekate gifted me with a clear view of the stars.
Check out the retreat I’m leading in the San Juan Islands! Open to all genders, this retreat is for creators looking for inspiration from a couple of powerful Goddesses: Brigid and the Morrigan.
For more information, check out this link!The Cave And The Well Creator’s Retreat.
