Rx:

Moonrise Over the Hernandez Trees by flickr user Philipp Daun

"Our great symbol for the Goddess is the moon, whose three aspects reflect the three stages in women's lives and whose cycles of waxing and waning coincide with women's menstrual cycles." ~Carol P. Christ

Rx

Joseph Campbell has said that the moon is associated with resurrection, dying as it does monthly, and representing as it does, the ‘power of life to throw off death and come to new birth.’*

This life-giving, death-giving, birth-giving force is associated closely with the triple goddess and the triple nature of woman and woman’s lives.

A woman’s life is divided into three stages: Maiden, Mother and Crone. The phases of menstruation -- the building up and shedding of blood -- mimics the waxing and waning of the moon. The three initiations of a woman’s life are menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. All women carry within them three powers: the power to give birth, the power to give life, and the power to give death.The three is everywhere, and everywhere sacred to the Goddess.

“Women have the power to give birth not just on a physical level but also on a spiritual level. A prospering woman is continuously giving birth -- to her ideas, her dreams, and her visions.” ~Catherine Wishart, Teen Goddess

The moon has long been associated with the feminine (although historically, male lunar deities are, in truth, more prevalent), particularly the qualities of intuition and empathy. Because of the moon’s magnetic pull on the ocean, affecting her tides and swells, the moon is also closely associated with water.

Prompt

Have you ever stopped to pay attention to how the cycles of the moon affect you and those around you? Do you become more introspective during certain phases, more extroverted in others? Is there a phase of the moon where you feel most creative? Read the Soul Craft below for suggestions on charting the next phase of moon so you can get a grasp on how it affects your lunar soul.