Falling Leaf Moon

Tonight is one of the most powerful moons of the year ... the Falling Leaf Moon, the full moon before Samhain.  A night for extra potency for your rituals and prayers, and for us - a night for our first fire pit!  I have been wanting one for a while - my parents have a gorgeous chiminea AND a huge fire pit my Dad dug and lined with rocks.  Is there anything better on a crisp fall evening than a fire?  
And, ok - fire pit?  It's actually kind of a fire bowl.  One of these:

I was sure to point out to the Mister this is *not* my "forever fire pit" and reserve the right to upgrade to a fancier one if I come across it and the price is right.  But for now in will serve nicely.

Tonight comes a ritual of my dedication to the Mother.  I have been planning and researching this and I'm excited and for some reason also have that wiggly feeling in my belly.  The closest thing I can match it to is I feel like I'm about to lose my virginity - again.  I'll also be placing some protection around our house as well ... see Mrs. B's article on witch's bottles for more on this.


Moon facts and myths are always fascinating to me.  Butterbean loves saying hi to the moon and will drag me outside after her bath saying, "MOON, Mama!  Hi moon!" then blows a kiss and tells the moon goodnight.  Mooch loves watching the moon "follow us home" when we drive home, and if she gets scared at bedtime we talk about the moon watching over her as she sleeps and chasing bad dreams away.  


Some interesting moon facts for you :
Ocean tug

Tides on Earth are caused mostly by the Moon (the Sun has a smaller effect). Here's how it works:
The Moon's gravity pulls on Earth's oceans. High tide aligns with the Moon as Earth spins underneath. Another high tide occurs on the opposite side of the planet because gravity pulls Earth toward the Moon more than it pulls the water.
At full Moon and new Moon, the Sun, Earth and Moon are lined up, producing the higher than normal tides (called spring tides, for the way they spring up). When the Moon is at first or last quarter, smaller neap tides form. The Moon's 29.5-day orbit around Earth is not quite circular. When the Moon is closest to Earth (called its perigee), spring tides are even higher, and they're called perigean spring tides.
All this tugging has another interesting effect: Some of Earth's rotational energy is stolen by the Moon, causing our planet to slow down by about 1.5 milliseconds every century.
Egghead The Moon is not round (or spherical). Instead, it's shaped like an egg. If you go outside and look up, one of the small ends is pointing right at you. And the Moon's center of mass is not at the geometric center of the satellite; it's about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) off-center.
Moon trees More than 400 trees on Earth came from the Moon. Well, okay: They came from lunar orbit. Okay, the truth: In 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa took a bunch of seeds with him and, while Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell were busy sauntering around on the surface, Roosa guarded his seeds.
Later, the seeds were germinated on Earth, planted at various sites around the country, and came to be called the Moon trees. Most of them are doing just fine.



Full Moon

The point of maximum psychic energy occurs When the full face of the Moon is visible in the clear sky. Many people perform sacred rites and rituals during this time. Sometimes for worship, sometimes for magic and sometimes for both. Healing, divination, dreamwork and practically every other form of magick seems to get a boost if performed during the full Moon.
Just a few facts, but there are oodles of pages out there with everything from suggestions for full moon rituals, to meanings, myths, etc.  
How are you celebrating this gorgeous moon?
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