New Moon: Seed Moon

10 April - 9 May
Full Moon 25 Apr

It's two days after the New Moon, but I almost always miss a new or full moon on the actual day of. I comfort myself in the knowledge that in the olden days, people judged these things by sight, not by a calendar. There must have been plenty of folk who didn't do any sort of ritual or reading on the exact right day. :) It is during this moon, the Seed Moon, in my tradition, that the festival of Beltane falls, on 1 May. Church tradition calls this holiday Roodmas, the Feast of the Cross, because it was on 3 May 355 that St Helena is supposed to have found remnants of the True Cross (the cross upon which Jesus was executed). The date of Roodmas has since been changed to 14 September (which actually around the time of another pagan holiday, Mabon or Autumn Equinox). One wonders just how far back, through how many religious and spiritual traditions, all these shared dates go back. There just seem to be too many for it be coincidence.

Anyway, now is the beginning of the moon cycle during which Beltane falls, and it's called Seed Moon. We are still in the Fire Tide, though it may not feel like it! Where I am in the UK, it's certainly been very cold since the Fire Tide began at Spring Equinox. But I hear that next week, we will really be warming up, and it will finally start feeling like spring. How appropriate for this to fall during the Seed Moon, by its very name the time when the seeds of new life begin to really make their presence felt. In my tradition, spring is the Fire Tide, because this is the time when the divine spark of life really ignites. And similarly, in myself, the spring is the time when I feel like I'm waking up, with a fresh renewal in myself, a sort of dewy fragility. (Though to be honest, lately I've mostly just felt tired.)

So, this little spark that is set to be really warming us up to the glories of life (fnar fnar) by Beltane is all present now in the dark of the new Seed Moon. And with that in mind, I've drawn three cards from the Cosmic Tarot to represent new moon to full moon, 10 - 25 Apr:

In this season, I should identify those things that have become too heavy a burden for me and I should do something about them. Success over these things will have to be earned, though. It isn't just going to happen. This is the right time for the energy of the Princess of Wands!

 The 'New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot' book says of Ten of Wands: 'Here in Malkuth the Fiery Spirit energy of the King Scale is cut off from its source. It has become blind, a violent force without direction or modification. Saturn in Sagittarius are a detriment here, because the slow, heavy, yet destructive energies of Saturn are like a lead ball, falling and crushing the swift energies of Sagittarius. The Powers of opposition and suppression are the result. This is Fire in its worst aspect...leading to Material Force that is selfishly and cruelly carried out' (Cicero 92).  There are several things that have been a burden to me over the last several months. Some of them I'm already doing something about, others I continue to put off. The best thing I can do for myself in this cycle of the moon is to sit down and make a list. Just what is it that really needs my attention right now? What are the things that most burden and weigh me down, that crush down on me like Saturn and squelch my Sagittarius energies?

The Princess of Wands is the place I need to get to, she is an amazing energy. She is Earth of Fire, the Throne of the Ace of Wands. In other words, she is where the tires of Fire energy actually meet the road of your daily life! 'She is the chemical magnetism necessary for the act of combustion. She creates and destroys her own universe, for she is vigorous and irrational' (Cicero, 140). It seems a bit ironic to me that in order to get to the energy and irrationality of the Princess of Wands, I need to apply the science of the Six of Swords.  The Six of Swords is called 'Earned Success', and refers to the rewards of hard work done with accuracy, precision and focus. It reminds me that it's no good throwing myself headlong at the Ten of Wands problems if I have no plan in place. But the Princess of Wands also reminds me that there's no point making a plan if I don't put some active energy behind it and DO SOMETHING. I really do need the combination of the Six of Swords and the Princess of Wands to overcome the Ten of Wands.

It would seem, then, that 10-25 April is a time of setting things up and beginning much-needed improvement projects (some of which have actually already begun).

Action Plan as Seen in the Above Cards:

1. Identify areas where I just can't take it anymore, where I've let things go and go until they are like a millstone around my neck.
2. If needed, do research to find out ways to solve these problems. If solutions are already known, make a plan to get started.
3. DO IT.

(And in order to avoid self-sabotage, remember. Making a plan, and even getting started on it, doesn't mean you are committed for life. A plan is not a trap. It's just a plan. And plans can change. No need for rebellion or defiant inaction. Those of us who do this know what I'm talking about).