The Mourning Moon
Also Known As: Dark Moon, Fog Moon, Ancestor Moon, Moon When Horns are Broken Off, Trading Moon, Beaver Moon, Snow Moon, Blotmonath (Sacrifice Month), Herbistmanoth (Harvest Month), Mad Moon, Sassafras Moon, Moon of Storms, Moon When Deer Shed Antlers
Element: water
Nature Spirits: subterranean faeries
Herbs: grains of paradise, verbena, betony, borage, cinquefoil, blessed thistle, fennel
Colors: grays, sea-green, blues
Flowers: blooming cacti, chrysanthemum
Scents: cedar, cherry blossoms, hyacinth, narcissus, peppermint, lemon
Stones: topaz, hyacinth, lapis lazuli, turquoise
Trees: alder, cypress, hazel
Animals: scorpion, crocodile, jackal
Birds: owl, goose, sparrow
Deities: Kali, Black Isis, Nicnevin, Hecate, Bast, Osiris, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Skadi, Mawu, Astarte
Power Flow: Taking root, preparation, transformation. Strengthen communication with the Gods that seem closest to you.
Mantra: I learn and grow from the past.
Info on This Moon From About Dot Com: In November, the Mourning Moon is upon us. It's also known as the Fog Moon or Snow Moon, depending on where you live. Some Native American tribes referred to it simply as The Moon When Deer Shed Antlers (although in most regions it's more accurate to say they're shedding their velvet - a buck doesn't usually lose antlers until later in the winter, unless you're very far north). In the early Celtic society, November was the beginning of the new year -- why not use the magic of this moon phase to celebrate new beginnings?
This is a time of washing away the baggage of the past and letting it go. Once you've done that, you'll be able to focus on the joys of the future. During the Mourning Moon phase, say goodbye to bad habits and toxic relationships, and get a fresh start for the new year. Work on developing and strengthening your connection with the Gods.
BY THE BOOKS
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft by Denise Zimmerman and Katherine A. Gleason
The Snow Moon is also known as the Beaver, Mourning, or Tree Moon. This is a good time to work with abundance, prosperity, and the bonds of family and friendship. This is also a good time to use divination to get an idea of what is up ahead. Remind yourself that although winter is coming, it will not last forever. Do what you can to reduce your stress and to strengthen your bonds with family and friends. Back before the advent of grocery stores and central heating, people really counted on those bonds, which could be the difference between making it through the winter or perishing. So, know who is really there for you, and count your blessings.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism by Carl McColman
NOVEMBER (Snow Moon)-- Divination, intuitive & psychic skills. Final preparation for cold.
The Craft - A Witch's Book of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison
Name: Snow
Cakes & Ale: butter cookies and hot chocolate
Colors: black, purple, navy blue, and other dark colors to honor the sleeping period of the earth
Altar Decor: purple candles, onions, garlic and other root vegetables, a child's sheet or quilt as an altar cloth
Incense mugwort or patchouli
Esbat Purpose: Celebrate the coming of the dark months; it's time for Mother Earth to rest and sleep
Try Drawing the Circle With: dream catcher
Witch's Brew: Good Spells for Peace of Mind by Witch Bree
November's Beaver Moon is when we call upon our wild nature.
Witches Datebook by Edain McCoy
The Elder Moon is both the end of the Celtic lunar year and a time to prepare for the next. The day after the elder Moon resides in no month, but is a solemn spiritual day known as the Secret of the Unhewn Stone or the Feast of Potential.
During this Moon, plan to meet with your shadow self or cowalker-- the part of you residing in the otherworld who is the key to your completeness.It reflects the true self of the year gone by, so that you may prepare to fulfill the potential of the year to come.
Turn your altar to the west and light one black and one white candle. Gaze between them into a portal to the otherworld. Call out to your other self to appear to you between the candles. When the image is visible, commune with it in whatever method seems appropriate. Learn from this self all you can about your true earthy nature.
Offer your shadow self food and drink before bidding farewell.
Witches Datebook (2003) by Edain McCoy
The ELder Moon contains the darkest days of the year, when the spirit world is closest. The day after the end of the Elder Moon month, before the start of the new year with the Birch Moon, is no moon at all, but a magical time "in between" when the worlds of form and fancy collide and we can easily open up to the realm of spirit.
The spirit world is constantly with us, but our modern eyes cannot always see into the world that interpenetrates our own on a different plane. To help you see spirits, gather elder twigs during the Elder Moon month and weave them into a chaplet to encircle your head. Make sure it's large enough to cover the psychically sensitive area just above and between your eyes.
Place the chaplet on your head after sundown on the last day of the Elder Moon and gaze about you. You may see, and even be able to communicate with, the spirit world tonight.
Witches Datebook (2004) by Edain McCoy
The Celtic lunar year ends with the Elder Moon, representing a cycle associated with death and renewal, prosperity and healing.
Before the turns to its next cycle, allow the elder to help heal your body, mind, and spirit with its energies. Either in the physical world or deep meditation, find the biggest, strongest elder in the forest. Ask if you use its regenerative powers to heal yourself. If you don't know of anything you need to have healed, ask the elder to protect you from illness. You may be rewarded with a falling limb, leaf, or piece of bark to take with you as a talisman of health and well-being.
Be sure to thank the elder for its gift:
Elder tree of ancient rhyme,
Stranding strong in winter's time;
Healing tree of body and mind,
Thank you for your gifts so kind.
Witches Datebook by Dallas Jennifer Cobb
As the Sun wanes and outward growth slows, vital energy settles in the roots. In November, turn within and let inner growth be the focus of the journey through the underworld. Learn, study, reflect, and grow. In this time of mourning and loss, let the quietness of home and hearth sustain you, for in safety and familiarity there is hope to see us through the long winter. As you explore the darkness, practice divination and exercise your intuition and psychic skills. The brightness within can help you to "See" with clarity in the time of the darkness. Make final preparations for the cold season, putting your life in order to that you are able to sustain yourself and care for your loved ones through the long months ahead.
Dark Moon, Mourning Moon, Mad Moon be
I draw your brilliance deep within me,
Kali, Black Isis, Hecate, Osiris,
In our homes with loved ones, ever be near us.
Witches Datebook by Ellen Dugan
November is a transitional time as autumn fades and it becomes more winterlike every day. The skies may be brilliantly blue, but most leaves have fallen from the trees. In the morning, you may find that Jack Frost has been hard at work decorating windows, adorning autumn leaves, and coating blades of grass with his silvery-white frosting. Jack Frost, an elfish character connected to Norse folklore, was believed to have brought the brilliant fall colors by nipping leaves with his frost. In Russia, he is known as the benevolent Papa Frost-- a Santa type cloaked in shimmering white and silvery blue-- who was thought to bind water and earth together during the year's coldest days. Welcome the spirit of Papa Frost or Old Jack Frost into your magic and put the freeze on a troubling situation. Tonight, as the Full Moon rises, write your problem on a slip of paper, tuck it in a paper cup, fill the cup with water, and place in in the freezer.
Old Jack Frost put the freeze on this problem for me,
Bring harm to none, and as I will it, so mote it be.
Witches Datebook by Elizabeth Barrette
In Cherokee tradition, November is the Trading Moon. With the harvest in and necessary foods stocked up, this time before the full force of winter is ideal for visiting and exchanging goods. To the Choctaw, this is the Sassafras Moon. When the mitten-shaped leaves turn orange and drop off, that's a good time to harvest the roots for flavoring beverages. The Dakota Sioux call this the Moon When Horns are Broken Off. This may refer to the broken antlers that occur when bucks fight over mates.
During November, the earth goes dormant. Many plants die back. People and animals begin relying more on stored foods and fat reserves. Several species of large animals have their mating season in late autumn or early winter. Offer suet and other high nutrient forms to wildlife.
Magically, work spells relating to animals at this time, such as deer totems. A piece of deerskin leather or some antler buttons can increase the connection. Hunting charms are appropriate for people who still hunt some of their own food. Rituals may celebrate animal spirits or the introspective energy of the dormant season.
A safe and peaceful holiday to all that celebrate~!