Wishing Light in the Long Nights Moon
Also known as: Oak Moon, Wolf Moon, Moon of Long Nights, Cold Moon, Aerra Geola (Month Before Yule), Wintermonat (Winter Month), Heilagmanoth (Holy Month), Big Winter Moon, Moon of Popping Trees, Cracking Trees Moon
Element: fire
Nature Spirits: snow faeries, storm faeries, winter tree faeries
Herbs: holly, English ivy, fir, mistletoe, cinnamon
Colors: blood red, white and black
Flowers: holly, poinsettia, pine
Scents: violet, patchouli, rose geranium, frankincense, myrrh, lilac
Stones: serpentine, jacinth, peridot, obsidian, ruby
Trees: pine, fir, holly
Animals: mouse, deer, horse, bear
Birds: rook, robin, snowy owl
Deities: Hathor, Hecate, Neith, Athene, Minerva, Ixchel, Osiris, the Norns, the Fates, Athena, Persephone, and Hades
Power Flow: to endure, die, be reborn; Earth tides turning. Darkness. Personal alchemy. Spiritual paths. Reach out to friends and family, the lonely and needy.
Mantra: I remain serene in the chaos around me.
Info on This Moon From About Dot Com: The last moon phase of the year is the Long Nights Moon in December, also called the Cold Moon or Big Winter Moon.
As the days get shorter and Yule approaches with the longest night of the year, we force ourselves to get through the darkness because eventually we will see the sunlight and warmth again. Think about the things in your life that you've had to endure. Sometimes, a part of us must die in order to be reborn. Now is the perfect time for spiritual alchemy -- time to evaluate your life, and know that you'll survive the dark times.
If you've already put the darkness behind you, take your good fortune and share it with others. When it's cold outside, open your heart and home to friends and family. Reach out to people who might be suffering from the chill of winter, either spiritually or physically.
BY THE BOOKS
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft by Denise Zimmerman and Katherine A. Gleason
Also known as the Cold or Long Nights Moon, the Oak Moon is a time for hope and healing. This time of the year the Moon has reign over the Earth, because there are more hours of night than day. Our thoughts turn to the rebirth of the light and the longer days that are promised after the Winter Solstice. Women who have become pregnant in the spring are about to give birth and will probably want to focus their energies on delivering a healthy baby. This is the time of year to complete something you have worked hard on and to make sure that the task is truly completed, all the details dealt with. It's also a great time to let go of old patterns or problems and start anew. If something has been eating at you for a long time, work to give it up at this time. Let go of the negative and let the light of the longer days shine inside you. Working with children in a nurturing way can be very rewarding and healing.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism by Carl McColman
DECEMBER (Oak Moon)-- Strength, trust.
The Craft - A Witch's Book of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison
Name: Oak
Cakes & Ale: gingerbread and apple wine or spiced cider
Colors: white and yellow to welcome the sun
Altar Decor: holly, mistletoe, and sun symbols
Incense frankincense
Esbat Purpose: Celebrate the birth of the sun and the coming light
Try Drawing the Circle With: yellow candles and sunflower seeds
Witch's Brew: Good Spells for Peace of Mind by Witch Bree
December has the mysterious Cold Moon, a time to rekindle the flames of heart and soul.
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 (2006) by Edain McCoy
The name "Long Nights Moon" stirs up images of the Winter Solstice-- a date that has been designated for spiritual observance for more than twelve thousand years.
Beneath the Long Nights Moon, light a candle of white or silver to honor the lunar Gods. Thank them for the light of the night sky and the knowledge of the sunlight's return in the months to come. Let the candle burn itself out when you are finished.
Great Luna, Queen of the Long Night,
Grant me safety until the sun's light;
Your silver orb a comfort gives,
We know in You the sun still lives.
Lord of moonlight, equal to your Queen,
We await the moment when the Earth grows green;
Sleep in the womb of Your mother most fair,
Who sleeps in the Earth until we waken Her there.
Witches Datebook by Dallas Jennifer Cobb
The oak symbolizes earthly and spiritual strength, with its roots running deep and branches reaching high and wide. While the sacred oak appears dead this time of year, we know there is much more to life than can be seen by the eyes. The strong oak reminds us to stand tall and endure, as the Sun's return draws near. We too have grown strong as we journey through the dark and look to our spiritual roots for answers.
Take this time to prepare small gifts for loved ones. In these dark months were times of great scarcity for our ancestors, so even the smallest gifts were precious. Share your treasures, for when the above earth looks dead and dark, the roots shelter the life within. Offer these gifts as symbols of good will, peace, protection, and love, strengthening the relationships that sustain us.
Long Nights Moon, Big Winter Moon, Moon of Popping Tree,
Strong Oak wisdom rooted deep within me,
Ixchel, Athene, Minerva, Fates,
In the darkness light awaits.
Witches Datebook by Ellen Dugan
The Winter Solstice plays a part in our December Full Moon celebration. According to midwinter mythology, this is the time of the Oak King, who lends us His name for the year's final Full Moon. At the Winter Solstice, the Oak King has defeated His brother, the Holly King, and the waxing half of the year has begun. From this point, the light will only grow stronger, and our daylight hours will grown longer.
In herbalism, the oak is a tree of wisdom, power, and magic. So on this night of the Full Oak Moon, ask the Oak King for His blessings. Find a small oak twig or acorn and set it in a place of prominence. Then arrange next to it a gold candle for illumination and a green candle to encourage prosperity. Light the candles and say:
A Full Moon night in December brings magic true,
Oak King, please grant me wisdom in all that I do.
See the burning candles of green and gold bright,
Light and plenty they bring on this blessed night.
Witches Datebook by James Kambos
Winter owns the land, but tonight, the Long Nights Moon owns the sky. With icy brilliance as fragile as glass, it casts charcoal shadows across the snow and glints off the rooftops. We walk in darkness on this night, but know the light will return.
It's easy to lose our way in the dark-- sadness, grieving, and death touches each of us. But not night lasts forever. The Long Nights Moon teaches us to accept the darkness, not fear it. This ritual focuses on purification and trusting fate. Cover your altar with a white cloth, representing a future shrouded in mystery. Honor the Moon by lighting one white candle. Before the candle, lay one pine branch. Meditate about this year and what you hope for next year. In an act of purification, brush yourself with the pine branch from head to toe. Say:
During this, the darkest time of the year,
Long Nights Moon, keep me safe and free from fear.
I trust in the future, I trust the Fates,
I trust in the Divine Spirit and whatever awaits.
A safe and peaceful holiday to all that celebrate~!