Merry Moon Blessings
Also Known As: Merry or Dyad Moon, Bright Moon, Hare Moon, Frogs Return Moon, Thrimilcmonath (Thrice-Milk Month), Panther Moon, Sproutkale, Moon When Leaves are Green, Winnemanoth (Joy Month), Planting Moon, Moon When the Ponies Shed
Element: fire
Nature Spirits: faeries, elves
Herbs: dittany of Crete, elder, mint (and members of the mint family), rose, mugwort, thyme, yarrow, cinnamon
Colors: green, brown, pink, red, orange, yellow
Flowers: lily of the valley, foxglove, rose, broom
Scents: rose, sandalwood
Stones: emerald, malachite, amber, carnelian, ruby, garnet, Apache tear
Trees: hawthorn, rowan
Animals: cats, lynx, leopard
Birds: swallow, dove, swan
Deities: Bast, Venus, Aphrodite, Maia, Diana, Artemis, Pan, Horned God, Kali, Priapus, Cernunnos, Flora
Power Flow: full creating energy; propagation. Intuition, contact with faeries and other supernatural beings. Strengthen connection with supernatural protectors and beings around you. Power flowing from the Greenwood Gods and trees.
Mantra: I am filled with strength and passion.
Info on This Moon From About Dot Com: Once April's rains and winds have subsided, the sun begins to warm up the earth and we're able to get the gardens planted. Typically, May is the month we begin to sow our crops. Get out in the garden under a Flower Moon and put your hands into the soil. Spring is a time of fertility, and May is a fiery month indeed -- full of lust and passion! It's sometimes called the month of the Hare Moon -- and we all know what hares are busy doing in the spring.
This is a good time to work on magic related to careers and jobs. Thinking about switching to a new position, or perhaps trying a new field altogether? Want to take a class or get your degree? Take the seeds you've planted last month, and allow them to bloom and grow in your favor. Do some fire divination this month to help guide you on your way.
BY THE BOOKS
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft by Denise Zimmerman and Katherine A. Gleason
The Hare Moon, also known as the Flower or Planting Moon, is a time of health, love, romance, and wisdom. This is a great time to plant the seeds that you have empowered. As the seeds begin to grow, the energy you have filled them with will start to manifest in your life. It's also a great time to rekindle the magic to help your career, now will probably be the time to decide which of your job offers to accept. And you might want to do some divination magic to help you make that decision.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism by Carl McColman
MAY (Hare Moon)-- Sensuality, love, and the power of life. Celebrate your body.
The Craft - A Witch's Book of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison
Name: Dyad
Cakes & Ale: cake and champagne
Colors: bright colors
Altar Decor: gold and silver candles, fresh flowers
Incense: jasmine
Esbat Purpose: Celebrate divine marriage, productivity, and goals
Try Drawing the Circle With: a bouquet of fresh flowers with colored ribbons (leave as libation)
Witch's Brew: Good Spells for Peace of Mind by Witch Bree
May brings the Flower Moon when the Muses give inspiration and beauty prevails.
Witches Datebook by Edain McCoy (2002)
Like the willow that bends but doesn't break, the Willow Moon helps us do whatever we have to do. It teaches us that we are able to push ourselves to levels we once thought impossible. Once we attain things hard won, the willow offers itself as a glue to bind them to us forever.
Binding must be entered into with care. Because we are all linked on the wheel of life, the energies we put in motion will eventually make a full circle and come back to us.
With willow branches, you can bind to yourself any object or idea, or you can bind the actions of someone doing harm. Soak the branches overnight in water containing a few drops of patchouli oil. Take a symbol of the thing to be bound, and wrap it snugly in the branches. Tie it closed until the branches dry. Present the object to the four elements to garner their assistance. When you are finished, keep the object hidden.
Witches Datebook by Edain McCoy (2003)
The Willow Moon offers us the opportunity to heal spiritual and physical ills. Like the willow, we can bend much more than we realize, without breaking, and then bounce back again, renewed and ready to go forward.
The willow tree has been used for many magical spells and rituals, and the ancients knew the tree as a healer of great power. Its bark is a source of salicylic acid, which is the main ingredient in aspirin.
To perform your own healing willow ritual, you will need a single branch from a willow tree and bowl of water that has been empowered under the light of the Willow Moon. Stand where the light of the Moon falls over you, as you tie the branch around the part of yourself that most needs healing attention. Wash yourself with the water and ask your deities for healing of body, mind, or spirit.
If you are not allergic to aspirin, you may wish to finish your ritual with a soothing cup of willow-bark tea, which contains the precious acid that helps heal pain and fever.
Witches Datebook by Edain McCoy (2004)
The water-loving willow tree is sacred to the goddesses of the night and is ruled by the Moon. We can use its power to enhance our native psychic abilities.
Find a willow and sit at its base. Meditate on opening your psychic centers. Ask the tree whether it's willing to help you. If it is, stand and press your forehead against its bark while concentrating on an issue or unanswered question you have on your mind.
Allow yourself to fall into as deep a meditative state as you safely can, and open yourself to the power of the willow. You will get answers. You should also ask the tree to show you what you need, not just what you want.
The willow governs chemistry, and it can help you finish that sonata you've been composing, overcome writer's block, give you fresh ideas for a painting or sculpture, or show you a new way to move as you dance.
Witches Datebook by Dallas Jennifer Cobb
Celebrate life and love under the May Full Moon, as you honor the sacred union of the Gods. Kindle the coals of sensuality, fan the fire of romance, dance around the bright flame of love during this Moon of fertility, growth, and wisdom. Whether you light a candle at home or a bonfire on the beach, enjoy the heat that helps us flower. Celebrate your body, the fertile vessel that you inhabit, and celebrate the earth in which your seeds flourish. Witness their growth and flowers, and bless the youthful fruits of your knowledge and wisdom in action. Work powerful creative magic as you reconnect with the eternal cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. In this season, we are all born anew, and know the magical energy of spiritual rebirth.
Merry Moon, Dyad Moon, Bright Moon be,
Let life spring abundant and grow within me.
Diana, Venus, Artemis, Pan,
Bless the union from which all life began.
Witches Datebook by Elizabeth Barrette
In Cherokee tradition, May is the Planting Moon. In most temperate climates, the soil is warm enough for tender seedlings and seeds to prosper in the gentle sun and rain. The Choctaw call this the Panther Moon for the big cats native to the land. To the Dakota Sioux, this is Moon When Leaves are Green. Grass grows vigorously on the prairies; in forests and along riverbanks, trees unfurl their leaves.
Plants and animals put out a burst of energy in the mild weather between winter's cold and summer's heat. This is a peak gardening month for many. The earliest crops that grow in late winter or early spring-- such as asparagus-- deliver the season's first edibles. Many plants that yield summer crops have set their fruit. People also focus on exuberant outdoor pursuits. Picnics, parades, sports, and other outdoor activities foster family and community bonds.
Magically, use this time to foster growth and expansion. Work hard and play hard. Store some of that energy in magical artifacts. Gardeners bless their crops and cast spells to repel hungry pests. Fill rituals with lively activities such as dancing, singing, and acting out myths in sacred theater.
A safe and happy holiday to all who celebrate~!