For many years, I led a women’s moon circle in my home. Our purpose was to:
- Celebrate the seasons the way our ancestors did
- Align our spirits with the cycles of nature
- Honor the Divine Feminine
We met once a month on or near the full moon. There were four of us. We came from three different states, some driving nearly three hours each way. Now and then, we’d welcome a guest or two.
Among our areas of expertise were astrology, tarot, herbs, art, writing, teaching, gardening, and more. Sometimes, I explored those interests to create rituals for our gatherings.
Most of the time, I designed our rituals around astrology. One such ritual became a favorite. I call it “Bowls of Abundance.” Here’s how the ritual worked:
Each woman brought a handful of each item:
- Herbs
- Coins
- Chocolate
- Flowers
The herbs were fresh, as were the flower petals. The coins were small denominations. The chocolates were individually wrapped. (Yes, each woman brought all four items.)
Each woman also brought a pretty bowl. Depending on the size of the bowls we had, I determined which bowl would hold the coins, which would hold the herbs, etc.
Symbolism is important in a group ritual. It fosters a common understanding of the tools of the ritual. Because this ritual was about abundance, we talked about the link between herbs and health, coins and prosperity, chocolate and love, flowers and tranquility. After our group discussion about the symbolism of our items, each woman added her contribution to the respective bowls.
Over the years, we did this ritual twice. One year, there were five of us. I added stones for protection. We each brought a handful of semi-precious stone chips or glass pebbles. If we’d had more quests, I might have added shells for compassion, or acorns for fertility, or small pieces of soap for forgiveness. We could have broken pieces of bread to symbolize family harmony. We could have each drawn a small treasure map to symbolize travel or adventure. Use your imagination. Know the members of your moon circle and what they need.
Use the astrology of the moment to focus the ritual. In May of 2008, while the sun was in Taurus and the full moon was in the opposite sign of Scorpio, I thought about Taurus’s need to cultivate and Scorpio’s need to transform.
Apply that astrology to the Bowls of Abundance ritual.
- What do I want in order to feel secure? (Taurus)
- What do I need to release in order to transform? (Scorpio)
That night in 2008, we sat in a circle and talked about how Taurus seeks power from the material world, and Scorpio seeks power from mastering the inner self.
Our five bowls sat in the center of the circle. We talked about how each one contained a symbol of something of value:
- Coins for prosperity
- Herbs for health
- Chocolate for love
- Flowers for tranquility
- Stones for protection
While, as I mentioned earlier, you can add more bowls and other items to the ritual, it’s interesting to note that prosperity, health, love, tranquility, and protection are the five main “needs” for casting spells.
The woman sitting closest to the east (I use a compass), picked up one of the bowls. She scooped the contents with both hands and talked about what the contents represented to her. Then she passed that first bowl to the woman at her left. That woman scooped, reflected on the contents, and passed the bowl to her left. After each woman had shared her thoughts on the contents of the first bowl, another woman selected a second bowl. We repeated the process until each woman had held each bowl.
This ritual deepened our friendship and our understanding of who we are and what we find important.
