Not too long ago, we had a full moon in October – the Harvest moon to be exact. The moon is a very sacred symbol in many cultures and traditions, and has become a symbol so very important to me. The energy and cycles of the moon, correlate with, and dictate to some degree, the energy and cycles of all other living things.
As a teacher, it is no surprise when the moon is full, or is soon arriving. The atmosphere takes on a certain “buzz,” the energy increases, and individuals find themselves purging emotions and expressions of fear, worry, sadness, confusion, and excitement…the energy is certainly heightened at this time.
It has become a practice in my life, as with many individuals across the globe, to view the full moon as a time for letting go, and for release. While this is a practice beneficial at any time in our lives, it’s extra potent with the energy of the full moon.
In staying with the theme of what I wish my teacher had taught me, my own sacred practices become those of my classes.’ As such, we recently engaged in a lesson about the full moon, and about letting go.
In this lesson, we brainstormed what we could release. These included letting go of limiting or outdated beliefs, fears and worries, relationships no longer serving us, past experiences, or future projections, and so forth. We discussed how and when we know that we are ready to let these things go, because the truth is, we’re not always there yet.
When we had completed our lesson, we moved into our ceremony. Engaging in ceremony in your life is a beautiful way to celebrate and create customs that bring about peace and growth, and it is something to look forward to as you revisit it each time. Our ceremony took place right in our room. To create a ceremony, we must prepare the space. For us, it meant dimming the main lights and turning on the firefly lights around our “campfire.” We also tuned into a station online that provided us with the sounds of a real fire crackling. This certainly created, and supported a mood of allowing us to let go. Each student, as well as myself, was given a sticky note. On this paper, we were to write something that was ready to be released. Our statement began with, “today I choose to let of ______.”
Some of the notes read:
“Today I choose to let go of the idea that I’m not too good.”
“Today I choose to let go of my sadness about my Grandfather passing away.”
“Today I choose to let go of when I screamed at my friend for something unimportant.”
“Today I choose to let go of the worries I have for the community, temperatures, and nature.”
“Today I choose to let go of a memory I have of my report card because I know I’ll do better.”
“Today I choose to let go of an argument I had with my mom.”
“Today I choose to let go of my fear of heights/spiders/the dark.”
We engaged in this process in a quiet manner, and then we met around the “campfire.”
The fire is a representation of permanency. In my own personal ceremonies outside of school, I use the process of burning my paper in order to solidify its release. We spoke about this as a class, and of course the safety in not doing so in our own practice, or at home. Once we gathered around our fire with our own individual notes, we took the opportunity to place it around the fire, one by one in silence. We paused in order to engage in our own personal reflections of the experience, and then we met again through conversation to end our beautiful ceremony.
We discussed what it felt like to choose something to let go of – what the challenges were in selecting this, and the meaning behind it. We closed by sharing how we now felt, now that we had let go. There was an overall sense of peace, a weight off of the shoulders, as one student put it, and the space to fill in with new thoughts, emotions, feelings, beliefs, and experiences.
Our ceremony felt sacred and beautiful, and helped us to bond even more as a unit.
This ceremony will take place continuously throughout the year, each time focusing on a new way of letting go and releasing, in hopes that it may be a practice and a skill that my students carry forward.
What ceremonies do you engage in, in your own lives? How do these practices enhance your life?
With a new part of the cycle approaching, stay tuned for what is on the other side of our full moon board, and we’ll connect again soon 🙂
Wow! I love this Nicole. I have participated in Full Moon Ceremonies as an adult and found them powerful. What a wonderful skill to teach children. Keep up the excellent focus helping young people develop life skills and strategies to handle stress and the pressures of daily life. 🙂
Thank you Janet! Yes, this is what I love about the concepts I incorporate into my whole life…they can be changed to fit the needs of children too! I hope that they will take some of these skills and carry them on throughout their teen and adult lives. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts 🙂 And…happy full moon to you this week!