Selene/LunaGoddess Gathering
October 16th, 6:30pm
It is not possible to talk about the powers of the moon goddess Selene without discussing the powers associated with the goddess of the moon in many ancient cultures. Many of them have characteristics in common with each other, especially with Selene or as she is also known, Luna.
Selene was the ancient Greek goddess of the moon. Though there are many mentions of Selene in poetry from the Athenian era, it is obvious that her worship was mostly confined to common folk by the time writers like Hesiod and Aristophanes talked about her. Selene is said to be one of the Titans, the gods who came before the 12 Olympians. Her father was was Hyperion and her mother Theia. She was the sister of Helios, the Etruscan sun god, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn.
The Romans called her Luna, and we know of at least two temples to Luna in Ancient Rome. In later years, Selene became associated with Artemis just as her counterpart Luna became associated with Diana, and the aspect of the virgin moon goddess assumed the powers of the moon goddess Selene.
The powers of the moon goddess Selene were derived from her association with the moon. In ancient times, the sun and the moon were often equally powerful deities. The moon was most often depicted as a goddess because the moon appeared to become pregnant and give birth to a new moon each month. As the goddess of the moon, Selene was the patron of the feminine. She was believed to have the power to ease childbirth and inspire love. Selene also was believed to have the power to mask reality and, conversely, to pierce illusion.
Among other powers of the moon goddess Selene awakens intuition and spark psychic visions. This most likely stems from the association of night and the moon with dreams. That association may also be why Selene is often considered to be the patron of solutions, which often come to people in dreams when the subconscious mind has a chance to process information that has not been consciously acknowledged.
Selene is often depicted as a young woman with a pale face and a shining halo in the shape of a crescent moon. She is nearly always clothed in a flowing white robe, and sometimes has long white wings. She sometimes drives a chariot pulled by pale white or silver horses, or by a pair of white bulls. Other times, she is depicted riding a white bull through the night sky. She can be distinguished from depictions of the other moon goddesses because her face and form are usually depicted as rounder and more feminine.
Selene is sometimes thought to be just another name for Artemis, but this is not true. She is one of three faces of the triple goddess who is seen in the waxing and waning moon. The powers of the moon goddess Selene are at their fullest during the full and dark of the moon (new moon), which were times of the monthly cycle sacred to her worship.
Selena says...
Come into the night, and allow my soft glow to soften your hard edges. Reveal yourself to yourself and at this time, only to yourself. This is your time to go within to find deep, deep peace. When you can look at yourself in the mirror and simultaneously know that you are both beautiful and ugly, you will know my power. When you know that these thoughts are all illusions and wax and wane just as I do, then you will know the peace and serenity of floating in a boat on a full moon night with not a care in the world. When you can look on your life and accept and know that all of it has been serving you, bringing you to your greatness and that your pivotal point of power is TODAY, RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW, then you will know what true love is. The truth will be revealed to you.
Find this place within and then find it out in nature. Find your power place and go to it often. It may be the beach or a park or a pond or your porch. Make it YOUR sacred space. And go there not only during the day, but see this place from all angles under the light of the moon. See the different perspectives and do not be afraid to examine the dark side of the moon. Open up your psychic, intuitive channels and learn to trust your higher self. Allow yourself to connect regularly to your soul and your spirit by sitting in my illumination.
Drink water that is infused with my reflected light. Place a crystal decanter of purified water on a mirror and sit it out under the dark of the moon to create something new in your life, use my fullness to let something go!
Full Moon – October 4, 06:10
Last Quarter – October 11, 08:56
New Moon – October 18, 05:33
First Quarter – October 26, 00:42
Full Moon Names and Meanings
Full Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes fromNew England to Lake Superior. European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names. Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year. Here is the Farmers Almanac's list of the full Moon names.
• Full Wolf Moon - January Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January's full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
• Full Snow Moon - February Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.
• Full Worm Moon - March As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.
• Full Pink Moon - April This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month's celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.
• Full Flower Moon - May In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon.
• Full Strawberry Moon - June This name was universal to every Algonquin tribe. However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon. Also because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June . . . so the full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry!
• The Full Buck Moon - July July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time. Another name for this month's Moon was the Full Hay Moon.
• Full Grain Moon - August The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.
• Full Corn Moon - September This full moon's name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. Most often, the September full moon is actually the Harvest Moon.
• Full Harvest Moon - October This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering.
• Full Beaver Moon - November This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.
• The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon - December During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.
Selene's Affirmations
I am filled with luminous energy.
I am a beautiful being of Light.
My entire being is divine, as is all that is.
I am a mysterious creature.
My thoughts and feeling are indicators of my state of mind.
I honor the cycles and rhythm of my body as my energies wax and wane as the moon.
I am open to the fullness of the moon and allow her to help me release that which does not serve.
I am open to the newness of the moon and allow her to help me in my new beginning.
