FULL MOON SPIRIT RISING by Carolyn Riker

This first spring full moon is having a walloping dose of introspection as my shadow sides are being shaken to the core…

It’s all about timing.

I am riding a rough wave along the Milky Way into the moonlight. Feels like a surfboard hit me in the head but I keep swimming. It’s a moonbeam of truth.

Seeing some truths can feel a bit overwhelming. I feel like the small metal ball being sprung into a pinball machine. The bumpers are planets and the lights are the stars. I’m lighting up the lights and racking up the score. Sometimes, like now, it reads: tilt.

Healing, wisdom, insight and growth are cyclical like the phases of the moon. Similarly we have an opportunity to embrace whatever feelings and emotions surface alongside these phases. Staying with these feelings is something I work on.

The moon has a harmonious partnership with the sun. There is equanimity as they dance in the sky. It is a perfect example of equilibrium in the tenacious duality of all relationships. My automatic nightlight of aha just went on.

Tonight, I graciously welcome this first full moon of spring as she pours forth her mystical, healing, spiritual and illuminating qualities.

The moon fully allows us to see into the folded parts of our self.

Therefore, I offer to her what doesn’t serve me any longer. My spiritual growth plates are shifting.

The following is my poem written during the two full moons of last August. It was my first conscious awareness of the healing propensities of her lovely ‘mooness.’What I received then is much different than now. I respect that.

Full Moon Spirit Rising

An ancient wisdom radiates

tree branches glow

there’s a lineage of messages

tree roots grounded

Lichen and moss coiled within

An interlaced, magnificent blanket of

Softness, a meadow, a chalice

Acceptance whispered…

A loving embrace of healing

Light and warmth

The moon flower opens

The moon spirit sees an

Unfolding, shedding, surrendering

The masks poignantly poised

Self-awareness and

Forgiveness increase.

A superimposed melody

Aiming for harmony

The moon’s glow permeates

The sun from within reaching oneness with the moon.

The moon crescendos with Venus

Carefully listens to Saturn

To be guided by Jupiter

Mercury translates

The stars are the limbs of a spiritual awakening

All of nature and the moon are within my soul.

Moon Goddess painting by Mollie Kellogg

Carolyn Riker M.A., LMHC is a counselor, teacher, writer and poet. Her first collection of poems, Blue Clouds was released in 2017. She’s been a regular columnist for Rebelle Society and prior to that several years at Elephant Journal. A collection of her work is available on her blog, Magic of Stardust and Words. Her poetry and prose has been featured in three books: Journey of the Heart: An Anthology of Spiritual Poetry by Women. Where Journeys Meet: The Voice of Women's Poetry and Best of Rebelle Society, Volume I: Celebrating the Art of Being Alive. Between sips of coffee or tea and navigating life, Carolyn leads journal writing workshops, tutoring and has a private counseling practice. Additionally, she co-edited the anthology Hidden Lights and is working on her second collection of poems to be released this summer, 2018. Carolyn can be reached via her e-mail address carolynra7@hotmail.com or on facebook here.

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