THE FULL MOON IN MARCH

The moon is full again. What a lovely white face it has, partly obscured by moving clouds. Its effect is hypnotical and magical, watching us from the dark sky.

I love the old German fairy tales, collected by the Brothers Grimm, about the moon who wanders around and gets drunk in a pub. In another fairy tale the moon’s mother gets mad because she has to alter his clothes every week as he waxes and wanes. Finally she gives up and says: “You might as well go naked!”

The German composer Carl Orff has composed a tune about the moon in his “Carmina Burana”:

“O Fortune, you are changing like the Moon!

You will wax, you will wane.

Poverty, power,

they will all melt like ice.”

While watching the full moon in March we might meditate on our changing fortunes, the ups and downs of life. Creativity, finances, nature, relationships - they all move in cycles. I find it interesting to look at the positive and negative dimensions of these cycles.

Black Moon

Tonight is Black Moon Night. Tomorrow the moon will be waxing again. Lady Luna will point her silver horn to the East. As the moon is gaining light, human energies are being mobilized and new ressources appear. With the waxing crescent moon there may be visions in our dreams.

What is planted during the new moon will grow well, just like the moon’s light grows. In Wales they say that if you move from one home to another during the waxing crescent moon, you will have more than enough prosperity in your life.

Crescent Moon Bath Salts

1 cup salt, 4 drops lotus oil, 4 drops sandalwood oil

Mix well and pour into hot bath.

“Nothing that is can pause or stay. The moon will wax, the moon will wane.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

“The moon slides down the stair to see who’s there.” Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

“They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon.” Edward Lear (1830 - 1886)

Onyx & Oxen

Tomorrow I will be wearing the beautiful black onyx earrings with alpaca silver that my friend sent to me. I love their black lustre and like to put them on with black clothes.

Onyx is a cryptocrystaline form of quartz. The chemical composition is SiO2, Silicon dioxide. Its hardness on Mohs Scale is 7. The word Onyx is originally Assyrian, meaning “ring”, because onyx was used to make rings.

Variations of Black Onyx

Mentally black onyx helps self-empowerment, self-reliance, an unwavering sense of reality, analytical and logical thinking.

Spiritually black onyx helps to reach one’s aims by working towards them with great endurance and steadfastness.

My friend also offers black onyx and alpaca bracelets matching the earrings.

Bracelet “Midnight”: Black Onyx and Alpaca Silver

My friend’s Peruvian jewellery collection for sale can be seen on this website:

http://gypsybutterfly.myeweb.net/

Onyx is the birth stone of my Chinese zodiac sign, the Ox. It means prosperity through fortitude and hard work. In China, Ox is a powerful sign. Oxen are dependable and possess the innate ability of achieving great things. Oxen are calm and self-possessed. They need peace and quiet to work through their ideas. When they have set their minds on something it is hard for them to be convinced otherwise.

People born under the influence of Ox are articulate and eloquent. They are kind and caring souls, positive and filled with common sense. Their feet are firmly planted on the ground, and they love security. Oxen are not extravagant, and the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes them nervous. They will think twice before spending money, and when they have decided, they will pay cash.

All in all, Oxen can be seen as intelligent, strong-minded and stubborn individuals, who don’t take kindly being told what to do. They like to decide for themselves.

Chinese Zodiac: Ox