Lion, tigers, and bears, oh my! Seriously. There is a LOT of lunar and seasonal energy happening right now. This type of lunar event hasn't happened in over 150 years either!
First, its a supermoon, which simply means that the lunar revolution around earth takes the moon really close to us. SOOOO, the pull the moon has on the tides, and subsequently on our watery cellular dwellings, is pretty freaking strong. Don't fight it. Use it to manifest your intentions. The harder we try to swim upstream, the more beat down we feel. Sometimes we need to go with that flow. Ok, enough ocean/water/tide analogies. You get the idea.
Second, its a blue moon: the second full moon in one calendar month. AND, its also a blood moon, which is a fancy way of saying lunar eclipse. When the earth's shadow is cast over the surface of the full moon, it casts a red hue, hence the "blood" piece of this puzzle. During a lunar eclipse, the moon goes through all phases: from full to new, to full again. Its like shutting one door, and opening a new one. A total reset! Use THIS energy to release and manifest!
The moon is also in Leo, and the Leo moon begs us to dig beneath the surface to air out any harmful emotional issues that are still dragging us down. Time to ditch those old stories and choose the better ones. Its like, all the possible permutations of moon things that can happen, are happening. So its a GREAT time for release, growth, creation, and transformation. Whether you apply this to your life, your yoga practice, your job, or whatever, really. The world is your shiny moon oyster, and its time to release the negative, create the positive, and choose the better plotline for your whole life. I mean, why choose the mediocre, re-played one when you can have something unique and awesome? You can do it. I know you can.
Its also Imbolc: the pagan midwinter festival that marks the "dawn" of spring. Well, ok, it marks the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox, which are pretty immutable since they are based on our position in space in relation to the sun. Groundhog Day always has pissed me off because the groundhog is never going to see his stupid shadow in the northern hemisphere based on planetary alignments, but alas, people like that little critter, AND I suppose on some level this "holiday" is the modern, "cute" embodiment of Imbolc. The ancients were on to something in relation to the dawn of spring, though, because the first metabolic processes within dormant seeds that lay beneath the frozen ground, begin to stir at this time of year. The sap begins to run. AND, if you take a look, you will see the buds growing on the trees. Life still persists, and well, our ancestors noticed that kind of stuff. Maybe we should too. For the great naturalist John Muir once said "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." Hell yes.
I suppose this is why I've been drawn to earth-centric beliefs since I was 15, when I first found a book in the town library called "Ancient Ways" by Pauline Campanelli. After repeatedly rejecting Catholicism, because it didn't make sense to me that my dad was my dad, but that I had this other "dad" who lived in this magical heaven place (that notion really messed with my mental map), I found solace and made sense of the magic within the ecology of the natural world. I could see it and experience it. That was important to me. I suppose I always knew it, but finding that book was something concrete and something that supported what I already thought. It was all important enough that it influenced my ecological studies in college and graduate school and my career choice as a marine biologist. Because I could believe in something that was magical (synonyms: incredible, outstanding, awesome, remarkable) and science all at once.
As I've gotten older, my journey of connection to the natural world: the earth, the moon, the universe, has only gotten stronger. I try to eat food that is close to its natural state. I like to buy local and support farms, and grow my own food when I can. I like to forage in the woods for edible plants like purslane, wild berries and white pine; and when I can, eat locally raised meat and eggs. I have also come back around to making herbal concoctions and my own DIY health and wellness products like body butter, salves, and oils that can remove a lot of unnatural, paraben-filled, petrochemical nonsense. They are a lot better than the ones I hacked together in my early 20s, let me tell you. LOL. Check out @thechaosfactorsalem on IG for my adventures in DIY health and wellness! And don't even get me started on pesticides and other gross toxicants. Unless you have a lot of time. Much to my chagrin, I know a lot about nasties in the water supply through my career with the fisheries service.
So, how does this all relate back to lunar cycles and energy? Releasing and manifesting? Well, I suppose my little anecdote is a story of manifestation, now isn't it? Nature, and our connection to it, is a driving force in our ability to release and manifest. Whether you believe in moon magic or not, or are a Christian, a Pagan, or an atheist, our connection to nature is very real and tangible. We know the moon influences cycles on earth (tides, etc.), so its a natural correlation that the moon affects us living entities too. Just as the seasons, the sun, and the weather do. These connections remind us that we are alive, and that we can thrive on this blue planet that travels through space at mind blowing speed. Feeling and KNOWING that connection is there can help us release, because it reminds us that some things really do not matter. The earth is so big and awe-inspiring. The universe is even LARGER. Our limiting beliefs, and the things that truly do not matter, do not need to be carried with us. And well, once we get rid of that old junk, think of all that space that opens up? Think of all that you can manifest? Even if its as simple as manifesting a path like I suppose I did at age 15. In hindsight I didn't realize how profound that was. I didn't even know I was manifesting. But now I recognize it. And the more we can recognize it, the more we can harness the energy, and in my opinion, that connection to the elements and the universe around us (including the moon and all her crazy energy right now), is number one in making it all happen.
Namaste. <3