For those of you whose spiritual practice has any kind of connection to the moon, like mine does, you may have heard about the astronomical event that happened yesterday morning called the Super Blue Blood Moon.

Super. Blue. Blood. Moon.  That sounds super cool, and like something out of a horror, fantasy or sci-fi movie. Basically, it was a full moon that was also a:

• Super Moon: This is when the moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit and appears up to 14% bigger in the sky than we normally see it.
• Blue Moon: In recent decades, this has come to mean the second full moon in a single month.
• Blood Moon: This is a phenomenon that occurs during a lunar eclipse (in this case, a full lunar eclipse!) where the sunlight that usually gives the moon its glow reaches the moon indirectly, after being filtered through the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the moon to take on a red appearance. It’s a similar phenomenon that causes sunsets and sunrises to take on the orange-red hue.

And apparently, having these three things happen all at once is pretty darned rare and won’t be happening again in my lifetime. So when I heard about it, I got pretty excited just to see it and knew that I would be asked by my Spirit Team or by the other entities with which I work to do some kind of ceremony or ritual to honor the event and to harness the special energy that comes with it.

Full Moons Bring Things Full Cycle

So, what did I do for this once-in-a-lifetime lunar event? Well, the better question is what does one do for a full moon? And then, does anything need to change to accommodate the different energy? Even though I’ve done a ton of moon rituals, I still manage to ask Professor Google every month about the meanings behind the new and full moons.

New moons are associated with new beginnings; setting intentions. Full moons represent completion, bringing things “full cycle”; honoring and then releasing the old and the past to give space for a new cycle.

And so I felt that this moon would be no different in its not-as-epicly-named counterparts, but would bring with it a few extras.

The fact that it was a Super Moon gave me the sense that it would not allow me to ignore the old and the past that I’ve been avoiding; the intense brightness would shed its light on that energy, or on the Me that’s hiding in the corner, and be insistent that I address things head on.

The fact that it was a Blue Moon felt like the effects of any ritual would be at least doubly as powerful; it would be stronger in its pull.

And the fact that it was a Blood Moon felt like dealing with issues tied to Family (of any kind) should come to the forefront.

All of this was reinforced by a link that Lyndsey sent me about the Shiva Astra Maha Shanti Homa (basically, a sacred event that helps to expedite the clearing of karma), and a gift of Buddleja Flower Essence that I recently received as a gift.

Honor. Then. Release.

So taking all of this in, it felt clear that the Super Blue Blood Moon was giving me the opportunity to honor my past: life, baggage, karma, hurt, self-judgment. Recognize it. Acknowledge it. Then release it.

This is what I did to accomplish this:

First, I floated. I actually had pre-scheduled my session at Dream Float Hawaii before realizing that it perfectly coincided with the Super Blue Blood Moon. And I used my time in the float tank to just be open and to heal and relax. I felt like it provided me with a space to let go of the day-to-day energy and allowed me to focus on what needed to be done when the time came.

Then I prepared to wake up at 2:00 am to watch the eclipse.

I ended up on my front lawn, rather than going somewhere elsewhere, and with me I took:

• Incense
• A bottle of water
• A glass (cup)
• My black moonstone orb
• Buddleja Essence
• A blankie (because, dude, it was cold for Hawaii at a frigid 70ish degrees)
• A mat
• Kekoa (because he wanted to keep my company and check out the eclipse)

 

We set up on a mat in the grass with a clear view of the moon, already about a third of the way covered by the shadow of the Earth. I took the time to lay out each of the items, pouring the water into the glass cup so that it could begin to absorb the moon’s rays.

 

I always start every ritual with the same chant, so I said my starting chant which allows me to get centered and lets the Universe know that I’m here.

I opened each of my chakras to ensure that I was able to receive and to give on all levels.

And then I began to address my past. In the future, I’ll write more specifically about what needed to be released, but I focused primarily on the honoring and letting go energy tied to my life as Mansa, as well as energy that I’ve spent in this and past lifetimes shaming myself.

As the shadow of the Earth completely engulfed the moon, the last silver sliver disappeared, there was brief darkness as a cloud passed by, and — like magic — the moon reappeared an eerie, beautiful red. I tried to take pictures with my phone, but as you can see from the image at the top of this entry, they didn’t come out particularly well.

With the red disk glowing in the sky, I lit the incense I’d brought along and focused on the intent to honor and release my past. As the smoke carried my energy skyward, I cradled the black moonstone orb in my hand, oscillating between seated meditation with my eyes closed or on the moon. I was also drawn to do some meditation while laying down, moving the black moonstone orb to each of my chakras.

 

Finally, as the total eclipse came to an end, the blood red color disappeared and once again, the white light of the moon came back into view little by little. As the moon became clearer, it also became clear that my guides wanted me to work with the Buddleja Essence by putting 3 drops into my glass of water and drinking it — asking for the Buddleja’s guidance to release the self-judgment and self-recrimination that I have held onto for years… and lifetimes.

 

It was amazing how instantly I could feel some of the effects of the Buddleja.

And more or less, that was it! Overall, the experience was moving and emotional. To give yourself the time and space and courage to honestly look at your past hang-ups and hurts and forgive yourself and give yourself permission to be as you are — these are all things that can be daunting. And I’m no different. I sat there and cried, both as I took the time to recognize these things and as I let them go. I let them go, no longer letting them define me even though they are a part of me.

And as I release, I make space for the new cycle to begin, and for the spiritual path before me to continue to unfold.

What did you do to celebrate the Super Blue Blood Moon? What intentions did you set? What did you release? Or did you do something entirely different? I’d love to hear.