If you do even the most basic google search on writings about the moon, you will be astonished. The moon, it would seem, has inspired poets and musicians over time, and in every culture. Mythological language, the visual languages of painting and photography - the sheer volume of art, music and literature would suggest that the moon has a particular capacity to affect us deeply, right to the core of our beings. 

Obviously science tells us that the moon has a direct impact on the earth through the ebb and flow of tides, and its cycles are studied by astronomers and astrologers alike. Is this the answer? Is this why the moon has such a mysterious effect upon us? Maybe the waters of our bodies are effected just as the tides…

Perhaps that happens, but I personally believe that the Moon is far more mysterious than that! Science and the knowledge gained from gazing through a telescope, don’t explain why the moon is so powerfully reflected in archetypal symbolism. The moon is rich with imagery of the feminine - the receptive moon, absorbing and reflecting the light of the sun, her lover. But I would encourage you to look a little more closely at the moon, listen that little bit more intently - you’ll begin to realize that all that poetry and music and art isn’t just an expression of archetypal symbolism…. 

For me, the moon is a sentient being - she has her own soul, her own voice, which speaks to us directly. The universe is indeed a very rich and wonderful place, and the moon is a very powerful lady, a friend in the night, who watches over the earth and offers a vibration of constancy and safety while we sleep. Her light is soft and comforting, she speaks directly to our hearts. She sings too, and her song awakens that part of our spirit which knows how to heal and regenerate for the new day. The moon reassures us, and lets us know that everything will somehow be alright. 

Some things can only be seen by moonlight - her softness awakens a kind of knowing which goes beyond conceptual thinking. She inspires trust, and that part of our mind where dreams emerge, possibilities and inventions are born, and hope awakens for the new day. Moonlight can seep into all the nooks and crannies of our consciousness, our ‘heart-mind’. The moon’s light is so gentle and persistent, that it will keep seeping into and through our dreams, until we are ready to bring that awareness to fullness in our conscious minds. The moon is the mother of repetitive dreams, the one who quietly but persistently presents us with knowledge we need. She softens the more frightening or disturbing parts of ourselves, and smoothes the rough edges, until those parts can be dissolved and integrated more deeply into our psyches. 

The moon has moods, but not quite like a woman! Her voice changes its quality with each phase. She is very quiet, even inward looking when in her ‘new moon’ phase. And she walks confidently through her phases until she emerges, abundant and over flowing at ‘Full Moon’. This is when her heart is given full voice, when she opens herself fully to the sun, and offers that light, golden and warm and abundant, to all of us here on the earth. Somehow, even when it is cloudy, her voice is still there. She peaks out from behind scattered cloud, and reminds us that light penetrates even the darkest night. And then, just as nature understands in autumn, she relaxes back to her quieter self, as she wanes again through her diminishing phases. This isn’t a sad time for her, but a peaceful time - she knows that she will soon open again in the right time. 

Most importantly, the Moon helps us to embrace the mystery of the universe. She sings and reminds us of the parts of our stories in the past - she creates a passage to the resources of our past, the knowledge and wisdom of our past lives, our accumulated and shared experiences. She is a communicator of hope because she forgets nothing, and helps us to remember the depths of our soul and the extraordinary abundance of that shared place. 

Is it any wonder that she has inspired so many and been honored so deeply throughout the human story?

There’s no doubt that to even the most casual observer of popular culture in the last decade, magic has become a firm favourite in books, movies and television. Harry Potter, the Chronicles of Narnia, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Lord of the Rings – these have all been enormous commercial success magical stories, and across a number of media, yet they are magical stories which take us into another world. Wizards, magical terminology, and mythical creatures have become part of the vocabulary of children, and of course the young at heart. But why are stories about magic so popular again, in what is undoubtedly a high-tech age? What is it that they communicate to us? What is it that captures our imagination, and which sparks our curiosity about the magical and the unknown? Maybe, just maybe, there are elements contained in these stories, which are not so unknown at all. Maybe what’s happening is that we are recognising things we’ve always known, and understandings about how the universe really operates.

If we look at these magical stories, they have certain things in common. ..

Firstly, magical beings seem to be able to bring things into manifestation, just like that! A wave of a wand, a sprinkle of fairy dust, and BLING – what your heart desires just appears. What the magician is doing is manipulating the elements, to bring into form what they want. But is this so different from how things really manifest? Actually, not really. We may think in our 21st century mechanistic world that things happen in a straight line, but that doesn’t mean that’s true. Life doesn’t happen on a conveyor belt! The elements come together in synergy, and this is how manifestation occurs. Let go of control, focus on what you’re bringing into your life situation, and see the magic happen yourself…

Secondly, we have the phenomenon of serendipity. Serendipity happens all the time in magical stories, and yet, it happens all the time in our so-called everyday lives as well. Just start a conversation some time at work or at a party about ‘magical co-incidence’ and almost everyone present will have a story to tell. The more you focus on relaxing and letting go of control in your life, the more often you’ll see moments of magical co-incidence happening, especially when, paradoxically, you don’t look for them! That’s the secret with serendipity – you focus on generating the energies you most need, and those magical coincidences will happen, just when you need them most.

What about incantations? The power of words! There’s a beautiful scene in one of the Harry Potter stories about something called the ‘Ridiculus Charm’. Without giving it away totally, just in case there are some people in the English speaking world who haven’t seen or read the Harry Potter stories, the ‘Ridiculus Charm’ is particularly useful in dealing with something called a boggart, which takes the form of the thing each person most fears. So what do the children use to face their fears? Laughter! The ‘Ridiculus Charm’, as its name implies, turns your greatest fear into something absurd, and of course, nothing dissolves fear, or any conditioning for that matter, more quickly than laughter! So by naming your intention in as clear a way as possible, you bring forth a very creative force, which can be used in any difficult situation. The power of naming is undeniable.

But what actually is the magic ingredient in all of this? Well, really, the magic ingredient is intention. In connecting with your deep intention to harmony, the most amazing things will happen in your life. Because in connecting with that flow, you connect with a vast world of possibilities. Maybe the characters and beings who populate our most loved magical stories are beings we remember in our hearts, from another time and place, where the knowledge of harmony was still very conscious and obvious. And if we scratch the surface of these stories just a little, we’ll discover why we’re so drawn to them. Why? Because they show us how to make magic real!