The Blood Moon holds significant spiritual meaning for Wiccans, who view it as a powerful celestial event that amplifies their magical rituals and connections with the divine. In Wiccan beliefs, the Blood Moon is often associated with transformation, emotions, and heightened intuition. Its crimson hue symbolizes life force, passion, and the stirring of energy. Wiccans believe that during a Blood Moon, the veil between the spiritual and physical worlds becomes thin, enabling easier communication with deities, spirits, and ancestors. This lunar phase is seen as a time for reflection, introspection, and personal growth, as well as for magical workings related to emotional healing and psychic abilities. The Blood Moon is often associated with the element of fire, representing its intense energy and transformative qualities.
The Blood Moon is often associated with the element of fire, representing its intense energy and transformative qualities. Wiccans may perform rituals during this time to harness the powerful energy of the Blood Moon for manifesting intentions, releasing negative emotions, and seeking guidance from the divine. During a Blood Moon, Wiccans may also honor lunar deities such as Hecate, Selene, or Artemis, who are associated with the moon's transformative energies and its influence over the cycles of life and death.
Local Wiccans take advantage of Hunter’s Moon
Most witches and their covens focus less on casting spells and more on spending time to worship the natural world.
MAGGIE QUINLAN, Evergreen reporter
October 24, 2018
During this spooky week, you’ll notice the full moon’s impressive size and amber glow. October’s Hunter’s Moon has special meaning for local witches.
Halloween developed from an old pagan Celtic holiday celebrating the dead, as many people have learned. But the full moon before Hallows’ Eve, sometimes called the Hunter’s Moon or Blood Moon, plays as important a role for pagans today as it did centuries ago.
Jack-o’-lanterns, apple bobbing and witchy imagery during Halloween all harken back to pre-Christian European pagan traditions. Celtic, Germanic and Norse religions were polytheistic, and emphasized mythological creatures like giants, dwarfs, elves and spirits. They also focused on ritual and sacrifice.
Wicca is brand new by comparison. It developed in the 20th century, drawing on pre-Christian traditions from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, according to Herne, a witch writing for Wicca.com. Herne wrote that Wiccans exist under the umbrella of Witchcraft, like how Baptists exist within Christianity. Wiccans focus on nature’s divinity.
“Wicca,” Herne wrote, “is a deep appreciation and awe in watching the sunrise or sunset, the forest in the light of a glowing moon, a meadow enchanted by the first light of day.”
Herne wrote that Wiccans do not worship Satan, a “Christian creation” irrelevant to Wiccan ideology. Also, Wiccans cannot make sacrifices or cast spells on others, as these acts would conflict with their doctrine to “harm none.” Similarly, Herne stated that Wiccans should not steal life force, but instead draw from within themselves to harness the power of nature.
Groups of Wiccans on the Palouse agree with these principles. The Columbian Wicca Tradition, a further subdivision of Wicca, serves witches in the Columbia River Basin including Eastern and Central Washington, according to their accessible public website.
Though these Columbian Wiccans claim not to be malevolent, they certainly are mysterious. Their greater area’s public website leads to restricted private pages for more localized covens.
I couldn’t access information about the specific covens. Also, the public Columbia Basin site did not list names of leaders and stated that their tradition’s members do not give interviews. What we can see publicly is that a group called the Wheat & Wine Coven represents Walla Walla and the Pullman area, while the Conifer Coven is made up of witches from the Spokane, Cheney and Deer Park area.
An article in the Inlander in 2017 reported that there are several covens in Spokane alone and that some witches within them were experiencing political divides post-election. The People of the Woods coven of Spokane are politically conservative, while their High Priestess and other local witches held liberal views.
Timothy Cottrell, a local pagan practicing an Old Norse variety of paganism, said there are many types just in Pullman.
“When it comes to pagans in the community, there’s a good number of all various stripes, from Wicca to Asatru,” he said. “But when it comes to organized groups, there’s not much.”
Cottrell said his values are based in Germanic paganism, which emphasizes strong family and community connections, healthy relationships, independence, living a good and honorable life and treating others and nature well.
The administrator of Spokane Pagan Village Commons, Woods Wizard — going by his witch name — values nature and family as well. He mostly references nature in reminders he has shared with pagans in the Village Common Facebook page, rather than emphasizing spells or magic.
One of Woods Wizard’s posts advises members to be like a tree by standing strong, reaching for the sky, adapting to change, remembering their roots and always growing.
“There are a-sholes out there in any religion, but we’re far from bad people,” Cottrell said. “We’re human and we want the same things, we just don’t go about it the exact same way.”
So how are Wiccans far and near harnessing the power of the Blood Moon? Jack-o’-lanterns —pulled from Celtic Hallow’s Eve traditions — can “light the way” for spirits visiting us. Some wiccans set a place at the table with apples and other seasonal foods to feed their ancestors.
The reflective, inward energy of the season also factors into Wiccans’ decor. Dark colors incorporated into a witch’s alter can symbolize darkening skies, while dark crystals and stones like obsidian are used to help ground energy.
According to the website Pagans and Witches in Spokane, autumn is the time of year when the veil between the spiritual and the physical worlds thin. Spirits can use this time as an opportunity to hop onto our human plane of existence, and this is why Halloween’s celebration of the dead happens during this time.
Wiccans believe the October’s full moon is a beacon for spiritual energy, and encourages us to reflect on our ancestors and “blood” relatives, as stated in Llewellyn’s 2018 Witches’ Spell-A-Day Almanac.
According to the almanac, you can “thank” the moon by leaving an apple beneath a tree. Others Wiccans say the act of leaving an apple out symbolically feeds deceased family visitors.
Because of the season and the moon’s influence, Wiccans believe this full moon marks a time to research your genealogy, pour over family photo albums, hang pictures of relatives and reflect on your ancestral roots.
Though there are so many variations in the world of witchcraft, and different rituals to go with this time of year, it seems that all pagans locally and far away share one idea – do whatever feels right for you.
My mom says there a chance an eclipse can grant powers, wisdom, and positive energy. The purpose of eclipse water is to bottle up all that energy and be able to use it for months after the event has passed.
Offerings, prayers, and invocations to these deities are common practices during Blood Moon rituals. In Wiccan traditions, the Blood Moon is seen as a reminder of the interconnectedness of all beings and the cyclical nature of life. It serves as a sacred reminder to embrace change and transformation, to trust in the intuitive wisdom within, and to align with the cycles of nature for personal and spiritual growth. Overall, Wiccan beliefs about the Blood Moon emphasize its transformative powers, heightened intuition, and connection to the divine. It is seen as a time for reflection, emotional healing, and the pursuit of mystical knowledge..
Reviews for "The transformative power of the blood moon in Wiccan belief system"
1. John Doe - 1 star - I found "Wiccan beliefs about the blood moon" to be completely nonsensical and a waste of time. The author tries to make these far-fetched connections between the blood moon and some spiritual significance, but it all just seems like a bunch of pseudoscience to me. I was hoping for a more rational and logical explanation about the blood moon, but instead, I was met with vague and baseless claims. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone looking for actual facts or scientific explanations.
2. Sarah Smith - 2 stars - As someone who has studied astronomy, I was really disappointed with "Wiccan beliefs about the blood moon". The book doesn't provide any credible evidence to support its claims and relies solely on subjective experiences and opinions. The author fails to acknowledge the actual scientific explanations behind the blood moon phenomenon, which are far more fascinating than the supernatural connections they propose. I can understand the appeal of exploring spiritual beliefs, but this book doesn't even attempt to strike a balance between faith and science.
3. David Johnson - 1 star - I'm sorry, but "Wiccan beliefs about the blood moon" is pure nonsense. The author tries to give this mystical meaning to the blood moon, but it's all just a product of their imagination. There is no scientific evidence or logical reasoning to support the claims made in this book. If you're looking for a serious exploration of the blood moon phenomenon, look elsewhere, because this book will only leave you feeling frustrated and confused.
4. Emily Brown - 2 stars - I was hoping to gain some insight into Wiccan beliefs and their perspective on the blood moon phenomenon, but "Wiccan beliefs about the blood moon" fell short of my expectations. The book lacked depth and failed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the subject. It felt more like a superficial overview rather than a thorough exploration. Additionally, the writing style was rather vague and lacked clarity, making it difficult to follow the author's line of reasoning. I believe there are better resources out there for those interested in understanding Wiccan beliefs about the blood moon.