The New Moon Healers Project

A healer does not heal you.
A healer
is someone who
holds space for you
while you awaken
your inner healer, 
so that you may heal yourself. 

- Maryam Hasnaa -

These words have been vibrating within me for a few weeks. The obvious reason why these words have stuck with me is that Hasnaa has communicated so clearly that which I feel to be incredibly true as an herbalist and magickal mentor. But there is some deeper resonance that they have awoken within me. These words are speaking to the greater cultural shift away from accepting the status quo - including the belief that healing comes to us from the outside instead of within. And if the protests this past weekend was a vision of what’s to come, 2017 is the start of a new level of agitating and organizing against a US government that is straight-up dystopian. We are all being called to step into our power as healers.

The Dirty Tarot by Dori Midnight

These words are also a reminder as to why I got into herbalism in the first place. Called by the plants, I became an herbalist not to heal others but to help other realize their own healing. My work with my community is not powerful because I say “Here, drink this tea” but because I get to hold space for folks to step into their power. People stepping back into themselves and who they truly are is the transformative experience I seek to encourage with those I collaborate with during healing sessions and sacred rituals.

The New Moon Healers Project is my invitation to you to take time each month to cultivate your own healing. For when we heal ourselves we heal our community. The New Moon Healers Project serves two primary purposes. The first is to create an easy way to connect our personal practice with community practice. Why? Because even when we might be answering the same questions or considering the same words, we’ll all have different answers and insights that enrich our collective wisdom. These collective projects also help to make space for those “aha!” moments when the words of another sets off a realization within ourselves. With collective wisdom, someone else’s words help to pull together our own thoughts and needs - much like Hasnaa’s poem has done to help direct my own need to create new community connections this year. 

The Dirty Tarot by Dori Midnight

The second purpose the New Moon Healers Project is to help each of us connect with a way of measuring the passage of time that is tied to something more earth-centered (perhaps galaxy-based?) than the calendar year. While days and weeks seem to whiz by and their encroachment sometimes feels anxiety-inducing, I have always looked forward to celebrating something special under the Moon. Measuring time from the seat of the sacred as opposed to the tension of deadlines or the expectations of others is itself its own form of healing.

Why the New Moon as opposed to the Full Moon or any other phase? There is a special kind of magick with each phase of the Moon. The New Moon signifies a time of new beginnings and the grand expanse of possibility. It is the bow to the arrow of our dreams. Our individual will focuses the trajectory of the arrow and I hope that the New Moon Healers Project helps you to focus on the healing that you most desire this year.

Or as a space rebel once said, "Stay on target. Stay on target!" 

How the New Moon Healers Project Works

Every month I’ll publish a post on the New Moon which will feature a poem, a plant profile, a minimalist magick ritual, and an oracle question. Since you know that I love my poetry, the poem will be inspired by the zodiac sign of the New Moon. In the same vein, the plant profile will correspond with the sign of the Moon, too. The minimalist magick ritual will be a simple, no or very few tools needed, ritual of lunar celebration. Finally, the oracle will be a question or questions for you to pull cards on or use any divination system of your choosing. If you are not a diviner, you can still participate by pondering the questions as part of a meditation.

The Dirty Tarot by Dori Midnight

Participating in the New Moon Healers Project is easy. On the day of the New Moon you are encouraged to read the poem and the plant profile and to share your thoughts about the oracle question. If you want to make it extra-special get a notebook that you’ll use exclusively for the New Moon Healers Project. Within your notebook you can record the New Moon poems, your dreams throughout the month, your work with the plant allies, and of course, your oracular insight. You can share your insights by commenting on the posts and even better, by using the hashtag #NewMoonHealersProject on instagram to connect with others (and letting me share some emoji feels in your comment section).

I’ve posted the New Moons of 2017 below as a quick guide for the upcoming project dates. A great way to help you stay connected to the New Moon Healers Project Moon-to-Moon is to set-up a notification in your calendar to pop-up and say “Hey, it’s time to get lunar!” You can also grab the badge below to display on your site or instagram feed to let folks that you're a healer of the New Moon persuasion.

The New Moons of 2017
Calculated for Pacific Standard Time

January 27 | New Moon in Aquarius
February 26 | New Moon in Pisces
March 27 | New Moon in Aries
April 26 | New Moon in Taurus
May 25 | New Moon in Gemini
June 23 | New Moon in Cancer
July 23 | New Moon in Leo
August 21 | Solar Eclipse in Leo
September 19 | New Moon in Virgo
October 19 | New Moon in Libra
November 18 | New Moon in Scorpio
December 17 | New Moon in Sagittarius
January 16, 2018 | New Moon in Capricorn

I look forward to the next lunar year of New Moon celebrations with each of you as we all re-member and learn anew our power as healers. For that is when we are most powerful and most dangerous - when we know without a doubt that we are capable of the most profound healing as individuals and as a community.

Blessed be our healing magick!

Naming the Moon to Empower Your Year

Wild Moon
Poem Remembering Moon
Healing Moon
Corn Moon
The Eye Opens Moon
Queer Joy Moon
Psychic Moon

The Moon has been given a thousand names over the generations for her circuit through the seasons and the celestial wheel of the year. Some of us belong to people who still remember the names of the Moon while others come from people whose knowledge has been forgotten, taken or set aside. But there is never not a point in which we are making myths about the Moon that in generations to come will seem ancient and revered. 

My invitation to you, is to name the Moons of the year as an act of empowerment. To name is to speak truth. To name is to share experience. To name is to disrupt the silence of ignorance.

And holy heck, wise ones, we need to disrupt ignorance in 2017. So why not through a bit of Moon magick? Engaging with lunar cycles in addition to or instead of the Roman calendar subverts the idea that time and experience is linear when, in fact, magick-makers and dreamers (like you) have long known that is it cyclical and labyrinthine. 

image by linda xu

Naming the Moon is a simple thing and can be based on any number of inspirational sources. Here is a short list to spark some ideas:

• Cultural reference to a people that you are descended from or were brought up within.

• Reference to the season of the place that you live, i.e. Northwest US Moon Names versus Southeast Scotland Moon Names.

• Names based off of a mother tongue that you are re-learning or re-claiming.

• Referring to stones, herbs, or animals based on the energy you sense with each moon, attributes you want to call to you each month or the seasonal year (such as the appearance of Dandelion in spring).

• Astrological reference, such as naming a Cancer Full Moon a Deep Feels Moon.

• Honoring ancestors, beloved and mighty, God/dess/es and/or spirits by naming Moons in their honor.

• Aligning the names of the Moons with your calling or profession. Such as a Blank Page Moon for writers or Steady Needle Moon for an Acupuncturist. 

For many years I have named the Moons, beginning with January’s Full Moon, as such in my personal practice: Quiet Moon, Candle Moon, Storm Moon, Budding Moon, Flower Moon, Bonfire Moon, Bee Moon, Honey Moon, Harvest Moon, Blood Moon, Bone Moon, and Cold Moon (and, of course, Blue Moon for the thirteenth Moon of the year).

image by benjamin child

But now I feel a restlessness to name anew.

In the time of drought and water protectors, perhaps January’s Full Moon is named Rains Returning Moon or River Dreaming Moon. And since I sometimes forget the power of my own heart to carry my most profound truths, perhaps I’ll rename my birth month Thunderous Heart from the true but simple Storm Moon. By renaming these Moons I begin to dream myself awake into the year ahead. I set intentions. I plan my magick and then I live it with each passing phase of Luna in the sky. 

In naming the Moon we speak to our own inner Moon - which we can learn about by studying our birth or natal chart. But whether or not you ever explore your birth chart, know that the Moon represents (and is) your inner truth. Our Sun sign represents our inherent vitality and drive to shine and be successful out in the world. Our Ascendent or Rising sign describes the tools and our unique personality which we use to be successful on our adventures. Yet, the Moon is not concerned with success or the tools by which we come by it - the Moon is concerned with story. The Moon represents your true story and your sense of spiritual home. In many ways, the Moon represents what is yours and no one else’s. It is your secret and sacred place that you are completely, remarkably, and wholly you. Within the Moon you are unhidden to yourself. 

To name the celestial Moon as they journey each night across the sky, is to name the internal Moon. In the naming you speak one small, but important, star glimmer of your story out loud. And the names become watchwords of power invoking the story of you with ever recitation. 

And on one magnificent night, you’ll turn to the sky and speak your words of power and the veil will part and the Moon will sing your name back to you. And you’ll realize that both sounds are pouring forth from the same source. May that night come swiftly, wise one.

If you’re wanting to go deeper with the practice through journal prompts, self-reflection, and a bit of plant magick, you can access my Naming the Moons, Naming Myself workbook via the Magick Mail Apothecary. You're always welcome to go all in and join The Lunar Apothecary. 

Whatever 2017 brings, may it be a year that you name yourself and speak the truth of the world within and around you.

By Way of Sorrow : Healing Magick for Times of Grieving

Earlier this year I put out an informal call for contributions to a free resource to support our myriad communities during times of grief. I received some contributions and requested others and all came together to create By Way of Sorrow: Healing Magick for Times of Grieving.

Within these 40+ pages are rituals to get grounded and protect your aura, to let your queer heart grieve, and discover the hidden tensions you carry with you. There are tarot stories and plant stories and a tarot spread for finding power in your grief. There are poems, affirmations, and a simple one-page critical care guide for yourself and those you love. All of these resources are situated within the context that we are a grieving people and that our grief is necessary and needed.

But why focusing on grieving? Why not resiliency? Or revolution? Or anger?

In response to the myriad crises, what I have seen again and again this year is one consistent message: cry today, but get up and fight tomorrow. 

Yet, such a message doesn’t sit right with me. I think we could do with more time to cry and grieve. Somehow, though, the idea of mourning is seen as counterproductive to the “real” work of fighting against that which oppresses us. In fact, we deserve time and space to grieve now more than ever. The lack of grief amongst different people for the same tragedies is what, in part, perpetuates fear of the other and belief (whether conscious or unconscious) that their life is of less value.

Grief shows investment in someone other than ourselves. It’s a sacred and unifying emotion. Grief also highlights what we are willing to fight for. To avoid our grief is an act of avoiding ourselves. Instead, I invite each of you into the magick of knowing your grief as powerful and a clarifier of vision. 

None of the resources within these pages are meant to fix you of your heartache. But they do offer ways for you to know your grief as a tool of change. These resources are not meant to make you "tougher" or more "resilient" to the violence of 2016 - they are meant to help you let the trauma pass through you so that you may know it but not let it rot your bones and spirit. The contributors to By Way of Sorrow offer their words in order to to hold space, hold hearts, and gift each of us the gentleness we all deserve.

So here is my message for 2016 and beyond: cry and take time to know your grief, for that too, is the work of repairing the world.

I want to thank all of the contributors whose full bios are listed in By Way of Sorrow, but whose names and websites I have linked below.

Bri the Hood Witch | www.thehoodwitch.com | @thehoodwitch | facebook

Asali Earthwork | www.asaliearthwork.com | @asaliearthwork | facebook

Siobhan Rene | www.siobhansmirror.com | @siobhansmirror | facebook

Ritual Kitchen | www.ritualkitchenfolk.com | @ritualkitchenfolk | facebook

Lottie Winchester | thesacredcocoon.wixsite.com/artwork | @sacred.cocoon | facebook

Maria Turner-Carney | www.seattlefeministtherapy.com | @feministtherapyforall | facebook

Alexis J. Cunningfolk | www.wortsandcunning.com | @wortsandcunning | facebook

If you are interested in contributing to future editions of By Way of Sorrow please get in touch.

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By Way of Sorrow is to be shared freely with those who would benefit from its contents. If you share online, please link to the contributors as a way of saying thanks (you can simply copy and paste the links above). I would also love to know what you find to be most powerful and relevant to your life from the what you have read within By Way of Sorrow. Share your thoughts in the comments below or get in touch. 

May By Way of Sorrow be a healing resource and wellspring of inspiration as we move from 2016 into the years ahead. 

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Additional Resources for Grief + Healing

Darkest Night : A Winter Solstice Tarot Spread

As we celebrate the longest night of the year we have an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and our desires as they are reflected back at us by the dark mirror of night. The following spread plays with image of the mirror as well as the promise of growing light, helping us to seed our dreams and plant promises for the months ahead.

1. ASKING. What do I desire but don’t let myself have? Or I’m afraid to have? Or afraid that I’ll never have?

2. GIFTING. What would happen if I let myself receive the gift that I desire?

3. RELEASING. What needs to be released in order for you to make space in your life for your desire?

4. ACCEPTING. What lessons have you learned this past year that have strengthened your desire?

5. DISSONANCE. What is something that is dissonant in your life and is causing disharmony?

6. RESONANCE. What is something that is resonant in your life and causes harmony?

7. GUIDING STAR. A message of clarity to guide you on your path of desire.

8. SEEDING STAR. Something that should be “planted” that shall seed your desire. Your seed might be a practice, a move, a business change, or something else, that helps you grow into your desire over the coming months.

Looking for more magickally-inspired Tarot spreads? 

You're invited to peruse my tarot + divination series. Or do you want to learn about herbalism and tarot? Check out my in-depth ecourse - The Tarot Apothecary. Find all the tarot spreads in my Wheel of the Year series via the links below:

• Hallowing: Samhain Spread

• Quickening: Imbolc Spread

• Brightening: Spring Equinox Spread

• Fire + Fields: Beltane Spread

• Bonfire Offerings: Summer Solstice Spread

• First Harvest: Lammas

• Balancing: Autumn Equinox Spread

Snowfall : A Simple Yule Tea

If you follow me on instagram, you probably saw my post on #ASimpleYule.

It's all about celebrating the season of Yule without losing sight of the sacredness of simplicity. With the chaos that 2016 has been simplicity can become a powerful tool of change.

The season of Yule is the land beyond the gate of Samhain.

Where Samhain is the darkening, Yule is the darkness. Blessed be the welcome retreat into the dark. Yet, this year has been heartbreaking and sometimes journeying into the dark feels unwanted. We are living in stressful times and 2017 lies uncertain before us. Organizers, activists, healers, water protectors, and more are attempting to explain the complex and intricate web of identity, oppression, privilege, and the inheritance of trauma. Complexity is needed when we live in a time of post-truth bullies smashing generations of hateful rhetoric into populist soundbites. We need complexity *and* we need simplicity. We need simple truths to remind us to look behind the smoke-and-mirrors of divisiveness. We are all one people (one cranky and compassionate and amazing and heartbreaking and diverse and incredible people). We all live on the same ocean plant. Love is still more powerful, more transformative, more radical than hate. We don't always have to be fighting the fight. Sometimes we need to be dancing the dance and loving our loves. It is alright to have fun. That is doing the work, too. 💕

So join me in finding the simple moments of pleasure needed to sustain us during these challenging times.

Use the tag #ASimpleYule to share your festive photos, the ways you maintain your centeredness during the darkening year, and your favorite charms, recipes, and decorations and more. I can't wait to see what you share!

Snowfall Tea

The following tea uses only three ingredients, but is full of flavor. It also incorporates the sacred colors of the season: red, white, and green! The Goji Berries (Lycium barbarum) add natural sweetness, the Peppermint (Mentha piperita) enlivens without over-stimulating (as well as assists with digestion after a rich winter meal!), and the Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.) is the "snowfall" that the tea is named for.

Blend together the following dried herbs:

• 4 parts Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
• 4 parts Goji Berries (Lycium barbarum)
• 1/4 part Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum sp.) petals - not the whole flower which can be quite bitter

Brew 1 teaspoon per 8 ounces of water for 10 - 15 minutes. The longer it brews the sweeter it becomes as the Goji Berries infuse further into the water. Enjoy!

Celebrate #ASimpleYule with more seasonal activities! Read about some of my favorite herbs of winter, create your own winter wellness apothecary or other simple herbal gifts. And you can enjoy more of my favorite recipes with my Winter Apothecary ebook.