Before the moon is made new on Friday, November 1st (exact at 8:47 am ET, time zone converter), it returns to the place on the astrological Wheel where it began its moonthly journey. The energy gathered through the moonth now flows away into moonless nights. What will you send with this energy to be transformed in the dark?
The moonth we are concluding began and now ends in Libra which corresponds to the Tarot’s Justice card. In the Dark Goddess Tarot, Justice is Maat, the Egyptian Goddess of Truth and Justice. Ellen Lorenzi-Prince, creator of the Dark Goddess Tarot, description of her includes:
[Maat] becomes the scale itself. Within the Hall of Truth, she weighs the souls of the deceased as they enter the underworld. The human heart, where the soul has its home, is balanced against her single sacred feather. A light heart, one free from wrongdoing, may continue on the journey toward paradise. The unworthy heart is devoured by the ferocious monster of the underworld, the goddess Ammut.
Before death, people prepared to stand before Maat by learning prayers and having these words of power inscribed on the walls of their burial places. Scholar and writer Normandi Ellis in her work Awakening Osiris has created a poetic translation of these prayers and inscriptions, including what are known as the Negative Confessions:
Hail hands of fire, baker of bread and men and truth, I’ve not fed myself before the hungry child. I’ve not carried off the praise intended for gods. May we live forever.
Hail white teeth, a biter of heads, devourer of men, I have not killed the cow nor uprooted the wheat, but that I know its spirit feeds mine. When the time comes, I give up life without regret to feed a spirit greater than mine. I shall die, a small thing becoming part of the larger world. May we live forever and forever.
May the light shine through us and on us and in us. May we die each night and be born each morning that the wonder of life not escape us. May we love and laugh and enter lightly into each other’s hearts. May we live forever. May we live forever.
Dark moon times are a chance to touch the underworld energy and prepare for our own transition from the earthly into the eternal one day. In this darkness, Maat guides us to release our hearts from any and all constriction. Here we peel off what troubles and inhibits us so that the heart can follow its natural attraction to the beauty, balance, and truth of Maat. She invites us to speak our prayers of release aloud so that the energy of the words becomes a magnet that we follow into manifestation.
From 12:30 am ET on October 29 to 1:30 pm ET on October 31st, the Justice dark moon is especially potent for supporting our transformation. You are invited to engage in reflection and ritual to celebrate achievements of the moonth passing and release what you do not want to carry into the next lunation.
Reflection
Look back on the happenings of the moonth that began on October 2nd. If you journal, you’ll have a handy record for your personal memories, but even just looking back at your appointment calendar or photos taken can jog your mind about what’s been going on in the past few weeks. The collective happenings of the time were many so you could use them as a guide for reviewing as well.
As you look back, especially tune into the times and situations where your heart felt most open and light as well as the times and situations where your heart felt most constricted and heavy.
Reflect further on the times when your heart felt most open and light. What supported this openness? What did the lightness made possible? You may want to write out some lines of gratitude to Hail and Welcome all that supported your heart in this moonth. Be sure to say them aloud.
Finally, seek to understand with more clarity the times and reasons for why your heart was constricted and heavy during the moonth. Write brief statements on slips of paper to express these heart-heavy times. Take these strips of paper into the Dark Moon Release Ritual.
Dark Moon Release Ritual
Bring your heart constrictions strips of paper with you and an equal number of blank strips of paper with you.
Create sacred space by lighting a candle, imagining that you are ringed with a circle of protection, and/or your usual actions.
You can invite Maat and/or the face of Greater Than that you have been serving this moonth to with you and aid you in this dark moon release. Spend as much time as you need connecting with Them.
When you are ready, take your first constriction strip of paper. Read it silently. Rip it up. Call on Maat and/or your face of the Greater Than to help you write out a counter balancing statement to the one you just ripped up. This statement will move you to a lighter heart. Once you have crafted your statement, read it out loud. Do this for as many statements as you have.
After you have completed your releasing, tune into your body, feeling it lighter. Re-center yourself by connecting with earth below you and the sky above you. Feel their energy mix in your heart. Offer gratitude. Be open to a blessing coming to you from Maat and/or your face of the Greater Than.
When the new moon arrives, you may want to make wishes for your light heart will guide you in the moonth to come. Be sure to write them down to revisit at the end of the moonth.
For more background and inspiration for following the moon’s travels through the moonth, see Lunar Living in a Solar World.