Full moon Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio
May 15th at 9:14pm Pacific
May 16th at 12:14am Eastern, 5:14am Ireland & U.K.
The full moon is approaching, and I’m excited to gift you this little ritual invitation to weave into your spiritual practice this weekend.
The invitation is to create your own smoke bundle and enact your own purification ritual to cleanse, protect and bless yourself and your space, as a way of honoring Lunar Bealtaine and the Full Moon eclipse in Scorpio.
I’ve also provided a Full Moon Invocation for you to use in the ritual as a way of calling in your Personal Sovereignty and releasing what no longer serves you.
Simple rituals like this are a powerful way to connect with the Wheel of the Year, the cycles of the moon, and the wisdom of our ancestors.
Enjoy!
P.S. To learn more about Bealtaine, be sure to read my recent blog about Celebrating the Ancient Festival of Bealtaine.
Create your own Smoke Bundle
Like so many cultures around the world, smoke rituals were used in ancient Ireland for cleansing and purification – a custom that’s especially connected to Bealtaine in the Irish tradition.
The specifics around these rituals are somewhat of a mystery, but it may have been called glanad (said ‘glawh-nah’) in Old Irish. Here’s a very interesting video with some ideas about this topic if you’re interested in diving deeper.
What’s important to note here is that this practice is similar but different to saining (Scottish) or smudging (Native American). And even though the details of these rituals have largely been lost, we can create our own rituals inspired by this ancient custom by burning purifying herbs that are native to Ireland with deep intention.
Herbs:
- Vervain
- Mugwort
- Heather
- Broom
- Pine
- Juniper
- Thyme
This full moon, you are warmly invited to make your own smoke bundle with any or all of these herbs. You may also wish to include lavender, one of my personal favorites.
Please note: if you’re going to forage these herbs in the wild, please do so with great care and respect (Sarah Corbett shares some very valuable information about this on my podcast).
Once you’ve made your smoke bundle, you can use it to use it to cleanse, protect and bless yourself and your space. This simple purification ritual is a way to sweep away the energies of winter, and welcome in the energies of summer. It’s also an opportunity to release what no longer serves you and connect with your Personal Sovereignty.
For me, Personal Sovereignty is about standing unapologetically in our power, knowing our value and worth, having authority and autonomy over self, and feeling rooted in our true essence and our sacred place upon the Earth.
This time of year is very connected to the Sovereignty Goddesses of Ireland, especially Ériu, Banba and Fodhla. You can call upon their energies to help invoke a sense of Personal Sovereignty within yourself and your life, while using the purification ritual to release what no longer serves you.
I’ve created this Full Moon Invocation, which you might like to speak aloud as you’re doing your purification ritual…
Full Moon Invocation
I stand in the deep well of my creative, feminine power
I am rooted into the Land, woven into her sacred currents
I hold the vessel of Life in my womb
I flow like the waters of underground rivers
I descend into mysteries unveiled and unspoken
And surrender to the wisdom of my wild, animal body.
I unshackle myself from limiting beliefs and false illusions
I walk with purpose, breaking generational curses
I bring forth visions that liberate Truth
I speak with the power of the women gone before me
I breathe with the knowledge of the trees
And sing with all creation.
Ériu, Banba, Fodhla,
Hear my prayer.
I am Sovereign
Whole and holy
A clarion call
A reckoning
A beacon
Now and always.
Blessed be!
Make sure to thank the spirit of the plants you have used in your smoke bundle when you’re finished.
I would love to hear about your experience with this ritual, along with photos of your smoke bundle! Please feel free to share your experience in my Private Facebook group here.
I would also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below about what Personal Sovereignty means to you.
Full moon blessings!
