Tonight, there is a full moon. This is the last full moon before the Summer Solstice and you may have heard it called the Mead or Honey Moon, the Strawberry Moon, the Rose Moon, etc etc etc. The names comes from different cultures, symbolizing different harvest seasons or holidays. If you’d like to know a little more, click this link. The important thing here I think is that it’s the last full moon of Spring.
Spring is the main season for growth. It’s when most of our seeds are planted, when the earth begins to wake up, flower, and turn green; when the rain fuels roots and sprouts and lays the groundwork for summer. While some things can be harvested in the Spring, Summer is surely the main time of harvest and harvest is where hard work has paid off and we can enjoy the fruits of labor. So many people have been putting in hard work for many years with little to no harvest for their labor. This work I’m talking about it that for racial justice.
I saw on my instagram this morning that tonight many magic and spiritual workers around the world will be doing ritual and prayer for the protests and movements to end the injustice that Black communities continually face. The protests recently have of course been sparked by the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department, but he is certainly not the only victim and racial injustice against Black people exists throughout Europe and their current and previous colonies. Anti-blackness has spread even farther, wherever US and European media has touched. Most recently we’ve seen the vileness of Anti-blackness in China once US news reported how Covid-19 was disproportionately affecting Black people. There were cases where Black people were barred from entering public spaces, including hospitals, and evicted from their apartments. So, I wanted to create a ritual with the globalization of the issue itself as well as the globalization of support against racism in mind.
RITUAL MATERIALS:
Symbol of Global Good: This can be whatever you want it to be really. If you’re American, it can be something that represents your ancestry before your family immigrated to America. Whether you’re American or not the symbol could also be a picture of a protest or candlelight vigil that happened in another country. It can even be a show of Black Lives Matter support from a friend or celebrity overseas that you care about. If you are not American, you can use a picture from a protest or vigil that took place in your own country. Please make sure that this symbol is something that you can keep with you in the future. I suggest that if you are using an image to print it out or you can keep the picture somewhere secure in your phone (even put it as a screensaver or lockscreen image).
Symbol of Global Evil – Fast Food: You can choose fast food from any place you want, but I chose it to be fast food for three important reasons. The first reason is that fast food chains have spread far and wide around the world as part of the wicked and hard to resist colonizing force of capitalism. This symbolized globalized evil but also means it’s a ritual material accessible in many countries. Second, fast food is something that I think is very well representative of many issues around racism. Most of us know that fast food is bad for us and attached to major health issues that kill people. But, most of us still eat fast food anyways. The very same things can be said of racism. Of course also, many fast food chains are billion dollar industries that pay money to politicians like Trump as well. So, if you want to join in my post ritual plans, think of this fast food meal as your last one. The third reason I chose fast food though is because it’s food. Our bodies are able to break it down, take whatever nutrients it can from it, and then get rid of it. We are using our bodies in many ways right now to take on racism, using those acts themselves to do good things like learning and creating community, and in the end, hopefully we will be getting rid of the racism.
Extras: You may use candles, an altar, have more symbols of global good, and introduce or use any other symbols for strength or community that you wish. I will say that I suggest adding as little as possible so that your focus remains on the two symbols. The more your intention and focus is diverted, the weaker the magic will be.
Location: The best place to do this is outside under the moon itself. If you go outside, please take precautions and be safe if the corona virus is still a threat in your area. Regardless, please also just be careful in general because it’s night time. If you choose not to or cannot go outside for any reason, the second best place is by a window. Ideally, the window will show the moon or at least the sky. If possible, try to have the window open or the curtains open. However, none of it is absolutely necessary. Your intention is the most important part and that can be heard regardless of where you are.
RITUAL
To Begin: You want to set aside as many distractions as possible and set your symbols of global good and evil in front of you. This is when you can perform however you normally start a ritual (drawing a circle, inviting any deities or spirits, calling quarters, lighting candles, etc). You may also just take a moment to clear your mind, calm and center yourself in any way you’ve found useful before.
Visualizing Change: Hopefully your fast food is still warm (if it’s meant to be warm). It doesn’t matter how much you have or not, but I want you to begin eating it SLOWLY. As you begin to eat it, I want you to start thinking about the different things you’ve learned as you’ve been engaged in everything going on. It could be big things or little things. As you chew and taste the food in your mouth, keep thinking about those things, slowly, focusing on one thing at a time. If it helps, you can write or type them out while you chew. Speak it at your own risk (choking hazard). As you consider the things you’ve learned, try to come up with good and bad things. Maybe you’ve learned more about racism, but you’ve also learned how to talk about it and how to change things. Maybe you’ve learned about how many people around the world are supporting the cause, but you’ve also learned about injustices in other countries too. As you reach the half way point, try to think more and more about those things that you’ve learned that can be used for change and any, even tiny, changes you’ve seen already. When you’ve finished eating, close your eyes and sit for awhile. Feel the food in your stomach. Think about the positive changes you’d like to see. Try to picture them in as much detail as you can. Try to feel it too. Let the picture be so real that you can feel the emotion of seeing the change happen, the results of change. Feel the food in your stomach again and remember that, just like the food in your stomach, the change will take time, but it will happen none the less. Just as this food might make you farty or give you some cramps or even headaches, the change will be hard, uncomfortable, and even painful, but it will pass. Just as surely as you will only poop and flush out what you eat, you will only effect change as long as you work for it. Don’t give up.
Transition: When you’re ready, clear away any trash from the food you’ve eaten and ready your symbol of global good. If it’s on your phone and you haven’t done so already, and are able to, put your phone on airplane mode to reduce distractions.
Charging Your Symbol of Good: Look at your symbol of good and hold it somehow (on your lap, in your hands, etc). Think about why you chose this symbol. How does it make you feel? What strength, motivation, and/or comfort does it give you? Close your eyes and, if you can, bring the symbol as close to you as possible (like holding it to your chest maybe). Close your eyes and embrace the feelings it conjures in you. Think about the people behind that symbol. Think about your connection to them. Try to feel the connection and let your feelings flow along that connection. Linger in these feelings and that connection for awhile. When you wish, think about the people outside of that symbol. Think about everyone protesting and supporting the cause. Besides protesters there are also lawyers, nurses and doctors, community organizers, religious and spiritual leaders, and those supporting from home. Think about and picture anyone you know doing any of this work. Think about and picture those you’ve seen in photos and videos online from the protests. Accept whatever emotions come up. Cry if you need to. Try to keep in mind how many people this covers though; how many people are out there protesting, spreading information, working behind the scenes. There are so many. SO MANY. Think about how many people are out there and try to feel it. Let whatever emotions come to the surface. It may feel overwhelming, but let the emotions come, but don’t dwell on them. Let them flow out of you and into your symbol. Feel your symbol against your body and think back again to why you chose it, the feelings it has inspired. Let them mingle and mix with your other feelings and pour them into the symbol. “Sit” in these feelings and thoughts for awhile until the physicality of the object begins to overtake your other feelings. Once you can feel the weight, texture, shape of the object more than your feelings, emotions, and thoughts on the subject, you can feel assured that you have drained them from yourself and poured them into the symbol. The object may feel heavier than before and you may feel much more tired. If you don’t feel drained but perhaps more motivated or energized, but the object still feels a little heavier than before, perhaps the object has accepted as much as it can and you have what is left over.
Transition: When you wish, focus back and take in those physical features of it like it’s shape, color, weight, texture, etc. Use this to center back your thoughts and clear your mind.
To End: Look at your Symbol of Global Good and bring your mind back to the feeling in your stomach of that fast food. Consider how you are not alone and that this work and all the things that come with it is being felt by everyone else supporting the cause. The effects on people will differ because racism effects people differently. Just like allergies differently effect how any food is digested in a persons body, the fight for justice and dismantling racism is much more dangerous for the Black community than other communities. We all have a stake in this fight, all are being effected, but don’t forget that the risk is unavoidable and the results mean everything for the Black community. Feel that weight in your stomach and look at your symbol. That symbol is now yours as a reminder that you are not alone and is charged with the emotions that come with it. Use it a source of strength and motivation when the work feels extra hard and uncomfortable. Use it as a focus to send out that strength and motivation to any and all those that need it too. With that in mind, take this time to end the ritual as you normally would. Otherwise, embrace the symbol again resolved to see the end of racism, to that weight in your stomach, and in the knowledge and belief that as the process continues, you and others will continue to gain more knowledge, more skills, and grow closer as a community. Let their be hope, let there be an end, blessed be.
POST RITUAL
Your Symbol: Try to keep your symbol near you as often as you can because there are many aspects about the work to dismantle and end racism that take place in our daily lives. Keeping it close as often as possible means you can have that support and focus whenever you need it.
Fast Food: Most of the fast food companies out there have owners, board members, etc that give their money to politicians like Trump and/or are funding and supporting organizations such as police departments or groups that continue to do work in opposition with racial justice. We do not all have the privilege to give up fast food, the source of what may require us to consume it varies. One such reason may be that you work there and they give you food for lunch and maybe, considering your wage, discount, and hours, it may be what you can afford or not afford to give up as not just your lunch food but any time of day food. Let’s not judge anyone’s reasons, but think about the extent of what you, yourself, can do to reduce the money you give fast food companies. Any dollar you refuse to give them is a dollar that doesn’t go to a violent system against the Black community and many other communities as well.
In closing out this post, I want to say that the future of this blog is surely going to have a firm foundation in activism. There are any number of topics and practices in pagan and spiritual communities that need serious decolonization work. Often I will try to present my work in a way that shows my intention rather than just calling out issues, but there is always a place for that too. This ritual is an example of the former. I’ve created it in hopes that people from many spiritual and traditional backgrounds maybe be able to use it while eliminating any necessary use for stones, herbs, etc that come (or whose meaning comes) from a particular culture (especially one I don’t identify with). When you begin and end this ritual, I do highly advise you to think about what you do and why you do it. What significance do these materials, deities, practices have to you? How did you come to know of them? Is this a tradition that is being handed down to you or is much of your learning coming from neo-pagan books and websites? If you use books, where do they find their knowledge? Think on it for now, but there may be no time to change anything before this ritual. I will be making more posts on these subjects in the future, so if you’re interested stay tuned.
Until next time, have a blessed full moon and don’t forget to take care of yourself. ❤
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P.S. This type of ritual, while certainly great for this particular full moon, can also be used on other occasions. Think about the timing and how it may or may not work in your favor though! Continue to charge your Symbol in a similar manner every so often to increase or maintain it’s power. You can even change your symbol later if you wish.
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