Full Moon Special

How do you do that? First, by pausing, stepping off the fast-moving train of time and the confines of everyday life. And then, by looking and listening. But how can you do that? People who are still connected to nature and its essence tell us that nature rituals can help us do that!

1. Repetitive singing (mantra, chanting) that temporarily calms restless mental activity.
2. Smoking with natural plant substances. Mugwort, juniper, and marigold are among the oldest smoking methods in the Northern Hemisphere. Smoking is said to affect the limbic system, where primal instincts are anchored.
3. The lighting of fire and the pouring of water . Fire and water, the two opposing primal elements—hot and cool, male and female—from which, according to ancient Euro-Asian tradition, creation arose.
4. A suitable natural location: a rock, a spring, or an old tree . During the ritual, the tree becomes the world tree, the central pillar of the universe. Its roots reach deep into the realm of Mother Holle, and its branches touch the sky—it is the vertical (magical) dimension of existence.
5. Transformation of the tree or the sacred place must always take place in a sun-direction, i.e. clockwise direction.
6. A stone —Indians call it the "Grandfather Stone"—at the base of the tree is a focal point for rituals. Water can be ceremoniously poured over the stone (similar to the Shiva Lingam), and blood-red ochre powder (iron oxide red) can be sprinkled on it. Ochre has been used in sacred rituals since the Neanderthals.
7. The ritual has its own time. Often it's the spirits themselves who tell you, who give you a sign when the time is up: a kite glides by, a pair of ravens caws, a dog suddenly barks—or, if you're in the wilderness, a wolf howls nearby.