Sole to Soul Travels - Part 3: Dancing in the Moonlight

Our third night in Sedona was filled with two of the things that fill my soul to its fullest - music and dance.
We received an invitation to attend a Full Moon Drum Circle - a ceremony held in a beautiful and sacred space atop the red rocks overlooking Sedona, and one with the intention of bringing in 2021’s harvest moon and Autumn Equinox.

This September 20th the ‘Corn Moon’ (named for its correspondence to corn harvest time) brings to an end a Blue Moon summer. This moon is the smallest full moon of the year, and is positioned farthest from the Earth. As it also corresponds to the Autumn Equinox, this moon is also deemed a ‘Harvest Moon’.

For those interested in the history of such terms and meanings, the Harvest Moon was named both in correspondence to crop harvest, but also for reasons by which it became revered by farmers.
Normally, the Moon rises later than each night prior (up to 40-60 minutes later on consecutive nights). However, as we near the Autumnal Equinox, the time delay in the rising of the moon decreases to only 20-30 minutes. In the days closest to the Harvest Moon, the Moon makes its ascent into the sky very shortly after sunset and also often shines brightest at this time of year.
In past times, when electricity and other resources were much less vast in technology and availability than they are now, the extended hours of light the full and nearly-full Moon provided shortly after the setting of the sun served as an immense asset to farmers to work by.

Harvest Moons are thus a source of luck and reason for celebration for many reasons.
The Harvest Moon elicits energy that revolves around abundance. Bringing in a new moon is a time of honor and reflection - a time to express gratitude and to welcome a new season of opportunity and change.

With the chaos and uncertainty our world has faced in 2020 and 2021, a time of change is deeply needed.
Whether these words have met you during the time of a full moon or otherwise, I encourage you to lean into the call to be courageous and remain curious.

You don’t need the moon and the stars to align in any such way in order to take some due time to realign with your spirit and soul. I also hope these words may inspire you to remain open - to new possibilities & opportunities, to new thoughts, new habits and new ways of being.

I hope that you enter your own season of harvest, where you may cultivate new ideas and say ‘YES’ to everything that lights your soul on fire. And, just as the plants and animals use fall and winter as a time of rest and rebirth, I hope you use this coming season to do what your heart and soul ask of you. I hope you take the time to rest and rejuvenate. I hope you take the time to reset and realign. I hope you take time to slow down and give thanks for these moments we are granted.

However it may resonate for you, I hope you make the most of this season, this time, these moments, and all this beautiful life has to offer.

And so, we danced in the light of the new Moon.
We danced, we laughed, and we howled as that moon made its way over the red rock mountains on the horizon.
We tapped into our primal nature, danced like nobody was watching, and unleashed our inner animalistic instinct as we let the energy surge through our souls, out into the land and into the starry skies above.
The moon was magnificent. The night was filled with magic. I was, yet again, left in absolute awe of this place, its people, and the energy elicited by these spaces and experiences.