Sorting Moon

[Flar's Freyja]

As Pagans, we plan our mundane and spiritual lives in accordance with the Wheel of the Year. Each Sabbat has significance and we design our rituals and magickal work accordingly. These are based on original customs practiced when we were more of an agricultural society.

We can also do this according to each of the thirteen moons. Annette Hinshaw founded the Pagan community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I found this path. Her book, "Earth Time, Moon Time" (Llewelllyn, 1999) explains each of these moon cycles and their significance. She also gives personal growth exercises that we can practice at the end of each chapter. What I really love about the book is that Annette says that it might all be a bunch of bunk and she doesn't claim that it's the truth - but I have found it to be incredibly helpful information.

The Sorting (Culling) Moon may begin as early as September 27 and as late as October 27. It may end as early as October 27 and as late as November 26. Samhain, the traditional feast of the dead, occurs in this moon 12 years out of the 19 year cycle. Samhain was the third harvest (harvest of animals) and the beginning of winter.

The primary energies of the Sorting Moon are:


Choice/Failure to Choose
Analysis/Synthesis
Specialization/Generalization
Free Will/Fate


Appropriate rituals centering on this Full Moon would be to analyze where we are right now and where we would like to have established by spring, and what we would like to harvest next year. We have the winter months to prepare and reflect. We can reflect upon our choices and accept responsibility and consequences for them and ask for guidance and support in future choices. Our choices are what cause us to step forward and actively direct our lives and can help us develop skills in matching our vision to our actual accomplishments.

[Mythrel]

good info..thanks

[Ganga]

Sounds interesting. I think I'll check out the book. I follow the Hindu calendar, as well as the traditional European Pagan Wheel of the Year. I used to follow only the Hindu calendar, but found that some seasonal activities were so different I couldn't quite relate to them when living in the northern North America with its dark, cold winters and absence of monsoon... I still love the Hindu lunar calendar, though. (This new moon will be the start of the month of Karttika, which is very auspicious for any spiritual pursuits.)

[Flar's Freyja]

Ganga, that sounds really interesting, and it sounds like the Hindu calendar does correspond with our Wheel.

Here are some of the self-discovery exercises that Annette suggests:

[list=1]
List all of the choices you have made in the last three hours. How did you make each decision? (conscious or unconscious, routine or considered, your desire or another's request) What are the consequences of each decision? (pleasing yourself or another, long or short term advantage or disadvantage?)
Name three choices you have made in the last year that have improved your life. How did they shape where you are right now? As above, how specifically did you make those choices?
[/list=1] [list=1] Name three choices you have made in the last year that have made your life more difficult. How did they shape where you are right now? How, specifically, did you make those choices?
[/list=1]

Edited to attempt to fix numbered list; obviously, I couldn't :lol:

[Flar's Freyja]

List a choice made by someone else that you believe had the most influence on your life as it is today. Did you have any input or were you given no choice? Long-term, was it helpful or damaging?


List a choice that you made freely or out of necessity that you believe had the most influence on your life as it is today. Why was it so influential? Long-term, was it helpful or damaging? Specifically, how did it shape your life?

[Flar's Freyja]

How would you define your usual style of making choices? Is it active or passive, independent or with input from others, based on circumstances or based on principle, fast or slow, impulsive or well thought out? Reflect upon how your choice-making style has impacted your life. Do you need to make changes in the way you make your choices?

[Flar's Freyja]

What choice could you make right now that you believe would make the future better than the present?
What choice could you make today that would bring you closer to what you want most - your spiritual, physical or emotional goals?

[Flar's Freyja]

Where in your life are you a slave or victim of circumstances and where are you a free agent (emotional, spiritual life, material, family, career, home, etc.)? Reflect on your answer and think about whether you need to make some changes. What choices do you need to make to accomplish these changes and how will these choices bring you closer to your goals?

[Flar's Freyja]

You are likely to have a talent for evaluation and analysis and are skilled at making rational decisions based on knowledge and consideration of all factors. You enjoy bringing order out of chaos. On the other hand, you may tend to get so involved in classifying and analyzing that you forget that you need to make a decision :) You may tend to overanalyze and overgeneralize and feel that you can't even make a decision without knowing every single detail.

Try to balance both polarities and work from the middle. Those who are balanced in their Sorting Moon energies are of valuable assistance in helping others to identify which data they need to pay attention to.

[Flar's Freyja]

These are just a few ideas from the book and I've added a few of my own. The book has tons more and I highly recommend it.

If anyone has any ideas regarding meditations or rituals that apply to this moon cycle, please feel free to post them here.