Sturgeon Moon Celebration

Does the Sturgeon Moon have you feeling out of sorts with sheer emotion and potential, but you don’t quite know how to direct it? Try this simple ceremony out for a sense of direction! This is best done the week leading up to and after the full Moon. To begin with, you’ll need:

- Smudge stick -- preferably white sage, though any form of incense with the right intention can be used as a cleansing tool
- 2 white candles
- A plant -- if you don’t have a potted plant, you can use either a leaf or flower as an alternative. If you choose to go this route, make sure that you have 3 of each to use for this purpose
- A small cup or bowl for water
- A small pot, or alternatively a safe space outside to plant something
- Your favorite crystals (optional)
- A journal (optional)

Cleansing

As always, begin by cleansing or smudging yourself. Begin working at your feet, circling the smudge stick in a counterclockwise motion. Then from you right to your left. Now in a clockwise circling motion, go from your left to your right and then from your head to your toes. While doing this, say the following or something similar 3 times:

Sacred smoke so pure and light,
Wash from me the sticky night.
Take from me heaviness and woe --
Cleanse me now from head to toe.

Gather all of your supplies onto your altar. In a similar fashion as performed above, use the smudging stick to clear the energy of the items gathered here--counterclockwise for releasing, clockwise for bringing in. Say 3 times,

So pure and light is the sacred smoke,
pruning old leaves and sending them afloat.
I offer this perfume to cleanse the energy
Of the items set forth here to assist me.

Plant Magic

If your practice calls for casting a circle and/or calling the quarters, please do so now. Place your candles on either side of your altar or working space, making sure there’s enough room to comfortably leave your plant, leaf, or flower between them. Light the candles from left to right. Once you have a steady burn, place your plant life in the center. With the crown of your head parallel to the sky, think of the Moon. Feel the raw emotion it pulls up within your chest, like the rolling tide. Particularly as the full Moon rests in Pisces tonight you may be feeling emotional and raw. Channel that feeling into a sensation of self love and care--allow yourself to be tender with yourself. What is it that you need right now in this point in your life? What would make you feel safe, comfortable, and secure? Picture that. Feel it in your mind, in your heart. With your palms now raised to face your plant, visualize yourself projecting that energy outwards from your hands as you say 3 times,

Mother Moon, ethereal Lady of the night,
please take my wish and turn it into light.
I offer to you the dreams of my heart;
May you love me enough to give them a start.

Remain with your palms still out stretched as you visualize a radiant white light surrounding your plant, absorbing the energy you called forth. When you feel full of this moment, you can lower your arms. Now, we’re going to switch gears. Think of the energy you just brought attention to--and consider the ways in which this flow is blocked. What is preventing you from achieving that which you hope to gain? In what ways might you yourself be blocking your growth? This is a time to let go of the things that no longer serve you. For me, it’s things like laziness and self doubt. What might it be for you? 

Ponder this as you begin to harvest a piece of your plant. With gentle and loving hands, use your fingers or even your nails to carefully pluck a sprig of whatever it may be that you have. If you don’t have a growing plant, you may hold the second leaf or flower between your palms. As you do this, you’ll say 3 times,

To the Moon I offer a part of myself
in sacrifice for the sake of my health.
May this harvest reflect what I don’t need,
pruning dead weight so I may better breathe.

Planting a Seed

Hold the object in your hands a while longer as you visualize the energy from your palms radiating into it. This piece of the plant will act as a seed of your intention--by symbolically returning it to Mother Earth, you ask that it be reborn and transformed. If you’re inside or alternatively don’t have a pot to bury something, please go outside to where you can safely dig in the earth. Bring with you a small cup or bowl of water. Again, if your practice involves casting a circle, please do so now. Place the sprig, leaf, or flower into the ground and cover it with dirt. As you do so, say 3 times,

To Mother Earth I return this green life
to symbolize a seed of all that I strive
to transform into fuel that is good for me--
may this seed be rebirthed as prosperity.

Take the cup or bowl of water into your hands now. Imagine white light pouring from your palms into the water, symbol of Pisces, as you say 3 times,

Into this water I pour gratitude and love,
mixed with radiant light from the Moon above.
May this water nourish my seed of intent
and bless me with dreams and contentment.

Pour the water over the buried plant, leaf, or flower. Sit quietly in this moment, feeling the energy of your potential growth swirling around you. When you feel ready, you may unbind the circle  to return to a safe and comfortable spot to journal about your experiences. Reflect on what was learned in this Esbat celebration and write it down. This will serve as a reminder on your path from Moon cycle to Moon cycle. If you saved an extra sprig, leaf, or flower, you may burn this as incense before bed. As you do, be sure to say 3 times,

Sacred smoke so pure and light,
I offer you to the Moon tonight.
May She bless me with dreams so nice
and abundant wishes that make me wise.

As the Moon cycle continues, think about the energy that you cultivated during the Sturgeon Moon. Be mindful as the seeds planted at this time come to fruition. By the time the next full Moon rolls around, you may find yourself even closer to your dreams than ever before. Blessed be!