Today at 12:13 pm Mountain Standard Time, the moon was at it's fullest, and all the way around the world in the darkness of night, it was eclipsed over much of Europe, Africa and Asia. Of course, today is also New Year's Eve, and the occurrence of a full moon on New Year's Eve hasn't happened since 1990. According to Spaceweather.com, an eclipsed Blue Moon on New Year's happens only once every 91 years! So this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence!So to recap, we have Mercury (and Mars) in Retrograde right now, adding to the energies of the Full Moon, which is falling on the global holiday of New Year's Eve, which is wrapping up the '00 decade, and then all of those factors are being amplified by the power of an extremely rare eclipse. Wow!
We know that Mercury is Retrograde in Capricorn, and this full moon is in its natural home of Cancer. The sign of Cancer is one of emotional lability, mood swings and loopy, fun hysteria. It's also the sign of the Mother, of nurturing and care and concern. Cancer is also one of the most and empathetic signs of the Zodiac, being of the Water elemental. In fact all of the Water signs, including Pisces and Scorpio will feel the effects of this moon more than others. If you are of a different solar sign but have significant water in your chart, you may also feel this one more.
Eclipses are strong generators of energy and lunar ones in particular tend to affect our emotional side much more than solar eclipses, and with this eclipse in tender, emotional Cancer, this effect will be much more pronounced. Eclipses are like a spotlight, shining into our psyches and illuminating our shadow so that we can see what needs to be released. They are also generally seen as transformational events, marking the end of one phase and the beginning of the next. Since this eclipse is at the New Year, the transformational power will be very much intensified. You can expect a lot more emotion to be on display tonight than usual, and it will run the gamut from anger to delirium to relief.
Tonight and for the next two days, until we leave the influence of the full moon's three day shadow, we have a unique and rare opportunity to harness these powerful forces to make changes in our lives. This year, don't just sit down and make a list of New Year's resolutions. This is the time to go deeper, to look inside ourselves and be truly honest about what we need in our lives to make us happy. We can call upon the Divine Feminine, the Great Goddess to walk with us through the next year and help us through the sometimes painful process of transformation.
One of the most powerful Goddesses celebrated on this day is the Yoruban deity Yemaja (pronounced yeh-mah-ZHA and also called Yemaya or Yemoja) the Star of the Sea. Millions of people will go to the ocean tonight to give offerings to her and ask for her help. With all of the watery elements present in the energies today, she is the perfect goddess to help us through this time.
The ritual herbal bath is a central component of Yoruban and Santeria worship, so it is perfectly appropriate for a night like tonight. If you have never done a ritual bath, tonight would be a great time to learn how to do one. If you cannot do it tonight, any time within the next 48 hours will be just as powerful.
You can also craft an altar to Her, with blue and white candles and any of her symbols such as six-pointed stars, moons, seashells, photos or images of marine animals, particularly dolphins or sea turtles. You can also add other things with blue and white or silver colors such as pretty jewelry, stones, crystals, or other small trinkets you may have around your home.
To be said during a purification bath.
Oh Great and beautiful Yemaya,
Mother of the Seven Seas, Mother of all Orishas.
I call on you to bless this water and make it holy
so that I may be blessed and made holy.
Oh Most Holy Mother, hear my concerns.
I ask that you wash away my problems with
the essence of the most pure water.
Thank you, Most Holy Mother, for taking
my concerns and washing them away.
Iyá eyá ayaba okun omá iré gbogbo awani Iyá
(eye-yah ee-yah aye-ah-bah oh-koon oh-mah ee-ray zuh-bozh-bo ah-wan-ee eye-yah)