Full Wolf Moon January 2017

Having lived by a tidal river for nearly half of my life (the River Tiddy/St. Germans Estuary and then in the Tamar Valley), like most people in those areas, I have a healthy respect for and connection to the moon.

A full moon high tide is very often something to behold, if not something to be warned about. Emotionally, a full moon can lead to all kinds of mischief within a tribe. Just as the Farmers Almanac thinks the moon is relevant for the best times to grow things, we need to pay more attention to it in our own lives. The moon features in every religion, and it moves our water in huge ways, every day, every month, every year. And remember, we are 78% water. So whatever your religious persuasion, the effect of the moon will be felt, so I think we should talk about it.

I pride myself in being a fairly logical person, but I'm also very intuitive, so I am moved to write about this full moon based on my own experiences/observations of nature and based on research, reading and listening to other moon-watchers, nature lovers and empaths talk about it. There is just not enough information around on this. I wish we had more writing about the full moons and less about the zodiac.

Wolf Moon

The Full Wolf Moon in January was traditionally called this by Native tribes based (as all their traditions are) entirely upon the observation of nature. The weather is bitter and the wolves are howling outside of the village for food. It was also called the old moon, the cooking moon, the quiet moon or the ice moon, depending on which tribe you were (on both sides of the Atlantic).

It's a time for reflection, protection, intuition and recuperation. You may naturally feel the need to sleep more during these short days and build up your health and energy post Yule, pre-Spring. It's often a time that the most physically hard-working among us rest a little and as a result, their body relaxes and they get sick - picking up whatever is going around their tribe. If that is you, REST MORE. Even if it is not you, take this time to be still and restful.

Recuperation - The Old Moon

Anything you may be feeling - low moods, existential tension or anxiety - can be explained by the time of year. It is not a good time of year for control freaks. If you try to fight the Wolf Moon and power on through without slowing down and practicing some self care, it will set the tone for you for the next 2-3 more moons ahead, and you'll be on the backfoot trying to catch your breath and refill your energy reserves. Prioritise rest and steady progress now.

Reflection - The Ice Moon

I say steady progress because the Native theme of the Full Wolf Moon is traditionally "Man vs Himself". Because there will be no harvest or plants for a long while, people and animals are naturally anxious, tired and the weather is cold. The lack of vegetation affects the whole food chain. This time takes an awful lot of mental resilience to keep going. You'll be tested by everyone else's low energy, low ebb and low moods. Hope may be low in those closest to you. But do keep steady. Keep plodding on with the wind in your face and the snow at your paws like the wolf. A hard new year exercise regime or extreme work on new ventures is not for now. Any attempt to light a fire under yourself just now is likely to end in you burning out quickly and spectacularly like a firework. Light a steady burning candle or a fire and pray.

Protection - The Cooking Moon

As the tribe hunkers down to rest and get through the month, we feel a sense of protectiveness, like a wolf mother and her pups. Use this time to connect and be gentle with your loved ones - eat nice, comforting food. Do not be neurotic about your health, and certainly not about your weight at this time of year. Forgive your loved ones everything. Now isn't the time for conflict or self service. Huddle for warmth. It will aid your recuperation.

Also, part of this protection is the need to let go of whatever or whomever did not serve you last year. Avoid those people (don't confront them - that comes later in the year). Take time for yourself, and huddle with those who make you feel peaceful, or with whom you can easily reach a state of peace with some forgiveness or humility on your part.

The practical part of protection is to prepare your home and your tribe for the year ahead. Organise your finances, check your smoke alarms, plan your holidays and festivals, buy furniture or lovely home luxuries in the sales. Because this isn't the time for production or plenty, purchase any essentials to help you to earn your money and enjoy yourself this year (workwear, swimwear etc.) and get the car serviced. Be grateful for it all and keep shopping trips short, and screen time low. This is recuperation time.

Intuition - The Quiet Moon

You will naturally feel your wildness is very close to the surface this month. You may have more dreams and you may find yourself thinking about your favourite natural place. The wolf is primal and hungry at this time of year. Don't let this become anger - don't snarl. Make love not war, as your sex drive may increase. Indulge it. Make as much love as you possibly can. It'll aid your connection with others, open your soul, help you recuperate and be strong, and it will aid circulation and keep you warm! As I said - huddle for warmth! This is a particularly sexy moon, so if single, you'll find that flirtation and promiscuity may surround you. It's ok, don't overthink it - people just want someone to huddle with! It's no coincidence that September is the most common month for birthdays - November, December and January are peak baby making months!

Also, whatever your spiritual persuasion, pray. Because your wildness is prevalent, your intuition is piqued and your connection to the spirit world is strong. Sit by the fire, pray and listen to what you are being told.

Finally, it may sound counter-intuitive for the recuperation month, but a few solitary leisurely walks (wrap up!) on high ground will actually aid your healing towards the end of the month. You are transforming as you recuperate, so let your old skin be blown away up on high ground. You'll also find that, like a lone wolf, the solitude on these walks helps you recharge, so you can go back to camp and get back to connecting, cuddling, cooking and lovemaking!

The Woman Problem

What do women want? 
Women want men to stop researching what 'women' want and to improvise - to tailor a unique way of loving based upon her individual idiosyncrasies and to stop thinking that women can be figured out as a group or that 'the woman' is an archetype that can be defined. Men who choose to take the 'research and problem solve' approach with their woman automatically place her in the role of being a problem (at worst) or a puzzle (at best). A bit of flexibility and dynamism goes a LONG way. The best lovers, partners and teammates understand that woman is like music - not to be figured out, but to be enjoyed, celebrated and tapped into as an emotional resource. Sometimes she is composed classical, sometimes steamy salsa, sometimes heavy metal. Whatever she is today - just dance, improvise and be thankful for the music :)

The Empath

Comparing the intelligence of men and women is like comparing the usefulness of cars and tractors - they are similar, but designed for different uses. Cars will completely fail to perform tasks that tractors do all day long, and no matter how hard they are pushed, and how much fuel they consume, tractors will never be useful for the same things as cars. 

Of course, that all depends on where one draws the line between useful and pointless. This is down to which individual is drawing the line, and the individual set of circumstances surrounding the task to be performed.

'Intelligence' is also a subjective term, and I think that this is something that people forget. A study is a good study until it is disproved. The IQ test is generally accepted as a good barometer, but is also successfully challenged on a regular basis.

Let's not debate the subjectivity of the word 'success' right now eh? ;)

What is intelligence? The Oxford American dictionary definition reads thus:

Intelligence |inˈtelijəns|

noun

1 the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills : an eminent man of great intelligence | they underestimated her intelligence.

• a person or being with this ability : extraterrestrial intelligences.

2 the collection of information of military or political value : the chief of military intelligence | [as adj. ] the intelligence department.

• people employed in this, regarded collectively : French intelligence has been able to secure numerous local informers.

• information collected in this way : the gathering of intelligence.

• archaic information in general; news.

Groan...perhaps intelligence is not a good place to start when comparing the sexes. It seems that the word itself connotes masculinity, at least to some. We need a new word, somewhere between intelligence and empathy, methinks.

If intelligence is about thinking and empathy is about feeling, which is more important for survival? Let's just assume for the sake of argument that it is generally accepted that men are better at thinking and women are better at feeling. Somewhere along the way in history, perhaps a culture has evolved where thinking is deemed more important and useful for survival, and therefore we have structured our society to put the thinkers in charge.

However, Baumeister* makes an excellent point that cultures tend to shield their women from risky situations. When asking the question of which gender is more important to society, Baumeister’s point makes one question whether a conclusion should be drawn based upon which gender is in charge. The question of who is in charge is interesting, but the question of who is deemed important enough to be given the best chance of survival is fascinating. Modern examples that spring to mind are China and their attitude towards baby girls or America and their (some would say) cavalier approach to sending their young men into battle and their utter failure to provide adequate healthcare for their elderly.  

If woman is an empath and man an intellectual, then surely the instinct of many cultures to protect their empaths from the line of fire suggests an understanding that empaths keep families together long enough to successfully procreate. It suggests a perceived value for their intuitive ability to respond to the needs of child and mate, and their instinctive actions to avoid or solve familial discord.

Empaths also make great healers (because to regain health – the aim of modern medicine - is not always to heal), teachers, and stress-relievers (whether through entertainment, nurturing, joviality etc.). Before the intellectuals begin their tasks, during their periods of rest, and after they are done, they need those things. They will be more successful if they have an empath around to hold up a mirror and talk through feelings and prejudices. Emotional implications are challenging to the intellectual, due to their need for order and lack of understanding of emotional processes.

This is not to imply that the male intellectual is incapable of empathy. Just as women hone their intellectual talents, men will often train their intuition. It has been asserted that highly developed empathic skills save many lives during combat. There are many accounts of male soldiers in the jungle in Vietnam just 'knowing' what was about to happen, where an enemy had placed a trap, when to move and when to freeze. These accounts place a large emphasis on an 'extrasensory perception' or 'sixth sense'. It could be argued that this is just the same mechanism in a woman that allows her to know when her children are in trouble 50 miles away. Empathy, intuition, whatever you want to call it, I argue that not only is it real, it is important, and that culturally, we know this and therefore keep our empaths safe. 

It's worth noting that in many native/tribal cultures, the empath is not necessary female. Native American shamans were more often male. But their function was the same. To use a sense other than one of the main five to assist the tribe with hunting, teaching, fertility, medicine, celebration, entertainment and general wellbeing.

However, the dictionary defines an empath as:

empath |ˈempaθ|

noun

(chiefly in science fiction) a person with the paranormal ability to apprehend the mental or emotional state of another individual.

Paranormal apparently means "beyond the scope of scientific understanding." And this is why, I think, our women as empaths and intuitive beings have historically been undervalued or repressed. Western culture subscribes heavily to science as the dominant belief system, and the primary tool for deciding what is valid and indeed what is 'real' and what is not. It is not surprising that the logical, intellectual male is a big fan of science. After all, science is reasonable. There is a proven reason for all that is deemed real. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for empaths nor spirituality nor anything that cannot be explained through reason.

Most members of native/tribal societies generally agree that there is a lot about the world that they cannot explain, and this is ok, comforting even, because they have a spiritual connection to their environment and do their best to trust their environment to provide for them. They live flexibly in relation to shifting circumstances and give a lot of power and weight to empathy, intuition and spirituality. The western scientific system of generally agreeing to our reality in intellectual terms is inflexible. Everything must be explained, in controlled circumstances, and anything which cannot be is dismissed as not ‘real’ or as ‘hocus pocus’ etc. This system allows intellectuals to thrive, but it disempowers the empath.

While science reigns, the empath can only contribute to the outcomes of the push-pull/proven-disproved nature of scientific society. Unless she wants to develop her intellectual skills, the best the empath can hope for is to fulfil her role as healer, teacher, nurturer, entertainer and stress-reliever as best she can and hope the intellectuals don’t fuck it all up.

*Baumeister, R. (2007) "Is there anything good about men?"