Be Like The Moon

"be like the moon. the moon will never lie to anyone. no one hates the moon or wants to kill it. the moon does not take anti-depressants and never gets sent to prison. the moon never shot a guy in the face and ran away. the moon has been around a long time and has never tried to rip anyone off. the moon does not care who you want to touch or what color you are. the moon treats everyone the same....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Widdershins, and can be found in its entirety here: Be Like The Moon

Defeated by Love

The sky was lit

by the splendor of the moon

So powerful

I fell to the ground

Your love

has made me sure

I am ready to forsake

this worldly life

and surrender to the magnificence

of your Being

- Rumi

... more poetry and stories about the moon can be found at my new website: Widdershins

Happy Moon Festival To All

I stumbled onto this wonderful festival which has been celebrated in China for a very long time. It doesn't qualify as "gypsy" magic, but it is a great way to celebrate the autumn equinox, and gave me lots of ideas of how to honor the fullness of the moon. This year (2010) the Moon festival is celebrated on Sept 22 (which is tomorrow).

The Moon Festival is full of legendary stories. Legend says that Chang Er flew to the moon, where she has lived ever since. You might see her dancing on the moon during the Moon Festival. The Moon Festival is also an occasion for family reunions. When the full moon rises, families get together to watch the full moon, eat moon cakes, and sing moon poems. With the full moon, the legend, the family and the poems, you can't help thinking that this is really a perfect world. That is why the Chinese are so fond of the Moon Festival.

I have gathered a great selection of poems to recite, songs to sing, legends to watch, recipes to prepare, and more. If you're interested, follow the links below and enjoy creating your own "Moon Festival" celebration.

• The Chinese Moon Festival
• Legend of the Moon Festival on video
• Fire Dragon Dance on video

Poems and Quotes:

• Be Like the Moon
• Moonlight
• Defeated by Love
• Sleepyhead
• I see the moon
• O Lady Moon

Songs and Music:

• Moon River
• Moonlight Sonata
• Moonwalk
• Bad Moon Rising

Recipes:

• Mid-Autumn Moon Cake
• Easy Chinese Moon Cakes

Magick:

• Meditating on Moonbeams
• Full Moon Luck and Joy Spell
• Moon Water Tonic
• Moon Mirror Healing
• Pour Out Your Troubles
• Full Moon Meditation
• Make a Moon Water Tonic

Other Stuff:

• First moon landing on video
• What is a pomelo?

The Chinese Moon Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is a popular East Asian celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty. In Malaysia and Singapore, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or "Mooncake Festival."

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website The Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: The Chinese Moon Festival

Chinese Moon Festival Story

Here it is on video:

Stories behind the festival can be found at Widdershins:

• Chang E Flying to the Moon
• Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine
• Wu Gang Chopping Laurel Tree

Fire Dragon Dance

This is really wonderful! I love fire, fireworks, dragons, and full moons. Here we have it all! The Fire Dragon Dance complete with fire, fireworks, all performed during the Chinese Moon Festival.

0 Lady Moon

0 Lady Moon,
your horns point toward the east;

Shine, be increased:

0 Lady Moon...

... I am so sorry to do this to you but this post has been moved to my new website, Widdershins, and can be found in its entirety here: O Lady Moon

Sleepyhead

As I lay awake in the white moon light,

I heard a faint singing in the wood,

'Out of bed,

Sleepyhead,

Put your white foot now,

Here are we,

Neath the tree

Singing round the root now!'

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Widdershins, and can be found in its entirety here: Sleepyhead

I see the moon

I see the moon,

The moon sees me

God bless the moon,

And God bless me.

-A nursery rhyme

... More moon poetry and stories can be found on my new website, Widdershins.

What is a Pomelo?

Pomelos are a must during the mid-autumn festival or mooncake festival;

they are normally eaten fresh.

The pomelo (Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis) is a citrus fruit native to South East Asia. It is usually pale green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white (or, more rarely, pink or red) flesh and very thick pudgy rind. It is the largest citrus fruit, 15–25 cm in diameter, and usually weighing 1–2 kg. Other spellings for pomelo include pummelo, and pommelo, and other names include Chinese grapefruit, jabong, lusho fruit, pompelmous, Papanas, and shaddock. Pomelos are also referred to as chakotara in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. In the Indian State Manipur this fruit is known as Nobab....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Eating To Live, and can be found in its entirety here: What Is A Pomelo?

Mid-Autumn Moon Cake

Filling:

• 
  
  1 can (17-1/2 ounces) lotus seed paste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Dough:

• 
  
  4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2-cup non-fat dried milk powder
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Mid-Autumn Moon Cake

Easy Chinese Moon Cakes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
•  1/2 cup salted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup strawberry (or your favorite) jam

(traditionally red bean paste is used so if you want a more authentic version, you can use a can of red bean paste instead of the jam)

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees....

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, The Pagan Calendar, and can be found in its entirety here: Easy Chinese Moon Cakes