Drawing Down The Moon

Drawing Down The Moon
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Drawing Down the Moon

In ancient times, when moon-worship was prevalent, wymyn gathered together
in the secret places of The Feminine, by pounding seas, in arid deserts, on
blustery mountain tops, in stone temples and leafy forests to invoke their
Goddesses by 'drawing down the moon.'
Back then, the moon was worshipped and revered by peoples worldwide. For
example, Upper Egypt used to be called Khemennu, 'Land of the Moon.' As many
pre-historic peoples did, the Babylonians considered the moon more important
than the sun. This same theme can be found in central Asia, in Polynesia and
Peru, in Scandinavia and in even folded in the pages of Gnostic belief.
We know that the moon reflects the major stages of womynhood and even today,
it is honored in ceremonies that 'draw down the moon.'
While it remains true that wymyn are the channels through which life
(re)emerges, it used to be believed, in ages past, that the moon was the
receptacle for dead and unborn souls awaiting reincarnation. This idea can
be symbolized by viewing the moon as a Great Uterus, or, for the more
radical among us, as The Great Ovum.
Not only was the moon the place for souls, it also had another, more
physical function, that of a reservoir for menstrual blood, from which
earthly lives were formed.
And because the moon governs tides, it was thought that she ruled the tides
of life and death, as well.
Thinking about it, these notions run parallel to Virgin, Mother, Crone, the
earliest of the trilogies, an idea that man later conceptualized in the
Christian trilogy.
I know that there are those who say that 'drawing down the moon' rituals
should be done only during the moon's full phase, but I disagree. The moon,
like The Goddess, is always present, and, like The Goddess, she can be
called upon at any time during her cycle.
Be that as it may. The moon has never lost her lustre or her allure, and
remembering our grandmothers and our mothers, our aunts and our sisters and
our daughters, our nieces and our cousins and our grand daughters,
re-membering those magickal, mysterious wise-wymyn of ancient times should
inspire us to get up and danse, to draw down the moon, to bathe in her light
and howl like she-wolves!

All works all are copyrighted © 2001 The Witches of Eastlake.


 Drawing Down the Moon
It was believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, that Witches had the power to draw down the moon from the sky. This assumption is not without reason. Should a witch be seen invoking the Goddess beneath the full moon, she would naturally be standing in a position where the beams from the moon would highlight her person, making it seem as if she had a direct link to the lunar orb.

In modern Wicca, the rite of drawing down the moon, or calling down the moon, is of considerable importance. During this potent invocation, the practitioner enters a trance like state of altered consciousness and draws the essence of the Goddess to herself. The energy of the Goddess is then focused toward a magickal act, divining the future, or spiritual revelation.

Drawing down the moon involves being completely open and receptive to the feminine spirit of nature. It is usually done out of doors, beneath the full moon. Stand with your arms outstretched, pointing upward at the moon. Once you are relaxed, focus on the moon. Feel its rays reach down and touch you. When you feel the time is right, slowly begin the following invocation, building to an emotional climax.



Invocation for Drawing Down The Moon

" Bewitching Goddess of the Crossroads
Whose Secrets are kept in the night,
You are half remembered, half forgotten
And are found in the shadows of night.
From the misty hidden caverns
In ancient magick days,
Comes the truth once forbidden
of thy heavenly veiled ways
Cloaked in velvet darkness
a dancer in the flames
You who are called Diana, Hekate
and many other names
I call upon your wisdom
and beseech thee from this time
To enter my expectant soul
That our essence shall combine
I beckon thee O ancient one
From far and distant shore
Come, come be with me now
This I ask, and nothing more

************************************************************
Janet and Stewart Farrar

In this ritual the Goddess becomes incarnate in the High Priestess. The High Priestess stands in front of the altar with her back to it. She holds the wand in her right hand and the scrounge in her left. She crosses her wrists and crosses the wand and scrounge above them while holding them close to her breast. The High Priest stands in front of her and says:

"Diana, queen of night
In all your beauty bright,
Shine on us here,
And with your silver beam
Unlock the gates of dream;
Rise bright and clear.
On Earth and sky and sea,
Your magic mystery
Its spell shall cast,
Wherever leaf may grow,
Wherever tide may flow,
Till all be past.
O secret queen of power,
At this enchanted hour
We ask your boon.
May fortune's favor fall
Upon true witches all,
O Lady Moon!"

The High Priest kneels before the High Priestess and gives her the Five Fold Kiss; that is, he kisses her on both feet, both knees, womb, both breasts, and the lips, starting with the right of each pair. He says, as he does this:

"Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways.
Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar.
Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be.
Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty.
Blessed be thy lips, that shall utter the Sacred Names."

For the kiss on the lips, they embrace, length to length, with their feet touching each others. When he reaches the womb, she spreads her arms wide, and the same after the kiss on the lips.The High Priest kneels again and invokes:

"I invoke thee and call upon thee, Mighty Mother of us all,
bringer of all fruitfulness; by seed and root,
by bud and stem, by leaf and flower and fruit,
by life and love do I invoke thee to descend upon the body of this,
thy servant and priestess."

During this invocation he touches her with his right forefinger on her right breast, left breast, and womb, repeats the set and finally the right breast. Still kneeling, he spreads his arms out and down, with the palms forward and says:

"Hail Aradia! From the Amalthean Horn
Pour forth thy store of love; I lowly bend
Before thee, I adore thee to the end,
With loving sacrifice thy shrine adore.
Thy foot is to my lip
(he kisses her right foot)
my prayer up borne
Upon the rising incense smoke; then spend
Thine ancient love, O Mighty One, descend
To aid me, who without thee am forlorn."

The High Priest stands up and steps backwards. The High Priestess draws the Invoking Pentagram of Earth in the air with the wand and says:

"Of the Mother darksome and divine
Mine the scrounge, and mine the kiss;
The five point star of love and bliss
Here I charge you in this sign."

The High Priestess should be in a trance now. This is a good time to do the Charge or the Witches' Creed. When the Charge or Creed is finished, the Goddess must be dismissed. It is bad magical practice not to do so.

The High Priest faces the Priestess and says:

"We thank you Our Lady for attending our rites. We bid you farewell till next we call you. Blessed Be."



Farrar, Janet and Stewart; "Eight Sabbats For Witches"; Robert Hale

1983 and dismissal added by Seastrider. Distributed over various BBS systems via Ravensong.
What is drawing down the moon and how do you do it?
by Strix d' Emerys
from: http://realmagick.com/articles/63/1963.html

In the past priestesses/priests called down the Moon. The Moon has always played
and important part in ancient religions. They realized how it?s shape affected
those under it?s reflective light. They also came to understand how the moon
also affected the waters of life. The Moon is the focal point of power upon the
Earth. The Moon soon became known as a Women?s source of power. As women's
biology is more attuned to the moon than men?s.

Receiving the Moon's light: There are several ways of doing this. One way is to
use a mirror and draw the moon?s light through the reflection. Another, though
not always practical is to call upon the Moon, while naked, laying down to form
a X anointed in moon oil. However, the simplest, and most practical, is to
wait until the moon is full, open your arms wide, catch the halo around the
moon, out of the corner or your eye, open you third eye, and draw it in.