“In many ways, our modern lives have lost the important elements of balance and peace. If we can return to a fuller sense of the holistic world, we can re-learn what we have forgotten,” says author and renowned expert on ancient wisdom, Barry Brailsford when I met him at his home in New Zealand*. “One example of this is the key part that the moon plays in our lives and how we can re-connect with its tides in a holistic and powerful way.”
What is the Moon Tide?
The moon has two huge pulses – an outward and an inward – like two huge, cosmic breaths. Each breath lasts for 14 days.
How does this manifest?
“From the first to the last quarter – either side of the full moon – this energy is rising on all levels. The Waitaha (the ancient people who lived in New Zealand before the Maori) called this the Bright Time of the Moon.”
What significance did it have for them?
“The Bright Time is a time when huge physical and spiritual strength can be gathered. During this time, the ancients carried their sacred stones over mountains, undertook their enormous sea voyages and it was a time when great creative challenges were carried out.”
What about the second pulse, what was that called?
“The other side of this cycle – The Dark Time – which occurs on either side of the New Moon was a time to reflect. It was a time for routine things, to prepare for the next cycle of great action.”
How could we use this knowledge today?
“If ever are able to break our alienation to the way of the moon and return to a situation of balance, we can use its power to assist us. We can use this knowledge to support our management of stress by remembering that there are times of every month when our bodies are simply incapable of meeting the demands that our mindless societies place on them. If we can work within our power, always stopping to replenish ourselves we can accomplish even our greatest challenges.”
Moon Phases 2017
* Barry Brailsford was invited to share the wisdom of people of the Waitaha Nation, who settled in Aotearoa (ancient New Zealand) long before even the Maori warriors arrived, by their ancestors. This culminated in an outstanding series of books: Chronicles of the Stone which I first read ten years ago and have loved ever since. You can buy the books online at www.stoneprint.co.nz
This post has been adapted from an article that I first wrote and had published in 2007.
