Tonight is The Full Harvest Moon. It is called the Harvest Moon because at the end of September crops which were seeded in Spring are ready to be harvested. It is the final harvest before Winter, so crops, fruit, and grain would be stored to last through the winter months. The Harvest Moon is very bright, probably the biggest and brightest Moon of the year. This morning’s lunar eclipse and Super Moon will create extra strong tides and energy flows, disrupting sleep and energy levels.
Tonight’s Full Moon is in the constellation of Aries. This will be a fiery Full Moon deep with flaming, raw emotions. Your sensitivity will be heightened. You may have to move away from loud noise, crowds, and negative people. Try to be around nature tonight, as it will be very healing and nurturing to you. It’s okay to cry a little and wipe the slate clean in your heart now. Aries is a fire element, therefore emotions and feelings are strong now. Be kind and gentle with yourself as you may be feeling ultra sensitive.
This is a time of transformation. Earth is going through a major shift at the moment as it heads into Autumn. We are also going through a major change in our lives as Earth’s energy projects itself on us. We can use this energy of transformation to become what we feel we need to be in order to move on and be happy. Aries will make us feel a little braver and stronger, we may find that we have the courage to do things we were afraid to do in the past. Open yourself up tonight to the magical forces around you. Don’t be limited by the five senses or the ‘how’s’ and ‘when’s.’ Instead, believe in yourself and live from a place of magic and miracles.
The Harvest Moon is a time to reap what we have sown and cultivated this year. Our harvest is the culmination of our efforts to manifest a deeper and fuller life for ourselves. Name what you have harvested over the past year, bless it and yourself for the good work you have done.
This Full Moon let your emotions flow, get rid of past hurts, cry, scream, or shout if you need to, but let it out. Allow yourself to heal. Let the fire of Aries cleanse you. After tonight’s emotional Full Moon when you wake to an Autumn Sun, you will feel like a new person, full of vigor and energy.
Have a blessed Full Moon and may the Goddess watch over you.
Full Written Credit goes to Wicca Teachings.
Photo Credit: Various
Edited by Lisa Marino.
A view of last night’s Blood Moon. This isn’t the best photo I have, or the closest, but it’s nice and clear.
As a migraine sufferer and the daughter of a woman who suffered from countless strokes (more than the doctors were able to pinpoint when they found the damage), I am at very high risk for stroke. The other night, two of these symptoms happened to me. I tried very hard not to panic, which is much easier said than done, but I do suspect that at some point in the future, I will end up in the emergency room due to a stroke or a heart attack. I came into this world stressed, and life certainly hasn’t been a walk in the park for me since then.
I think it’s incredibly important for women to know the signs and not to ignore them if something feels off. Don’t go to sleep and think you’ll be better “tomorrow”. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Call 911, get your ass to the nearest hospital, and make sure you’re going to survive.
I keep telling myself this as I battle multiple issues, including the idea of taking my life (an extremely serious issue, which is not open for discussion. I’ve learned during this year that very few people care, and I have no use for false friends or people who enjoy the pain of others solely because it makes them feel better about themselves.).
Every single day is a battle. It always feels like destruction and turmoil. Sometimes the strongest person you know is fighting the worst battle in the world, so it’s important for me not to judge people based on the surface, which happens to me all the time.
Here’s hoping we all find strength, and that we are all able to be honest about our issues, however difficult they may be. Tell someone you love them today.
Tonight there will be a Total Lunar Eclipse and Super Moon together making this a very rare event. The Super Blood Moon will start on Sunday and will end early Monday morning, depending on the time zone you live in. The Moon will become encompassed in the Earth’s umbral shadow turning it a deep red for over an hour. The Sun, Earth, and Moon will be in perfect alignment.
This begins at approximately 10:00 PM EDT on the East Coast, so if you’re interested I’d check times for where you live. Obviously if it is cloudy, it will completely obscure this for you, but I am sure photos and video will be all over the Internet tomorrow. I’m sick. Apparently I caught whatever Case Study #2 has been fighting off for the past 3-4 weeks. Whoever gave it to him should be hunted down… Despite using Lysol on damn near everything he touched, which incited being told I’m “OCD”, I could hear the cough deep in my lungs last night (I’ve technically had the cough mildly for a few weeks now, but kept telling myself it was the weather and my allergies since my allergy medicine made it stop.), which made me panic. I can’t afford to be sick, so I tried to get on top of it. The OTC medicine he’s been taking for a week that he told me was making him ill is now making me feel like I should stay in bed. I pray that NONE OF YOU are stricken with this, it’s vicious. I’m running on five hours of sleep, so I am definitely going to see if I can get some photos/video to share if there isn’t heavy cloud coverage. My forecast says clear skies for tonight, so wish me luck in being able to keep my eyes open. I hope everyone is able to enjoy the view. 🙂
Of late, I’ve noticed people feel incredibly safe behind their computer-based bubbles, but I often wonder how real people are being. Sometimes, stories don’t add up (You can’t bullshit me, I have common sense.), and other times, it takes about two seconds for someone to get offended by the simplest thing. What is that you may ask? Honesty.
Here are the facts: Not everyone is the world’s greatest writer, try though they might. Not everyone is talented, funny, or smart. However, there is seemingly a niche for everyone. To each their own. Everyone is entitled to be themselves, but please, be authentic.
When I say something, it’s not for shits and giggles, unless I’ve managed to make you laugh (I don’t go out of my way to be funny, but I know when I’m being a goofball. In print, not everyone’s sense of humor translates because you can’t hear the tone they’re saying something in). I come from a place of genuineness, and I think that resonates in my work and my words.
I’m not here as a “blogger”. I am here as an experienced writer and editor who, as of next year, will no longer be editing other people’s work. I am moving on to another creative endeavor, something I should have done ten years ago. I will continue to write, as I have an unfinished series of novels to complete for publishing, but I am tired of the bullshit, the drama, and the never-ending attempt to outdo one another, because no one wants to see you do better than them, no matter what they might say. Instead of people being happy for one another, people will go behind a person’s back and tear them apart, as if we’re all trapped in high school. That is not, and has never been, acceptable to me.
One aspect of my brusque honesty is that people often mistake it for me being “mean” or “having a bad day”. For starters, I tend to reserve meanness for people who deserve it and two, I keep my bad days/moods to myself because that’s rude in my eyes, so understand that if I say something, it is meant to be helpful, not cruel. Why would I take my valuable time to comment and be mean to someone I don’t know personally? That makes no sense. While I realize there are people who would jump on that and do precisely that to as many people as possible, because starting fights with strangers is what keeps their days and nights “interesting”, I have absolutely no need to be less than who I am. If you lack the communication skills to deal with my honesty, I have to wonder how you will handle the inevitable criticism you are bound to receive on your work up the road.
Every writer has been criticized. I am not immune to that, but I have risen above it. I have been told a handful of insulting things over the course of 28 years as a writer, but you know what resonated most with me? All the genuine, positive feedback from absolute strangers who had no vested interest whatsoever in my success. If a person said “Take that out.” or “That’s not funny.” or “What did you mean by that?”, then I answered them. A huge part of writing is being able to properly communicate with your readers. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t just flip people the bird and tell them to have a nice day. If you ask me a question, I will give you an answer. You may or may not like it, but at least it will be genuine. Also, if I have something personal to say to you, I will say it directly to you, I will not embarrass you on a public platform (if you’re the shy type), nor will I be mean for the sake of being mean. That’s not how I roll.
I am not everyone’s cup of tea, nor is everyone my cup of tea. We don’t have to be. I’d rather have mutual respect as opposed to catty bitchiness behind my back, but the fact of the matter is, I cannot control other people’s reactions or behavior. I, however, can control mine.
If you have something to say to me, by all means, say it to me. There’s no need to be fake about it or passive-aggressive (two things I loathe with every breath I take). Try being real.
There is real criticism in this world. It is vindictive, hateful, and mean-spirited; it is meant to dissuade you from your goal(s). And then there is constructive criticism that is meant to help you and make you better. If you don’t know the difference between the two, precisely who is responsible for that? You are. One should roll off of you, you should know in your heart who you are. The other is to be positively absorbed in order to help you grow. If you decide to turn that into something more than what it is, so be it, but it just goes to show the intelligent speaker that you’re immature and not prepared for what’s to come.
And this is one of the reasons I do not want to edit for fledglings any more. If you cannot handle my honesty, which is meant to help and guide, then what the hell do you think you’re going to do when bad reviews pop up on every book web-site from here to eternity? Amazon, Goodreads, and a plethora of other sites will not delete bad reviews. As a reader, I’ve seen a million of them and many times, they have saved me money. Other times, there was one bad review, but 500 reviews explaining why you should read/buy the book in question. Bad reviews are going to happen, but they will not make or break you. Just like constructive criticism will not break you, but it WILL make you better. Take that to mean whatever you like. I speak from experience.
But for the sake of all that is Holy, know where to put commas and periods in your work. Every time you don’t, an editor bleeds to death. Do you really want that on your conscience?
“Healing does not require that you master the unreasonable side of your reason. Nor does healing require inner perfection of any order. A common trait shared by people who have healed is that they cease being unreasonable in ways that no longer matter in the greater scheme of life. Against the scale of life or death, how important is winning an argument? How important is holding a grudge? How important is anything other than how well we love others, how deeply we regard the value of the gift of life, and what we do with our life that makes this world a better place?” —Caroline Myss
All I want to do is SLEEP. For God’s sake, it’s Saturday night and I am BEAT. It’s meant to be a ‘day of rest’. But really, why should my body obey unwritten laws?!
Today I completed two writing assignments, decided on a mountain of paperwork for tomorrow when I inevitably won’t be able to sleep (might as well kill two birds with one stone), watched a friend’s video from her birthday trip (Happy 31st lovie!), washed & dried two loads of laundry, and fed Cat and Kitten. Cat is seemingly feeling better after being sick yesterday. I care a lot less about the stain on the carpet that I am treating and more about her overall fluffiness. Carpet can be covered and/or replaced, a cat can never be replaced. Big picture.
The birthday dinner was successful. Major kudos to the amazing chef, oh wait, that was ME. Yeah, I was a rockstar. 😉 I would have taken photos of the finished product, but quite frankly, we all know what food looks like. I was slightly grateful when Case Study #2 thanked me for dinner, saying how delicious it was, and said he was still recovering from being sick over the past few weeks, and could I save dessert for tomorrow. Sure! By all means…go and rest. It would also be great if he’d pretend he doesn’t know me until 2020, but the chances of that happening are slim to none.
And so here I sit, listening to Imagine Dragons and my muscles protesting everything I have done this week. I need a vacation that involves daily massages.
I have decided that the Topamax is interfering with my sleep at night (This is usually why I take it in the morning. My neurologist says I’m the only patient he has that doesn’t get sleepy from it.), so I am going to take the daily dose every day before 1:00 PM (because sometimes I forget) and see how that goes. I’ll try to use an app to track it, but that might not work as well for me as the migraine app does; it’s been an absolute Godsend at tracking each migraine, the symptoms, and my sleep. If anyone wants to try it out for themselves, I will tell you what it is. I don’t know if it’s available for the iPhone, but one can always check.
Okay my lovelies, I am off to finish my tea and try to lull myself to sleep. That means turning off all electronics. I will talk to you soon.
P.S. For those submitting questions for the AMA: Please remember to include your WordPress info so that your question(s) can be linked to you. Thus far I’ve received a few and they were all bereft of a WordPress link. I’d hate for someone not to be given credit.
Written by LISA MARINO-Molchanova 