Moon - Denise Joyce

“The Sun loved the Moon so much he died every night to let her breathe.”

Last week, I came across the entire Twilight saga on Hulu, & I felt compelled to watch it all: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, & Breaking Dawn Part 1 & Part 2. I read the books while I was in college over a decade ago, but I haven’t thought much about the Twilight Saga since then. It felt very timely, since this last Wednesday, May 26th, 2021, we had a total lunar eclipse.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon & the Sun are on exact opposite sides of the Earth. A total lunar eclipse only occurs every four to five years. Despite the Moon being in the Earth’s shadow, sunlight is still able to reach the Moon as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere, filtering out blue light. This makes the Moon appear red, also known as a “Blood” Moon. Do you get the relation to the Twilight saga yet?

When the Moon moves between the Sun & the Earth, it blocks the light of the Sun from reaching Earth, also known as a solar eclipse. The last time we had a full solar eclipse was July 2, 2019, & we won’t have another until April 8th, 2024. This dance of the Earth, coming between the Moon, & the Sun reminds me of long-distance relationships and how circumstances that are beyond your control can affect your connection with your partner.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

The quote “The Sun loved the Moon so much he dies every night to let her breathe.”, the Pixar short film, Day & Night, & the song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler recently struck a chord in me. The Sun & the Moon have an incredibly romantic yet tragic love story. The Sun & the Moon have minimal time together in the sky at dusk & dawn. The Moon passes in front of the Sun once every 29.5 days, which we know as a New Moon, & solar eclipses only occur two to four times a year.

It is in the Sun & the Moon’s bigger purpose that makes their need to be apart tragic. The Sun gives us energy. It allows life on Earth to grow & thrive. The moon moves our oceans as well as controls our climate with its gravitational pull that shifts the Earth’s axis. Like the Universe, relationships involve different entities that are constantly changing, evolving, & in motion. If you’re mindful & aware of your intuition, you know when you or your partner is in darkness, but what we can learn from the Sun & the Moon is that separation doesn’t have to affect or control the quality of your relationship.

The Sun & the Moon have minimal time, when they are completely aligned & seen together. There’s a reason why humans are obsessed with eclipses & the energy that surrounds them. We’re all well aware that it’s a special occurrence that needs to be enjoyed & cherished. Similar to a long-distance relationship, any time in person is better than time apart. If the sun & the moon can make things work, a long-distance albeit true, soul-connection between two people can work too. They can each take a step back to let the other shine in the spotlight. Then whenever they’re aligned & the timing is right, they reconnect. And when they do, the whole world stops to watch them.

The Twilight Saga

I am about to spoil the Twilight Saga books & the movies, so feel free to stop reading now, if you haven’t read or watched them & still want to. But I really don’t care whether or not you like the Twilight Saga, because as a writer, it has some of the best literary archetypes as well as Moon metaphors in it:

The Star-Crossed Lovers

Twilight is the time between night & sunrise. Bella is a human who falls in love with a vampire. Similar to the Sun & the Moon, Edward needs to stay in the shadows & out of the sunlight. But Bella, like the Sun, is the bright & shiny new girl in town, who has all eyes constantly on her. For all intents and purposes, Edward tries his best to push Bella away & prove to her that he’s bad & no good for her. Ultimately, he realizes that no matter how hard he tries to stay away for her own good, their connection is magnetic & their gravitational pull toward each other is uncontrollably strong. No matter how far away he tries to run from her, she’s still in his head & pulling at his heartstrings, until he ultimately gives in & surrenders to his love for her.

The Fall

After what seems like a happy, stable relationship in Twilight, New Moon brings in the Fall. Not only does it start in the season of Fall, but it’s the Fall of Bella, Edward, & their relationship. Edward decides that he has to leave & breaks up with Bella the day after her birthday in New Moon. He lies to her, saying that he doesn’t love her, never did, & that he doesn’t want her anymore for her own safety. Bella immediately falls into a deep depression. She becomes emotionally numb & stays that way for months, unsure if her love with Edward was ever real. The second book is appropriately named New Moon, signifying Bella’s new life cycle, without Edward by her side.

Death & Rebirth

Bella “dies” & is reborn a few times throughout the Twilight saga. In Twilight, Edward has to suck out the vampire venom from her blood without killing her. Bella sees & feels death, but she miraculously survives because of Edward’s willpower. In New Moon, Bella dies then has to relearn how to live her life without Edward. In Breaking Dawn, Bella dies then is finally reborn as a vampire. She willingly accepts her new immortal destiny, because she’d rather spend eternity with him than remain human.

The Battle Between Good & Evil

Even Vampires have light & dark counterparts, Jacob’s werewolf pack & the Cullen family join forces in Eclipse & again in Breaking Dawn to build an army to defend themselves over “eviler” groups of vampires. The third book, Eclipse, demonstrates the light & dark coming together. The final book, or two-part movie, Breaking Dawn, showcases a new day & a brighter future for everyone. Despite their differences, vampires & werewolves were able to reach an understanding for the greater good, because they’re stronger together than apart.

We can all learn from the Sun & the Moon. Two individuals can be independent, strong, & unique by themselves, but when their connection is undeniable, everyone will be able to take a step back & see that they’re better & even more special when they are together. The Sun & the Moon only spend brief moments with one another, but their long-distance relationship works. Their sporadic & short encounters are so magical that it makes all the waiting & time spent apart, shining & glowing on their own, worth it. How can you bring that same energy into your relationship?

XO Denise

SOURCES

NASA

I was born on January 2nd at 8:45 pm. Growing up, my parents would often talk about the night that I was born. Because, unlike my siblings, I’m the only one born at night. I have a deep love of staring at the moon & the night sky filled with stars & singing Somewhere Out There by James Ingram from one of my favorite childhood films, An American Tail. Even while looking in the mirror at my beautiful face, I see the moon in my birthmark & the stars in my freckles. Tomorrow, May 11th at 7:00 pm UTC is a New Moon in Taurus, so this felt like the perfect opportunity to share my new moon rituals to inspire you to create your own.

The new moon represents the start of a new lunar cycle, so it’s all about new beginnings & opportunities. It’s a great time to welcome all things new as well as set new goals or start new projects. With this in mind, here are my New Moon rituals:

Set Intentions & Refresh Manifestations

The New Moon is the best time to set new intentions & manifest! It’s the birth of a new lunar cycle, bursting with vibrant & magical energies. If you’ve never manifested before, I highly recommend doing it under every month’s new moon to bring your dreams into reality. I write my manifestations down with a pen & paper. I am as specific with my intentions, as possible without infringing on the free will of others, because I prefer to manifest for the greater good. Every night & morning, before saying my manifestations, I start by saying “This or something better now manifests for the highest good of all concerned.”

Light a candle

Once my intentions are set & I’ve written my manifestations with a pen & paper, I recite my manifestation under the moonlight & light a candle. I then let the candle burn through the night & allow it to extinguish on its own.

Clean

I spiritually cleanse my home, using my Camaya Healing sprays. (10% OFF with the code: DENISE10) Focus on the front door to your home & the most used doorways to welcome new & positive energies into your life. I also clean myself. I love taking a spiritual bath surrounded by crystals & candles to cleanse my body & my surrounding energies.

Embrace the New

Every New Moon, I embrace each & every new person, opportunity, & blessing that comes my way. New clients seem to somehow find me under the energy of the new moon. I’ve already had three reading requests this week. Having a welcoming & grateful mindset allows you to attract new & positive entities.

New Moon Manifestation Tarot Reading

Even though I prefer to not read my own cards if I can help it, I make an exception under the New Moon & the Full Moon. For the New Moon, I do a 6 card Tarot spread from Biddy Tarot to look into my own energy to see the following:

What have I released?
Where am I now?
What is emerging within me?
What do I wish to grow?
How can I bring my goals and intentions to fruition?
What additional resources are available to me as I manifest my goals?

As a writer, I envision my life as a story. Every New Moon is the beginning of a new chapter, & every Full Moon is the climax of that chapter. Each lunar cycle gives us an opportunity to create the abundant, beautiful, & happy life that we desire. It’s just up to us to embrace each new beginning as it arrives. If you’re feeling called to book a New Moon Manifestation Tarot reading with me, you can do that here.

Do you have any personal New Moon rituals? Let me know all about them in a comment below. I hope you enjoyed learning about my New Moon rituals as much as I loved sharing them.