Yesterday at the peak of the full moon, I sat down to write the next full moon ritual – this year’s last one – that will be taking place in exactly a month, December 12th, as a part of my “Portrait of the Witch” photography exhibition in SLA Art Space in the city. I was hoping that the symbolic matching of dates and celestial events would give me the inspiration and luck on the research.
Surprisingly, (or rather not) there is almost no mention of Full moon in any of Baltic folklore except some vague background scenes in fairytales. The waxing crescent is mostly preferred in songs and daily household rituals as if all that was about – household. And then I remembered the forgotten (and only) dark Baltic Goddess – The Witch of witches, Ragana and the tragic faith of all her followers in Middle ages. And then it suddenly all made sense.
Ragana isn’t one of the simple Goddesses that mothers the land or family hearth, she is the ruler of faith and time, harmony and destruction, she wears many faces as she ages with the wheel of the year and then gets reborn again – thus she is eternal. It takes deeper philosophical thought and wisdom to understand her darkness – that’s why catholic church feared her and her followers – and portrayed them as wrongdoers trying to eradicate their centuries-old knowledge.
That’s why there are not many songs or prayers remaining, as pilgrims and then monks did most of the writing. But Goddess remains, as she is eternal, while churches rise and fall. And this full moon ritual should be about her. Can’t wait to see what comes out of this!
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