According to the Farmer's Almanac the meaning for the upcoming full moon this Saturday is thusly, "Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon." I think of it as the Mystery Moon or the Moon of Transition.
The Sun is reborn as a small resting babe and the Crone of Samhain, who is the Mother at Yule is returning to her Maidenhood for Imbolc and Ostara. The magic of this transformation is a mystery but I see it as a time of year controlled by Jana and her husband/brother Janus. They are the keepers of time and the heralds of the passages and doorways to important points in ones life. For them time goes forward and back with the many faces seen and unseen. Janus is known to have two faces, one that sees into the past and one that sees into the future. Some say Jana has the same while others say she has three faces so she is the keeper of endless possibilities, past and future (like Janus) with an extra hidden face beneath her hair that sees the Beyond.
Jana's moon is the light in the dark part of the year, to honor her, try your hand at scrying using the moon or a candle to reflect the light off of a bowl of water or a mirror. Keep a note pad, journal or book of shadows near to write down the images or thoughts to which this opened your mind. If like me, you find scrying overly difficult, pendulum work, runes or tarot is a reasonable alternative.
Items needed:
-one black and one white votive or a half and half candle
-a mirror, dish of water, or other form of divination
-music or incense that puts you into the right frame of mind
-paper and writing utencil
First turn out all the lights, if you have a window that gives you a great view of the moon, turn and face it. Light the white candle and sit alone in the dark, breathing in to quiet your being. Watch how the light of the candle plays off of the walls as well as the light of the sun reflects off the moon. Feel your connection with the moon, feel it pull at you like it does the tides. Allow the candle to burn itself down, if it is a half and half, when it gets to the black it is time to start your divination. If you are using votive candles, when the white is a near puddle, put out the white and light the black and follow the same next step. Also light your incense and play the music if it will help you.
To invoke her for your divination try this:
Sweet Jana, Goddess of Mysteries and Pathways,
With your moon shining bright
To honor thee on this night
I seek the wisdom of your sight!
The Moon of Transitions, what your divination has helped uncover and a blessing from Jana should help enact needed change in your life. Leaving a special offering for her under the moon with a whispered prayer is also a great way to gain her respect. It might sound strange but from my experience she has a bit of a sweet tooth. A recipe soon to follow, but in case you are crunched for time, she loves dark chocolate!
