The Festival of Torches & the Blue Moon: What is a Spell?
“It wasn’t a spell except for in her own head, but if you couldn’t make spells work in your own head, you couldn’t make them work at all.”
August's moon is called the Sturgeon Moon, Corn Moon, Barley Moon, and Ricing Moon. And because it's the fourth full moon in an astronomical season (normally we have three), it's also a Blue Moon! Since this month marks the start of harvest season, Monday's Supermoon is an excellent time to do just that – roll up our sleeves and begin reaping what we've sown. Perhaps that something is tangible – a handful of fruit or a bouquet of just-opened flowers. Or maybe your reaping is conceptual – like a dream, a decision, or a spell planted beneath moons past.
In ancient Rome, August's full moon was dedicated to Diana. Like her Greek counterpart Artemis, Diana is a huntress. She knows of cycles, wild medicines, and the push and pull of earthbound living. Diana's chariot is lunar, a silver crescent drawn by horned deer and a pack of female hunting hounds.
Much like Hecate, Diana is the Queen of Witches. In stories, she carries a quiver of golden arrows to defend our forests and freedoms. However, during Nemoralia, her three-day festival in August, Diana lays down her bow. Also known as the Hecatean Ides or the Festival of Torches, Nemoralia was an invitation to visit the goddess's wildwood.
Modern calendars place Nemoralia around the 13th-15th of August, but many insist this ritual only began when August's moon waxed full. The reason? Nemoralia involved a nighttime journey and required ample moonlight to light the way.
Stories say beneath August's full moon, women and girls collected torches and marched to Diana's shrine at Lake Nemi. They passed through the goddess's sacred groves to reach her lakeside sanctuary, a volcanic crater nicknamed “Diana's Mirror.” Diana's witches would shower the goddess with handmade offerings, recently harvested food, animal figurines, and prayers written on ribbons. Then, the women washed their hair in the lake and decorated themselves with flowers.
Blue Moon blessings, witches!
Little Witch Tales "The Witch & the Raven" is available to download (for free) on the Little Witch Tales blog! Download "The Witch & the Raven" here.
