Stacey Demarco - The Enchanted Moon: The Ultimate Book of Lunar Magic

CONTENTS

PREFACE

T here is a saying in French that describes the time of twilight as entre le chien et le loup . It means between the dog and the wolf. At the time I learnt of this saying, I was indeed sitting within the dusk, the sun having gone down, the moon just peaking over the horizon, the colours turning gently and determinedly towards the deep blues of youthful darkness.

The description of the twilight in this way made my heart leap a little, as personal truths sometimes do, because I have always seen the night and of course the rising of the moon as something just that much wilder than the light of day, a different animal entirely, although somehow related.

Here in the darkness, under the moon, I have always thought there was a freeing of oneself, a chance to transform into a somewhat richer, truer version of my daytime self. Here was a space of mystery and possibility and a place to cast an incantation and indeed listen to the wolves howl.

Whilst there are lots of reasons our ancient ancestors loved the moon for magic, this feeling of contact with a wilder self is surely an important one.

I have loved the moon since I was a child, just as I fell in love, hopelessly in love, with the natural world and the ancient world of mythos. I was a bookish child more interested in learning about the deeds and lessons of gods and goddesses and wonderment of magical animals than I was the shows on TV but also saw this same magic in the natural world around me. In the earliest photos of myself I am with dogs, cats, plants, gardens. Eventually, in a profoundly convoluted journey, I found a pagan spiritual path (pagan = earth honouring) and specifically, the way of the Witch.

It felt like home. It felt like I was born to do this.

I have been writing about the natural cycles of the moon (and the seasons) for a number of decades now and teaching about them for longer yet, I was slightly apprehensive about writing a book like this because I wanted it to be truly useful and authentic for as many people as possible.

The difficulty here is that with real magic YOU are the magic. YOU are the weaver, the conduit, the conductor. YOU are part of the sacred alchemy of what you are creating.

And all of the variety of YOUs out there makes a one-stop-shop cookie-cutter approach pretty impossible.

So, I have decided to share what I know with you in the same way as I teach in a way that is non-prescriptive. Im going to suggest and guide but it will be you who will create the magic. I will certainly not spoon-feed you. I will not push or present one tradition or one way. Instead, I will give you magical skills that will hopefully empower your life and the lives of those around you and open you to further enquiry and advanced work if you choose.

I will give you lots of frameworks in which lunar workings can be performed and many spells, rituals, meditations and ceremonies I have created, tried and tested but Ill also give you the tools to weave your own.

This is real power.

And did I also mention that all this can be really pleasurable, joyful and fun?

(Well, I just did.)

So, come with me, friend, and let us play in magic and liberte under all those moons entre le chien et le loup .

Stacey Demarco

THE MOON IS
FOR EVERYONE

R ecently, one crisp winters night at about 3.30 am, my dog Malu woke me up asking to go outside to toilet. This was unusual, as she normally sleeps right through.

So I got up with her and let her out. This night, it was a full moon so everything was bathed in that bright, silvery blue light and you could see the garden and surrounds lit up almost like daytime. It was so light that we cast a shadow as we stepped through the door to the open verandah and garden.

But Malu stopped on the verandah and looked up. She was so still. I went out with her and there, spread before us, was the full moon in line with the planets Jupiter and Saturn. One, two, three: hanging like jewels in the sky. We both just stood there watching.

Everything was totally quiet except for the hiss of the sea. She stood close to me and I placed my hand gently on her big head and we clearly had a moment under that universe.

After a while, the cloud came drifting across the sky and the moon and planets were hidden. Malu, then and only then, silently padded off the verandah into the garden. I waited for her under that incredible sky, cold as I was, and checked all the talismans I had out for blessing under the moonlight.