Balance

I have to say that it feels great to be home and done with finals. I don’t think I could have gotten through it alone though. As finals week was rolling around, I tried not to stress too much. I tried to keep level, but once stop day hit and I began to study for my biggest finals, I realized that asking for extra help would be a good idea.

So, I decided to do two rituals on the Sunday before my finals started. Why two? In working with the sun, I noticed a dramatic change in my mood. While working with the sun, I was very happy and energized, but with the days being so short this time of year, I began to notice that when the sun went down, I became aggressive and moody, as well as exhausted. I wasn’t sure exactly why it was happening, but after talking to my girlfriend about it, she suggested that I start to work on balancing solar and lunar energies.

So, I decided to give that a try with this spell. I looked up the moon’s phase and saw that on that Sunday, it was going to be a Balsamic waning moon. On the website I looked at, I noticed that the key words for this phase were transition, release, transformation, renewal, and purity. Since the moon was also waning, I decided to try and connect with the crone aspect of the goddess. I don’t do that a lot, but I felt like I needed guidance and wisdom. I wanted this half of the spell to help me relax during my finals week, and help me to realize my reasonable limits.

For the solar part of this spell, I decided to do it at noon, since I wanted this part to strengthen my mental abilities while studying, and give me the energy to get through my toughest finals and not give up.

So, for the ritual, I cast my circle, called my quarters, and drew down the sun energy. I then recited this incantation:

Father Sun, oh so bright,

Aid me please in this fight.

Lead me through this five day charge,

Let no obstacle be too large.

With my pencil as my sword,

My eraser as my shield,

Help me conquer this paper battlefield.

Give me the strength to ace every exam,

And end my finals week with a grand slam!

I then wrote on a piece of paper each class that I had a final in. I put the letter grade “A” next to each one for the final grade, and decorated the paper with suns, swords, cool lightning bolts, and a shield. I wrote out sound effects that one might see in a comic book. I folded this paper up and kept it with me while I studied and brought it to my exams to boost my confidence.

For the lunar part of my ritual, I cast my circle, called my quarters, and drew down the moon. I focused on the crone and connected with her before reciting this incantation:

Wise crone, with your waning light,

Give me peace this night.

Relieve stress for me this week,

And let my wisdom peak.

Keep me of sound mind and contented heart,

With my health needs, let me be smart.

Help me to feel refreshed and renewed,

With feelings of serenity forever imbued.

I also decorated a piece of paper for this spell. I started by writing out positive affirmations for peace on the paper. I had a lot more than I expected, it turned out. I then decorated it with stars, moons, and flowing water. For this piece of paper, I just kept it around me, and when I felt really stressed out and like I could not go on, I read the affirmations to myself and grounded. This worked really well for me a couple of times when I thought I could not handle the stress.

And so, now I have my break, and my finals went really well. I’ve gone into recovery, but it’s been pleasant so far. I feel more balanced, and think most of the aggressive moodiness is gone. Working with solar energy so far has taught me one thing: when working with any new energy, if you aren’t used to it, try to balance it out with something more familiar. Any new energy can have a number of positive and possible negative effects. The goal is to harness the energy and learn what it feels like, to recognize how it moves within you and to learn how to work with it. I had to go through this process when working with lunar energy and healing. Working with the sun is no different. I think I’m getting better at working with it everyday though, and it makes me happy to experience this learning process.

Happy almost winter everyone!

Blessed Be