Looking up into the night sky has always filled me with awe. This was especially true when I lived in the rural countryside of North Carolina. On the front steps of my family home, I spent many summer evenings gazing at the the brilliance of the moon and stars against the dark sky.
As a child, I learned the song, “I see the moon, the moon sees me; The moon sees the one that I want to see; God bless the moon and God bless me; and God bless the one that I want to see.” This song has reminded me that whenever I am away from home, I can still gaze at the same moon and stars as my loved ones. In fact, I am gazing at the same moon once viewed by my ancestors long ago.
In her book “Learning to Walk in the Dark,” Barbara Brown Taylor, reflects on what she calls the “gift of lunar spirituality.” For her, the waxing and waning of the moon speaks to her own spiritual life. “All in all,” she writes, “the moon is a truer mirror for my soul than the sun that looks the same way every day.”
Taylor says that our lives and our faith are not always sunny. Just as the moon is different every night, our spiritual journey has its own phases. Her book speaks to the moon’s different cycles and invites readers to reflect on their own spiritual journey.
During the new moon phase when the light is scarce, there are still bright specks of light amidst the darkness. Could it be that even in our difficult moments when relationships are tense, jobs are stressful, money is tight or health is declining, we can still see light breaking through?
When the moon is waning and growing toward full illumination, we see more of a crescent moon. In the same way, there are seasons in our spiritual life when we welcome beginnings or opportunities which help us grow in new and exciting ways.
Also known as the “Sturgeon Moon,” the full moon was so named because sturgeon fish were most readily caught in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain by Native American tribes. When our spiritual life is full of light, we move more fully into the future with excitement and hope.
The waning moon appears as the moon moves away from the sun and darkness grows. This phase marks times when we find the light growing dimmer and life seems full of unknowns.
For me, this metaphor for the spiritual life resonates with my own experience and the many stories I hear from men and women, young and old. Yet, lunar spirituality does not take away from the faith that God is still with us in the light and in the darkness.
The prophet Isaiah speaks to this hope: “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” (Isaiah 60: 19-20)
Whether the light is coming or going, whether the moon is growing or diminishing, whether the moon is full or nowhere to be found, it is clear that the moon will continue to pass through its various cycles, and we will too. “Is it dark out tonight?” asks Taylor, “Fear not; it will not be dark forever. Is it bright out tonight? Enjoy it; it will not be bright forever.”
According to the calendar, the next full moon will visible in the night sky on Saturday and Sunday. It is the sun that illuminates the side of the moon facing the earth, and the moon is merely reflecting the light. Consider stepping outside, and gazing at its beauty. Which phase of the moon speaks to your spiritual journey at this particular time?