In the hours just before the morning gloamin' on July 27, 1999, a partial lunar eclipse was visible from Southern Oregon in the United States. For me, the lunar or solar eclipse is not just a miracle of the heavens and science, it is also the joining of The Lord (represented in the Sun) and The Lady (represented in the Moon). This union of the God and Goddess is, in my faith, called The Great Rite.

I watched throughout the day and the night as the clouds crept in almost shyly at first, slowly filling the sky until, just before the following morning's gloamin', they inexorably took possession of the heavens from horizon to horizon.

At the close of that startlingly cerulean blue day before the eclipse the Sun slipped behind the horizon and the stars blinked into view one by one - filling my eyes and my head with the possibilities of all the myths of all the ages - I watched the Moon rise and witnessed Her path across the heavens, dimming the nearest stars with the blaze of her fullness. I stayed up all night and wandered outside every so often to gaze at the sky; absorbing it's beauty and the drama taking place before me. The wind was gentle and cool here, pulling the clouds along and playing with them like a busy child. The bowl of the night sky was a deep, soft, indigo blue with stars sparkling in crystalline clarity. And then, in the early hours before the dawnlight, I was privileged to see a partial eclipse just before the clouds closed as if a curtain drawn on a kissing couple. I was moved greatly by the beauty of the entire sequence of events throughout the previous day and the night of the full moon. I share with you my inspiration:

The Great Rite of Grandmother Moon

Grandmother Moon waxed full as the month of July waned and the weather, clear and hot, promised more of the same. Grandfather Sun's brightness, unmarred by clouds, was radiated back from Mother Earth into the evening skies after He ducked below the horizon, giving a lingering warmth as counterpoint to the night's cool breezes.

Then, on the day of the full Moon, Father Sky dressed the heavens in clouds scattered across His blue expanse like tattered tufts of sheep's wool torn from the shepherd's shears by an errant wind. Mother Earth sighed and temperatures cooled to a pleasing warmth inviting gatherings on the porch and picnics. Grandfather Sun slid in and out of the clouds preparing the heavens for His holy union with Grandmother Moon before he finally sank into the arms of Mother Earth.

Night then cloaked the dome above Mother Earth in indigo and cluttered it with stardust just before Grandmother Moon stepped from behind the midnight blue mountains. With a languorous stride She strolled into the arms of Father Sky where He adorned her with veils of cloud. As the night progressed, she weaved coyly in and out of them; teasing and tantalizing in Her glowing beauty, reflecting the brilliance of Grandfather Sun's sustaining light.

Just before sunrise, Grandmother Moon paused and Grandfather Sun gently laid Himself alongside Her, His presence seen by Their children as a smoke-topaz shadow tenderly caressing Her loin. Then Father Sky circumspectly drew a blanket of clouds across Them that They may share the Great Rite undisturbed. Their union set the edges of their cover alight with gold and silver linings, dimming the stars nearby seen peeking through the rents in Their fabric of modesty.

The following Sunrise and subsequent Moonrise were witnessed as the Lord and Lady stretched slowly and slid sensuously into full view, leaving bedraggled clouds to hug the jagged horizon of Mother Earth as if they were the cast off and tumbled blanket. Their union complete, They resumed Their respective courses and Father Sky once again cleared Their paths. Perpetuation reigns, loving and sharing is once again shown as tender and natural and all is once again right in the world.

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Copyright 1998-2004  Colleen D. Bergeron.
Last revised: October 28, 2004.