Book of the First Quarter Moon: Moon Maiden Circle Contents: i. Introduction I. First Quarter Moontra II. First Quarter Phase III. First Quarter Link IV. First Quarter Power V. First Quarter Pursuit VI. First Quarter Ritual A. Ready B. Render C. Reflect VII. First Quarter Phasework A. Mantras Should B. Mantras Should Not C. Meta-Mantra D. Mantra Summary VIII. Twinklings around First Quarter i. Introduction Book of the First Quarter Moon. This book details the specific practices for the first quarter moon phase, which we abbreviate as FQTM. We encourage you to return to this book each new moon and do the following: i. Offer the First Quarter Moontra whenever you spy the FQT Moon in the sky ii. Conduct the First Quarter Moonthly Ritual iii. Complete the FQTM Mantra Phasework iv. Generate FQTM Cares Twinklings v. Visit the First Quarter Moon Meeting Room where you should always... Read, reply and recommend BEFORE you post, Dear Friend! I. First Quarter Moontra Quarter, first, great keeper of care You inspire me always of my gifts to share II. First Quarter Phase The third phase in the moon’s cycle is first quarter. It represents the life-affirming time of spring, which is marked by youthful idealism. Its spirit is love. Characterized by affirmation and appreciation, the first quarter moon phase inspires us to honor ourselves and others for all that we are, and have, and know; to care for others as ourselves, especially those who seem to lack and have some need to which we can attend; and to show gratitude to those who have helped us thus far on our journey. Love teaches us the lesson of abundance that there is plenty to go around. When we realize that another’s success in no way inhibits our own, we find ourselves free to care. The first quarter moon reminds us that loving begins in the way we think about ourselves, others, and life in general. III. First Quarter Link The life stage linked with the first quarter moon is adolescence. Spring brings our plans to fruition. Gardeners sow their seeds in winter that they might find blooms in spring. And so it happens--the world comes alive with buds and blooms, yielding such beauty that our hearts grow fond and open wide to the richness of love. First quarter moons are beautiful blooms. When their hearts become so full of love that they feel ready to burst, they realize that the most natural thing to do with their overflow is to share it with others. So many lack where they are now over-filled. First quarters know that when they keep it all within, they risk growing numb though over-stimulation. Then, the simple joys will no longer hold them. The budding rose won’t bring them the same sense of awe. The rainbow’s arch won’t bring a smile. They will grow indifferent to beauty everywhere. First quarter moons strive to be beautiful and show others beauty. When they behold a smile and feel its awe, the roots of beauty grow deeper within them and cause them to want to share all the more. This is the heart of first quarter phasework. IV. First Quarter Power The power of the first quarter moon is love. Chandria recasts love--the inexplicable feeling, as love--the greatest gift, compelled by the deepest stirrings of tenderness within the soul. While love often begins with the intense feelings of attraction and willingness to care, romantically or otherwise, loving is an extended commitment to care, especially when we feel less willing. It is a decision we make over and over again in our thoughts, every day. First quarter moons rest easily knowing that since love only fades as our commitment weakens within us, it can always be refortified with forgiveness and the conscious renewal of the commitment. While loving others is vital to the health of our threefold self, so too is loving ourselves. We must learn to accept ourselves in spite of our seeming faults. We must resolve to work on our character flaws and redeem our mistakes without condemning ourselves. And, we must learn to be our greatest supporter and most devout friend and loving companion for the journey, if we are to create for ourselves, the life of our dreams. The secret to love's power is that we never feel any lack of it while we are in the midst of giving it. We only feel unloved while we are focused on our own desires. When we hold unmet expectations for how others should express their love for us in return for the love we have shown them, we become bitter. We poison the potion, loving on condition that others love us the way we want them to in return. We have forgotten that, like us, they are unique and cannot think, speak, or act exactly as we do, nor would we truly want them too or what a boring world this would be! First quarter moons know that the sweetest feeling is found in the giving of love without expectation for its return and that love received feels the most genuine and complete when it is a true expression of another, freely given, and wholly unexpected. When we give without expectation, appreciate everything, and remain in a state of generosity and gratitude, we feel that love always abounds in our life. V. First Quarter Pursuit Corresponding with the "A" in Chandria, the third step in our success cycle is to affirm our ability to succeed at any activity we begin. We support our efforts through positive, encouraging thoughts about our ability to achieve, guiding ourselves along our journey rather than looking to others for validation. We do seek support from our sisters-in-spirit, but we do not allow others to define our self-worth. Others reinforce the strength we have found in ourselves, rather than lend a surrogate strength, which would eventually be taken back, leaving us without strong legs to stand on. Instead, we stand as tall as possible on our own and lean on others only here and there to get us through the rough patches and back on the road to dream realization. We are careful not to ask or allow ourselves to be carried when we can stand. Likewise, we encourage others in their ability to stand, that they too might fulfill their heart’s desire. To encourage others in this way is to care for the development of their spirit in a sublime expression of love. VI. First Quarter Ritual The first quarter moonthly ritual focuses on building the power of love and engaging in the pursuit of affirming. To conduct this ritual, follow the standard format provided in the Ritual book, substituting the specific practices and verses that follow in the ready, render, and reflect sections. Color-cladding: Dress in pink or pretty pastels or clad yourself with a pink sash or ribbon. (Optional) Ware-laying: Ring the standard with a pink ribbon and/or place a piece of rose quartz in the new moon phase. (Optional) Mood-making: Convene and commune in light, melodic music. Use sweet scents such as vanilla and jasmine. (Optional) VI.A. Ready Offering: Send the gift of love to your sisters-in-spirit under the sign of offering. Invoking: Offer the following verse under the sign of request: Sister spirits everywhere Hear my first quarter moonthly prayer Send your loving heart’s care my way To help me affirm my strengths this precious day VI.B. Render Focusing: Offer the following verse under the sign of focus: Let love’s bright light caress me now And swell my self-regard To help me write my furthering verse Like an aged, accomplished bard During the heart of the first quarter moonthly ritual, we generate Cares Twinklings and/or complete the Mantra Phasework, depending on the amount of time we have for the ritual. VI.C. Reflect After closing the ritual according to the instructions in the Ritual book, we take a few minutes to reflect, making a few notes about the ritual experience and/or just jotting down our present thoughts, collecting everything in our Chandrian Chronicle. VII. First Quarter Phasework We, Chandrians, do our best to support ourselves along our journey. One way in which we accomplish this is through the use of affirmation in the form of our Mantra Phasework. Mantras are simple statements that pack a powerful punch. They are individual affirmations we use to build positive qualities within us and support our efforts to be do and have all that we truly desire. During the first quarter moon phase, we create a mantra for ourselves. Our moonthly mantra is a short refrain that we carefully construct and then repeat to ourselves regularly throughout the ensuing moonth to build some positive quality within us. We make our mantra specific enough to focus our thoughts while promoting our overall well-being. VII.A. Mantras Should Mantras should: - Focus on building a positive quality. "I like cats" does not effect positive change within us, though it may increase our fondness for cats. "My heart is joyful and light" effects change by causing us to lighten up and smile inside when we focus on building joy and letting go of those things that weigh us down. - Focus on qualities rather than tangible items. "I want a boyfriend" is not as effective as "I draw abundance to me that my life may be filled with the richness I deserve." If at the moment you say "deserve" a voice in your head questions "why do you deserve...", your mantra has been lost. - Acknowledge the presence of the quality--think present not future. "I will learn to appreciate my brother" is not as effective as "I appreciate the simple joys in my life". The latter focuses on building an existing quality into a strong force that goes beyond a single person or situation to enrich all of our everyday experiences. VII.B. Mantras Should Not Mantras should not: - Contain negative terms or focus on negative qualities. "I am not impatient" is not an effective mantra. "I have patience enough for all things and all people, especially myself" is a valuable mantra from which we stand to benefit much. - Attempt to build multiple qualities at once. We can only give our complete attention to one thought at a time, so we must be careful not to load up our mantras with too many tasks. This mantra contains too many separate ideas on which to focus: "I am thoughtful, courageous, hopeful, and strong." VII.C. Meta-Mantra Sample Meta-Mantra: Every day in every way I'm getting better and better We call this a meta-mantra because it is a basic, well-known, and powerful self-improvement statement that is easily adapted to suit our needs. We can substitute any quality we wish to build for "better", such as "stronger", "healthier", "wiser", or "more and more loving". VII.D. Mantra Summary We may write several drafts of our moonthly mantra before we feel satisfied with the wording. When we feel confident that we have a powerful and memorable refrain that will build some positive quality within us, we record it in our Chandrian Chronicle. Once we have finished creating our moonthly mantra, having taken care to make it a life-giving, furthering verse, we take care not to question or evaluate it while we recite it to ourselves. The time for consideration is in the writing of the mantra. When we recite our moonthly mantra, we focus on applying our words and putting our passion behind them. During this vital affirmation activity, we are careful not to either invite or allow doubt an opportunity to enter our thoughts because we know that as soon as we question the truth or possibility of our mantra, it loses its impact. We strive always to put our whole-hearted belief into our mantra recitation, for it is only when we believe in our ability to create and apply these valuable mantras to our life that we succeed in doing so. VIII. Twinklings around First Quarter It takes the purity of youthful love to shower our sympathetic concern on those most in need. During the first quarter moon phase, we call upon the strength of this quality to help engage others with a sympathetic ear. The Cares Twinkling are brief meditations during which we envelop ourselves, our family members, our friends, strangers, and even the earth in the gentle embrace of beautiful, positive, life-giving thoughts. We send our loving and appreciative thoughts to those we care about, and as we do so we picture hearts, moonbeams, and other sources of lights and love going out from us and infusing the other person with a radiant happiness and a sense of peaceful comfort. We place our hands over our heart or wrap our arms around ourselves or a treasured stuffed animal or pet while we envision the one in need of our love enveloped in love’s bright light. We can generate these twinklings anytime, anywhere around the first quarter moon simply by affirming our commitment to care for ourselves and others.