by Julia Frodahl

Some dreams are dreamt for the whole of humanity. And one such dream is a dream that Carl Jung had early in his career, at a time when he was struggling with the theories he was writing and whether they were good enough and right enough. He dreamt he was facing into a terrible wind. He was wearing a great coat, which was unfurling behind him, and the cold wind was cutting right through this coat, down to his bones. Behind him he could feel a horrible, ominous force bearing down upon him, but he knew he had to continue to head into this cold and brutal wind. In the dream, he felt he could barely do that, until he looked down into the palm of his hand. There in the palm of his hand was a tiny little flame. And in that instant he realized two things: 1. It was not on what was behind him that he should focus. It was on this flame. He was to preserve this flame at all costs. To face into the wind and protect it so it could grow into a stronger flame. 2. The shadow force was growing precisely because of the presence of the light. When you protect and take care of this flame that burns in you -- your soul flame, your gifts, your ideas, your creativity, your unconditional love -- it will take care of your life in ways you cannot imagine or plan for. So you must value this inner flame. Be a fierce guardian and protect it as you would a precious child. And you must give it time to grow. You must say no to anyone or anything that takes more than is right from it. You must stand up for yourself under unfair criticism and incorrect projections, including from your own inner characters. And you must ally yourself with other flame-holders. Co-tend the flames like you would a sacred bonfire because collectively that's what these flames are. If your flame is bringing out the shadow forces, it is probably getting brighter. And I hope you will let the courage in you blaze in tandem with this flame. And if your flame feels weak, please know this: this flame never dies. There is always -- always -- a spark that can be fanned into a brilliant flame..

Please join us for January’s Full Moon, the Wolf Moon, to exercise our intuitive capacities and to co-create Lunar Mythologies. This workshop will heighten intuitive awareness and create clarity by collectively aligning our focus with the cycle of the moon and with each month’s unique symbolism. In bypassing daily modes of thought and communication, we will find renewed sources of connection, creativity, and insight. 

In this 90 minute workshop, we will practice a series of exercises based on guided meditations, repetitive actions, and process-based material strategies. These practices begin with an internal focus and move toward outward awareness and focused communal attention. 

Through the exercises in the workshop, we will produce texts and images. These will be collected and published as a monthly manual. Each manual will contain within it the instructions for future manuals as well as all of the texts and images produced in this workshop. Each manual will also form part of an aggregate manual, the ongoing and collaborative Lunar Mythologies. This work will be published periodically by Female Background*, digitally, in print, or both.

Howling Wolves.

A Monthly Workshop Series for Communal Creative Research and Production 

Moon rituals catalyze natural cycles for human and spiritual communion and commitments. 

JANUARY: WOLF MOON 

The January Full Moon, often called the Wolf Moon, traditionally highlights the energy of protection around home and family. Starting Jan. 20, a total lunar eclipse, or blood moon, that coincides with a supermoon, will be visible throughout the United States. The event starts late in the evening Jan. 20 and finishes during the wee hours of Jan. 21. 

The wisdom of the wolf calls us to consider the iconic image of a wolf howling at the moon. It conjures the choreography of the pack structure, from coordinated movements and communication to the emotional apparatus that girds the bonds. Wolves howl to communicate over long distances, a way of saying “here I am.” During the denning season in spring and early summer, wolves only howl to pack mates. As the late summer moves towards fall, wolves call more and more to neighbors and enemies. While an average howl from a single wolf lasts from 3 to 7 seconds, a chorus by a pack can last from 30 to 120 seconds and longer during the breeding season in February. So wolves are particularly loud and vocal in the first months of the year, which is probably why people associated the month of January with howling wolves. Wolves do howl in the direction of the Moon; they point their faces toward the sky for better acoustics, because projecting their howl upward carries the sound farther.

Traditionally. the full moon marks a time for death or change. It is the end of the cycle and calls us to tie up loose ends. The full moon brings heightened intuitive capacity shedding light on things that are interfering with our spiritual advancements. Full moon rituals can enhance intuitive development and provide the opportunity for releasing things in our lives that create suffering.

When a Lunar Eclipse is a TOTAL Eclipse, the energy potential is at its peak. When a Lunar Eclipse is only a PARTIAL or PENUMBRAL Eclipse, the energetic influence is slightly weakened, though still very powerful.

A Lunar Eclipse provides a quantum opportunity to release deep-seated wounds, move beyond old fears and to transcend negative patterns or traits within the shadow self.  It is time to ECLIPSE anything that maybe holding you back.

During a Lunar Eclipse it is an opportune time to do much inner-work, and illuminate yourself from the inside-out.

She was in my old bedroom at the time, in her underwear. She confronted me by way of defending her indefensible actions. She stood on her hands leaning her crossed legs on the wall, disrupting the pile of books that had been stacked tidily. She yelled wildly between her poses and postures, pupils dilated and eyes wide. She waved her arms, hands punctuated by fists, muscles tense and striving. You sat quietly, ill at ease, on the edge of my old bed. She looked franticly back and forth between us, expecting your corroboration. “You never built that house! He did everything!” She introduced your material and technical skills as evidence. She dismissed, based on grounds of invisibility, immateriality, the notions of planning and organization. Also of paint, even if color did not fit perfectly into invisibility, one could get away with arguing against light these days. Paint itself, when applied to a wall, was so thin, so insubstantial. 

Her gaze demanded you join in, but you looked away and toward the ground, silent. Would you have to admit you’d lied? I wondered, but quickly decided that would be no revelation, in fact, it was the very premise and mode of attraction. This performance was the engine keeping things running.  

I countered, describing the work I’d done, which I immediately regretted, preferring to leave you both to your storytelling, because I realized it was now impervious. 

I shouldn’t have been there anyway, despite it being my childhood home. I backed away and closed the door.

I scribbled notes in the dark with crayons on torn out sheets of lined paper from a spiral notebook, tossing each page to the side once I’d finished and starting fresh. I moved around the circle of children also drawing in the darkened pre-dawn, but then I spoke to my friend. “Go back to your drawings, there’s a code,” she advised. I rifled through the stack of papers I’d left on the floor, trying to remember something I know I’d just known. “Remember to remember.” 

Images @femalebackground 

A Window In/ Latonya Yvette on Female Background