Wolf Moon.

Tonight is the first full moon of the new year. It is the Wolf Moon, the biggest and brightest full moon of 2010.

The moon has always held special meaning for me. I guess you could say it's become a personal symbol over the years. My mother always had pet names for my sister and I growing up. April was Sunshine because she was always happy and singing and up at the break of dawn ready to start the day. And I was the darker (ok moodier) child who stayed up playing all night and slept all day... so I was Moonbeam. One of my favorite stories growing up was a book that my Aunt Lee gave me called Little Daylight about a little princess who slept all day and played all night and whose beauty waxed and waned with the moon. I have never outgrown my love of nighttime escapades. I feel like I am on a completely different time schedule from the rest of the world. When everyone else is ready to relax and sleep I'm ready to go out dancing.

As I've gotten older the moon has come to represent a lot more for me. The ever changing moon phases and their power over the tides and earth fascinate me. One of my biggest challenges in life, and something that I work towards every day, has been to accept change and trust in the cycle of life...to know that there is light and dark in everything and that even when the world is at it's darkest point...a sliver of moon will appear the next night and the cycle will continue.

Native Americans called January's full moon The Wolf Moon because of the long, cold winter nights that left hungry wolves howling at the moon. In Native American folklore the wolf symbolized death and reincarnation. The wolf, though portrayed as an aggressive hunter in modern culture, is actually a very shy animal. It is said that if a person has Wolf represented in their totem, they have a natural psychic ability and should listen to their inner wisdom and will feel most at peace when at one with nature and when they learn to trust their intuition.

So it seems to me that while I admire the beautiful silver Wolf Moon tonight and while my New Years Resolutions are still fresh, it would be a perfect time to start over...to reincarnate (so to speak) into a new person....to let go of old habits and begin healthier ones, commit to accepting challenges and changes with grace and to make a pact with myself to always listen to that inner voice that I know is in there. Enjoy the full moon!