Posted by Michael Finkelstein | January 19th, 2011

Cabin Fever Moon

Amid the deep snows and dark months in the middle of winter, you may notice yourself or people around you starting to get sick of the season.  You may hear people complain about having cabin fever or being frustrated with all the layers of clothing it takes just to get out of the house. Or maybe you feel a general sense of irritability or boredom as a result of the confinement.

In my last Moon Letter, I wrote about honoring the cold this time of year by adjusting your activities and rhythms, in particular, slowing down and accepting the change of pace.  Yet, there is an edginess that is also naturally part of this season.  And once again, instead of getting upset or frustrated about the many weeks of winter ahead, it is valuable to consider how one may skillfully deal with the condition of boredom that frequently comes up around now.

With the Full Moon that will appear overhead tonight, I would like to reflect on another aspect of the moon’s force to suggest how we can move through the season with greater ease. To start, just consider how stunning the January Full Moon is, peering out from clouds through clear dry and cold air. Indeed, this is a time when the moon seems most brilliant and may appear closer than at other times of the year as well, goading us to reach out and grab it.  If you think about that, maybe you should take the opportunity to break the monotony and do something unusual today, such as going outside in the middle of the night in January so that you can gaze upon the full moon in all its clarity. While it is true that during winter, the dominant state is dormancy, this is not to say we don’t need some movement now and then. This is the time!