Posted by Michael Finkelstein | May 5th, 2012

Milk Moon

May’s Full Moon is called the Milk Moon, no question related to the nursing and suckling that the ancients saw in the animal, i.e. mammalian kingdom, all around them this time of the year. Appropriately, then, this month’s moon reflects the purity of the relationships and the connection to mother. In the month of May, we celebrate our own mothers and the sanctity of Universal motherhood.

Even without the hallmark cards that circulate during the month, we have no choice but to recognize and appreciate the archetype of the mother — always there to nurture her young, associated with the earth and all its life — mothers sustain our lives and all that we know. As we learn to live skillfully, we are reminded to look deeply into this truth and further to pay homage to all the women in our lives and the feminine forces that foster our early growth.

Yet, this is a time of reckoning as well. Your mother isn’t responsible for everything. So, as you take the time this month to pay tribute to your own mother and what it took to bring you into this world, think to the collective and think to the planet on which you reside. Think of your own choices and the other forces that have shaped your life. Far too frequently we assign more responsibility to our mother than is fair. So, when you write to your mother or think of her, consider an even better gift than the basic words of gratitude; let her off the hook for what has happened to you since your childhood, that for which she is not responsible. Freeing her from this burden will free you as well.