This Monday, Sept. 15th, will usher in the Full Moon in Pisces. This full moon is good for banishing spells that could be causing you confusion or to throw an enemy off track if you feel someone is gunning for you. It is also a time to cast off any people who resemble “Psychic Vampires”; people who drain your energy when you are in their company.

In addition, this Moon is call a Harvest Moon and occurs in September (with a few October exceptions) and is the closest Full Moon the the Autumn Equinox. It is called the Harvest Moon as it rises within 30 minutes of the Sun’s setting on that day. A long time ago when farmers did not have tractors, they could work by the light of the Harvest Moon to get their crops harvested. The Harvest Moon is the fullest Full Moon of the year. It is so large that it will amaze you and it will give light all through the night.

This past weekend, Asian communities worldwide celebrated the Moon Festival with special cakes and gifts for the children. I hope you were one of the fortunate ones who attended this special festivity.

Time to get out those reversible candles and send back all negativity to the place of origin.

Full Moon time is also a great time to banish or send away any negativity, bills that have been plaguing you, excess weight on those tummies and thighs and bad boyfriends, neighbors and gray hair (well…Miss Clairol MIGHT have a hand in THAT one as well!)

Full Moon in Pisces is also a time to unplug the phone, curl up on the couch and just…veg. Take a nap, read or just spend the time contemplating events that happened and formulate plans for the future. You deserve this once in a while. If you contnue to pour out your goodness from your pitcher without replenishing it, you will not be able to replenish others and you will be empty.

In remembrance of all whom perished in the events surrounding 9/11 and the lingering effects. May you find peace.

In the last post, I talked about the various foods cooked and served to Yemaya (and our guests). I am now going to talk about setting up your altar.

Your traditional altar has either a framed photograph or statue of the image, whether it is in the form of a Catholic Saint or some other piece of art that holds their image. You may also worship in a more indigineous or authentic style, as in Yoruba, where you have the “sopera” or soup tureen-like covered jar with the implements of that particular Saint contained within. Since I have an actual statue from Spain of Yemaya, also known as the Virgen of Regla, I used it as the focal piece of my altar.

The dishes that we offered are from left to right: Mexican coconut candy for guests to take as they depart, fried okra and stewed black eyed peas, Pork Iyako (a farmer’s stew) on a bed of rice, fried pork chunks surrounded by fried plantains, and homemade coconut candy with melao (molasses).

Notice the corresponding drapery behind the statue and on the tabletop that matches the color related to the Saint. Yemaya’s colors are shades of blue and crystal clear white. To the left of the statue is a raised silver dish with various sea shells in it, a conch shell flanks each side of the statue, and to the right is a mini congo drum made by Carlos Santana to commemorate his album, “Supernatural” with a porcelain and cloth doll in the navy blue dress associated with Yemaya Okute (“She who cuts with a Knife”) that I just had to have when I found her in Sedona, Arizona, of all places.

As the day got later, we had more visitors, and more candles were brought to light, necessitating another table in front of the altar. A peaceful and happy time was had by all.