A young roe deer passes a clearing where a circle of people sits quietly around a small fire, gazing up through the trees towards the moon.
It’s dusk in the woods and a cuckoo is calling. The light is fading, and the wide white moon shows itself as the clouds move over the sky.
Karen Whybrow is at the centre of the circle lighting small candles and passing around goblets of herb tea brewed especially for the occasion.
She leads full moon circles in the National Trust’s forest at Nether Wasdale where participants are invited to meditate and experience a powerful releasing ritual to let go of the things that no longer serve them.
“When the moon is full, and when it’s new, we can feel heightened emotions. When we get closer to the full moon the masculine energy is rising – it’s a yin and yang thing,” explains Karen.
“The moon is like a giant mirror and it reflects back to us all of our emotions. It can feel uncomfortable, and it can illuminate all the things that we don’t like, that’s why the full moon is a good time to look at them and let them go.”
Karen found her way to using the power of the moon after she struggled to come to terms with the death of her husband Ben in 2017. He had been diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer while she was pregnant with their youngest daughter. Understandably, it was a dark time.
She says: “When Ben first died, I went the more traditional route to find some way through. I did counselling to look at my grief and the trauma that I had around Ben dying and his illness.
“I was very stuck in survival mode, re-living the events, but when you have small children you can’t get stuck in that past place because it’s not conducive to living your life with your children and for your children.
“I started looking for things that would be more helpful for me and I started doing solution-focused work where I was looking at the things I actually wanted in my life rather than looking at the things that had happened that I didn’t have control over.
“So I started to look for something outside of me that would help: something bigger than me, that wasn’t focused on me.
“At first, I found that thing in swimming in the sea and looking at the water, and the moon and the tides. It wasn’t just about the day-to-day tides: we get high, high tides and low, low tides at the full and new moons when the gravitational pull is the greatest.”
The benefit she felt from her connection with the moon and the tides led her to look in more detail at what was going on.
There has been an awareness for centuries that the full moon affects people. The word ‘lunatic’ stems from the idea that mental state changes are related to moon cycles. In Othello, Shakespeare says: “It is the very error of the moon, She comes more near the earth than she was wont, And makes men mad.”
Yet while scientists have yet to prove a significant link between behaviour and moon cycles, beyond some studies showing sleep is affected, the feelings caused by the pull of the moon are widely reported.
Karen says: “As human beings are around 60 per cent water, it’s no surprise that we are affected to some extent by the gravitational pull of the moon.”
She started tracking the moon and how it affected her and used her knowledge and experience to help herself and then, in turn, to help the people she works with as a transformation and grief coach.
Last year she wrote and launched her book, the Luna Manifesting Journal, to help others understand and use the power of the moon’s phases.
“I am fortunate to have this beautiful place to lead moon circles and to help people reconnect with nature and with themselves,” she adds.
“The moon circles are about having some time for yourself to listen to your innate wisdom and intuition. You will be guided by what you already know but often don’t listen to or push away.
“It’s about pausing and allowing yourself to be guided through meditation and, of course, the energy of the full moon.”
The National Trust is running three Full Moon Circle sessions with Karen this summer at Nether Wasdale. Melinda Gilhen-Baker, a senior communications and marketing officer at the trust says: “We are excited to be working with providers like Karen Whybrow to provide opportunities to reconnect with nature.
“Having access to green spaces is so important for our overall wellbeing and we hope events like the Full Moon Circles in Wasdale will remind people to take time out of their busy week to slow down and enjoy a moment of peace in the outdoors.”
The next event is on August 17. nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-district/wasdale/events
WAXING LYRICAL
Ellen describes her Full Moon Circle experience:
"Since coming to live in a rural part of Cumbria where I’m lucky to have clear views of the night skies, I have become more aware of how things feel a bit different when the moon is full. So I was excited to see how this might be put to good use when I headed into the woods at Wasdale.
Settled in the safe and secluded clearing, the meditation with a background of forest noises and with the breeze on my skin felt magical.
Karen’s gentle guidance and explanation about the power of the moon’s phases was helpful and reassuring.
It made perfect sense that we would be deeply affected by a full moon with its more masculine energy and a new moon’s feminine feelings.
It was very easy to set aside everyday thoughts and worries and focus on what’s really important to me.
One of the fellow participants told me they had seen deer every time they gathered under the full moon and that the seasonal changes to the woods were an added delight.
Taking a pause, in such a beautiful setting was a very powerful way to reset. Heading back to my car and civilisation, I realised that I felt rested and full of energy."
