Ripe Berries Moon
Keywords: Life Lessons, Victory, Courage
Continuing our exploration of the Medicine Wheel, we’re going to look at the 20th stone; the Ripe Berries Moon. The dates for this moon are July 23 to August 22. This is the second Moon of Shawnodese, The Spirit Keeper of the South. This is also the 8th Grandmother Moon on the Wheel. This is the time when we are moving through various stages of harvest. This is the time of mid-day, and of Summer; a time of rapid growth and many lessons.
Ripe Berries Moon is the time of the Long Sun~ Summer. On the Wheel, Shawnodese, is the equivalent in human age to that of Youth to Young adult. The Long Sun is so brief in our land of Canada, much like our youth, gone far too quickly. This is the moon where we are encouraged to remember our youth, make mistakes & learn from them. As we move on in chronological age, we have seen more and more summers. Each summer we have, hopefully, learnt from our Youth and are moving into Wisdom. The time of the Wheel is a time to put into action what we have learnt. As any good gardener will tell you, to learn the ways of the Plants, is with patience and practice. The Wisdom Path of the Medicine Wheel, is deepened and understood with each passing season. This is the time of year I harvest my sage in Drumheller, Alberta. The Ripe Berries Moon has an influence on my life every year.
The Spirit Keeper of the Ripe Berries Moon is the Sturgeon. The largest freshwater fish in the Northern Hemisphere belong to the Sturgeon family. It is the Second Moon of Shawnodese. The stones used for the #20 position on the Medicine Wheel are Iron and Garnet. I love Raspberry, it is the plant I associate with Ripe Berries Moon.
As the sun is still in its heights above us, The Thunderbird clan (stone # 7~ fire) is in concert with its energies. By referring to the Clans when we discuss the moons, we can draw a deeper relationship to the centre Stones of the Wheel. Keeping in mind the wheel moves out, and the wheel moves in. As well as spins…
The Mighty Sturgeon is as bountiful, as this moon represents. Once harvested the Sturgeon had over 100 uses. The flesh was often smoked and cured. The oil was Medicine, much like the Salmon, the Cod. The Sturgeon also provided bones from its ribs for sewing needles. For your reading pleasure, click here to learn more about the history of the sturgeon.
Other resources you may enjoy:
- Podcast episode on Getting to Know the Medicine Wheel.
- Podcast episode on the Four Directions of the Medicine Wheel.
- Free shamanic music and drumming.
- Or if you’re new to journey work and wish to develop your own relationship with spirit, get started with journey work here.
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Originally published at Shamans Way.
