The Cold Moon

Last week brought the January full moon. I love looking out to the full moon each month, and this was no exception. Like most Wiccans and some Pagans, I celebrate the full moon of each month of the year with an Esbat ritual.
Of course, being January, this was my first Esbat of 2011. It was a quiet and introspective ritual, but I think that is the nature of the January moon. A beacon of bright moonlight reflecting blue across the cold, snow covered ground, still in frozen hibernation.
I have not begun to write my own Esbat rituals from scratch as of yet, though I am more confident in my ritual space these days. I am basically using a book, from the wonderful author Sandra Kynes, called "A Year of Ritual" to get me through this year until I am confident enough in my creative processes to begin writing my own (hopefully that will be part of my 2012 resolutions). This book, "A Year of Ritual", has both the Esbat and Sabbat rituals laid out for both groups and solitaries for the entire year's cycle. The Sabbats, for myself, are no-brainers at this point, but I've always had a difficult time with Esbats, so that is why this book has really been a wonderful addition to my practice. I do follow the ritual almost exactly except for the little touches I add here and there, mostly in the layout of the ritual itself. I didn't feel the need to change any wording to suit my purpose.
Aside from that, there is certainly more confidence in my rituals, and my circle casting is improving also. I tend to notice that on the ritual days where I have more stress, I tend not to do my best in casting my circle. Perhaps it's because my mind has more difficulty focusing when I have to deal with stressful or upsetting thoughts, or maybe it's because my psychic shields tend to take a beating because of all the negativity in my household. Either way, more meditation before the ritual, not during or after, may be in order. The next time I do ritual  I definetely have to try meditating before and see if it works. I'll keep everyone posted on that.
Anyhow, Imbolg is coming soon, so I have already begun preparation for that night. As a side note, it's nice to see that Imbolg will be falling on a new moon; very fitting for the Sabbat.