Moon Dancer

DANZA DE LA LUNA 

is a sacred ceremony during which women dance in a ceremonial circle for four full moon nights to the rhythm of a drum accompanied by singing. It is a powerful spiritual work in which they connect with themselves, their cycle, and their feminine essence. With their intention, they support Mother Earth, their communities, and their families.

During the 4-day day/4-night ceremony, women (semi)fast, purify themselves in sweat lodges before and after each night’s dance, and pray with a sacred obsidian pipe. During the dance, women are divided into four groups representing the directions of the healing medicine wheel and dance in lines that create healing patterns.

HISTORY

The Moon Dance has been gradually developed and manifested by elders in Mexico since the 1980s. Its founding women included some North American Sun Dancers, which is why the Moondance format is similar. However, aspects and elements of this sacred ritual for women are deeply rooted in ancient rituals. Mexican women re-remembered their own and thanks to them, with a deep gratitude, we can remember our own. The elders intention was for women of all nationalities, cultures, and races to come together as well as unite within themselves. The archetype of the quartered goddess is found in many cultures, symbolizing the division of feminine power and wholeness. In Mexico, she is the lunar goddess Coyolxauhqui.

Abuela (Spanish for grandmother and the title of an elder/wise older woman), Isabel Vega (Toluimatl, her Nahuatl name), had a vision during one Sun Dance to open a circle of dance dedicated to the moon and women. Together with others, including Abuelo Tlakaele, who was one of the first to suggest it, his wife, Patricia Guerra, who had the same dream as Isabel, and they began to search for roots (archaeological finds and in pre-Columbian codices) and to interpret dreams and visions.

First danza de la Luna, called “Xochimeztli”, inspired by the Borgia Codex (a manuscript from the pre-Columbian era), took place in Mexico in 1992 with Abuela Isabel Vega (Toluimatl), Patricia Guerra, Jovita Embarcadero, Edgar Stivalet (Acuauhtzin), Guadalupe Retiz (Tonalmitl), and three others. Since then, the circle has grown, and other circles have sprouted from it all over the world.

The “Metzliyoliliztli” Moondance in Costa Rica was started in 2007 by Abuela Ana Carmona (Itzpapalotl), who herself had been dancing in the original Mexican circle since 1996, with the support of Maria Soto (Malinalli).

In Central Europe, there have been 2 dances for several years, each from a different lineage and therefore not exactly the same:

  • “Meztli Tepeyollotl” in Switzerland http://www.moondanceswitzerland.com led by Melinda Nina Bovay (Xiuh Quetzal), who comes from the Costa Rican circle of Grandma Itzpapalotl. The moon dance I am preparing will also be in this lineage.
  • “Atlachinolli Meztli” in Austria http://www.moondanceaustria.com led by Antara (Oceloquiahuitl), who comes from the Mexican circle of Grandma Tonalmitl.

OUR MEN

Although men do not dance with us, they are essential to this lunar ceremony. They take care of the fire and of us on a practical level. Dancing would be like standing on one leg without men’s support. Moon dance taught me not only to love myself but also to deeply appreciate and love our men.

MY MOON DANCE

I’ve been dancing since 2015. After four years as a dancer and receiving “my name,” I was in the role of a Sahumadora, the woman of fire who opens/closes the ceremony and cleanses during the ritual for a four-year cycle and from the ninth year at service at the drum.

Part of my service is also education, which is why I wrote my master’s thesis in medical anthropology about the ‘medicine’ of the Moon in the Moondance.

CZECH MOONDANCE

is preparing with the blessings and support of the grandmothers to open in 2026. Since 2022, when we organised our first Czech Moon circle retreat and planted the seed, our community has been growing, and we are holding events to learn about aspects of the Moondance and its teachings. The Moondance is about community and connecting to our roots, so we are not rushing, but letting ourselves be guided, just as the women in Mexico, to create a ritual more authentic to our Celto-Slavic roots.

The Czech Moon Circle meets monthly in Prague for singing, drumming and praying with an obsidian pipe. More info on the website moondanceczechia.com, and on Facebook “Moondance Czech”.

Ometeotl,

Cuauhtli Meyotzin (Eagle of the Shining Water)

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