Full Moon Rising

Did my ancestors dance naked in the light of the full moon? Is it my Celtic heritage that's responsible for one of my fantasies that takes place under a full moon? My fascination with the full moon and its spellbinding lure must come from my Celtic heritage because I also enjoy watching the lunar eclipse. Some magical forces seem to surround you while watching the moon become slowly dimmed by the shadow passing across it's face, concealing the brightness and then finally taking on a red glow before the shadow gradually reveals the brightness illuminating from earth's only constant companion. Many times while gazing at the full moon in all it's splendor, I have wondered what it would be like to actually experience this fantasy of making love to someone special, while bathed in the incandescent light of the full moon.

After having lived out one of my fantasies, and allowing him to read my writing about the experience, my "partner in crime" asked me if I had any other fantasies I wished to fulfill. Jokingly I told him, yes, that it also has an outdoor setting, but that this fantasy takes place under a full moon. "After all," I told him, "my ancestors danced naked under the full moon, though I have no intention of dancing." I guess the joking manner helped me to be honest and open with him. I'm usually a very open person, but not ordinarily about sex, so this avenue of communication is alien to me.

Anyway, a couple of days later, I realized that it should be time for a full moon. So I searched the web, and found that the next full moon would be this week. I fired off a humorous e-mail telling him of my discovery about the day of the full moon. Knowing that he usually goes to bed fairly early because he has to awake early in the mornings, the e-mail wasn't really intended as an invitation, but just a continuation of the communication. I figured the more I exercised this new openness, the more comfortable I would become. A couple of days later I chatted with him online and nonchalantly asked if he had received my e-mail about the date of the next full moon. He stated yes, but what could we do about it. Not sure if I was serious or joking, I told him I could always try to find a baby-sitter and drive to Lafitte. He commented that would be nice. I immediately began looking for a baby-sitter.

Thursday evening as I drove across the bridge that separates the north shore from New Orleans; I watched the full moon rising, and the waves in the lake turning to silver cascades carrying the magical lunar light to the shore. The moon smiling down upon the lake, seeming so large, so close you could reach out and touch it. Then as it rose higher, it seemed to be floating away from the earth, knowing that most inhabitants cannot appreciate it's mystery and lure.

By the time I reached Lafitte, the moon had chosen a place in the night sky where it could edify any mortal willing to share in it's glory and its mystery. From its position it served as a lantern, lighting the way to the site which had been chosen for viewing the full moon and the lunar eclipse. The wind was brisk and full of fury at times; whipping around us as we made our way to the secluded area surrounded by marshes and woodland. Arriving with our "refreshments" I discovered he had planned well, for there at the end of the path was a tent and wood ready to be set ablaze to create a campfire for warmth. He playfully stated that someone must have planned on camping and that we would make use of their preparations as he lighted the fire.

How long we stood mesmerized by the flames caressing the firewood, I'm not sure. I've always loved watching a campfire, enchanted but at the same time respectful of its blaze, I chuckled as he told me that he was always fascinated by fire. I smiled and thought, "Another thing to add to the list of common interests." We talked about abstract ideas, things that I'm usually afraid to discuss because most people look at me like I've lost my mind. Since it was still some time before the beginning of the lunar eclipse, he suggested that we make ourselves comfortable in the warmth of the tent. I agreed. Entering the tent, I realized how much preparation had gone into this setting. There inside the tent was an air mattress, large enough for two, with covers to keep the night chill away.

Laughing, I removed my shoes and crawled under the covers. Shivering and holding each other until our combined body heat raised the temperature in the tent or at least under the covers. We removed our jackets, and once again sought the warmth of each other and the covers, but this time with caressing touches and kisses that made my body feel as though I were the firewood being caressed gently by the licking flames of the fire. The fire outside had died to burning embers, but the light of the full moon and the fire being stoked inside the tent set the perfect scene for the amorous but erotic pleasures that followed. We made love several times. We did dance naked under the full moon; the dance of passion and love. We missed viewing most of the lunar eclipse, but I felt as though we were a part of the magnificence and edification bestowed by the full moon and the eclipse.

Yes, we made love. I have always felt like the physical and sexual encounters with him can in no way be called just sex, it's more than that, at least for me. At one point that night, after we both reached that point that some would call nirvana, or heaven, still close, connected, he asked me if I was comfortable. My response was, "I'm always comfortable when I'm with you." He responded that he knew that, but he was referring to physical comfort. I laughed and told him that I was comfortable. And thought to myself, why can't his emotions and feelings be as transparent to me as mine are to him.

So did my ancestors dance naked under the full moon? Yes, I'm sure they did. Probably anyone who comes from a Celtic heritage can say that somewhere in their family history are stories of witches or pagans who participated in monthly celebrations of the full moon and elaborate celebrations of the occasional the lunar eclipse. Of course, those who celebrated either during ancient times were branded lunatics or witches. A lunar eclipse was viewed as a bad omen -- a sign of some impending disaster. To some degree people still hold to these superstitions. And I guess that's one reason that many people don't know this nocturnal side of me, like the moon during the total lunar eclipse, it remains in the shadows. I too have "danced naked under the full-moon," but my dance was not simply a dance in celebration of the full moon or the elaborate celebration of the lunar eclipse. It was more. It was a celebration of life, of love, and of hope.

Driving home later that night I noticed that the moon was hidden, whether it was because of the lights or because it had become so overcast, I wasn't sure. Or maybe it had just made an appearance that night for us. I'd like to think so. I know no one could have enjoyed the full moon or the eclipse that night more than I did. I guess it's his turn now. So do I ask him about his fantasies or wait and let him tell me?

©Copyright 2000
SLG
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