Praising the Full Moon with a Surfboard

Full moon has passed, and millions of humans around the world from all faiths, praise its influence on our life. Indigenous communities, new age spiritual movements, and astrologists alike, look to the moon for guidance in their life. Shit man - wolves even howl at them.

But where I feel the full moon’s deepest effects in my life, is in the surf. The gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun bulges the water, creating larger and continuous changes between both high and low tide. At Full (and New) Moon, the gravitational force of the Sun and the Moon combine to create spring tides AKA amazing waves.

Every time I step into spring swell on my surfboard, my emotional state is raised significantly. The water of the ocean combines with mine, and every cell in my body is influenced by this powerful energy and gravitational pull moving the water. If there is a sub culture of full moon prayer in the evening, there is an established subculture of surfing praying to her, in the days before and after the full moon.   

Those spring swells are not emotionally peaceful to me. Everything occurring in my life, is heightened and felt in the ocean. The energy of that swell pouring over me, and calling me to sit gently with what’s occurring. There is something very pureflying about that experience. Biologically, the salt and PH levels of 10 degree water, interfacing with my body, feel profound to my well being and emotional state. Over the last 12 years of surfing, I (and many others) have brought every problem in my life to rest in the ocean. It’s not by mistake that surfers are characterised as being ‘chilled’, and surfing is the finest type of therapy offering life lessons every time we enter her deep womb.

With those waves of energy passing through me, paddling and climbing mountains of water, and watching carefully where the wave breaks, I’m forced to be very present. There is always a healthy dose of fear arising in the water, and the brain tends to sharpen its focus to what’s happening right now. If only because, there are material consequences for not focusing.

Full moon ocean swell, and climbing into an environment which I know is wild, untamed, and even predatory, is a teaching in trusting life. The ocean teaches me trust every single time I climb into her.  

The most exhilarating feeling though, is catching those waves. We live for those short moments in time. Us surfers, essentially seek to unite with the energy in the water by finding the right point on the wave to take off. We ‘actually’ ride the full moon. How fucking cool is that?. There is no better way to pray to the full moon, than joining her on a wave. That feeling is unparalleled to anything in nature I have experienced in my lifetime.