"A long time ago there was a great wailing heard in our Nation. So much pain and sorrow and so many tears. Because of greed and power, our men were fighting and killing each other. The women were weeping for the loss of their husbands, fathers, uncles, and sons. As each tear drop hit the earth it made a sound that was heard throughout the heavens and beyond.
Our Grandmother Moon listened to the pain of the women of earth and went to our Creator to ask for help. Creator, as always, listened and said, "I too have heard the wailing of the women and felt their pain. I shall send them a gift to help in their time of need. Tell them, Grandmother, to gather at the light of the full moon, bring their drums and rattles. Build a great fire under the light of the moon and around the sacred fire, dance, sing and pray for your men."
Grandmother Moon sent Creator's words to the women on a gentle wind and all the women heard.
And so it was that they gathered with their drums, rattles, songs and their prayers. They danced around the sacred fire under the light of the full moon and prayed for the blood shed to stop and the dying of their men to cease. They prayed, danced, and sang until the moon went to sleep and the sun awoke. Their prayers were heard and their gift was given.
From this day on, because your prayers were so powerful and so filled with love; you, the women, will be given the blood of life, so that the blood of violent death will cease. Each month you will shed the blood of life, begining at the age when you will take a husband and from this blood human life will be born. When your children are grown your bleeding will stop because you have given enough and you will grow old listening to the laughter of your grandsons and granddaughters.
The women were happy again.

Diane Dee
*****

We ask that you do as the women did in this legend on the full moon for each month. Dance, sing, and pray to stop the bloodshed and bring all our relations home safely. Build a fire in your own community or back yard.
If you can't have a fire, use a candle. Dance as long as you can and pray as hard as you can. If you can dance all night, dance all night, if you can only give 15 minutes, give 15 minutes. Dance with beauty and love in your heart.
Don't be intimidated, if you can only dance for a few minutes in your room with a candle, you are still giving as much as you can in that moment.
The vision is to spread this story and practice to all the women of the world and have this happening all at once, so we are all essential!
And don't be worried that you are not practicing the original way of the Cherokee culture, if we expect women all over the world to be doing this, we cannot expect them to conform to one form of spirituality. A way which is spiritual and meaningful to you is the right way, intergrate it with your own traditions and songs. Just please keep it sacred; parties have their place and are good, but this is ceremony which is simply different.
This is also a women's ceremony, and we MUST respect that tradition, sometimes men feel left out, but it is not done with the intention of or 'getting back'.
There are many ceremonies in which we are mixed, and there are some in which we are separated. Men's prayers are just as important, but you have your own ceremonies.
It may seem unfair to be left out, but that just opens an opportunity for you to gather in another place and ceremony.
Although, it is good for young children to come, boys are fine until they become men which is traditionally concidered about 13 or 14, depending on the culture. There are many variations. Some would say only boys who are still nursing or need to be with their mothers. It's your own feeling.

This tribe is for us to share songs, stories, ideas and experiences of how we are practicing this tradition in the modern world with noise ordinances, fire bans, and work.

http://tribes.tribe.net/moondancing