13 Moons is a video project formed of a series of performative self-portrait style videos in which I explore my relationship with my lunar cycle over a period of 13 lunation.
Though we live in a solar culture, chiefly observing time based on our relationship to the mighty Sun, we have a deep and abiding connection to the Moon. Symbolically and metaphorically, the Moon represents our feminine nature - possessed of by all genders - and rules our emotional tides, our intimate, ancestral and familial connections and more broadly our feeling nature. This project is a way to consciously and explicitly explore my own relationship with this archetype but also to raise the value and importance of this oft misunderstood and undervalued energy in our lives.
I commenced the project in January 2018 and, each month, fueled very much by the visions and sensations I experience during my menses, I create a new video. The first is viewable here with more to follow in time.
“We ran as if to meet the moon.”
13 Moons is a series of performative self-portrait videos exploring notions of power and the feminine over the course of 13 lunar cycles, or one full calendar year. I commenced the project in January 2018. Each month fueled very much by the visions and sensations I experience during my menses, I created a new video. The series can be viewed here.
Although we live in a solar-centric culture primarily observing time based on our relationship to the Sun, we have a profound connection to the Moon. Symbolically and metaphorically, the Moon represents the feminine nature present in all genders. It governs our emotional tides, intimate familial bonds, and broader feeling nature – our emotional intelligence. Lunar consciousness speaks to our intuitive faculties, the merits of the dream world, and the gift of nocturnal visions.
When healthily expressed, lunar power manifests as goddess energy – intuitive insight, nurturance, and a sense of connection to all sentient beings, including the very ground we stand on. While these qualities are shared by all humanity, they have traditionally been associated with female-bodied people and persistently undervalued, sometimes repressed with violence.
This project consciously and explicitly explores my personal relationship with power through the lens of the archetypal feminine, raising the value and importance of these oft-abused and undervalued qualities in the greater collective.
© Sheba Remy Kharbanda 2020