Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with Vermont Public.
SOUTH BURLINGTON — Every new and full moon, SabrinaJoy Milbury hosts a moon circle at her South Burlington home. She’s been doing it for almost 20 years.
A moon circle is a meditative drumming circle. Milbury invites people of all ages to gather in her backyard garden to hum, drum, rattle, and reflect on the weeks ahead.
Milbury says the moon circle is a way to forge spiritual connections between people and the natural world. But, she says, “It’s okay if you think this is a bunch of hooey.”
Q. What is a moon circle?
A. The moon always affects us. And what my moon circles are is an opportunity for us to get together and celebrate the moon, her illumination, her love, and her connection to us. And we get to celebrate our connections to each other, too.
We use the energy of a circle to connect to ourselves and to the energies all around us. And then we use the drums and the rattles to help us connect with our intentions and answer any questions. And the drums and the rattles help us move beyond our head conversations. That’s what a drum circle does. You have an opportunity to get beyond your head and into your spiritual connections.
Q. How did this all start?
A. In 2006, I went to Peru. And during that journey, I was first introduced to what’s called a frame drum. I had never touched a drum in my life, not ever. And this lady I was with had a drum that she had made, and at some point, she put her drum down and walked away. And I could hear a voice saying, ‘play me.’ And I did.
And in that moment, I fell in love with that rhythm of the drum. And the drum is a circle, like the moon is a circle, and the sun is a circle, and the earth is a circle. So it’s all these beautiful circles connected. And when I came home from that trip, I said, ‘Oh, I have to make a drum.’ So I drove to Maine and I made my first drum. And I realized that what I wanted to do was be together with other people, drumming and rattling.
Q. What’s your relationship like with spirituality?
A. I had a pretty “traditional” upbringing. I grew up in a middle class home in central Connecticut. And as a child and a teenager, had a very deep relationship with the natural world — with trees, with rocks, with water. That was where I went when I was sad, when I needed to be loved, when I needed to just rest. Outside with the trees or with the water, I actually have an experience of what it is to be in the presence of unconditional love and acceptance. And I didn’t always have that feeling growing up.
So my spirituality, it’s not a religion. It’s not a dogma. It’s the way that I experience the energies, the wisdom and the love that is all around us, and the deep connection that I have with the natural world.
Q. And you’re a horticulturalist?
A. Yes, yes. I had a greenhouse business in Williston for 21 years. And we have lived in this house for 37 years, so I have been gardening here for 36 years. Being a horticulturalist was, and is, a true expression of my creativity and my love for plants and the earth.
Q. Who are moon circles for?
A. Anybody is welcome to these events. It doesn’t matter what you look like, or your sexual orientation, or how old you are. One of the women who comes to the circles, she’s 90. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re coming with an open heart.
When I started the circles, they were co-ed circles. And I never have ever said that they’re only women’s circles. But women mostly are the ones that show up. For many, many years, and to an extent still, the voices of women have been silenced. And so moon circles are a place for women to come together where they are seen, they are heard, they are loved, and they are respected. These women come and sit down and go, ‘Oh, it’s safe here. I can rest here.’
Q. What do people get wrong about moon circles?
A. I sometimes hear people, you know, they dismiss it. They go, ‘Oh, that’s just woo woo. That doesn’t matter, or make any difference, or make any sense.’ But, you know, it’s okay if you think this is a bunch of hooey. It works for me, and it works for the people who come regularly. And if it doesn’t work for you, that’s all right. And I’m going to trust that you will find the place that works for you.