Navigating Moon Rituals

Moon rituals are extremely valuable to understanding emotions, life outcomes, and delving into your personhood. There are many different types of moon rituals, all of which are special and beneficial in their own distinct way, some requiring more time and patience than others.

First, it’s important to acknowledge what the moon represents and how it can assist you in achieving a better understanding of your self-worth and purpose in life. The moon represents our deepest emotions and our value of self-image. When there is a full or new moon, you may experience a drastic change in emotions or find subjects resurfacing that you’ve been pushing down. This is the moon trying to encourage you to reflect on your thoughts, actions, and feelings, and push you to do something about it—big or small.

The practice of full moon rituals and new moon rituals are very different, and therefore must be understood before attempting any ritual. Full moon rituals revolve around celebrating what has become, whereas new moon rituals are centered around what you want to manifest. For full moons, you want to use this time to reflect on what you’ve gained, how you’ve grown, and what steps were made to get there. For the new moon, you’ll want to think about what you desire, what you want to release, and what lessons you want to learn.

There are many different ways to perform moon rituals, however, the basic first steps are always the same:

1. Be clear on the purpose of your ritual. What are you wanting to accomplish? What’s the most meaningful outcome you can imagine?

2. Set an altar to reflect the intentions of your ritual. This can be as simple as a candle, crystals, and herbs, or as in-depth as letters, statues, spell jars, etc.

3. Focus on your intention and release it into the universe. Visualization is vital here: picture exactly what life would look like if your intentions were made a reality. Try to include as much detail as you can manage. The universe will be more willing to support you if it knows exactly what you want.

4. Begin your reflection and gratitude to the moon, whether through journaling (writing a letter to the moon) or speaking out loud to the moon.

After these steps are taken, you can decide how to move forward in whatever direction you find comfortable. A moon ritual can be as simple as a 10-minute moment of gratitude, or a more in-depth reflection and manifestation session. Everyone's practice is special and individualized to them and their needs. Some people choose to sing, dance, or bathe to give thanks and cleanse themselves. Whatever it is that you choose to do will be meaningful and effective. This is your ritual, and therefore should be surrounding your needs, interests, and goals.