Making Your Own Moon Ritual (Patreon)

There are many different ways you can create your own moon ritual and this article by Andi touches upon a variety of ways you can perform your own! Do you have your own moon ritual? Do you have a different one for each moon phase?

We’ve seen all sorts of questions out there: do moon rituals actually work? (yes.) How do I do a moon ritual? (we’ll show you!) Can I manifest abundance and prosperity by doing a moon ritual? (most definitely.) And even - should I cut my hair according to the moon? (maybe?!)

In this post I’m going to walk you through how to prepare for your own moon ritual, what exactly a moon ritual is, the essentials practices to make your ritual work for you, and more.

We’ll cover every rituals for every lunar phase from the new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, and the waning crescent moon.

Humans, especially women, have long had a profound connection to the moon. For thousands of years, we have organized time and traditions in observation of the movement of our moon in the night sky. The word "moon" shares its first few letters with the word "month" — and that's no coincidence.

As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Moon orbits the Earth, and over the course of about 29 days, we experience each phase of the Moon.

As the Moon takes its time to reset, renew, radiate, retreat, and rest each month, so do we. We traverse different emotional experiences, mindsets, and ways of being — we’re traveling around those feelings the same way the moon travels around the Earth. The more attuned we are to these phases and how they align within us, the better we can harness moon magic.

Each lunar phase is about 7 days apart and while you may have heard of the energetics of the full moon, there are actually unique energies aligning with each phase. If you’re new to moon rituals, consider this: the lunar phases each have a special meaning, and we can mentally, spiritually, and even physically, follow the same phases.

LUNAR RITUAL PREPARATIONS

To begin your ritual preparation, follow the moon through each cycle — beginning with the new moon (a good time to reset and set intentions), moving through the waxing crescent moon (a time for nurturing ideas), to the first quarter moon and the waxing gibbous moon (creating action and refining our plans, respectively) and onto the center point — the full moon (a time for calling in, manifesting, and traditionally - harvesting).

From there we cycle back around: the waning gibbous moon (a time for gratitude for all we’ve received), through the last quarter moon (a time of release and letting go), and ending with the waning crescent (a time for rest) before returning to the new moon again.

When you consider that each of these phases has a specific energetic association, there’s an opportunity to create new ritual practices for each phase of the moon.

To begin your moon practice you’ll need a few supplies, as well. We’ll get to those below.

WHAT IS A MOON RITUAL?

A ritual is a symbolic practice, observation, or exercise designed to align and honor. The goal in a moon ritual specifically is to align yourself with the energetics of the Moon.

You may have heard of a full moon ritual or new moon ritual before - practicing moon rituals can help you align your experience, intentions, and manifestations with the moon’s illuminating power.

My recommendation is to practice moon rituals with all the moon phases following the outline here.

RITUALS TO PRACTICE FOR EACH PHASE OF THE MOON

New Moon - Reset and Set Intentions

Waxing Crescent - Nurture Yourself and Your New Ideas

First Quarter - Create Action

Waxing Gibbous - Root Into Your Plans and Refine Where Needed

Full Moon - Illuminate and Manifest

Waning Gibbous - Express Gratitude and Reap the Benefits of Your Work

Last Quarter - Release Energy and Let Go of Stagnancy

Waning Crescent - Celebration Completion and Cultivate Rest

CREATE YOUR OWN RITUAL

In order to create a ritual that resonates with you, the practices you create should intuitively raise your internal vibration. The intention of a moon ritual is simply to connect with yourself, your guides, inner being, nature, or whatever it is that lights you up. It can be a night of celebration, gratitude, manifestation, rest, or release.

There are numerous instructions out there for creating moon ritual practices – and my recommendation is to find what works best for you. There are four practices I include in every moon ritual, and these can be done in a variety of ways. To begin, I always have paper and pencil on hand for journaling, a candle, a small bowl of water, and space to move. I wear comfy clothing and keep the lights low.

Give each of these practices a try and then craft a ritual of your own.

4 ESSENTIAL PRACTICES FOR A MOON RITUAL

BREATHWORK

For your moon ritual, you don’t need to have regular breathwork practice, you simply need to consciously practice breathing with the intention of creating a sense of relaxation and calm. Deep “belly” breaths into the diaphragm with long, slow exhales is a good starting point.

In the book The Healing Power of the Breath, we learn that breathing can reset the body and mind. “By changing the patterns of breathing, it is possible to restore balance to the stress response systems, calm an agitated mind, relieve symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, improve physical health and endurance, elevate performance, and enhance relationships.”

A four-count of breath in, a hold of four, and an exhale of four is a good beginning to calm your breath and enter into your moon ritual. If you’d like to explore more breathwork techniques, there’s a myriad of offerings to be found with a quick google search.

MOVEMENT

This is where you can really have some fun! Movement can range from yoga poses to dance moves to anything in between. In a recent new moon ceremony, I lead a group of women through the shamanic process of ‘dancing your spirit animal.’ The idea is to call the spirit of an animal (any animal you’re drawn to works) into your body and then move like the animal moves.

In a full moon circle, I was a part of recently, we did something completely different. We started by moving through a series of “cat and cow” sequences (a basic move in a yoga practice that begins on all fours rolling your spine up and down).

From there we flowed from the cat/cow to swinging our hips in big circles to release any pent-up emotion held in the hips. In the yogic view, the hips are a place that stores deep relationship wounds and other traumas.

One more example to release energy — practice “lightning walking.” This is one I created for my new moon ritual practice. Start by standing in a tall posture, and then begin to walk with heavy feet. As you take a step visualize a bolt of lightning striking from your body into the floor. Any stagnant energy should clear your body with that lightning bolt and ground into the floor beneath you.

VISUALIZATION

Visualization is another opportunity to get creative. You can start with a simple meditation practice, visualizing whatever the action is you’re working on for that particular moon cycle - i.e. manifesting, clearing, refining, etc. I like to use a basic chakra visualization as a jumping-off point.

The seven chakras (which translates to “wheel” in Sanskrit) are the main energy centers of the body. When our chakras are clear or “unblocked”, positive energy moves through them freely, and there’s a natural balance. The chakras begin at the base of the spine - the “root” - and work up from there, ending at the “crown” of the head.

In my visualization practice, I like to imagine the spinning wheels moving from the root up to the crown being cleansed by water, or spinning so fast that any blockages spin away. When I’m doing a “cleansing” visualization I see the water moving across each wheel and then washing out through my body onto the floor beneath me.

In contrast, when I’m doing a “manifestation” visualization, I imagine each chakra spinning and emitting light around my body. I close that visualization by imagining a magnet spinning above the crown of my head attracting in all that I’m calling in for that lunar cycle.

FIRE

In the practice of using fire, consider the duality of what fire offers: things burn, and then new growth forms. To perform a simple fire practice for letting go, set up a candle and a small bowl of water. Write down anything you’re holding on little slips of paper. As you write, burn the paper in the flame and extinguish it in the water. Visualize those things holding you back leaving you as they go up in flames.

Another fire practice I love is for manifestation, or calling in. I write down anything I’d like to call into my life for that lunar cycle. I pause as I write each item onto my list, and then gaze into the candle while considering each item on my list.

I focus on the sensation of the light flowing into me and then imagine my manifestations rising up from the candle into the light of the moon. As time passes, the room around me begins to fade as the flame of the candle takes over my awareness. This type of meditation with a flame is called “Trāṭaka.”

One more simple practice with fire is to light a new candle on the night of your ritual while journaling out your specific new moon intentions for that moon cycle. Every evening before you go to bed, the light that candle again and revisit your stated new moon intentions.

My goal in sharing these essential moon ritual practices: breath, movement, visualization, and fire — is to help you create the ritual that works best for you. When we truly align with the energetics of the moon, we have the opportunity to be in flow with that celestial being, versus moving against it.

Oh! And in regards to the haircut question - should you cut your hair according to the cycles of the moon? My advice, always do what feels best to you.

Source:

https://www.ouiwegirl.com/beauty/2020/4/8/moon-rituals