Moon Rituals: How and Why

If you’ve never practiced any type of moon ritual, you may be wondering why you would even want to start.

If you’re at all familiar with astrology, you likely already understand how the positions of the heavenly bodies can impact us humans, but even if you’re completely disinterested in astrology, the moon is worth looking into for at least one important reason.

You may know that the tides move with and are affected by the moon. Have you ever stopped to consider how, since the human body is approximately 60% water, the same pull that affects the tides could also affect us? If it can move lakes and oceans, at the very least, it is moving something within us.

In every aspect of our lives, there are cycles – the rise and fall of waves and tides, the cycles of life and death, the push and pull (in our relationships, personal growth, and work, for example), and our own expansion and contraction. Tapping into the cycles of the moon is an amazing way to start moving in synch with these incredible, yet subtle, natural movements and fluctuations.

Since ancient times, the moon has been associated with the unconscious, our intuition, emotions, and reflection. The moon offers us these periods of reflection and the opportunity to tap into the power of these symbolisms, the cycles, and the surrounding energies.

Those who practice moon rituals all concur there is a window of increased manifestation power with the new moon and eased releases with the full moon. Intentionally aligning with these natural cycles can add so much power to your own self-development and personal-growth plans. This is incredible power to harness, and it is so simple to get started!

How to get started

It’s fair to say that moon rituals may not be for everyone, but I highly encourage you, if you’ve never tried, to at least try a moon ritual for at least one month (including the full moon and the new moon).

Moon rituals surround the New Moon and the Full Moon.

Start tracking the upcoming new moons and full moons! Search for “Lunar Calender” in your preferred browser to find the most current lunar calender in your own timezone.
- I like this one since it lets you change the period you’re looking at and your location.
Set aside some time either the day of the new/full moon, the day before, or the day after.
- The energies are most potent the three days before and after the full/new moon, but I highly recommend doing it within approximately 24 hours from the actual lunar event. The energy is most potent then.
- The time you set aside is totally up to you, but I recommend dedicating a minimum of 15 minutes, though ideally you may dedicate more like 30-60 minutes
Create a space
- This doesn’t have to be an elaborate ordeal! There doesn’t even have to be a specific space, but having a little space that is lovely to you can be so rewarding. It could be a space where you have a candle, a crystal (or a few!), and maybe a journal to write on. If you already have a meditation space or a prayer altar, this is a perfect place to practice your moon ritual.

Simple space example: crystal, candle, and journal

Create a ritual of your own! You don’t have to just do what someone else says to do; make your connection to the moon your own. That said, most who practice moon rituals will encourage working with the cycles of the lunar phase:
- For the new moon, tap into the manifestation and beginning energy present – set intentions about new things you want to do/start, start new activities or behaviors you want to continue, pay extra attention to self-care, or at least reflect on and write about things you’d like to start doing or bring into your life.
- For the full moon, tap into the releasing energy present – set intentions about things you’re ready to end or release, practice stopping activities or behaviors you want to stop, take time to rest and heal, or at least reflect on and write about things you’d like to move away from in life.
- Personal Note: I used to try to force the intentions to fit into manifest/release for new/full moons, but I’ve since found that not all of my intentions fit this schema. Some times a full moon can also be about inviting something new in, or a new moon may have an intention to release something too… Follow your intuition!

What can you do for these rituals

As mentioned, the most important aspects of making your ritual are that it works for you and that in some way you’re tapping into the energy that the particular moon cycle offers (new moon: manifest/begin, full moon: release/end).

Here I will offer a number of ideas for you to consider incorporating into your own moon ritual:

Reflect – spend a few moments reflecting on what you’d like to release (full moon) or what you’d like to manifest (new moon). This could be behaviors, habits, reactions, objects – the limits are your imagination!

Take a Bath – use an Epsom salt bath to relax and nurture yourself.

Light a Candle – light the candle while setting an intention to connect with the beautiful energy of the moon.

Meditate – whatever meditation you use is probably great, but if nothing else, you could spend a few minutes just focusing on your breathing, being aware of your body, and seeing if any insights come to you about how to harness the moon energy for this particular period.

Visualize & Feel – going along with meditation, once you’re clear on what you want to release or manifest, it’s an amazingly powerful exercise to visualize in your mind what it will be like when you have released or manifested (as if it’s already happened) – allow yourself to really feel the relief, liberation, and increased energy of having completed this release or manifestation. Imagine all of the details you can think of that surround this intention.

Cleanse – using sage to energetically cleanse your body, room, or home; also, cleaning your altar or special place where you practice your ritual.

Pray – send out a little prayer of gratitude and request assistance with your intentions.

Journal – write out your intentions in a journal: what do you intend to become or release? And/or write out some reflections about the time between this moon cycle and the last. What have you learned? What have you struggled with? What have you manifested or released?

Burn or Submerge – during the full moon, some people love to write things they are ready to release on pieces of paper and burn them; others like to find objects that symbolize things they are ready to release and submerge them in salt water. In either example, one would also say (outloud or in their mind) what they are releasing as they burn or submerge it.

Manifest – during the new moon, some people love to write things they want to attract (or find symbolic images) and either put them into a manifestation box or onto their vision board. A manifestation box is just a different format from the vision board (instead of being a board or poster of images and words, it’s a box full of them).

Ground – this can be spending some time in nature, especially paying attention to your foot-to-earth connection, or it could be using a grounding meditation (one that focuses on the connection to the Earth and to your body).

Get Guidance – this could be a great time for getting a reading from someone who works with the lunar cycles or use some oracle cards you enjoy to receive some guidance about what intentions may be best for you at this time. If you decide to work with your own cards, get calm and very present, release attachments to any particular answers or outcomes, clear the deck, set the intention that the cards will reveal the new/full moon intentions most aligned for your highest and greatest good (and the highest and greatest good of all), then shuffle and pull cards. Listen to your intuition about what the card could be suggesting.

One important note about intentions: phrase them, visualize them, and feel them as if they are in the present tense. For example, instead of saying, “I will release/attract…” you say, “I am releasing/attracting…” – and experience this as if it is already present so that you can really tap into the feeling of this powerful intention and begin attracting it to you.

Example Ritual

I’m sharing my personal ritual just so it can give you some additional ideas of how you can make your own ritual.

On the day of the full moon or new moon, I:

Sage myself and my home with the intention that I am cleansing the space, only allowing in beneficial energies
Light a candle, stating that I intend to connect with the energy of the moon and with my guides
Review my intentions from the last cycle, noting how they have manifested and giving thanks for these manifestations
Do my daily prayer and meditation for about 10-15 minutes, focusing on grounding, connecting to my body and breath, and clearing my mind
Pull oracle cards with the intention that my guides are assisting me with the most beneficial and powerful intentions for this particular lunar cycle
Reflect on each card, what intention it is reflecting to me, and how I can embody this intention (asking my guides for action alignment)
Journal about what I got from my oracle cards and guides
Write out (in my journal) what my intentions are for this lunar cycle
State each of my intentions aloud, pausing after each one to visualize and feel the intention
Thank my guides and the moon for sharing their energy, and I cover the candle.
This is my purposeful close to the ritual.
1. Note: some people believe blowing out a candle that you’ve used as part of a manifestation ritual is like blowing out the request/manifestation, so some will choose to use a lid or candle snuff to put it out instead. Follow what feels right to you!
Reinforce these intentions by incorporating them into my daily prayer and meditation routine until the next lunar cycle

For me, this ritual has been incredibly powerful and helpful in my own personal growth process. It is amazing to me to see that, just a couple hours or days after I set the intentions with the lunar cycle, my intention has come to fruition!

Some Additional Articles

For more ideas about setting intentions and working with the lunar cycles, here are some resources that I really enjoyed and you may enjoy too!