11 - Moon Magick
Moon magick is one of the oldest forms of ritual, rooted from the earliest times in the observations of humankind, of the changing phases of the Moon. These associations have passed into modern magick and it is by reconnecting with the natural energies that we can use the ebbs and flows of the lunar cycle, not only to amplify our own powers for magical purposes, but also to harmonise with them, rather than fighting against our bodies and spirits in our everyday lives.
Rituals throughout the ages have tapped into the prevailing lunar energies that, like the tides, are affected by the different cycles. In this way, magical intentions can be carried on either the outflowing or inflowing psychic tide to give them the impetus to manifest themselves in the physical world.
To go against the Moon cycles in magick or in life is a bit like swimming against the flow: quite possible with practice, but involving unnecessary effort.
The Moon Mother
The Moon was regarded as the mother of all long before written records existed, for she was seen to give birth to a new moon every 29 days. Because the old moon apparently died, it was believed that that she took the souls of the dead back into her womb and gave them new life. In the same way, the three main lunar phases gave rise to the concept of the Triple Goddess who has been worshipped in cultures from palaeolithic times where early cave art displayed crescent moons that have been identified as Goddess symbols. The evolved Triple Goddess of the Celts, which reflects the lunar cycles of maiden, mother and crone, is an icon also seen throughout the classical world.
Moon Time
The earliest calendars were based on the lunar cycle and Moon time is still used in the modern world in both pagan and religious rituals: the Chinese New Year is a lunar festival and the Chinese ritual year follows the Moon and the Native Americans calculate their months by the Moon. The Coligny Calendar of the Gallic Druids, which runs from full moon to full moon, was named after the place in France where it was discovered in 1897, engraved on bronze. Similar calculations were inscribed in stone at Knowth, one of the sacred ancient megalithic sites in Ireland.
Many of the original lunar calendars were based on the natural and agricultural world and helped in establishing an agricultural calendar, noting times in the cycle when crops were planted and ripened and when birds migrated, as well as the coming of the herds among hunting peoples. 'Blue moons', where more than one full moon occurs in the same calendar month, have always been regarded as especially potent. In the Further Reading chapter, I have listed sources where you can find these older calendars.
In modern magick, old Moon names are a good way of connecting with the powers of nature that, unlike seasonal energies operate on a monthly basis, but magically are strongest on the actual eve and night of the full moon and the days before and after the full moon. So Moon names can give a focus to magical purposes at the right time in the yearly cycle, as they emphasise the prevailing energies that different peoples have interpreted according to their own seasonal trends. Sadly, we no longer top up our psychic batteries in the same way, and the further we move from nature, the harder it gets to access these helpful powers.
The night of the full moon is good for solitary practitioners and groups as well as formal covens, to tune into the full force of the monthly energies. If you have coven business, leave it to another night - it is a shame to waste all that time on mundane matters, when you could be riding high on the cascading powers. You can carry out more than one full moon ritual on the same night, opening the circle and perhaps following an energetic spell with a gentler rite, or vice versa, before closing the circle. The one I have suggested on page 222 would easily form part of a more complex full moon rite. Alternatively, you could perform it privately, perhaps the evening before or after the full moon. You can, if you are working alone, spread your full moon rituals over three nights, with the major one on the night of the full moon and the others on the preceding and following nights.
I have started the full moon calendar on page 214 with the moon that is nearest to the Celtic New Year on 2 November, the moon that the Celts called Samnios, the 'falling of the seeds'. In Native American lunar calendars, the full moon around this period was often known as the 'hunters' moon' or the 'trading moon', because the trading of goods was carried out in preparation for the needs of the coming winter. You may find that each of the full moons corresponds with a personal event or prevailing mood in your own yearly life cycle. You may even give it a personal name and create your very own Moon calendar or devise one based on your own region. The passing of the urban year can equally be a focus or you can use goddess/god names to reflect the different moon energies.
There is a great variety of translations of the Celtic and Native American names. For example, I always call Samnios 'Going Home for the Winter' because this is the time of year that coincides, like the Celtic herdsmen returning from the hills, with the closing of the small caravan site where I spend so many of my spring and summer days, working and taking my youngest child to play by the sea. It is for me a time of sorrow, but also of realisation that the site has become muddy and cold and I am spending more and more time huddled within over the small heater. I know that it really is time to put away the picnic bench outside the van where I eat, read and carry out rituals in the sunnier times.
To the Celts, this moon carried the hope of seeds that would take root to burst through in the early spring. As I close the van, I too look forward to returning in spring, maybe having weathered the storms I know are gathering round me emotionally as well as physically.
I have listed the 12 moons that correspond to the 12 months of the year. However, because some years have 13 moons and lunar months vary slightly in length, a thirteenth magical month, Ciallos, the month of no time, is added every two and a half years. There are fairly complex rules for its insertion, but a good lunar almanac will keep you on track - you can follow its instructions or use Ciallos rather like a joker in a playing card pack, when you need it.
As you work with the Moon and plot her daily path over years you will become naturally in tune with the prevailing energies.
I have briefly listed the moons and the kind of magick you can perform either on the full moon itself or the day that precedes or follows it, and on page 216 I have given a basic full moon ceremony to use for your special moons. You may not wish to celebrate every full moon this way, just the significant ones in your year. The names are a synthesis of lunar names I have gathered and used over the years. You will see the echo of these themes throughout the seasons.
Moons Of The Coligny Calender
Samnios, Seed Fall
Native American name: Hunter's Moon, Trading Moon
Full moon date: October/November (April/May in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Making an end to what is not fruitful, drawing up realistic plans for the coming year
Dumannios, the Coming of Deep Darkness
Native American name: First Snows or Frost on the Grass Moon
Full moon date: November/December (May/June in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Bringing light into the darkness, seeking inner as well as outer illumination and inspiration
Riuros, the Time of the Long Coldness
Native American name: When Wolves Huddle Close Moon
Full moon date: December/January (June/July in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Material security, the home and family
Angantios, Staying or Home
Native American name: Gnawing on Bones Moon
Full moon date: January/February (July/August in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Acceptance of life as it is, seeking joy in what one has, not fretting for what one has not
Ogronios, the Time of Shining Ice
Native American name: When the Geese First Lay Moon
Full moon date: February/March (August/September in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: The stirring of new hope and trust, releasing potential that has been frozen
Curios, the Time of the Winds
Native American name: Purification or Eagle Moon
Full moon date: March/April (September/October in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Change, clearing away stagnation and inertia
Glamonios, Growing Green Shoots
Native American name: Frog or Blossom Moon
Full moon date: April/May (October/November in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: New horizons and opportunities, fertility
Simiuisonnos, Bright Time or the Time of Dancing
Native American name: Flowering or Full Leaf Moon
Full moon date: May/June (November/December in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Joy, permanent relationships, maximising opportunities
Equos, the Time of the Horse
Native American name: Strawberry Moon When the Buffalo Are Calling
Full moon date: June/July (December/January in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Travel, moves of all kinds, house or career expansion
Elembiuos, Claim Time
Native American name: Ripe Corn Moon, Moon When the Young Geese Take Wing
Full moon date: July/August (January/February in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Justice, promotion, recognition and financial gain
Edrinios, the Time of Arbitration
Native American name: Harvest Moon, Dark Butterfly Moon
Full moon date: August/September (February/March in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Reaping what has been sown, abundance, assessing life and resources with a view to shedding what cannot be used
Cantios, the Song Moon
Native American name: Nut Moon, Moon When the Birds Fly South
Full moon date: September/October (March/April in the southern hemisphere)
Ritual: Final burst of energy for tasks undone, salvaging relationships and missed opportunities
A Full Moon Ritual For Energy
Use this ritual to bring specific lunar energies into your life. It should be carried out on the evening of the full moon or as close as you can.
I choose Cantios, my favourite full moon of the year, when calling for help to finish things I have left undone, but you can use the same method and much of the ritual for any of the full moons. You can also use this ritual without focusing on a specific full moon, for bringing plans to fruition or for an extra surge of energy when you need it to overcome an obstacle or seize an opportunity.
* Light a row of three silver candles, two of the same size for the waxing and waning phases and one much larger in the centre for the full moon.
* Light three sticks of jasmine or mimosa incense.
* Take a branch from a willow or any other tree or plant that grows near water, and on it hang three silver baubles; one should be very large. If you have no baubles, make discs from silver foil. Silver is the colour and metal of the Moon. Add nine tiny, silver-coloured bells, hung with thread.
* If the full moon is visible, use a hand mirror, silver if possible, to direct its light toward the tree or plant, saying:
Isis, mother of the Moon, your power this night bring to me soon. Your silver radiance on me shine, your fertile light now strengthen mine. Full moon, full glory, fill my heart, your loving wisdom to me impart. Mother Isis, your child I call, uplift and guide me lest I fall.
(You can, instead of Isis, choose your own Moon goddess if you prefer or just invoke the Moon mother.)
* Now with silver thread or ribbons, bind the tree and the baubles with nine loose knots, saying:
I bind your tree with tasks undone, Maiden, Mother, not yet Crone. I bind your strength my race not won, I take the power and it is done.
* Moon Magick
* Pull all your knots undone, one after the other, and shake the tree
* so the bells ring and the energy is released.
* Leave the candles to burn down in a safe place.
Leave the branch or plant still hung with silver baubles and bells throughout the week of the full moon and use the week to focus on your specific Moon theme. Sit, if you can, for a few minutes each night by silver candlelight and see yourself surrounded by an orb of silver light. Maximise the possibilities in your everyday world.
You can adapt the words to suit the different months and, if you wish, rest an appropriate symbol in the branch, tied on with silver ribbon, for example, a toy horse during the month Equos, for travel and the expansion of horizons, mental as well as physical.
The Cycle Of The Moon
As I mentioned earlier in the chapter, as well as the months, the phases of the Moon offer scope for different kinds of magick during the individual monthly moon cycles. However, problems in interpretation of these energies can arise because astronomy and astrology are no longer regarded as the same thing. For example, to our ancestors, the astrological Dark of the Moon was the same as the astronomical dark - the first two and a half days of the cycle when the Moon is not visible at any hour of the day or night.
To this were added the preceding three days of the old moon, when it did not rise until the early hours of the morning. So when books of magick speak of the new moon, they may mean the time when the crescent first appears in the sky. But if you prefer, you can, as some modern practitioners do, count the Dark of the Moon only as those three last waning days and start new moon magick from the literal calendar day. It's a bit like deciding exactly when a chicken comes to life: you don't actually see it until the chicken pops out of the egg but you know it's alive even when it's invisible, inside the shell.
I prefer to wait for the crescent because to me those last days of the old moon are still very precious. I can remember waking before it was light in Spain and seeing that last waning crescent with its accompanying star, shining like a jewel in the warm sky. The answer, as always, is to do what you feel is best for you.
Working With The Phases
There are eight astronomical phases of the Moon, but magick generally focuses on three that are considered to be particularly significant.
The waxing moon: As the Moon is increasing in size, it is said to be waxing. The light increases, appearing to spread from right to left, and this phase lasts right until the moment that the Moon becomes completely visible - the full moon. The waxing phase is the time for magick for increase or to attract good things. The more the Moon increases in size, the more powerful become its energies to attract abundance.
The full moon: The full moon phase, when the whole of the Moon is visible, is the time for the most potent magick, but it lasts for only 24 hours - although, as I have said, most practitioners allow a day on either side.
The waning moon: From the second following the 24 hours of the full moon, the Moon is waning. The light decreases as the Moon shrinks from right to left and the energies too start to wane until the Moon is no longer visible at all. The wane is the time for banishing and for decreasing influences. The more it decreases, the more the potency decreases, so the pull that keeps any destructive influences in you is also decreasing. You can, however, use the waning moon like an emptying bath and wash away all the bad things into the cosmos or the earth as the energies swirl away, to be restored and reformed into positivity.
Moon Phases And You
Like the Moon, you and everything around you - children, pets, plants and, of course, crystals - will become more dynamic and charged as the Moon increases. This is especially noticeable with moonstones and topaz. Then, as the Moon wanes, everything loses energy and enthusiasm.
It's the spirit and body's way of telling you to slow down and regenerate. I am convinced that a great deal of the stress, premenstrual tension and irritability that we all suffer is because we are running counter to those energies. Of course, you can't ring into work and say that you are not coming in because the Moon is seriously waning, but you can cut down on non-essential tasks.
I, for example, would certainly not take children to pleasure parks on the waning moon where they will be whirled upside down on dangerous rides and tears and fights may occur. Instead, save the Action Man/Superwoman stuff for the full moon and go for a wander instead in woods and gardens and by gently flowing streams.
Tuning Magically Into The Lunar Phases
The cycle from new moon to new moon lasts 29.5 days but because the Moon has an irregular orbit, the time of its rising and setting will vary each day. For this reason, phases can vary in length by a day or so each month. The best way to understand the Moon is as our ancestors did, by studying in the sky. Use an almanac or a diary that contains Moon phases or consult your daily paper to identify the phases to start you off on the right day. The weather section of your paper also gives you precise timings and there is usually a chart so you can adjust for time zones and summer time differences.
Each day, look to see whether the Moon is in the sky or, if it is cloudy, calculate where it ought to be. On clear nights you will see how it rises diagonally. You can use a tree in your garden or the roof of a house or even a tall fence to note the position at a specific time of the night and month. Each month it will be slightly different, because of that irregular orbit. Don't be fooled in the waning phase - in the later part, you may see in the early morning yesterday's Moon that has not yet set.
Children love keeping a 'Moon watch', and you may like to buy a sky globe or map or lunar software for your computer so that you can all track its progress.
Most importantly, note what effect the Moon has on your emotions. Does it make you feel like lighting a candle, making love, dancing in the garden, cleaning out a cupboard, having an argument - or doing absolutely nothing? If you monitor these feelings for three or four months or so, you will find your own Moon pattern emerging. Soon you will be able to understand why you feel the way you do (and we all know that it will seem quite irrational sometimes!). Most importantly, you will be able to maximise your best moon times for action. Make full moon water by catching the full moonlight in a silver-coloured bowl; drink it or add it to your bath.
In addition, if you want to understand the mechanics as opposed to the workings of the Moon, read a book on astronomy rather than astrology to learn about orbits and the eight phases.
You might also, even if you do not read horoscopes, keep an eye for when the Moon enters your birth sign - this happens for about two and a half days each month - and monitor the effects over a period of several months. Does it make you more jittery, less cautious (which may or may not be a good thing), more intuitive, more family-orientated, reverting to out-moded patterns of reaction? Again, you can maximise positive effects if you are aware of them, like anticipating a wave and riding it, rather than being submerged by the surge of power.
Rituals And Moon Phases
If possible, always work out of doors or near an open window so that you feel connected to the lunar energies. However, do not feel that you must freeze if the weather is cold: in spite of the superstitions, it is not unlucky to look at the Moon through glass. I have suggested a ritual for each phase and listed the best kinds of magick for each time.
The Waxing Moon
This is the time for new beginnings and long-term goals and you can repeat the same spell during each waxing moon period for projects that will take months or even a year or more to bring to fruition. The closer to the full moon, the more intense the energies will be, and a spell lasting over three days, up to and including the full moon, is excellent for an urgent project or one with a necessarily short time scale.
The waxing moon is good for spells to improve health, the gradual increase of prosperity, for attracting good luck, for fertility magick, for finding friendship, new love and romance, for job hunting, for making plans for the future and increasing psychic awareness.
The Virgin Goddesses ruled the waxing moon.
A Waxing Moon Fertility Spell
I get asked for fertility spells perhaps more than any other kind, as the modern world with everything running 24 hours a day, including lighting and heating, throws our bodies out of sync. Certainly, people no longer make love in tune with the rising energies of the Earth. While physiological problems need medical input, fertility spells practised over a few months are good for women who come off the Pill and feel anxious if they do not become pregnant in the first two or three months. They will counter the anxiety that builds up and blocks the natural rhythms. It has been scientifically shown that pleasurable sex increases the chances of conception.
But for men and women who do have difficulty conceiving, who use IVF or artificial insemination, fertility spells do seem to help to create spiritual and mental cycles and conception may prove easier. It is certainly worth trying as I know a number of people for whom fertility spells have worked - and even where they do not, they have restored joy to lovemaking.
This ritual should be carried out when the crescent moon is visible in the sky and if you live near the sea, you may be able to coincide your lovemaking with the high tide (a secluded beach is brilliant if the weather is good, although I have known people do this hundreds of miles from the sea). But if the tide is out of sync, then you still have lunar energies aplenty. You could even plan an overnight stay in a hotel with a room overlooking the shore so you can hear the sound of the waves.
* Take an egg and carefully with a needle make a hole in it to drain out all the fluid. You can cook this and eat it or feed this to an animal to avoid waste. If you do not want to use a real egg, you can buy painted wooden or even agate ones in two halves that slot together.
* Cut your shell in half and in one half place either a moonstone or a tiny crystal egg.
* Place both halves open on your window ledge.
* Make love when you wish.
* On the night the full moon is in the sky, take a tiny paper knife and gently prick the crystal still inside the shell saying:
God to Goddess, thee to me, grant increase, if 'tis right to be.
* Make love in the full moonlight if it is shining or at any time that night even if it is not, so that you can see the egg on the window ledge or if you are outdoors on a nearby rock.
* As you reach orgasm, repeat, silently if your partner is nervous of magick:
God to Goddess, thee to me, grant increase, if 'tis right to be.
* Leave your egg in the moonlight.
* The next morning, place the two halves together and wrap the egg with the crystal inside, together with the knife, in a white silk scarf in a drawer in your bedroom.
* Repeat, using a fresh eggshell each month. You may find your menstrual cycle moves slowly to synchronise with the Moon. If possible, make love when you wish, rather than by the chart, for a month or so.
The Full Moon
If you look in your Moon diary, you will see the exact time the full moon rises in your area. That is the most powerful moment of all and if you can time the climax of a spell for that time you will touch the stars. The time between rising and setting is also very potent and can do wonders for lovemaking that has become routine.
Full moon magick is good for any immediate need, for a sudden boost of power or courage, for a change of career, location or for travel, psychic protection, healing acute medical conditions, for a large sum of money needed urgently, the consummation of love or for making a permanent love commitment, for fidelity spells, especially if a relationship is looking shaky, for justice, ambition and promotion.
The full moon is ruled by the lunar Mother Goddesses.
A Ritual For Drawing Down The Moon
There are many versions of this goddess-focused ritual and it can be used to draw power into yourself and, if you wish, to channel wisdom from a higher source (see also the Charge of the Goddess and the Charge of the God on pages 83 and 86). You can use it either for a specific purpose or for increasing your spiritual awareness and it can be used by both men and women.
You may wish during this ritual to focus on a specific lunar goddess form in her full moon aspect. The most famous one still central to modern Wicca is Diana, Roman goddess of the Moon, the hunt and fertility. Though, like her Greek counterpart, Artemis, she was worshipped originally as the maiden aspect of the Moon, in time she came to represent the full moon also.
Sometimes the Triple Lunar Goddess of modern Wicca is represented by the classical deities, Diana (the Greek Artemis), Selene and Hecate, being maiden, mother and wise woman or crone.
Isis, the Egyptian goddess who was both Moon Goddess and mother of the Sun, is also a potent focus. If you are going to use a specific goddess form, study images of her in the days before the ritual or if you have a favourite statue hold it for a few minutes before bedtime. I have a wooden figure of the Moon Mother Goddess sold to me by a Moroccan guy who said she was a patroness of his village. Whether that was a sales pitch or not, I still associate her with palm trees and a brilliant Moon in a cloudless sky. However, you may prefer to tune directly into the physical light of the silver Moon as a source of power.
You can carry out this ritual either alone or with a group. Though traditionally it is the High Priestess who draws down the Moon into herself and then channels wisdom, each member can absorb the power in his or her own way and experience the connection between the individual divine spark and the collective Divinity. The ritual I have given can easily be adapted for either a lone practitioner or a group. If there is no Moon visible because of adverse weather conditions, you can use mirrors and candles to draw down the power.
* Surround what is to be your circle with silver candles. In the centre, place a mirror flat on a table or the altar so that the Moon is reflected within it. Have a single, large, silver candle near the centre of the circle so it can also shine within the mirror. If you cannot position the mirror so that the Moon is seen within it, place additional silver candles close to create a light within it (before the ritual experiment with white candles that you can use around the home afterwards).
* If you are working in a group, each person in the ritual should stand in front of (but not too close to) their personal candle.
* Light the central candle and then take a lighted taper from it to the northernmost candle and light it, saying:
Thus do we light the circle of the Moon.
(If you are working in a group, pass the taper to the person standing at the candle, who will light it and say the words.)
* Continue in this way, re-lighting the taper if necessary from the central candle, until the entire circle of candles is alight.
* Now focus on the mirror and the light of the Moon or candle and say:
Goddess of the Moon, [name one or more], Silver Mother, come to full increase, enter now those who seek your inspiration and healing light.
* Chant:
Come down, O Mother, fill the sky with thy orb, come now, come, come within.
This may develop into a song or a slow rhythmic circle dance around the mirror, as you whisper the words on the wind.
* Project the moonlight, actual or visualised, so that it fills the mirror and creates a brilliant sphere of light around, over and beyond the candles, so that you (or the group) are within the sphere of the Moon.
* As the power builds, circle and chant:
Within the Moon, within the power, within the Moon, now at this hour, we are the Moon.
* At this point there is silence and stillness. Then, one by one if you are in a group, speak words of wisdom, inspired by the light.
* When this is done, sit quiet in the light of the Moon or candle.
* Working widdershins from the last candle to be lit, the candles can be extinguished slowly, saying at each one:
May the light remain within as the circle is uncast without.
* Leave the central candle burning as you write and burn wishes in it, written with a silver pen on dark paper.
* Finally, light a small, silver candle on a cake and if you are working in a group, wish everyone present a happy Moonday. It is said that the first birthday candles were lit on moon-shaped cakes on the festival of the lunar goddess Artemis and as they were blown out, wishes were sent to her that they might be answered.
The Waning Moon
This is for banishing magick and for removing pain, sickness and obstacles to success and happiness. It will lessen negative influences, addictions, compulsions, negative thoughts, grief, guilt, anxiety, the envy and malice of others and destructive anger that is best let go. It can also be used for gently ending relationships and stages where there are regrets but still goodwill. A gradual binding spell to divert a person from a place or person can be effective, though binding spells are often done with the power of the full moon. The Crone Goddess rules the waning moon.
A Banishing Ritual
The ebb tide is very good for carrying away what is no longer wanted, but if you do not live near the sea, you can use any downward-flowing water, even a drain.
* Take either a dying flower or a long frond of seaweed to represent whatever it is you wish to banish.
* Draw a square around it, in the sand or in the earth or using chalk on a paved area. Say:
These are the limits of your power, these are the limits of your sway, thus you lose your thrall, away, now, away.
* Rub out the square, saying:
See, even this your power is gone, leave my life, your day is done.
* Cast the symbol on to the ebb tide. You may need to wade out to make sure it does not come back to shore. Alternatively, cast it into flowing water with a final:
Away, no more stay.
* Do something, however small, to make yourself happy for the rest of the day, so that it has happy memories.
You may need to repeat the spell for a number of waning moons if the matter or person has a strong hold.
If the compulsion or person returns before the next waning moon, try this short ritual.
* Run a bath and add a drop or two of eucalyptus or pine and lavender.
* On a tiny square bar of soap, write a symbol to represent the problem, draw a cross through it and leave it to melt in the water while you enjoy your bath.
* Get out of the bath when you are refreshed and when the soap has completely melted, pull out the plug, saying:
Sorrow grievous, flow to sea, never more to trouble me.
* Do something positive while the soap is melting. If you do not have time for a bath, you can melt your soap in a bowl or bucket and pour it down a drain.
