Beginners Guide to a Full Moon Ritual
One of the reasons why the moon (in any phase) is so widely used for rituals is that it is constant. It follows a 28-day cycle, going from its darkest, almost invisible phase, the New Moon, to its brightest phase, the Full Moon and all the way back to the New Moon.
The phases of the moon were one of the earliest forms of a calendar; it told those who didn’t have any concept of time as we now know it, so that they could plan and prepare for what was to come. Today, we can use the phases to continue this practice. Instead of making it a practical method of survival, we can apply more spiritual practices to it.
What is the significance of a full moon?
In many cultures, the sun represents our outer world, the external things that make us happy, bring us joy and the actions that we take. The moon, however, is all about what is happening inside. It refers to aspects such as our intuition, emotions and deep subconscious thoughts.
When the moon is full and bright, it shines its light onto that inner world, creating a spotlight effect. Many people can feel more emotional or impulsive around the time of the Full Moon. This is where the term ‘lunatic’ came from, because it was recorded that more unusual or irrational behaviour would happen around this time.
The Full Moon can make it tricky to sleep or to focus. We might find we can’t hide as easily from the things that are bothering or upsetting us. This is why the Full Moon is such a powerful time for inner work.
Creating a Full Moon ritual
Creating rituals is something I go into in my Self-Care with Tarot course. We look at why we might decide to create a ritual and how we can build it brick by brick. This also covers rituals during different moon phases, like the Full Moon and New Moon.
With any ritual, the first step is to decide why you want to create a ritual. What will be the purpose of it? What do you want it to add to your current self-care routines?
Without intention, any ritual, no matter what it is, is a wasted ritual.
Setting your intentions for your ritual
Before a ritual it’s important that we have a clear idea of what we are trying to get out of it. Especially if we are preparing to take a deep dive into our subconscious, as it can be vast, easy to lose yourself and just plain confusing if not carefully planned out.
Think about what you want to achieve from this time with yourself.
Is it that you want to boost self-love?
Do you want to invite luck or romance into your life?
Maybe you want to manifest something special?
To get the most out of your Full Moon ritual, make this time about yourself. It’s great if you want to do a spell or meditate to help someone else, but this one day in the month is solely for you, so make the most of it. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup, so now is your time to fill that cup to the brim.
You can also do a different ritual every month if you want to. It all comes back to what it is you need or want at the time of doing the ritual.
Pre-ritual: Cleansing
How you prepare for your ritual is just as important as doing the ritual itself. Depending on how much time and freedom you have, try and perform a cleansing before getting started. This could be a cleansing of yourself, e.g. a bath or shower, or even a smoke cleansing of your space using sage or other corresponding herbs and incense.
This time before starting your ritual helps to create the right headspace and energy for your practice. Full Moon rituals are done in the evening when you can actually see the moon shining overhead, so you need to get rid of all the static from the day gone by.
Ritual: Using tools and looking inwards
The tools you choose to use depend on a number of factors:
- How much time you have
- What you are trying to achieve
- What tools you feel most comfortable with
- The space you have available
For beginners, the most common tools are crystals, candles, tarot/oracle cards and incense.
If you live somewhere where burning stuff is not an option, then candles and incense may be out of the question, so you might choose to use crystals and some essential oils instead.
My advice is not to use tools you don’t feel comfortable using. You’ve got a whole month to experiment and learn about different tools, but during your Full Moon ritual, you want to be 100% comfortable and confident. Again, this is something we dive into in more detail within the Self-Care with Tarot course.
When it comes to actually doing your ritual, as a beginner, you’ll want to start with a meditation. I always like to meditate on my ritual intentions for about 10-20 minutes before doing anything else.
For some of you, this in itself might be your entire full-moon ritual. If you want to take things a bit further, you may follow up your meditation with the following:
- Knot spell
- Tarot session
- Spell jars
- Burning ritual
- Journalling
- Affirmation chanting
Post-ritual: Carrying the energy with you
Once you’ve completed your Full Moon ritual, try and do as little as possible. You want to try and carry that amazing calm energy with you for as long as possible.
With Full Moon rituals typically done in the evening, I always crawl straight into bed when I’m done, and it ensures I have a great night’s sleep and I’m able to soak up all those good full moon vibes.
If you have made yourself a spell jar, keep it in a sacred space or on a windowsill, so it can be charged. Keep it there until the next full moon to get the most out of it. If it’s pocket-sized, you can also carry it around or sleep with it under your pillow.
The same applies to crystals that you’ve charged and used in your ritual. Sleep with them under your pillow or next to your bed and carry them around to remind you of the intention you set for yourself.
The benefits of full-moon rituals
Whether you believe in the power of moon phases or not, there is no way you can’t benefit from a Full Moon ritual. Any time spent reflecting inwards and giving yourself some care and attention is time well spent.
If you’re looking to level up your self-care rituals, whether it be with moon rituals like this or in other ways, make sure to take a look at my online, self-led Self-Care with Tarot course. This will teach you everything you need to get started creating self-care routines and practices that will actually make a difference to your well-being.
Speak soon!
