Modern Moon Rituals for a Better 2021

Moon Rituals for Everyone in 2021  

We’ve talked a bit about the unique power that each phase of the moon holds, and if you read any of our previous articles on these energies,  you’ve probably already noticed that timing your spellwork with the  moon phase is almost like using a power-up!  

But there’s a way to go even deeper and to really bring the energies of  the moon into everything that you do, and that’s to do rituals for each of  the two major moon phases. This will help attune you more keenly to the  energies of our closest night sky - once you start working with the Moon  on a regular basis, you’ll be so happy you did.  

New Moon: Letting Go of the Old and Manifesting the New  The new moon, as you may know if you’ve read some of our other moon  related articles, occurs when the moon is reflecting almost no sunlight  back to the Earth, creating a “dark moon” appearance. Don’t worry, it is  still there though!  

What does that mean for your life? If you aim to live your life with  respect to the lunar energies, you may notice that new moons, while  appearing dark, hold a glimmer of great possibility. This duality makes  sense, when you consider it — before you can begin to manifest your  dreams and hopes, you’ve got to clear away the dead weight and make  sure there’s room to reap what you’ll sow. So, it follows that the new  moon serves a dual purpose, being not only a good time to release what  no longer serves you, but also a great time to set intentions and start  working towards your goals for the cycle ahead!  

Once you’ve created (or cleansed and prepared) your sacred space, it’s  an optimal time to journal your intentions and goals for the next couple  of weeks - anything you want to come to culmination before the full  moon. Conversely, for anything that you’ve been trying to de-emphasize or release from your life or mind, that can be boosted at the new moon  via meditation or by writing everything out (not in your journal!). For me personally, I select one or the other as my main focus per new moon  - but if you feel like doing both, I’m also a proponent of the concept that  there are few ways to do any rituals “wrong”.  

Other activities that are fantastic to add to your new moon celebration  include meditation, goal-setting, grounding and centering yourself for  the weeks ahead, and any spellwork that might serve to fully sever or shed ties to unwanted factors in your life. “Out with the old/in with the  new” is a good touchstone for new moon workings.  

Other things to add in:  

New moon herbs: lemon balm, sage, ginger, lavender  

New moon crystals: clear quartz, smoky quartz, obsidian 

New moon affirmations: “I release what no longer serves me to pave the way to  what I desire,” “I begin the process of growing towards my goals”

Full Moon: Gratitude Time!  

The “opposite” of the new moon is the full moon, where the moon fully  reflects the light of the sun and is revealed in all of her shining beauty to  grace the night sky. Full moons are when it’s a good time to check back  

with the workings you set in motion to be manifested during the new  moon, which - as the moon waxed, or gradually reflected more light -  will have been able to take shape.  

This is the harvest-time for what you set into motion on the new moon,  which - if you’ve been doing the work, and you have been doing the  physical work toward your goal, haven’t you? - should be ready to come  to fruition. No matter whether you’ve manifested a new job, a new  hobby, or anything else of benefit to your life, now is the time to get  grateful!  

Your gratitude practice might take the form of journaling, like mine, or it  could be anything - ecstatic dance, meditation focusing in on your heart  chakra, heartfelt prayers directed at the Universe or at the deities you  work with most... the possibilities are limitless! But you really need to make sure that you’re expressing gratitude to the energies that have helped you manifest and master change in your life, and the sooner the better!  

Other things to add in:  

Full moon crystals: selenite, moonstone, clear quartz, amethyst 

Full moon herbs: rose, jasmine  

Affirmations: “I am grateful for the bounty that has come to me and that  I am still to receive,” “The full moon revitalizes me and I claim my  power”  

Some notes and cautions!  

⁃ The moon’s energies can affect us in unexpected ways - for  example, one of my good friends barely needs a moon phase  calendar; every time the full moon comes up, she gets a huge  headache! Pay attention to your body and your energy levels; can you find a connection to the moon phase?  

⁃ I didn’t say this above because I didn’t want to get too repetitious,  but I’m a big bath person. I’d blame this on my Cancer placements,  but honestly, it’s a great relaxation technique for anyone! Bonus: if you cross-check your crystals from each moon for water safety, you can bring them right into the bath with you to further attune your  energies to the moon.  

⁃ There are more moon milestones to love and celebrate! In between full and new moon comes the first quarter moon, and between the full moon and the next new moon, the third quarter moon. These occur while the moon waxes and wanes, specifically, and you can  certainly add in a ritual on either of those moons to give your workings more energy, or even just to further sync up your life with our Lunar mother.  

⁃ Never ingest any herb that you aren’t sure is safe; if you can’t find any information, save it for jars or other non-ingestible spellwork.