Working With the Moon

Since I started getting more in tune with the Moon, her phases and the energy from the signs, I've been trying to work on a deeper level with the Moon. Part of this means I do monthly rituals when the Moon is full and new, and this forms the foundation of my lunar work. But what about when the Moon is waxing or waning? So often, these are forgotten about but I'm trying to make an effort to acknowledge them and work with them.

To help me start this, I paid attention to the Full and New Moons and the signs they occur in. I've always marvelled at the beauty of the Moon, especially when she's Full but now I feel and see her beauty at all times. It probably helps that I have/had several items in my home that have a lunar theme: a wall-hanging with a big Full Moon in the midddle that is surrounded by the various phases; a beautiful Moon calendar I was gifted by a friend that was for the whole year of 2023; a cushion with the symbol of the Triple Goddess on it as she's heavily associated with the Moon; and two sets of bedding that have moons on them.

I also have several books that are focused on understanding and working with the Moon. One is Lunar Living by Kirsty Gallagher, which is really good for the New and Full Moons and working with them without being in a community that does rituals at these times. Another is Moon Astrology by Heather Roan Robbins (far left), and this is good for a more in-depth look at how to navigate daily life based on the sign the Moon is in regardless of the phase of the Moon, but it also looks at what your astrological Moon sign means for you. Another book I have is The Moon Fix by Theresa Cheung which focuses on spells that can be done in conjunction with the energy of the different phases of the Moon.

The final Moon-specific book I have is one that I acquired as a set with a "mini" oracle deck and it's called Moon Magic by Sally Morningstar. This book has so much general information in it and I really like referring to it if my other books don't answer my question. I have a tendency to forget about this book because it's a lot slimmer than my other books but it really is full of information about the Moon, from facts and myths and legends to the weather, gardening, numerology and crystals.

If you've been following this blog, you'll know that I participate in lunar rituals as part of Wise Woman Witchery's Diving Deeper membership. (If you've just found this, check out my posts on the Full and New Moons I've documented previously.) These are always really enjoyable to be part of and each one teaches me something new about the energy of the Moon as well as something about myself.

But I'm trying to work with the Moon more than just at the Full and New Moons, and I've got three resources that are helping me with this: the first is the Moon Calendar 2023 from Moon Phase Studios that sits right next to my desk and shows me what phase the moon is in as well as what sign it is occupying at that time; the second resource is a Moonology 2023 Diary and this is really helpful for planning certain activities and checking the energy of each New and Full Moon; and the final resource is an app on my phone that shows me what sign the Moon is in, how far into the lunar cycle it is, and the phase of the Moon as well as how I could maybe view the Moon overnight.

At first, I wanted to do a reading about how I could work with the Moon that you could then use yourselves but I couldn't find one that suited my purpose. While I could also create my own, again I was unsure about the questions that could be answered other than "How can I work with the Moon?" but then I realised that I didn't need a spread because I have four decks that I can use to understand the energy of the Moon within the "main" phases of the lunar cycle: Moonology, and Moonology Manifestation oracle decks by Yasmin Boland (top left and right), the mini deck that came with the Moon Magic Book (top middle), and a Moon Phases deck I received in a Witch Casket box (bottom middle).

This is something I used to do more often on my Facebook page, but I stopped doing it partly because of the summer heatwaves and also because it started to feel more like a "chore", something that I felt obligated to do without enjoying the act of sharing the knowledge and wisdom within the Moonology decks. But having been talking this over with some friends, I realised that this wisdom is needed and not everyone will have access to it so this is something that I will be working on doing more often to help others to work with the energies of the Moon.

Something else that came up in the same conversation was that sometimes the sign a Full or New Moon occurs in can lead to a more uncomfortable time energetically. This talk happened shortly after the Full Moon in Cancer 2022 which had coincided with the start of a difficult week for a friend because Cancer is the opposite sign to Capricorn, the zodiac season at the time. In astrology, opposition aspects can act like more of a tug-of-war within, being pulled in opposite directions.

An unexpected realisation that also came to me during this conversation was that working with the Moon isn't just monthly as the Moon moves from New to Full and back to New again - it's also yearly. This may seem strange but bear with me: within every zodiac season, there is a New Moon that occurs in that same sign, but six months' later, there's a Full Moon that occurs during the opposite zodiac season. As an example, during Capricorn season, the New Moon will always be in Capricorn but the Full Moon will occur in the sign of Cancer, the opposite to Capricorn. So there may be situations or relationships that start at the New Moon then peak at the Full Moon in the same sign before a new beginning is discovered and realised at the following New Moon.

I know that I cannot know everything but I feel like these "smaller" realisations are deepening my relationship with the Moon and the energies she moves through, as well as deepening the wisdom I am learning and integrating every single day that I walk this path.

I hope this information is helpful for you and that it leads you to working more closely with the Moon, her signs, phases and just generally. Having a close relationship with the Moon is something that I'm definitely working on so that I can have a deeper connection to her.

Peace and love to all!!