In recent years, the full moon has become associated with release. I read this in Cosmo today: "Full Moons are a time for releasing and relinquishing." Unfortunately, even I've fallen prey to that trend. However, when I first started practicing in the 90s, we celebrated full moons in a more traditional sense which I've decided to embrace once more fully.
From "Moon Spells" by Diane Ahlquist, "Full: The Moon's most powerful phase, when we see her entire illuminated face. This is a time of fulfillment, activity, increased psychic ability, for perfecting ideas, "getting your act together," celebrations, or renewing commitments to people or projects. The best time for spells of any kind."
Full Moons meant fullness or abundance, and lunacy, as in lunar. It also meant a time of illumination because the full moon reflects brighter than all other phases. Thus full moons were the best time to do spells on bringing anything into your life (which people would now call manifestation), as well as doing spells to illuminate anything you wanted to gain knowledge about or inspire. With lunacy in the air, it was also a time for celebrating since ancient people could see better well into the night without all the lights we have now. In antiquity, there was a closeness with the full moon that modernity has left behind with the street lamp. And in that lunacy was passion and the spark of creativity and creation.
The New Moon, or Dark Moon, on the other hand, was the time to release and let go. On the darkest nights, our ancestors stayed inside to reflect on themselves and what they'd accomplished because, without those modern lights, it was more dangerous to venture outside, with no moon to light the way. The Dark Moon was a time to ponder the seeds you'd like to plant and discard those that didn't serve your interests. A time of solitude and inner reflection.
From "Moon Spells," Dark: The two or three days when the Moon is not visible in the sky. The dark Moon and the new Moon are often considered the same phase, but for our purposes I have separated the two. On an average calendar, the dark Moon is usually indicated by a black spot on your calendar. However, the dark Moon occurs on the day it is marked as well as one day before and one day after. This is a good time for discarding things in your life you do not want, contemplating what you have already accomplished, and what you want to accomplish in the future. An excellent cycle to find time for yourself, or if you're so inclined, an ideal time for seclusion."
With this month's Full Moon in Leo, a fire sign of action, energy, and pride, now is the perfect time to do any spell that invigorates your heart's deepest desires.
Ask yourself: What do you truly want? What's the one thing that's been missing from your life -- that, when you think about it, energizes your whole being? And why haven't you gone after it??
Tap into the confidence of Leo and make your passion a reality!
Ingredients:
- Candle: Gold, yellow, orange, or red.
- Something to carve it with.
- Oil: High John the Conquerer (money, love, success, happiness).
- Herbs: Damiana (for vision work), Powdered Cinnamon (power, psychic abilities, success, healing, love, protection, spirituality), & Rowan Wood (psychic powers, healing, power, success).
- Crystals: citrine (energizes and balances) or carnelian (stimulates creativity).
- Candleholder.
- Lighter or match.
Steps:
Gather your ingredients and set your sacred space.
Think about what you want.
Carve the symbol for Leo into your candle.
Anoint it with the oil, rubbing it towards you.
Sprinkle the cinnamon onto the candle, rubbing it towards you and into your sigil.
Fill your candleholder with Damiana and Rowan Wood, making sure to tell them what their purposes are.
Place the candle in the candleholder and gently shake your candle, picturing the power of the moon drawing down and into your candle. Then breathe into your candle, filling it with your energy.
Add your crystals around the base of your candle.
Light your candle and chant:
Mighty, Leo, the lion
Pride of the Zodiac
Ignite my passion
And have my back
Balance my energy
And success, bring to me
In a golden pool
Under this Moon, so Full
So mote it be!
When your candle burns down, add your newly charged crystals to your pocket, purse, bra, or pillowcase until your spell comes true.