Full Moon Understanding the Waxing and Waning Moon

What Magick When?

This is a general description of times in which performing certain magickal workings and celebrations may be appropriate. Although the cycles of the moon are not exactly 28 days, these four phases of seven days each will suffice for most needs.

When you wish to work full moon magick, it is generally accepted that it is proper to do so anywhere from three days before the actual full moon to three days after the actual full moon. This is a total of seven days that 'Full Moon energy" is present. This makes coven meetings easier because it is difficult for a group of people to coordinate their schedules to meet on exactly the full moon.

When you wish to work magick under the new moon or 'the dark of the moon', the procedure is similar. Three days before to three days after the new moon are considered acceptable new moon working times. Again, this is a seven day period. Some practitioners view this period as a time to 'plant seeds' or to start new projects that will then grow as the moon waxes. Others see it as a continuation and enhancement of the waning moon energy and perform works of lessening, repelling and banishing.


It is interesting to note that a few traditions perform Esbat rituals for the new moon and these are often held in the daytime. When the moon is new, it is overhead during the daytime.

It is also important to mention that some traditions refer only to the three days prior to the new moon as the 'dark of the moon' and generally do not perform magic at this time. It is regarded in these trads as a resting time, and the time of Hecate's rule. This belief has been promoted recently by the popularity of Silver RavenWolf's writing, particularly her book, "To Ride a Silver Broomstick." Practitioners who follow RavenWolf's writing are often referred to as, "RavenWolf Wiccans."
The waning moon refers to the time when the moon is changing from full, back to new. Works of decrease are done now, such as ridding a person of disease. When you wish to work magick under the waning moon, you can start as early as the day after the actual full moon, but it is usually more effective to begin the 4th day after the actual full moon. This provides another 7 day window in which to do your workings.

The waxing moon refers to the time when the moon is changing from new, or black, back to full. Works of increase and drawing are done now, such as gaining physical energy of health for a person. When you wish to work magick under the waxing moon, you can begin as early as the day after the actual new moon, but it is more effective to begin the 4th day after the actual new moon.

Still confused? Try to remember that each of the 4 phases (Full Moon, New Moon, Waxing Moon, Waning Moon) consists of 7 'working' days for a total of 28 days in a lunar month. Each group of seven 'working' days are days considered generally appropriate for work under the influence of that particular moon phase. These are general magickal times, not actual times. If you don't like to do all that counting, try this:

Look at the moon every night. When the crescent sliver is on the right (with the horn tips pointing to the left) it is waxing or getting full. When the sliver is on the left (horn tips pointing right) it is waning or disappearing.


New ----- Waxing ---------To Full --------- Waning ----- New

Moon Magick Workings

  New Moon Magick:   New moon workings can be done from the day of
the new moon to three and a half days after.  Magick should be
performed between dawn and sunset. Good for: beauty, health, self-
improvement; farms and gardens; job hunting; love and romance,
networking.  Protection & creates a shield for the beginning of the
cycle.

  Crescent Moon Magick:  From three and one half days after the new
moon through the 7th day. Magick worked as the moon rises at mid-
morning and sets after sunset.
Good for animals, business, change, emotions, matriarchal strength.
Represents the zest of life with the aid of stability. Helps bring
forth courage & optimism.

  Waxing Moon Magick:  From seven to ten days after the new moon.
Work at sunset.  Good for courage, elemental Magick, friends, luck,
motivation. Gives vitality, courage & strength.  Stimulates the
heart.

  Gibbous Moon Magick:   From ten to thirteen days after the new
moon. Work around 10:00 to 11:00 pm.  Good for patience.  Purity &
protection.  Creates atmosphere for meditation, centering. Innocence.

  Full Moon Magick:   Fourteen days after the new moon.  Prime time
is midnight.  Good for artistic endeavors, beauty, health, fitness,
change and decisions.  Children, competition, dreams, families,
health and healing, knowledge, legal undertakings.  Love and romance,
money, motivation, protection, psychism and self-improvement.  Light
of the sun. It starts to enlighten inner wisdom.  Provides clarity,
alertness and optimism. Aligns the right use of will.

  Disseminating Moon Magick:   Three to seven days after the full
moon.  The time of souls is at 3:00 a.m.  Good for addictions,
decisions, divorce, emotions, stress, protection.  Builds knowledge,
sharing, calming, vocal expression and communication. Aids in
meditation and enhances inner attunement.

  Waning Moon Magick:   From seven to ten days after the full moon.
The waning moon rises at midnight and sets at noon.  Good for
addictions, divorce, health and healing, banishing disease, stress
protection. Transformation from negative vibrations to positive.
Balances the energy with in the body and helps the mind and body flow
more easily with life.

  Dark Moon Magick:  From eleven to fourteen days after the full
moon.  Timing is best at 10:00 a.m.  Good for addictions, change,
divorce, enemies, justice, obstacles, quarrels, removal, separation,
stopping stalkers and theft.  Universal love of self and others.
Draws love to you and removes sorrows and past hurts.  Calming,
protective, serene. Improves relationships
Usually, the Dark Moon is not a phase to work magick, except from
specific situations.
Of course, imagination is the limit and so is intuition! You can work
through a whole month on a project, taking advantage on each phase to
do something appropriate for your project.

If you cannot wait for some reason for the right phase to come, then don't worry...Intension still plays the greatest role
****************************

Moon Phases

The moon exudes a cool, feminine, silvery-feeling energy that rules the life-giving waters of our planet - the rains, tides, and dew - as well those in the physical body, such as menstrual cycles and other bodily fluids. She also rules all emotional responses. Raw properly focused emotion energizes magic. For this reason, many practitioners work in conjuction with a phase of the Moon's cycles that is in harmony with their magical intent.

* Waxing: This phase occurs when the Moon grows from dark to full. In this phase, the Moon provides the proper energy for magical efforts requiring growth or enhancement. It is a good time for beginnings, fresh starts, and new love and is of benefit in building businesses, friendships, partnerships, and financial prosperity. The waxing phase also provides suitable conditions for planting herbs, developing psychism, and increasing physical health and well-being.


To seal spells performed during the waxing Moon, use this chant or one of your choosing:

"Oh, Maiden Moon, now hear my plea:

Hearken, hearken unto me!

As you grow, my spell enhance -

And power its magic with Your dance."

* Full: The Moon's energy is most intense when She reaches abundant fullness. Any magical effort, especially difficult ones, can benefit greatly from the potency of this phase. Use the full Moon to amplify magical intent and to give spellworkings additional power.

To seal spells performed during the full Moon, use this chant or one of your own choosing:

"Abundant Mother, Moon so bright

Hear my plea upon this night.

Your fertile power lend this spell;

Make it potent, strong, and well."

* Waning: The shrinkage of the Moon from full to dark is called the waning phase, and it offers an energy suitable for recession, peaceful separation, or elimination. Use the waning Moon to end undesirable eating patterns, break bad habits, or to remove yourself from dysfunctional partnerships or stressful situations. Its energies favor any magical effort requiring decrease or removal.

To seal spells performed during the waning Moon, use this chant or one of your own choosing:


"Oh Aging One of grace, now hear:

With your guidance, this spell steer.

Remove all blocks and hesitation,

And take it to its destination."

* Dark: Some practitioners use this phase as a  period of rest. They find it useful for regeneration, relaxation, and gathering for the creative phase of the waxing Moon.

Others prefer to use it for medition, psychic power enhancement, or for delving into past life memories to help them better understand current difficulties. Dark Moon energy also lends itself to divination and matters where truth is an issue.

To seal spells performed during the dark Moon, use this chant or one of your choosing:

"I call on You, Oh Crone so wise -

One Who rules the darkest skies.

Come and be my treasured Guest,

And aid me on this magical quest."

Blue Moon

A Blue Moon occurs on the following occassions:

1) If there are two Full Moons in one calendar month, then the second is called a Blue Moon. A  Blue Moon happens during the Month of Halloween once every 80 years.

2) The atmosphere is polluted, and the Moon has a bluish hint or hue.

The first is considered magickal; the second means you might want to move to a new city. Use the second Full Moon in any calendar month to set long-term goals, dream big dreams, and make exciting changes. A Blue Moon usually only happens every three years or so - hence the expression "Once in a Blue Moon." Nor is a Blue Moon unlucky as many people believe. The influence of the moon on the earth and our lives is doubled at the time of a Blue moon.


Black Moon

Black Moon occurs when there are two dark cycles of the moon in any given calendar month. It is believed that the second dark moon is a time of great power within the spiritual world and any magick worked during this time is especially powerful.

Eclipses

Some cultures believed that during an eclipse, that the Sun was being eatten by a dragon. There are two types of eclipses, a Solar Eclipse which happens during a New Moon, when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun. (Remember: Never stare at the Sun or you could damage your sight). A Lunar Eclipse happens when the Moon darkens as it passes into the Earth's shadow. After that, there are three sub types of eclipses: Partial, Total and Annular. Depending on where you live is whether one sees them or not. An eclipse is not experienced every month due to the tilt of the Earth. On average, there are about five solar eclipses and two to three lunar eclipses every year. Many believe that an eclipse signals a change and can act as a turning point in our lives. The Solar Eclipse works more with external event scale while the Lunar Eclipse effects the personal, or inner events such as emotions. The trick to working with an eclipse is to:

* Acquire an almanac so you know when the Moons will be and eclipses.

* Plan ahead of time precisely what you want to change in your life.

* Begin the magickal  working ten minutes before the eclipse occurs, and work through the eclipse until you are finished. The key is to capture the energy of the eclipse and draw it's energy to you as it builds.

Eclipses Through The Ages

Let's travel back for a moment to about 1200 BC, the time of the Shang dynasty in China. It's early evening, and the full moon has just risen in the east, bathing the black night in its bright glow. In this time before sidewalks, streetlights, headlights, and the glow of cities, the moonless night was truly dark, so dark that it was often dangerous to be outside at night. The blackness made it difficult to see the ground, and the dark gave cover to beasts and bandits that prowled the night.

But a bright moon dispelled the dark, and the radiant glow of a rising full moon was as dramatic and as welcome as a sunrise. To the ancient Chinese that bright full moon was warm and comforting, but as we watch the moon rise higher in the east on this particular day so many centuries ago, something strange and ominous occurs: The moon  is

darkening.

Its bright disk is being consumed by darkness, a growing shadow the color of dried blood spreading across its face, threatening to devour the entire orb. As you watched the warm lunar light being extinguished and the moon consumed by ominous darkness, what would you have thought?

In that era predating popular astronomy and modern science, would you have been afraid, even terrified? Would you have feared for great destruction befalling the sky? Lost perspective In contemporary times, when it seems like every single celestial phenomenon is diagrammed, analyzed and broadcast on television, it's easy to laugh off the fears that sky phenomena often inspired in ancient people.

Still, although we understand what causes things such as lunar  eclipses, most of us have a difficult time even seeing them: The light pollution that bathes our cities hides the night sky from us, and were it not for news accounts, even dramatic phenomena such as lunar eclipses would go largely unnoticed.

In times before ours, events such as lunar eclipses were noticed by everyone and accorded great significance. On more than one occasion, a lunar eclipse altered the course of history. Omen in the sky Ancient people did not understand the causes of eclipses (though they could often predict them), but just as we do today, they tried their

best to explain them. Based on the gradual appearance of a lunar eclipse, the most obvious explanation was that something was consuming the moon, and so it arose

that the ancient Chinese term for an eclipse is chih, which also means "to eat."

The dark-blood colour of most lunar eclipses bolsters the idea that the moon is being eaten, with "blood" spreading across its face. To moderns that seems very fanciful, but the idea of the moon being consumed in an eclipse was quite common in ancient times.

Even more common was the view that a lunar eclipse was a very bad omen. Ancient Chaldeans believed that the eclipse was a display of the moon's wrath, and that famine, disease or natural disasters would follow.

Babylonians went so far as to try to determine which quadrant of the moon was most eclipsed (very obvious in a partial lunar eclipse), using the direction as a geographical indicator of who would suffer the worst consequences.

Changed history

With lunar eclipses widely believed to be omens, it was inevitable that an inopportune eclipse could change the course of history, and so it has happened on a number of occasions. One of the earliest such incidents was recorded by Thucydides in his account of the Peloponnesian War, which took place in the 5th century BC.

In the outbreak of the second phase of that war, the Athenians had attacked and blockaded the Sicilian city of Syracuse. After a two-year siege the Athenians were ready to pull out, but just before the departure signal was given there was a lunar eclipse which

the Athenians took as a very bad omen for their departure.  So the departure was delayed, and the delay allowed the Syracusans to break out of the siege, turning the tables on Athens and destroying the Athenian fleet and army. Athens was sent reeling, its democracy was overthrown, and Athens, ultimate defeat resulted in the permanent decline of the gem of Greek civilization. There were, of course, many causes for the fall of Athens, but the lunar eclipse of 413 BC and the resultant military defeat that arose from it were key contributors to this turn of history.

A more modern turn of history hinged on a lunar eclipse that auspiciously occurred not only in the leap year of 1504, but on February 29th of that year. That February found the famous explorer Christopher Columbus on the small island of Jamaica, where he had been marooned for several months. Though the island natives had originally brought food and provisions to Columbus while he awaited rescue, the arrogant and overbearing Columbus had alienated the natives to the point that they ceased to provide food to Columbus and his crew.

Facing starvation, the resourceful Columbus came up with a desperate ploy: Consulting a shipboard almanac and finding that a lunar eclipse was due, he called together the native chiefs and announced to them that God would punish them if they did not supply his crew with food. And as an omen of God's intent to punish them, there would be a sign in the

sky: God would darken the moon.

Right on cue, the moon started being eclipsed. Columbus dramatically disappeared into his cabin, ignoring the loud pleas from the natives to restore the moon. After an interlude of more than an hour, Columbus emerged from his  cabin and announced that God was prepared to withdraw his punishment if they agreed to continue supplying him and his crew with everything they needed.

The native chiefs immediately agreed, and within minutes the moon started emerging from shadow, leaving the natives in awe of Columbus, power. Columbus got his food and supplies, and from then until he was rescued in June of 1504 the natives continued to supply him.

Traditions and superstitions have a way of lingering, and so it is that even today we still have with us some very curious beliefs about eclipses. In much of the world, for instance, it is still common practice to make noise to frighten away whatever is attacking the sun or moon.


As late as the 19th century, the Chinese navy fired its cannons to frighten the dragon eating the moon. Even today in many cultures around the world it's common to yell, chant, bang pots and shoot into the air during an eclipse.

Much of it is more out of tradition than conviction, but it's still done. Another superstition that survives to this day is that eclipses indicate a disease on the sun or moon, and that protection is required to avoid incurring the diseases. In Japan some still cover wells to avoid them being poisoned by the celestial "sickness." Some Eskimos turn over utensils to avoid them being contaminated, and in India some people lock themselves in their homes to avoid the "bad rays" from the eclipse.