Tag: Full moon

Indulge Under the Super Strawberry Moon

A story by Calista Moon on .

Hello, hello, my darlings! I’m cutting it close with this one, but hopefully it will still be helpful. Tomorrow, June 14th, we will see the Super Strawberry Full Moon! Last month we had the Super Flower Full Moon (among many other interesting lunar movements), so hopefully you remember that Super means that the moon is passing closer to the earth giving it a much larger place in the sky! It also denotes an increase in the effect that this celestial body has on the planet, and thereby, us.

June’s Full Moon, the Strawberry moon, brings us closer to our fulfillment in life. We’re reminded of all of the decadent and joyful moments that we sometimes race by on our way to the finish line. In Europe, this is referred to as the Rose Moon in some places, as all the roses are currently in bloom. In other parts it’s called the Honey Moon; fitting as June used to be the season for weddings. After the Beltane celebration, many young lovers would commit and be in the throes of “the honey moon phase”.

Now is the time to allow yourself space to slow down and drink in each moment. The Strawberry Moon represents optimism, wonder, magic, openness, and pleasure. It can also be associated with tenacity and grit. With Litha, or the Summer Solstice, a mere handful of days away, now is the time that we’re saying goodbye to Spring and hello to Summer! Halfway through the Gregorian calendar, we can reflect now on the goals we set way back during Imbolc. How have we kept to those goals? How have those goals changed, if at all? Have we achieved any of those goals? How have we approached the obstacles that hindered our progress? Have we let surprises crop up and slow our progress?

This is what I will be focusing on tomorrow. I plan to journal out my answers to these questions and hopefully cut away the thorns that have been ensnaring me. Full moons are about release, remember. Let go of that which holds us back from our Highest Good. I also want to find some ways that I can slow down and incorporate my favorite things into my daily life or practice. Last year I dried rose petals and handed them out to loved ones. This year I may go berry picking and even attempt to bake something rich and succulent with what I’m able to forage! Or I could simply spend more time in the sun. Whatever you choose to do, just remember to enjoy it and be present. One of my favorite quotes comes from Khalil Gibran. “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair.” Spend time enjoying your favorite things about early summer. Make a bonfire, have s’mores, enjoy yourself however feels right to you.

I’m stressing the pleasure aspect of this moon, I know, but I feel like we’re all in need of some self-care, especially because this Full Moon is in Sagittarius. The third fire sign of the zodiac year is independent and focused. They have a healthy relationship with pleasure, knowing how to dote on themselves. Their untamable spirit burns like a beacon, setting others ablaze with joy and inspiration. They are also ruled by Jupiter, the planet of good luck, growth, prosperity, healing, and opportunity. If you’ll remember, Jupiter recently started a brand new journey through Aries four weeks ago during the Super Blood Flower Moon Eclipse. Still a mouthful!

This is the way I want to come at summer. What sets you on fire? What lights you up inside? Bring that into your day to day, even if it’s only for a few minutes at a time. A friend recently recommended to me that I should read ten pages a day, as I had mentioned I struggled finding the time to read the many books I have added to my collection. “Ten pages?” I asked him, “What is ten pages going to accomplish?” He told me, “Even if you only read ten pages per day, you will have read 3,650 pages by the end of the year. That’s the equivalent of seven 500 page novels.” A little every day adds up, just like a savings account. So why not drop a few coins on your heart’s fire this summer? Perhaps you’ll blaze a new trail into a habit that brings you joy even in the winter months.

Now if you are wanting to take all these journaling prompts, like myself, and sit down in a sacred space to connect with the earth, your deities, ancestors, whatever, let’s talk about associations. As always, Full Moons are associated with Selenite, Clear Quartz, and Black Tourmaline. Sagittarius is associated with Lapis Lazuli, connecting us to our inner royalty, Blue Topaz, which helps the spirit relax as well as the body, and Turquoise, which can help instill an inner calm. Side note, it’s great for preventing panic attacks and helping to recover from depression and exhaustion.

Herb wise, Sagittarius is connected to Sage, which helps bring wisdom, good luck, and prosperity, and Saffron, or the Queen’s Spice, which connects us to our passionate and even seductive side. The Full Moon is associated with Mugwort, for inducing vivid dreams and awakening psychic gifts, as well as Star Anise to promote harmony. It’s also associated with Jasmine, which I usually leave out because Jasmine very specifically speaks to romance and manifesting prosperity in love, but the Honey Moon seems like a perfect time to sprinkle a little Jasmine in your cauldron and jzooj up the passion in the air. Sagittarius is also associated with independent animals such as the camel, able to sustain itself in the desert without a drink for days on end, and the wild horse, running free and exploring the open air. The Full Moon is associated with rabbits and moths. I also suggest drying some strawberry leaves and keeping them either on your altar or in your pocket as they draw good fortune and favorable circumstances!

Take some time to set up your space, and set an intention with any incense or candles you light. If you aren’t able to do that, perhaps just take a moment to focus on a stone, or even on a journal before delving into these prompts. My intention will be to practice being more consciously present. How can you let yourself play this summer? Being grateful for what you have while moving towards what you want helps me stay grounded. Letting myself break free of the anxiety of societal judgment feeds my spirit, personally. At Beltane, when I hung ribbons on my rose bush, I laid in the grass afterward just feeling the earth below me. I’m sure my neighbors thought I was nuts, but ignoring social standards allowed me to really connect. How can you find that connection daily? Do you believe you deserve to find that connection daily? Knowing how to dote on oneself and believing we deserve it are two separate tasks, in my opinion.

This look at our self-worth can be jarring or difficult. If you find yourself struggling to explore the joyous side of yourself, don’t hesitate to reach out to someone you trust for support. My coven knows that we are here for each other. If you don’t feel like you have someone, it may be worthwhile to find a counselor to help you navigate your feelings. You should know by now, I’m a big supporter of mental health!

When I’ve finished my journaling, I will meditate on what I’ve learned about myself, if anything, and chant this prayer I wrote several times:

Blooming Strawberry moon, shining bright above
Harbinger of luck and sweetness, prosperity and love
With your light to guide, my clarity grows
I trim the thorns, but leave the rose
I take delight in each leg of the journey
While present and grateful for all you bring to me
The path now smooth beneath my feet
Leads to the Truth of my heartbeat

When I feel my intention is good and solidified, I’ll finish with:

So mote it be. So mote it be. So mote it be. Blessed be.

Look for joy this summer, my darlings. Look for it in yourself, and in your surroundings. And let no one tell you that your happiness is disallowed. I’ll see you in a few days for my Litha/Summer Solstice post!

The Super Blood Full Flower Moon’s Lunar Eclipse

A story by Calista Moon on .

Hello, hello, my darlings, and happy Friday the 13th! What an exciting Full Moon we have this month! Just after midnight on the 16th, we will see the Flower Moon (also known as the Budding or Planting Moon) in the sign of Scorpio. It will be both a Super Moon and a Blood Moon, meaning that it will appear very large as it is the closest that it passes to Earth, and due to its proximity, it will appear to be a deep red or orange in color. This change in hue is because of how the light from the Sun passes through the Earth’s atmosphere before it hits the moon. In addition to all of that, there will also be a Lunar Eclipse! Not to mention that Jupiter is going to be at zero degrees of Aries, meaning that it will be in a powerful position to bring new opportunities and fortuitous potential.

So what does all of this mean when we put it together? Let’s start with the Flower Moon. May’s full moon is a spiritual reminder of the fact that, yes, the flowers are in bloom now, but also that they started as a tiny seed. They broke out of their shell, the only space they’ve ever known, and that level of change is rarely easy. The Flower Moon is about transformation and shedding the old to make room for new possibilities and growth. Now take that energy and put it into the powerful, emotional, fixed water sign of Scorpio; the sign that is most associated with transformation. Ruled by Pluto, the planet of death and rebirth, Scorpio will bring to the front lines any issues with secrecy, manipulation, or control and force us to face the heart of it all so that we can free ourselves of our long held emotional baggage to make room for the new growth coming. And put your game face on, because Scorpio, like it’s ruler Pluto, is unafraid of taboo topics or our darkest secrets. If you have some skeletons in your closet or inner demons you’ve locked away, know that facing them may be unpleasant or even painful, but will ultimately relieve you of the hold they have over you.

This same Full Moon will be a Blood Moon, which scientifically is about light travelling through our atmosphere, but what about spiritually? What influence will this bring to the big transformational energy in our secret dark places? In the witching world, the Blood Moon portends a time when the path to our shadow side is opened allowing us a greater access to rage, shame and grief. Normally seen as “bad” emotions, it’s important to remember that if we meet these feelings without judgement, they simply are. Embracing these emotions is an important part of the healing process. Think of it as two feet. One is your good foot, the strong foot. The other is your bad foot, maybe with a weak ankle. You can only stand firmly planted and resolute when both feet are exercised, stretched, and cared for. The positive or negative effects only come from how we exercise these emotions and how we allow them to manifest in our lives.

There is so much work already in this full moon, but we’re only partway through. It will also be a Super Moon! Spiritually, this means that the energies and effects of this full moon will be intensified since the moon is as close to the Earth as it ever passes. It will be an emotional and powerful time for all of us. If you’ve been wrestling over a big decision, whether it’s quitting a job, professing your feelings to someone, or ending a relationship, you are going to feel incredibly strongly one way or another. Don’t forget about little old Mercury in retrograde, though. It’s waiting in the wings to stir up trouble with communication, so wait until these big emotions have passed before making any large decisions. Now is not the time to act impulsively or speak harsh words. Instead, allow the truth of your emotions to circuit through you without taking control of your actions. Meet them, and yourself, without judgement.

Finally, there will be a Lunar Eclipse during this Full Moon. Full moons are normally about cleansing and release, but when there is a Lunar Eclipse, this becomes an invitation to close doors, end chapters, and tie up loose ends, or even cut ties all together. There is a finality in the release of a Lunar Eclipse. As I like to say, “I don’t bring building materials to a bridge burning.” Whatever we release on Sunday night/Monday morning, know that it will be gone, and for your betterment.

While a lot of this post so far has sounded really ominous and difficult, I hope you can find solace in a lovely little planet that is in the mix called Jupiter. Jupiter, the planet of luck, fortune, opportunity, and possibility, is going to be at zero degrees of Aries. Gibberish, I know, but let’s break this down into its parts. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac. It is the beginning of the zodiac year, and it brings passion, enthusiasm, ambition, fire, and action. The zero degree mark is the VERY BEGINNING of Aries. It is the point at which exciting new journeys begin, where slates are wiped clean, and it is bursting at the seams with potential. So, as this full moon is large, red, and looming with transformative energies, the planet of luck and fortune will be starting its own path through Aries. A path laden with opportunity and ambition. So know that while we are permanently and firmly closing doors, Jupiter will be opening more to places that align with our core, our most authentic selves. Personally, I find a beautiful galactic harmony in this. Every end has to be the beginning of something else.

So nutshell; cause I’m long winded and I know things get lost between the lines. The Super Blood Full Flower Moon Lunar Eclipse is going to be an incredibly powerful emotional palate cleanser. It will allow us to shed our old skin, like the snake, so that Jupiter and Aries may allow us to rise up from the ashes of the past like a phoenix; both Scorpio’s animal representatives. Death and rebirth. Mercury’s retrograde may rock the boat a bit, but ultimately what we leave behind didn’t serve us. Now we make space for what will.

I would like to say that if you do want to take on shadow work, it can be very liberating, but make sure that you are in a safe place. If you aren’t sure what you’re doing, trying setting up an appointment with a therapist. Doing shadow work with a guide is much better than facing it alone, and in my opinion, therapy is exactly that; digging into your dark places to help let go of old traumas and allow you to move forward without them. If sharing this part of yourself with another person feels too vulnerable, make sure you are giving yourself the grace and space to explore with love and acceptance of yourself.

I know that normally I give you a step by step of the best way to harness these energies, but this is a deeply personal cosmic cocktail in the making, so let me just say this. Eclipses bring a lot of upheaval and chaotic energy. I would not suggest choosing to let go of something or someone in particular. Instead I would suggest that you remain open to whatever the universe has to offer you. I will actually be on vacation (wish me luck with Mercury also causing transportation problems!) and intend to spend time probing my shadow side through journaling and meditating with grounding crystals close at hand, Selenite for cleansing, Green Moss Agate and Fluorite for grounding and connecting with the earth, and Amethyst to channel my intuition. Sage and Rosemary are great staple herbs to burn for any ritual, but I would steer clear of attempting to manifest any particular future. Trust the wisdom and abundance of the Universe, my darlings. Stay open to change, allow it to flow through you like a cool breeze off the ocean waves.

April’s Pink Moon Is Going Super Saiyan

A story by Calista Moon on .

It’s that time again, my darlings. The wheel continues to turn and we find ourselves preparing for the fourth full moon of this year; the Pink Moon. It’s also known as the Hare Moon or the Egg Moon. Sound familiar? If you were raised in the Christian beliefs, you would be right in thinking that this is yet another pagan celebration that was hijacked by the Catholic church during the Barbarian conversions. There is a lot of mythology and lore that is interwoven magnificently around Easter and the Pink Moon, but I don’t want to get into that too much this month. If you’re interested, I would suggest researching the Germanic goddess Eostre.

I want to focus instead on the sky and the earth, this month. The Pink Moon is about attaining fullness. It falls during Aries season, and the adventurous spirit of this fire sign is coming through to set us after our ambitions. The energy in the air is restless and ready to be utilized! One of the best parts of this year’s Pink Moon is that it is going to be in the air sign of Libra, the scales, who will bring balance to this restless energy. Aries and Libra are a wonderful system of checks and balances. Where an unchecked passionate Aries can burn recklessly, the cool intellect of Libra will stall the flames and help focus our energy toward our goals. Together they blaze a beautiful trail.

This gorgeous pairing of signs around the Pink Moon is the perfect time to reflect on the obstacles or fears stalling our progress and adapt to the situations at hand so that we may overcome and even transcend this level of internal or external struggle. Now is a time to let love flow around you and release the very human need to cling tightly to the familiar. This kind of trust can open the door to a lot of discomfort and fear. That’s okay. Let that fear in. Sit with it. It is there to try to protect you, and it learned to be fearful from the past. Reassure it that everything is going to be fine. The universe has your back, and always has. Attune with your intuition and meet that fear with love until it tires itself out.

That is an act much easier said than done, of course. We’re human after all. But let me toss a few more cosmic movements into this mixture to see if we can persuade your fears to relax. So we’ve got ambition, and the intellect to focus it, as well as the moon’s transcendent energy. Already a lovely combination, but what if we saw Jupiter, the planet of opportunity, potential, and luck, meet up with Neptune, the planet of the unconscious, evolutions, and imagination for the first time in roughly 150 years? Furthermore, what if we saw them align in Neptune’s home sign of Pisces; ruler of dreams, intuition, and emotional awareness? And, to help focus that wild combination of intuitive luck and imagination, what if Venus, the ruler of Libra, showed up to bring love, beauty, and compassion to the equation?

I know. That’s a lot of information. It can get a little muddy sometimes, so let me try to nutshell all of this as best as I can. Today, on April 12th, the fortune and potential of Jupiter aligned with the evolutionary imagination of Neptune. That evolutionary energy is being emphasized since Neptune is in its home sign of Pisces. These two together, evolution and luck, are going to be with us for the Pink Moon on April 16th. The same Pink Moon that is overflowing with the energy of Becoming, wholeness, and adaptation. The same Pink Moon that is driven by the fiery ambition of Aries season towards our desires, and whose energy is being focused by arriving in the clear intellect of the fair and balanced air sign of Libra.

This Full Moon is about Becoming with a capital B! It is about preparing for the next New Moon. It is begging us to Let. Go. Let go of the fears that keep us stagnant. Let go of the what ifs and anxiety that keep us from opening to opportunities. Because, before the month is out, Jupiter and Neptune will be joined by Venus’ compassion in Pisces just in time for the New Moon. These three are an incredibly powerful manifesting trio, and Venus’ added energy will be leveling up all of our interpersonal relationships. Luck, evolution, and compassionate love coming together. Now is the time to be courageous. Reflect on your big picture, adapt and trust in the world around you, and in that flow you will transcend what you currently perceive to be an obstacle, and see it for what it really is. A stepping stone towards the point where your fortune, love, and evolution meet.

I think the key to harnessing this collective energy under the Pink Moon on Saturday is going to rely a lot on balance. It will require the balance of your gut with your mind. Emotions and intellect must be kept in check of one another. Where Libra sits and ponders over a situation, Aries will light a fire under them to keep moving. Some really good balancing stones to incorporate in your Full Moon ritual this month will be Rhodonite and Unakite.

Rhodonite is a self-esteem and self-image booster, as well as helping open us to the world of possibilities. It can help us look closer at ourselves, and helps enhance our relationships with our self, friends, business, and romantic interests. Unakite is a heart healer. It recalibrates our frequency to resonate with love and compassion while balancing the emotions in the body, such as fear and anxiety. If you’ve ever heard someone say feel your feelings, that’s what they mean. The tightness in the chest or shoulders, the knotted forehead muscles. Unakite will help recalibrate the way we interact physically with our emotions. Letting love flow into the spaces where fear lives can help us let go of the stagnation that makes us feel safe in familiarity. Contrary to the old adage, the devil you know is not actually better than the devil you don’t.

This is already a very lengthy post, so I won’t be going into a step by step for the Pink Moon. My ritual this month is fairly personal and will incorporate a lot of shadow work anyway, so I want to leave you with a few questions to help you fill the corners of your heart and mind with the trusting love of the universe, and a prayer. What gives you vitality and energy? What could you lose if you incorporated this into your life more? What could change? What stops you from tending to the needs of your spirit’s flame? Where does this stem from?

I bask in the fullness of the Pink Moon. As the grasses reach for the sky, I too yearn for growth. I acknowledge the traumas that have marred my spirit. I release the pains that weigh on my heart and mind. I meet my shadows with love. I am open to change and love in all forms. I look to nature for examples of how to relinquish worry and embrace the joy of living in the present. I trust in the abundance and perfect love of the universe. And so it is. And so it is. And so it is. Blessed be.

Note: shadow work is absolutely not for everyone. However, if you find some of these questions touch parts of your mind or heart that scare you, and you feel ready for change, I would encourage you to journal a little on these thoughts, my darlings. Examination of ourselves is the best way to prune away that which doesn’t serve us any longer, in my opinion. And I for one am very ready to remove what’s holding me back from my love filled, evolutionary potential. Blessed be!

A Spring Story for Ostara

A story by Calista Moon on .

Happy Ostara, my darlings! Spring is here! With intermittent cold spells and buckets of rain to soak the earth, the planet is revived! Like I said in my Worm Moon blog, this is my favorite time of year, so I’ll do my best to keep this shorter than normal. I could talk about the Spring Equinox for hours! This Sabbat covers several days, from roughly March 19th to March 23rd every year. Globally the first day of Spring is considered to be March 20th, which also happens to be my birthday! So I’m going to indulge myself and share a spring myth that most people know bits and pieces of.

Now, there are a lot of myths in a lot of pantheons and cultures regarding the changing of the seasons, but lately the story of Hades and Persephone has been growing in popularity, at least in America. If you’ve heard of the web comic Lore Olympus, or the musical Hadestown, you’ll also know that the tale of Persephone’s abduction has been incredibly romanticized. I want to talk about the basics of this myth today and I will do my best to keep it simple. The Greek pantheon is my personal focus. I’ve been obsessed with Persephone since I was a little girl, so the names are familiar to me, but I’ll do my best to break it down for you in an easy to understand way.

Let’s start with our characters for this tale. We have Persephone, the Goddess of Grain and Vegetation, and her devoted mother Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture and the Harvest. Another big player, of course, is Hades, King of the Underworld, God of the Dead and Riches, as well as his brother Zeus, King of the Gods and God of the Sky, Lightning, Thunder, Law, and Justice. In addition we have an appearance by Helios, the personification of the Sun, and Hecate, the Goddess of Boundaries, Crossroads, Witchcraft, and Ghosts. An important note about Hecate is that she is often depicted carrying a pair of torches and a key. These will come into play later, I promise.

So what’s the base myth? Upon seeing her beauty, Hades was so taken by Persephone that he went to his brother, Zeus, who also happened to be Persephone’s father, and asked for Zeus’ blessing in taking Persephone for his wife. Zeus knew that Demeter was incredibly protective of Persephone and would be hard pressed to allow Hades to take her to the Underworld, so he granted Hades permission to abduct Persephone without Demeter’s knowledge. Overjoyed, Hades came up from the Underworld through a giant crack in the earth and swept up Persephone as she was gathering flowers.

Imagine Demeter’s heartache when she realized her beloved daughter had disappeared. She enlisted the help of Hecate to search for Persephone, traversing all the crossroads and searching the darkest places with her torches. As the search dragged on, and Demeter’s despair grew, she neglected the earth and crops wilted. Famine spread with Demeter’s attention fixed elsewhere, and anguished cries of the people were raised to the other gods of Olympus. Helios, who towed the sun across the sky, had seen Hades abduct Persephone and eventually told Demeter where she could find her daughter.

Meanwhile, Zeus heard the cries of the people, and saw the barren land that threatened the end of all things. He sent word to the Underworld for Hades to return Persephone at once to restore balance. Hades agreed under the terms that Persephone had eaten nothing while in his care, for that would tie her to his realm. This is where the story diverges in its many retellings. One version says that Hades tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, binding her to the Underworld for 6 months out of every year. Another version says that Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds willingly in secret, insuring that she would spend half of the year with the King of the Underworld.

With the knowledge of her future tied to the God of the Dead, she returned to her mother’s arms. Demeter was so overjoyed, that the earth burst forth with new growth and abundance. This is how Persephone became known as the Goddess of Spring. Her six months spent in the Underworld with her husband are when the land is dying and quiet, as Demeter mourns her daughter’s absence during Autumn and Winter. But with her return, comes Demeter’s delight and as such, the planet grows new and lush for six months of Spring and Summer.

There you have it! The myth of Persephone’s abduction. Not quite as romantic as recent retellings would have us think, although I like to think that, if no love existed between the Hades and Persephone at the beginning, perhaps it’s grown with time. And there’s plenty more to Persephone’s tale, of course. After marrying Hades she became known as “dread Persephone”; Queen of the Underworld, Goddess of the Dead, Life, and Destruction, but this particular story is pertinent because Ostara is about celebrating the Spring Equinox. Therefore, if you subscribe to such things as I do, the Queen of the Underworld is returning to us for six months to embrace her mother and tend to her original realm as Goddess of Grain and Vegetation.

I know this has gotten long, so I won’t be going into step by step detail for how to celebrate this Sabbat. However, I do want to reference the Worm Moon blog one more time. I left you with the question “What do you want to grow? What needs weeded out of your life to make room for that growth?” That’s what I want you to think of my dears. What does your life look like on this new path? Connect to the newly awakened earth Connect to the full moon. Steady, hardworking, reliable Virgo’s effect on the Worm Moon is the perfect time to shift into a new stage of your life, plant seeds for yourself, and harness the potential of the earth buzzing beneath our feet as Persephone returns! It’s supposed to rain here this weekend. You bet I’ll be dancing in it and visualizing the success of my spiritual garden! What feels fresh and new to you? How can you welcome the opportunities that are beating down your door? Listen. You’ll hear them! Blessed Ostara!

Growing with the Worm Moon

A story by Calista Moon on .

Oh my darlings, what a lovely time of year! The ground is thawing, the earth is moving, and the wind gets warmer every day! In just a few days’ time, we’ll be seeing the third full moon of 2022. March’s full moon is called the Storm moon, the Seed moon, and the Worm moon. They’re wiggling themselves around in the dirt, those worms, and making the planet ready for sowing the seeds of this year. If we plant our seeds properly, we’ll reap a bountiful harvest later this year, especially since this full moon comes the day before Ostara, the Spring Equinox! But I’ll talk about that in a different post. This one will be long winded enough!

This is my favorite time of year, and not just because my birthday is on the first day of Spring. The way the earth smells, the storms that come to water the ground, potential buzzing in the air. They all come together in such a powerful, yet subtle way to start the cycle of the seasons over again. We have rested through winter and come through ready to start fresh.

The March full moon will be in the steady, organized earth sign of Virgo, and in conjunction with the Spring Equinox, you had best believe this comes with enormous death and rebirth vibes! The Seed moon is already a time of rebirth and fertility, but to align with the rebirth of the entire world in the focused Virgo sign shows change is upon us and new opportunities will shortly be beating down the doors. You may already know what needs to be let go, or be in the process of letting go. Don’t fight it, but welcome the flow of change.

Now if we’re being honest, I’ve recently started a new job and have had far less time and energy to dedicate to these blogs than I had previously, so I think with change upon us in such a grounded way, it would be smart to let it come to us. At least, that’s what I’ll be doing. And boy, is it coming! This is a time of balance, growth, and renewal, so I plan to do a long meditation this month. This is going to be in tandem with my Ostara celebration. I work with Persephone as one of my deities, and welcoming her back topside for Spring is something I really enjoy doing!

So let’s talk about associations! The Worm moon has a small collection of stones associated with it, among which are Aquamarine, Bloodstone, and Green Aventurine. If you’d like to harness some of that reliable Virgo energy, try adding Amazonite, Green Moss Agate, or Snowflake Obsidian into the mix as well. I know I will be! It should come as no surprise that this time of rebirth is associated with soft pastel colors, light lavenders, pinks, yellows, and greens. Remind you of any large commercial holidays that are just around the corner? Hmm? Easter? A time of rebirth? Coincidence? I think not, my darlings. But let’s bolster it this month. Let’s really bring that growth home with Virgo’s deep greens and hearty browns, like the earth after a storm. We’re ready for change. We’re ready to grow. We’re ready to find ourselves on stable, fruitful ground.

Now if you’ve learned anything about me at all, you know I love burning herbs. The Storm moon’s herbs, aren’t in my cabinet currently, but they include Apple Blossom, High John, and Pennyroyal. Instead of stressing about finding these before the 18th, I’ll be burning the Virgo associated herbs Marjoram and Dill with my usual Rosemary for cleansing and Mugwort to honor the full moon. You can also burn Jasmine or Star Anise in tribute to the full moon for love and harmony respectively. And if you’d like to have flowers on your altar, have all of them. It’s springtime! Adorn yourself and your space! It’s time for a joyous awakening! Fake flowers, little baby buds, trimmings, saplings, and seedlings; whatever you like!

I know that normally I give a step by step of my process for my full moon rituals, but that part will be coming in a post later about Ostara as I am combining my full moon ritual with the Spring Equinox celebration over the course of several days. So today I want you to think about what you want to grow. Relationships? Wealth? Hobbies? Your practice? What do you need to let go of to make space for that growth? What do you want to let go of? Now is the time to organize your priorities and decide where you want to go next. What serves that forward movement? The growth is waiting. Virgo’s calm, collected capability will see you through. All you must do is harness it. I’ll see you in my Ostara blog, my darlings. We’ll talk more about carrying these out then. Blessed be!

A Moon By Many Names

A story by Calista Moon on .

Hello, my darlings! I hope you’ve spent the last few weeks focusing on your manifestations from Imbolc’s new moon, because the sixteenth of February marks the second Full Moon of 2022. This one goes by many names for a lot of different reasons. The first name I heard for February’s full moon was the Bone moon, but in researching for this post, I learned it is also called the Snow moon, the Ice moon, and the Quickening moon.


I always liked the name of the Bone moon, because it makes sense historically. Food reserves were running low around this time of year, and people relied on bone broths and gnawing the last of the meat off of bones for sustenance before spring made her grand entrance. However, we’re a bit removed from that lifestyle these days with 24 hour grocery stores and year round abundance, so I wanted to look into other names that may resonate more with the earth and the lives we lead now. The Snow moon and Ice moon make sense, especially considering that here in the Midwest we just had one to two feet of snow fall in 2 days a couple weeks ago. 


The Quickening moon intrigued me. I like the tie it gives to the cycle of the planet. In my Imbolc post, I talked about how the very first stirrings of life were beginning to move in the earth again, and Imbolc translated means “in the belly”. The Quickening moon echoes this to me. Spring is building beneath the surface. The earth is rooting and waking. She’s preparing, much like a mother who feels her child kick for the first time. She’s not here yet, but she’s coming. Now is the time to strengthen our resolve and patience before change arrives. Take time to be grateful for that which you have now while we wait for the greenery to burst forth and change the world, yet again. 


The Quickening moon is going to be in fiery Leo, so if you want to harness some of that creative, warm-hearted and cheerful lion energy, I would encourage you to safely have a representation of fire on your altar. I intend to make a need fire for burning Rosemary and Chamomile since they’re associated with Leo (one of my favorite ways to work), but if that’s something you’re not comfortable with, don’t worry! You can pull out Sunstone, or Peridot, have a representation of a lion, or the sun on your altar. If those are out of your realm as well, you can simply add gold or orange colors. Remember, it’s less about tools and more about intention. 


Like any other full moon rite, you can focus on what you would like to let go of as the full moon wanes. With Leo being our point of reference for the moon, it could be a good time to release the weaknesses associated with this sign such as arrogance, stubbornness, or inflexibility if you’re feeling that you struggle in those areas. I know I will be releasing an arrogant inflexibility that manifests in needing to control situations this month! So let’s talk about what that release looks like.


I’m going to add this reminder every time I post a ritual or spell working. Every witch’s practice is a little different. This is mine.

1. Cleanse your space. This is the staple beginning point for any ritual or spell. Having a clean workspace helps us make sure our energies don’t get mixed. Just like for the Wolf Moon ritual I posted last month, I like to clear the workspace of old workings or stray items, and wipe the table down with moon water. For the full moon, try wiping in a counterclockwise circle for releasing or banishing. Clockwise can help with manifesting or bringing in new energy. Then I’ll do smoke cleansing of the area with incense. If you feel like you need to clear the entire room, try using a singing bowl to raise the vibration in the room or clear any lingering energy.

2. Dress your workspace. This is my favorite part. I set out my associated items for this working stones, herbs, colors, what have you. The Quickening moon is associated with bones, (shock!) Jasper, Amethyst, and Rose quartz for stones. It’s associated herbs are Myrrh, Sage and Hyssop, and its colors are purple and blue. If you are intending to include items for Leo, its stones are Sunstone, Peridot, and Onyx. Herbs, like I said before, are Rosemary and Chamomile, and it’s colors are gold and orange. I put out candles for my deities and light them to invite them to join me in my working. Since I am going to burn herbs and my intention to release, I am also going to make sure I have salt, rubbing alcohol and my cauldron in the space. I’m also going to have bay leaves and a marker nearby to write my intended release, but this can be done on a piece of paper as well. Personally, I prefer to burn herbs. They smell nicer than paper. I’ll also be keeping my djembe drum nearby for this working.

3. Meditate and connect. This step is crucial for me. I take time to quiet my mind and connect with the earth and the moon. Meditate on that which I want to release, and let the energy flow through me. For this particular moon, I will be using the following incantation:

I drum beneath the Quickening Moon to awaken the Earth beneath me. She who stirs with potential and grants us life, food, and shelter. I awaken my own potential alongside her. I take advantage of my strengths and gratitude in this time of preparation. Mother Earth, hear my drum and awaken with me. 


I will drum on my djembe until I feel ready to do my working. I tend to focus on the energy in my hands the most, though in awakening the earth, I also extend my energetic root to the earth and envision the energy she offers coming up to me for this working.

4. Charge your release vehicle. Once I feel the buzz of energy, I will grab my bay leaf and marker and write that which I want to release on it, visualizing the energy moving this need to control, this inflexibility and stubbornness, out of me and into the leaf through the writing. Sometimes after writing, you may feel that there is more energy to be moved out of you and into your leaf or paper. Take some time to sit with the item in your hand and continue moving energy into it until you feel like you’ve completely eradicated that which you want to release.

5. Burn to release. At this point we’ll set aside the leaf or paper, and bring up our cauldron, salt, and rubbing alcohol to make the need fire. Please remember to never leave your open flames unattended. Need fires burn bright and hot, but don’t burn for very long; only a few minutes. In your cauldron put one tablespoon of salt, and 1/2 to 3/4 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol. Mix this together until the rubbing alcohol has been absorbed and it’s a little gooey in consistency. Then use a long match or a long candle to light. It goes up quick, so use smart fire safety when making your own need fire. Once your need fire is lit, you can add herbs if you like, or just light your leaf or paper that you wrote on. As it burns, visualize the negativity being burned with the vehicle. When the fire goes out, it is done. 

6. After drawing energy from the earth, I take a moment to move any excess energy in my body back down into the earth and then pull up my energetic root. This can help if you wind up with a high energy of mind and body after workings. I usually still have a bit of an aftershock effect, but this step can definitely help in mitigating it.

7. Closing the ritual. Once your need fire goes out, you can do any other workings you have in mind or you can close with the following incantation:

Thank you for listening and assisting in my working. I release that which blocks me from my Highest Good and retain that which keeps me aligned with my Highest Self. And so it is. And so it is. And so it is. Blessed be.

I then thank my deities for joining me, invite them to stay or go as they will, and extinguish their candles. 


And look at us! We did our second full moon spell together! Thanks for joining me, my darlings. I hope removing whatever obstacle you released helps lessen the struggles in your path! If you changed anything or did something different, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear about everyone’s nuanced differences.

Howling at the Full Wolf Moon

A story by Calista Moon on .

As we approach the first full moon of 2022, I wanted to share some ways to connect yourself to the moon cycle if you feel so inclined. I’ve loved looking at the moon since I was little. As I’ve grown and discovered my own spiritual path, I find that connection deepening every day. Please keep in mind that the only thing you need to practice any level of spirituality is yourself, but being raised in a very ritualistic household, I find comfort in the ceremony of my craft. So don’t feel obligated to purchase things for each Esbat (full moon) or Sabbat (a witch’s holy day), my darlings. This is just how I do things, and everyone’s practice looks a little different. 


The first full moon of the year has a lot of different names in a lot of different cultures, but where I’m at in the U.S., the most common name I’ve heard is the Wolf Moon. This particular Wolf Moon will be in Cancer, which brings change and release to our emotional foundation. Doubly so given that the moon is the ruling celestial body of Cancer! If you like working with particular spirits, the animals associated with this Esbat are the wolf, the coyote, and the fox. If you’re into crystals and stones, then you might want to pull out your garnet, onyx, or jet for this full moon ritual. If you work more with herbs and flowers, you can take some marjoram and holy thistle to your altar. You can also use nuts, cones, crocus petals, and snowdrop petals. I generally light a white candle for the Esbats as she is big and round and bright, but black or a blue-violet color are also great for the Wolf Moon. 


It’s a quiet time in nature. The earth is asleep, making this the perfect time to bunk down and look inward, focusing on situations that involve only yourself. Though Full Moons are associated with completion, cleansing, and removing what no longer works for you, this particular moon has an air of transformation. We release and make space for the energy to come. My favorite way to release this is to howl at the moon. It can be a lonely sound, but it reminds me I am not alone. The moon is listening. I tell her everything in my howl, loud and mournful. I let go of everything cluttering my mind, my intentions, my goals. This doesn’t need to be done aloud, or even outside. Again, each practice is different. Find what feels good and right to you. Personally the noise, the vibration in my chest, resonates and helps me feel like I’ve shaken loose the cobwebs and cleaned my spiritual house. 


But I’m getting ahead of myself. Please keep in mind that I have only ever been a solitary practitioner. Every witch’s spells and rituals look a bit different. A full moon ritual in my house usually looks something like this: 

1. Cleanse the space. I remove any stray items I haven’t put away, and wipe down the workspace with moon water. Then I’ll light some incense and sit with a singing bowl for a few minutes while I focus on my breath and envision the sound ringing through the space bringing brightness and cleanliness to the air and energy in the room. 

2. Dress the space. This is probably my favorite part. The aesthetic of witchcraft that we see on social media just isn’t something that is really sustainable all day every day, but making a beautiful cozy space to connect to the universal consciousness really helps put me in the mindset for magic working. This is when I arrange my crystals, set out my tarot cards and protection wards to charge, light candles for my deities and invite them to join me, get the herbs or flowers I’m working with prepped, and any other tools I’ll need. This can include an athame (a knife), a wand, a mortar and pestle, a lighter, candles, a pen and paper, any sigils, whatever I need for what I’m planning to do. If I’m making moon water, I’ll set it out at this time as well. Just get everything in arms reach so I can focus on the ritual as opposed to trying to find everything.

3. Dress the candle. This is a very meditative part of the spell for me. I like to carve intention into the candle whether with words or sigils, focusing my end goal into each indent and putting my will into the wax. Once the carving is done, I melt the wax of the sigil slightly and roll it in my ground herbs/flowers. You can also use an appropriate diluted essential oil, or olive oil/jojoba oil for this. You don’t need a whole lot, just enough to allow the herbs to stick to the candle. For this full moon, I will be sprinkling moon blood on the candle as well, to bind the transformative energies of the Wolf to myself. 

4. Meditate and connect. Once the candle is ready, I light it and focus on my intention, meditating on my end goal. When I feel the idea is solidified, I choose a way to open myself to the universal consciousness. This can be done a number of ways, but I usually like to do a tarot reading followed by journaling while my candle burns. For this particular Esbat, I will be using the following incantation:

I howl to the Wolf Moon to awaken the Goddess within me. The wild woman that seeks to be set free. I ask for guidance, insight, healing, and strength as I continue towards my Higher Purpose. May I always allow myself to express who I truly am. Mother Moon, I embrace you.

I repeat this as many times as feels right, then I’ll howl until I feel I have released that which doesn’t serve me or my intention. My intention for this Wolf Moon is “I am focusing my energy inward for personal growth and fulfillment.” Using the raised vibration of this sound work, I plan to do a simple three card tarot draw. The first will represent where I need to apply the energy to achieve fulfillment through growth. The second card will represent how to apply my energy to this focus. The third and final card will represent a sign that I will receive to know I am on the right path. Then I’ll journal my intuitive thoughts and meditate on the reading until the intention candle burns out.

5. Closing the ritual. Once the candle has done its work, my energy has been taken out into the world, my intention already working me toward my goal. I say the following incantation as a closing of the connection to the universal consciousness:

Thank you for everything. All my needs are met in all areas of my life, while working towards what I desire to have in my life. I release thoughts, worries, fears, attachments, and all that which does not serve my Highest Good nor my Highest Self. And so it is. And so it is. And so it is. Blessed be.

I then thank my deities for joining me. I invite them to stay if they like, or to go if they will, then extinguish their vigil candles.

And the spell is complete! After a ritual, my energy is usually very high, so I like to calm down with some tea and bask in the knowledge that my desires are on their way to me. Again, this involves a lot of tools and candles and things, but could be done simply by writing your intention on a piece of paper, meditating with it, charging it with purpose and will, and being open to whatever thoughts come to you about the situation before burning it to release the charged energy. There is no wrong way to do witchcraft, my darlings. Let me know what you like to do that may be a bit different from what I’ve described here, and have a blessed full moon!