Repeating New Moon Ritual

New Moon on September 27 at 7:09am EDT 

I am still doing this repeating New Moon ritual.  I just love it.  To me it is the perfect way to celebrate the cycle of cleansing, renewal and stepping forward.





You will need:

One candle to honor the Goddess in her new moon, blue or white is nice, any color is fine. I have a large pale blue/green candle that I use for all moon rituals.

Incense or sage for cleansing the area.

A small unused notebook and a pen.

Four items to honor the elements.
I sometimes use:
a small bottle of sand for the element of earth
a feather for the element of air
a red candle for the element of fire
a small cup of water for the element of water

When I am in a candle mood I use candles for the elements:
brown or green for earth
yellow or pink for air
red or orange for fire
blue or white for water


Cleanse the area with incense or sage. I create sacred space by simply grounding and centering and visualizing an area around myself filled with energy, closed to random or chaotic spirits and open only to those I invite.

Call the Elements.
I start with Earth. If you are using candles, light them as you call each Element.
Calling them can be as simple as 'I call the Element of Earth to attend and add energy to this sacred space' or as elaborate as you wish.

After calling the Elements, take a moment to honor Goddess, ask her to look favorably on this ritual that you offer up to her and light the candle for her.

Take a few minutes to sit quietly. Reach out to the Elements for additional energy and power. Fill the space around you with their power and energy and reflect on the new moon as an opportunity for new beginnings. An opportunity that we are offered over and over again.

Take your notebook and write something along the lines of:
I will manifest these things that I desire and need in my life and I will do so without harm to anyone else.

Then begin to write down what you need to create in your life. It can be a few things or many. Large or small, tangible or not.

Concentrate on manifesting these things in your life without harming anyone else.

Release the energy that you have created with this work and send it out into the universe to do your bidding.

Thank the Goddess for her presence in your life and put out her candle.

Thank the Elements for loaning you their energy and ask them to return to their own realms, putting out their candles (if any).

Bring yourself back to normal time/space, ground the energy creating your sacred space.
_____________________________

On the full moon take your notebook and cross off any items that have manifested in your life since the new moon. On the next new moon create a new list, leaving off the things that have already arrived. Do not just cross off and add to the old list, each new moon write down the new list.

On her blog Liz has a cleansing ritual bath that would be a wonderful way to prepare for this ritual. Check it out at Lizzie's Logic.

Equinox, Mabon and Ostara

Image from Cauldron of the Goddess

and the Southern Hemisphere is celebrating spring and greeting Ostara 

 

Fall Equinox

 The Fall or Autumn Equinox is this week, September 23, 2011.
Also known as Mabon, it is the major harvest festival and the time of counting down to winter.  While the days have been getting shorter since the Summer Solstice, we tend not to notice too much until around this time in the fall, when suddenly it seems that we can feel the shortness of the days every day, earlier sundowns, darker mornings and we travel down the road to darkness until the Winter Solstice.
On the 23rd day and night are equal length and traditionally cultures around the world celebrate this day.
In our modern culture many people celebrate fall festivals without knowing why.  Take away modern conveniences and our ancestors celebrate the fall as a time of plenty, knowing that not everyone will survive the winter and be able to celebrate the spring.  In temperate climates winters can be harsh so the last days of warm days, full pantries and a little free time should be celebrated by all of us.

My Wheel of the Year is divided into Sun Festivals (Solstices and Equinoxes) and Fire Festivals (Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasad and Samhain).  Celebrate this Sun Festival with friends and neighbors, eat out of the fall harvests and enjoy the changing of the seasons.