Drawing Down The Moon

I have a small confession. It's been years since I've drawn down the moon. I really miss drawing down the moon though. If this is something you have never experienced, tonight is the absolute perfect night to do it. Tonight we have what they call a super moon. It is when the moon is closest to the earth. But, wait Luna! What is drawing down the moon? Oh, I'm so glad you asked my friends!

Drawing down the moon is an amazing experience where you draw the power of the moon inside you, as well as invoking the Goddess inside of you. It's a very beautiful and powerful experience. Let me break it down for you a little bit more.



The time of the full moon is a very magickal and powerful time. This is the perfect time for big spells that you need quick results from. But the most important part of it is this: at the time of the full moon, magick reaches it's peak of the month for drawing things to you. After the full moon, you go into the waning phase. During the moon's waning phase it is best to do spells that send things away from you such as banishings, releasings, etc. During the waning phase, many witches notice that their powers seem to dwindle a little bit as well. Ever noticed how around the time of the waning moon you seem a little sluggish and tired? No? Well, maybe that's just me. However, because of the waning phase of the moon, things are diminishing and decreasing, so when you have a full moon, drawing down the moon will help you store up extra energy. Make sense?

It's a lot like a solar powered battery. It stores up energy during the day because of the sun, and at night time it uses that energy to produce light, etc. We are a lot like that. During the waxing moon we have all sorts of energy and are capable of storing up more energy. During the waning moon, we can become a little sluggish and seem to be dispelling energy. So, how do we go about remedying that? Drawing down the full moon. The full moon is like when the sun is at it's full peak with your solar battery storing even more energy from it. So, we draw down the moon to keep a well of energy stored during the waxing phase to use for any of our spell work then.

So how do we go about doing that? Well, my friends, I have a little ritual that I like to do from time to time. As I stated before, it's been years since I've done this, but this is a tried and true ritual!

Full Moon Ritual

Items needed:

Drinking glass

Water

Incense

Salt

Candle

The incense can be any scent that you feel called to. The candle would be perfect if it were silver, but sometimes silver candles are hard to come across, so a white candle will do as well. You don't have to have a huge candle, it can be a tea light, but some people do like having one large candle, dedicated to full moon work, that they light only during their full moon rituals. If this is your first time doing a full moon ritual, please make sure that the candle is new. Otherwise, if you have a dedicated full moon candle, please feel free to use it.

If the weather allows it, go outside where you can see the full moon in absolute plain sight. If it's raining or just too darn cold, or your neighbors might freak out, it's fine to do this ritual inside. If working inside, make sure you are near a window where you can get full view of the moon. 

Now, once you've decided where you are going to do your ritual, it's time to set up a ritual altar. This is not as scary as it may seem. The way I view a ritual altar is as my work place to hold my tools. I very rarely view it as an altar in the sense of say a Catholic altar, because that makes it seem almost like a forbidden place. I say that because as a child, raised in a Catholic church, I always loved the church. I was most especially drawn to the altar, mainly out of curiosity because it had all these super cool gadgets on it. However, one time I was in the church alone, and I let my curiosity get the better of me. I approached the altar and decided I wanted to see what it was all about. 

While snooping around, one of the adults came in and pretty much screamed at me and informed me I was promptly going to hell because I was desecrating their altar! There wasn't even anything on the damn thing! So from then on, altars became an off limits, absolutely not for mere mortals to touch, type thing. So, my altar is a place to set up my candle, hold my incense, and whatever else I need for the working. We'll do a further post on different types of altars in a later post. For now, just make sure you have a flat surface to set your candle, bowl of salt, incense, and glass of water on. 

Now, in Wicca, we would cast a circle. Circles are meant to keep negative ickiness away from you while you are working with the powers that be. Some people work in circles, some don't. We won't get into the debate about whether or not to work in a circle in this post, we'll save that for another time. For now, if you want to work in a circle, you can cast one now. I'll share an example of what I would do, and you can go from there if you like. Otherwise, skip this step.

Casting the circle:

Give yourself lots of room to work. You don't want to feel confined to a tiny space, so don't just stand in one place and turn around in a circle, walk a large circle. If you're inside your home, and have just a small space to work at, like myself, you can envision a circle forming around your entire home. I like to walk a salt circle completely around my house, and when working inside, I'll find that circle in my mind, touch it with my energy, and watch a circle cover my whole house. More on that tomorrow. 

Anyway, if working outside, walk a large-ish circle around your altar/workspace. While walking the circle, walk in a clockwise motion, and you can point with your finger, an athame, a wand, or not at all, however you are comfortable. As you are walking clockwise, envision a magickal boundary appearing and covering your workspace in a big bubble. You can say fancy words while the circle is forming if you like, but I just go with something simple that I can remember, because I can be a little bit scatter brained. I would say something like: "As this circle opens, all negativity is kept at bay. Only those invited within this circle may enter, and may only come with an open heart." Then when I see the circle complete itself, I'll walk to the middle and say, "As above, so below, this circle is now open." There's a reason behind that, and if you're new to the craft, we will cover that next Wednesday during our next Witchcraft 101 post. 

So, now you're circle is open, and you have a safe place to work. Now you're probably wondering what to do next. That's pretty easy. Remember where you started walking your circle? Grab your salt, and go there. Walk the circle again and toss a little salt as you walk saying, "By the power of earth, this circle is protected." Next grab your water, and walk the circle, saying, "By the power of water, this circle is protected." Grab the incense, light it, and walk the circle saying, "By the power of air, this circle is protected." Light the candle, walk with it around the circle saying, "By the power of fire, this circle is protected." 

Now you're circle is completely protected and ready to go! Sounds repetitive and boring, I know, but believe me when I say there's some scary shit out there, and if you're going to cast a circle, you want it completely sealed and protected. But, now comes the fun part, I promise!

Walk to your altar, gaze up at the moon. Now say:

Goddess of the Moon, full, beautiful, and fair. Please enter into this circle with me.

Envision the pure silver light of moonlight tunneling into your circle, filling it, but not blinding. Feel the goddess standing beside you. Now, hold your glass of water above your head, facing the moon. Envision that same silver light filling the glass and swirling through the water. Envision the silver light overflowing the glass. Feel the energy tingle through the glass, through your fingertips, and into you. Now say:

Goddess of the Moon, I ask that you fill my glass with your pure energy.

As the water turns into your energy, I ask that you sustain me through all the days to come.

Now drink the water. Feel the energy coursing through your body. Let it swirl throughout every part of your body. Envision it filling you with silver light from your toes to the crown of your head. When it reaches the crown of your head, let it spill out in a straight line, back to the moon, connecting you with the Goddess of the Moon. Envision your toes as roots, and meditate momentarily on how the Moon sustains the earth, and all that live in it. Once you've finished, feel the energy, and everywhere that it has touched within your body. By now, your body is probably tingling all over, and it may be hard for you to focus, which is totally normal. Pull the energy from your fingers, toes, and head, down into the center of your belly. Feel it's warmth and strength there. This is where you will carry the energy until the next time you draw down the moon. 

Now that you've centered the energy, there will probably be excess, and you may feel a bit light headed, or dizzy, or even just super amped. If you are outside, sit on the ground, and let the excess energy flow into the ground. Do not let the energy in your center flow out, only the excess that is buzzing around everywhere else. Now is the perfect time to talk with Goddess, cast any spells you had planned for tonight, or just be at peace inside your circle. Once you've finished whatever you planned, you can close the circle. 

Walk counterclockwise, watching the circle disappear. Thank the Goddess for all of her blessings, and for sharing her energy with you before closing the circle. You can let the incense burn down, put out your candle, and clean up the area. Now that everything is cleaned up, it would probably be a good idea for you to have something to eat. Even after grounding (when you sat on the ground and let the excess energy flow into it), you are probably going to feel a little off in some way. Eating something will help fully bring you back to this world, and fully ground you. 

My rituals are always very simple, and most are planned for people on a strict budget. There's no need for fancy tools, and in my personal practice, the fancier things are, the more likely I am to get distracted from what I'm actually doing. The fancier the wording is in my rituals, the more likely I am to forget what the hell I was saying, and then I'll get distracted again. So I keep things simple. It doesn't matter how fancy or simple you go, what is most important is what is in your heart when you enter the ritual. 

I hope this helps you guys be able to plan your full moon ritual tonight. I will be doing this ritual later tonight, maybe in an even more simplified version, depending on what kind of mood Knight is in. How do you plan on celebrating the super moon?