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Living in Alignment with the Lunar Cycle
Uncover the meanings and ancient wisdom embodied by the moon. For centuries we have known the power the lunar cycle holds, how it affects us and how we can use it to amplify our manifestation.
Connect with the Goddess energy and delve into the mystical meaning behind each phase, helping you to harness the energy and incorporate it into your daily rituals.
The Lunar Cycle
The lunar cycle is about appearances, illusion. What we see is the part of the moon that is illuminated by the sun depending on where the moon is on its revolution around the earth.
When the moon is in the new phase, the side we see is completely dark as it is in alignment with the sun, they are positioned at the same degree astrologically, with the Earth behind the moon so there is no illuminated side facing us.
When the moon is full it is opposite the sun, the Earth in the middle. All other phases, the moon is gradually on its orbiting path and the part we don’t see is the part that’s in shadow. Simple as that.
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It is just one more reminder that life is ever changing, the symbolism of the cycle; birth, growth, expansion, release, death. Repeat. Transformation. Symbolically the chance to refresh and restart every, roughly, 29.5 days.
The ebb and flow of everything that is. The passage of time.
New Moon
A Time to Initiate New Beginnings
A New Moon happens when the sun and moon come into alignment, when the masculine energy of the sun unites with the feminine essence of the moon. At this phase of the cycle the moon will always rise around the same time as the sun, we just can’t really see it.
This is the time that the moon restarts its monthly journey, a time to (metaphorically) gather your seeds of intention, plan your new projects, press that reset button. Use this time wisely to freshen your space, freshen your energy and declutter.
Journal Prompt.
'This New Moon I am ready to welcome ____ into my life.'
Write down your thoughts, your intentions and other ideas that drifted in during your meditation. Write down any messages you receive from your cards. Put your chosen affirmations for the New Moon into words, but say them aloud too, there is magic and power held in the breath of the spoken word.
Affirmations.
I see my goals clearly. I can create everything I need in my life. I am grateful for ____.
Discovering New Intentions Ritual
It is always a good idea to have a salt bath or shower before you do any kind of ritual. The salt cleanses your physical energy and washes away any stagnant or negative energy. You can buy salt washes or create your own by using pure salts such as Pink Himalayan salt or sea/rock salt. You can always make moon salt and use this!
For a New Moon you can add lemon, bergamot or rosemary essential oils, perfect for a fresh start.
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Light your candle. If you're manifesting you might find my candle magic page helpful, if not black or white candles are popular for this phase.
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You can light some incense or a smoulder stick to cleanse your sacred space and help you relax. Rosemary is a good cleansing herb.
Meditate to help guide your intentions for the coming lunar month. Imagine the darkness of the night sky, allow thoughts to drift in of what you would like to see happen during the coming month.
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Pull a tarot or oracle card, you can use this to help you clarify your intentions or affirmations. You could always just ask what energy the new moon phase will bring in.
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Crystals for the New Moon. Labradorite to welcome change. Smoky Quartz for grounding and protecting your energy. Selenite to keep your aura cleansed.
Waxing Crescent:
Plant the Seeds. Manifest the Growth.
The moon begins to move out of alignment, and we can start to see a sliver of light. This is my favourite phase of the moon, I just love the image of the crescent shape facing to the left, knowing that growth is building.
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The waxing crescent phase is where the energy starts to increase and intensify, for me this is where the crackle of magic lives. This is the time to focus on prosperity and abundance, and attracting whatever you wanted to welcome into your life at the New Moon, whether that is love, luck, fertility, growth or determination. This is the phase where you take your first steps.
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Citrine, Jade or Green Aventurine are perfect crystals for this phase, for welcoming good luck, prosperity and abundance.
Abundance Spell
You will need:
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Green spell candle (you can always use gold, and white is a substitution for any candle colour)
Bay leaves
Gold pen if you have one, if not anything will be fine
Small cauldron or dish to burn safely in
Your written intentions from the New Moon
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If you can go outside to do this that’s great, if not you can always sit by a window where you can get a glimpse of the moon, if you can’t do that then you can visualise it just above you wherever you are. Do a meditation and picture yourself sitting outside while the crescent moon has risen above you.
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Light your candle, really visualise the abundance that you would like to welcome into your life, feel those feelings, the happiness, joy, excitement running through your body and out through your hand and pen onto your bay leaf as you write your wish or manifestation. Speak the words aloud, read out your list of intentions to the moon (or sink back into your visualisation).
Hold your bay leaf in your candle flame for a second for it to catch alight (safely! You can use some tongs if you need to) and drop the bay leaf into your safe burning space. Watch it as it fizzles (as bay leaves do!) and keep that visualisation and feel those happy feelings of your manifestation coming into your life.
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When your leaf or leaves have burned you can scatter the ashes into a plant pot or outside in nature where they can grow spiritually and physically. Try to leave your candle to burn out as you keep visualising and feeling your manifestations, if you need to extinguish it then thank the fire element and snuff it – don't blow it out if you can help it and do not leave it unattended!
Birthday candles have a great quick burn time if you don’t have a lot of time to let your candle burn and they come in a good choice of colours.
Journal Prompts:
'What action can I take to put me on the right path to achieving my goals?'
Small steps can lead to big things, and if you have this big dream that seems way out your league of manifestation, try to break down those actions that you might need to implement. If that’s getting healthy and you’re not very active, then just swapping one meal, or one snack a day, and just getting up and doing 1% more activity than the day before is a winner, and I don’t say that lightly if you have a chronic health condition, but the smallest of activity will still help. Small steps like signing up for a course to upskill to find a new job, emailing a few contacts. Whatever your goals are, I bet there is something small you can do to nudge it in the right direction and let the universe know just how much you want it.
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Affirmations:
I am accountable for what I want. Everything I want is within reach. I am worthy of achieving it.
First Quarter:
Action!
This is the phase where the right side of the moon is illuminated and is mainly visible through the afternoon hours. Align your commitment to your manifestations with the energy of the moon as it builds.
This is where you need to make sure you’re doing the work, putting in the effort and pushing ahead with what you want to achieve.
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Journal prompts:
'Connecting to the elements to help me move towards my goal has helped me realise_____. '
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Affirmations:
I trust my intuition completely. I am in control of my next steps. I am ready to receive my highest desires.
Element Ritual for Growth.
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Make a natural altar or mandala using the natural elements for growth and expansion.
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If you’re doing this outside then you don’t need to cleanse your space, but if you’re indoors light some incense or burn some herbs, a natural smoulder stick or some garden sage or rosemary for cleansing.
Gather some natural treasures and lay them out in a circle, I like to use a bowl or tray for this.
I like to use a circle of pure salt (moon salt, rock, sea, pink Himalayan), sand, stones or crystals like clear quartz. These represent the stable grounding energies of Earth.
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Collect some naturally fallen feathers for Air. If you can’t find any you can use your incense, your breath or spoken word – saying aloud what you are grateful for, a poem or song works beautifully for Air. This is to attune your intellect and communication skills.
Use some shells, a little dish or goblet of moon water (see full moon), or a pot of fresh flowers to represent Water. This will help connect with your emotions and intuition.
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Add a few little tealights for the Fire element. This will ignite your passion, motivation and creativity.
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Along with all these you can place crystals which align to either your intention or the elements, you can place leaves and flowers, anything you’re called to add to curate your element mandala. Here you can sit to meditate and journal on your goals, connect with your inner self or just to take time out to pause as the moon sits in its first quarter phase.
Waxing Gibbous:
Refine, Prepare, Perfect!
As the Moon continues to give the illusion of growth as more of its surface is illuminated, it is now the time for the maximum push to analyse our progress, check the details of the work we are contributing, make the adjustments, fine tune the details and really focus our efforts on the end goal. Persistence, consistency and making sure that you are in complete alignment with your intention is key, because if something isn’t sitting right, this is the time to pause and maybe change your direction slightly, but not to quit.
Journal prompts:
Areas I have made progress.
What changes, if any, do I need to make?
Is there anything I can add to support my goals?
Am I comfortable and feeling aligned with the way things are progressing?
Am I affirming my goals and my worthiness to the universe?
What excites me about stepping into my new chapter?
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Affirmations:
My path ahead is free from obstacles. I am bringing in everything that aligns with my soul. I grow with every decision I make.
Clarity Ritual
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For this you need your journal and pen, your New Moon intentions and a dark blue or purple candle (or whichever candle you want to use, these are just the colours I would choose).
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Some incense, sandalwood or rosemary are good for clearing your head. Instead of incense you can always use an oil diffuser, there are some lovely essential oil blends for clarity out there.
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Make yourself a playlist on Spotify or wherever you listen to your music, use songs that calm your mind without making you sleepy. This isn’t the time to fall asleep.
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Light your candle, take some good deep breaths. Still your mind, keep your focus on your breath. Visualise the moon above you again, brighter, nearly fully illuminated. Feel the light surrounding you. Read out your intentions and manifestations again. Remember the steps you have taken to bring these into being. Give yourself a pat on the back, you’re doing well. Meditate on the steps you have taken, don’t judge the thoughts that come up, just accept them.
Keep that goal in mind. Bring your thoughts back to your journal. If things feel like they need a change, map out how you can do this!
Full Moon:
Celebrate. Illuminate.
Be Grateful.
The moon has reached the halfway point in its 29-day orbit, she is sitting opposite the sun and basking her beauty in his glorious masculine light. Illumination is full, and the light is shining on all we have achieved on our fortnights journey. It is the time to harvest the rewards of what we have already accomplished, the time to reflect on your journey, and offer gratitude, honouring all that has been done.
Disclaimer: If you manifested a new job, a lottery win, a potential new partner, any massive life changing opportunity. Realistically is this likely to have presented itself in a fortnight? If this hasn't yet happened, PLEASE do not lose faith! It does not mean the Universe isn’t providing, you aren’t worthy, it’s all pointless...it doesn’t work like that! There is such a thing as divine timing, this means what is for you won’t pass you by, but it might not be the right time. However, I bet if you have been working on yourself, connecting with your higher self through rituals and meditation etc, you will have learned a lot. This could take a while to reach your higher goal, you need to be consistent, you need to show perseverance and you have to keep going, because you need to want it enough, and work for it!,
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The Full Moon is the witches’ time! There is an absolute plethora of rituals and magic you can do at this time when The Moon has reached its intensity of power, the balance is restored, and our emotions, living in tune with the moon may be amplified, our desires and emotions may be bubbling at the fore around this time.
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Some people like to manifest at the Full Moon as the power is at its highest, some people prefer to do a releasing spell to let go of things, habits, emotions that no longer serve them, others like to do healing rituals, others still may prefer to embrace the tranquillity (if they feel that) as the moon is at its brightest for reflection, journaling and self-care. You witch your way! Do whichever rituals or practices you feel comfortable with, and if that’s just cleansing your most used crystal then that’s fine too! And if you’re feeling a bit low and just feel like doing nothing at all, maybe some quiet time in reflection and a chocolate bar is for you.
Some of my Favourite Full Moon Rituals:
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Moon Water:
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“Water is a supremely programmable substance, which means it takes on the energetic properties of things around it quite easily,” Crystal therapist and spiritual wellness coach, Emma Halley, says. “Since we are 60 percent water, [moon water] can help us integrate, connect with, and manifest the intentions we have via the water.”
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Moon water can be used for so many different rituals, if you are keeping some in a spray bottle you can use it to make cleansing sprays, in healing rituals to drink (providing you use spring or boiled water and sterilise your equipment), people make facial toners with moon water. One of my favourite uses for it is to water my house plants, especially if one is looking a bit unwell. You can use moon water on your altar, as an offering, in astrology rituals where you are working with water signs, the list is endless.
I will admit here to having a bottle on my altar once and using it to extinguish a small cauldron fire that looked like it was potentially getting out of hand. Like I say, it’s very versatile and a real addition to your magical toolkit.
You can make moon water during every stage of the lunar cycle, but Full Moon water is a nice activity, especially if you’re cleansing your crystals this way, you can do them both together.
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You will need:
A clean, sterilised glass bottle or jar.
Spring/distilled water (If I’m making this just for my plants, I use cooled boiled water).
Cleansing equipment like a singing bowl, bell, incense etc.
Crystals (if you want them)
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Steps
Cleanse your space and your equipment like your bottle and crystals, the water doesn’t need to be spiritually cleansed. Use your singing bowl or sound around the area, as with your incense. If you’re planning on ingesting the water then don’t put incense in the bottle to be on the safe side.
Set your intentions - be that healing, for a releasing ritual, cleansing (you can add it to bath water for a magical energy boost). You can say this aloud to your water as you’re filling it or placing it outside, or you can write a note or sigil and tag it or leave it under/wrapped around the bottle.
You can use crystals in your moon water providing they are water safe, but *DO NOT use this for drinking as some crystals are harmful when ingested.*
Set the bottle in the moonlight during your chosen moon phase. If you can’t leave it outside, then there is nothing wrong with a windowsill. Also don’t worry if it’s cloudy, the energy is still there. If you do leave it outside and you’re planning to drink it, then be careful where you leave it (i.e. that no one else can get to it and tamper with it and an animal can't pee in it), and that the lid is on tight.
I like to leave mine out overnight and collect at first light. I also mark mine with which astrological sign the Moon is in and when I’ve collected it. If you’re drinking it, then keep it in the fridge and not for too long.
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Moon Salt:
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Moon salt has so many magical uses and is a calming, grounding craft to practice each month. I like to use them for my salt bath or shower rituals, you can add them to spell bottles, your altars, even to pop in a bag under your pillow.
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You will need:
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Pure salt – Pink Himalayan Salt, Rock Salt, or Sea Salt are the best to use.
Glass Mason jar (or similar)
You add full moon herbs such as Lavender, Mugwort, Lemon Balm, Passionflower, Sage.
You can add essential oils such as Rose Geranium and Sweet Orange if you choose to, or oils of your choice.
Crystals such as Rainbow Moonstone, Amethyst, or any others you wish to choose (providing they are salt safe).
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Mix in a bowl with the intention of the Full Moon, you can use the astrological sign that the moon is in to adapt the herbs or oils, or you can just infuse the salts with your intention.
Store them sealed in the airtight jar under the moonlight, weather dependant this might be better on your windowsill?
Label them as with your Moon Water, with the moon’s sign and date. Use them whenever you need a boost of Full Moon energy.
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Gratitude
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There is nothing more important in manifesting, than feeling and showing gratitude, and the Full Moon is the time to really highlight this area. To me, there is nothing more important in general wellbeing than being grateful and counting your blessings, it is not until we really investigate what we have, that we realise how lucky we are, and the higher we vibrate, the luckier we feel, the more luck and high vibrations we will attract.
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You don’t need anything special to spend five minutes counting your blessings, it’s always lovely to light your candles and incense, cleanse your space and give yourself that priority of time. Take your journal and write three, five, however many things you are grateful for and why. They don’t have to be huge; they just need to be things that make your life better for having them.
If these gratitudes are people, write down how they’ve helped you. What difference they have made. Might be nice to tell them and make them feel good too!
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You can really supercharge this by paying what you are grateful for forward. This doesn’t have to be financial, just giving someone half an hour of your time, making someone a cup of tea when they’re tired.
My friend is a paramedic, and someone once handed her a cup of coffee and a little chocolate bar when they saw her having a 5-minute break in her ambulance, this has stuck with her for years as a true act of kindness when she really needed it, that person wasn’t to know what a terrible morning she’d had, and that made a huge difference to her.
Releasing Ritual
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At the Full Moon the light and intensity has reached its peak, after this point it begins to wane on its path back to the New Moon, so this is the time to let go of what no longer serves you, just like the moon. This is the best ritual to do at any point during the waning phase.
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What you’ll need:
You can use tarot or oracle cards.
Candles – the colour is up to you. Some people like white for a Full Moon to represent the light; some use black to release, I may also use whichever colour corresponds to the astrological sign the moon is in.
Incense or oil.
Piece of paper if you are literally writing them down to release.
Journal. It might be useful to have a specific moon journal, or you can use your Book of Shadows?
I choose my releasing method again, with the association of the astrology. If we have a Full Moon in Aries, Leo or Sagittarius I will use fire, Water signs such as Pisces, Cancer or Scorpio you can use water to dissolve or wash them away, Air signs – Aquarius, Gemini, Libra – literally blow them into the wind, Earth signs, Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn, bury them in the ground (just not on your property, you’re getting rid of them not growing them!).
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Steps:
You can have your salt bath or shower as for the New Moon, get yourself nicely relaxed and ready for some you time.
Light your incense and candles, cleanse your space with your bells or singing bowl (I will often use music as well to cleanse my space).
Take some deep breaths, bring your attention to your breath and focus your attention on going inwards.
Shuffle your cards and ask your questions.
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What changes have I made since the new moon?
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Where am I now?
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What is no longer serving me?
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How can I release this?
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What do I need to do to move forward towards my goals?
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Meditate on the answers from your cards if you wish, journal your thoughts and if you want to physically release you can write your ‘baggage’, so to speak, down.
For me I often need to release procrastination, comparison, unhealthy eating habits, etc... You can write these on your paper and either just burn them (safely – moon water at the ready!), or use the other elements to help you. I will burn my releases then dispose of the ashes in running water, blow them away, or scatter them/bury them away from my home, some often use a crossroads for this.
Waning Gibbous:
Release, re-learn, be still.
Most of the moon is still illuminated at this point, but it is gradually moving away from the full light of the sun and into the darkness. The light is waning, she is letting go.
You may have done a releasing ritual at the Full Moon, or you might have been so busy celebrating yourself (and quite rightly so) you are ready to do it now, so find your quiet space and do the above ritual.
If you cleared away what needs to be cleared, then now is the time to really focus on the lessons you have learned throughout these past few weeks since you first made those initial intentions.
This is also a space for decluttering and self-care. You can declutter your thoughts by journaling and meditating, you can also do some physical cleaning of your space, not just spiritual cleansing, actually tidy up, get your vacuum cleaner out. A tidy house is a tidy mind, allegedly!
Self-care is a huge theme as the moon is waning, we have been working so hard during the time the energy has been building, now is the time to take a step back and analyse our previous actions. Immersing yourself in nature is always a good idea, but at this point in the lunar month a walk in a peaceful, natural place can help you still your mind and take stock. Being in nature, walking, cycling, just sitting and actively soaking in the natural world can be an active form of meditation, which some people prefer to a passive state.
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Journal Prompts:
What lessons have I learned? What am I releasing and how will this help me reach my goals?
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Affirmations:
I release what no longer serves me. I break free from what holds me back. I am moving towards the life I desire.
Third Quarter:
Release. Forgive. Be.
The third quarter (or last quarter) is now half illuminated to the left side, and is visible during morning daylight hours. It symbolises reflection and forgiveness. However things are going on your journey to your goals, if things have begun to slip or maybe you feel you are drifting off away from the path you wanted, this is the time to bring yourself back on track, don’t beat yourself up over anything that might have not quite gone to plan, just accept it and move forward. Release whatever is blocking you from your path and focus on the big picture. Be honest with yourself, this is your call to change what is stopping you from reaching your goals. This is where a cord cutting ritual can come in. Try that when you complete your journal prompt.
Journal Prompts:
How I see a life of freedom with nothing to energetically drain me.
Affirmations:
Remember, you are strong, use these affirmations to stop those cords ever reattaching themselves.
I release the past from holding me back. I can do anything I choose.
The life of my dreams is coming.
I embrace new beginnings.
I trust the universe and am in complete alignment.
Cord Cutting Ritual
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Cord cutting rituals are ways to sever connections with negative energetic sources that can impact on your emotions, daily life and spiritual self.
These can be physical connections like ex-partners or people you know, harmful situations like addictions (I am not in any way saying an addiction can be ‘cured’ by a cord cutting ritual, they can be a helpful tool in addition to a well-maintained support plan), unhealthy habits that you’d like to release or attachments, patterns or emotions that are holding you back from living the life you’d like.
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Energetic cords are formed with anything we have a strong emotional connection with, for the main this is a good thing! We want the energetic bond of love and joyful situations, but there are times that we form connections with things that bring us less happiness and can be downright damaging, but as with everything we are attached to, these ties are hard to break without a little help.
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Cord cutting rituals help by clearly, but kindly breaking these ties or attachments. We recognise that once they may have bought us joy, love or security, but have somewhere along the way transformed into something less than that, and these are blocking or draining our energies when we try to walk away. When we keep going back into a bad situation, if that situation hasn’t changed, we are choosing to continue to be unhappy and be held back (what you don’t change, you choose!). This is when we know we need to break these cycles and cords and rid ourselves of the problem so we can move on to happier, healthier things.
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There are two ways to perform a cord cutting ritual, one is physically cutting a cord, one is by visualisation. Personally, I choose the latter, but as always, the choice is yours.
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What you need:
If you are using the physical cutting method, then add some cord,cotton or twine about 25cm long; and scissors.
Two candles, one black, and one white for balance is good; however you can use one white for your pure intention, and one of whichever colour you associate with the thing you want to banish, if there are multiple things then use black.
An extra candle to light first, I would use white but use the colour of your choice.
Two small fireproof bowls filled with a pure or black salt to sit your ritual candles in.
I would prepare a playlist of music that you don’t associate with whatever you are cutting ties to, songs that remind you of the ex you want to banish won’t help. Something empowering might?
Bells, singing bowls, anything you like to cleanse your energy.
Incense or herbs, – garden sage, rosemary and lavender are a good choice.
You can use crystals. Something like Black Obsidian/Tourmaline for protection, Rose Quartz for self-love, any other crystals you find align with your intention.
I would normally say have a salt bath or shower beforehand, but for anything you would like to banish I think it is better to do this step afterwards and wash all those energies down the drain.
Prepare your sacred space like you would for your normal rituals, light your incense and single candle, use your sound cleansing, put your music on. Make sure you have a window open, if possible, these negative energies need to leave, doing it outside is even better.
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Physical Cord Cutting
If you are using the physical method, then take your twine and visualise the energy you wish to sever ties with, really feel how it drains you, the hurt is has caused you, and tie the twine or string around the middle of the first candle (spell candles are best as they burn quickly), then tie the other end around the middle of the second candle leaving the string reaching across the middle.
As you are ready to light your candles, set the intention to rid the energy or person, to completely sever ties with this energetic attachment from your heart. Focus your breath and put a hand on your heart space, know that you are acting with love for yourself and love for the person or energetic drain, nothing is being done with ill feeling.
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Light your candles, think with loving thoughts how this ending will bring you peace, how you can move on with happiness, how this person or tie has taught you lessons and how you can use those lessons to move on with your life.
Take your scissors and cut the string in the centre, then watch as the flame burns down and burns those energetic ties. If this is just an element of a ‘thing’ you are banishing, say for example you want a relationship to just become a friendship, say goodbye to the physical element of it, knowing you will see the person again and have loving ties of friendship, but they will have no more physical hold on you. The same with a friendship, if you no longer want someone to be a drain on your time, you can cut the cord of that ‘hold’ they have on you, to allow yourself to feel stronger to set boundaries around them, they will no longer have control over your time.
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Watch as the flame burns away the remains of that energetic bond and feel yourself lightening, your aura will become freer. Visualise pink loving energy surrounding you as you send kindness out to replace the anger, hurt or energetic void the situation had over you, replace it with love and freedom.
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Say aloud, ‘I release these ties that bind me and replace them with love and respect for myself.’ or any words that mean something to you, you can even make them rhyme if you wish but as I’ve mentioned, that’s not my thing!
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When you are done with your ritual, as you are now feeling freer or lighter, as the pink light around you is now bright white and you are feeling light and free, make sure your candles are burned out, ring your bell or your singing bowl, this will signify your freedom!
Take the salt, ashes and candle stubs and either bury them somewhere away from your property or literally put them in the garbage, it’s done and gone now and time to be rid of whatever has drained you.
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Now it’s time for your salt bath or shower. Raise your arms and feel the water washing all over you, completely cleansing your aura and washing away all that burned out energy. Thank the universe, ask it to send something wonderful to fill you with joy, you are ready to start something new now. Flush the old vibes down the plughole, step out of the shower with a fresh and bright outlook ready for your new beginning.
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Visualisation Ritual
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If you are using this method, then do everything from the steps above to begin with, so:
Take your black and white candles and visualise an energetic tie running between them, spiritually tie it around both candles and use the method above, but visualise that cord or twine, but do everything else just in the same way.
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Here is also a grounded meditation from Insight Timer Cord Cutting meditation.
Waning Crescent:
Surrender. Healing.
The energy has now waned and illuminated as only a thin crescent, as she moves towards the dark phase of complete stillness. This is the time to slow down, surrender to natures ebb and make self-care a priority.
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Journal Prompts:
I have released negative energy and recalled good; this has made me feel _____.
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Affirmations:
I allow myself to forgive and be forgiven. I allow myself to trust. The universe has my back.
Self-Care Ritual
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Now the energy of the moon is low, potentially yours is too. This is a good time to call back your own energy. Energy you have spent worrying, that you have energetically given to others, energy that you have left behind scattered in the ether.
Once again, prepare your sacred space for your ritual, you know the score, crystals, candles, bells, incense, journal, good playlist.
I always have my white candle as my go-to, but choose whichever candle you’re drawn to, or one that smells nice and comforting if you’d rather.
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Sandalwood or White Sage scent is my preferred incense if I’m using a stick, or Rosemary and Lavender if I’m using herbs, adding some Mugwort during this moon phase would be best.
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Bring the focus to your breath, deep breaths into your belly, down into your root chakra, through the soles of your feet, feel yourself taking root. Visualise your crown chakra opening to a pure white light, connecting with the entire love and power of the universe.
Keep yourself surrounded in white light, feel it running through each of your cells and connecting to your roots, keeping you grounded.
Then say, ‘I surrender to the ebb and flow of life. I let go of all energy that drains me. I surrender to acceptance and rest. I forgive all ails and wrongs done to me, and those I have done to others. None of that matters now, this moment now is all that matters. I call back my power, all that I gave away, all that which was lost, and that which was taken from me. I call it back cleansed and rejuvenated, made pure and light with love.
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Visualise all the energy gently flowing back to you, through the white, purifying energetic field you have surrounded yourself with, flowing into your body cleansed, pure and balanced with harmony.
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Keep visualising this until you feel completely balanced and grounded. End your ritual by thanking the universe for aligning your energy, extinguish your candles, sound your bells and perhaps have a salt shower or bath, and maybe do some grounding, relaxing Tai-Chi or yoga.
Dark Moon:
Silence. Stillness. Rest.
Also known as the Balsamic Moon (when the moon is less than 45% illuminated), the Dark Moon phase lasts for roughly three days before the New Moon. This is not an action or manifestation phase, it’s a time for rest and reflection.
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Journal Prompts:
What memories did I make during this lunar cycle?
What did I celebrate?
Where were my challenges?
What lessons did I learn?
What positives can I take into the new lunar cycle?
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Affirmations:
I release control and embrace trust. I am enough. I am held.
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Dark Moon Ritual
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Light a candle, black is good for this phase.
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Cleanse your space in the normal way. Mugwort is a good herb to burn now, with Lavender and Garden Sage.
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Black Obsidian or Black Moonstone are good, along with Smoky Quartz, Black Tourmaline. All your protective grounding crystals.
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You can choose this moon phase for Shadow Work, I think you’ve got to be in the mood for this though, as I speak about in the Shadow Work section this can be incredibly hard, raw work and it’s not to be taken lightly, but if you feel you have this kind of work to do, then go for it. You can always try a softer approach if you don’t feel mentally prepared for Shadow Work though, and who would blame you? And that's where the Dark Moon journal prompts above come in.
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After doing these, sit in contemplation or meditation, give thanks, just be still.
