Monday Moon Lore

I just love folklore and old wives tales...sometimes they just make you wanna giggle. Since today is the New Moon (Dark Moon, as I prefer) and void of course for most of the afternoon up until just after midnight and therefore not good for working spells, I thought I would hunt down some of the funniest New/Dark Moon folk tales..



It's Lucky to . . .

*It is lucky to see the first sliver of a new Moon "clear of the brush," or unencumbered by foliage.


*It is lucky to own a rabbit's foot, especially if the rabbit was killed in a cemetery by a cross-eyed person at the dark of the Moon.


*It is lucky to hold a moonstone in your mouth at the full Moon; it will reveal the future.


*It is lucky to have a full Moon on the "Moon day" (Monday).


*It is lucky to expose your newborn to the waxing Moon. It will give the baby strength.


*It is lucky to move into a new house during the new Moon; prosperity will increase as the Moon waxes.


It's Unlucky to . . .


*It is unlucky to see the first sliver of a new Moon through a window; you'll break a dish.


*It is unlucky to point at the new Moon or view any Moon over your shoulder.


*It is unlucky to sleep in the moonlight, or worse, be born in the moonlight.


*It is unlucky to see "the old Moon in the arms of the new" or the faint image of the full disk while the new crescent Moon is illuminated, especially if you're a sailor. Storms are predicted.


*It is unlucky to have a full Moon on Sunday. (Some say Saturday . . . ) 

I hope you got a chuckle out of that, it's hard to believe at one time people took that kind of thing seriously...(okay, maybe some still do, after all...there are those who do think we're in league with a concept we don't even believe in...)


* From The Farmers Almanac

Banishing Negativity

 This ritual calls upon Hecate in Her Crone aspect... it is performed during the Dark of the Moon. Some people are fearful of working with the Dark Moon and the Crone  but She is the wise protector who will take your negativity and transform it in her cauldron of change. I ordered Hecate's Enchantment Magickal Oil and Candle Set from Magickal Enchantments and  this ritual  will work beautifully with it. The dark moon is coming up soon (Sat. Oct. 17th) and I can't wait to use these charming items!

Cast your circle as you normally do. When you are through, stand or kneel before your altar and light the black candle. With your arms held, palms upward, at your sides, call Hecate by saying three times:

Hecate, beautiful Crone of Night

I call you here to put things right.

Transform the negative thought and pain

And help my life be whole again.

Close your eyes. When you feel the presence of Hecate and know she is there to help you, open your eyes. Bow your head to her to show your reverence, then take the chalice, saying:    

Lady of the Dark Moon,

Share with me this wine.

Bring your protection to

Flood this life of mine.

May the waters of your eternal womb

Bring change most divine.

Sip a small amount of the wine (or water), envisioning it as liquid energy, flowing to effect a positive change within and outside of you.  Leave the rest as an offering to Hecate.  Light the purifying incense in the censer, cut a door in the Circle, and, beginning in the eastern-most corner of your home, smudge your home, going counter-clockwise. Go into every closet, the bathroom, and the garage - make sure your entire house is smudged. As you go, chant: 

Negativity be gone.

Come back into the Circle and visualize your entire house and yard bathed in a peaceful blue light. Since you have created a void by banishing the negativity, you will need to fill that void. Now going deosil (clock-wise), re-trace your steps through the house, asking that good, protective spirits come into your home and that positive energies replace the negative ones that have just been banished.

This is an important step, because if you don't fill the void with something good, the negativity will come right back. Sometimes during such a ritual, I take one large and one small black stone and charge them to keep away negativity. I promise Hecate that the large one will remain in a prominent place in my house and that I will keep the small one with me at all times.

Thank Hecate. Meditate if you wish, visualizing your life free from negative happenings and feelings and full of love, prosperity, and happiness. Feel how She has changed your home and your life.  Close the Circle and know that it is done.

Dark Moon Bath

There are several rituals and spells that can be done on a new moon ( I refer to it as a dark moon) and before any activity like these it is always good to prepare for the event with grounding, centering and a ritual bath before any magical work is done. This is a recipe I came across a long time ago for a ritual bath dealing with the dark moon.

Ingredients:
* 2 cups powdered milk
* 1/2 cup epsom salt
* 1/2 cup baking soda
* 6 drops sandalwood oil
* 5 drops vanilla oil
* 4 drops gardenia oil
* 4 drops orange oil
* Mix, and use 1 cup per bath

This bath smells so good and you could even take one just to refresh and recharge.

Serenity Sunday

When the dark moon appears, it becomes easier for us to shed unnecessary emotional baggage and free ourselves of people and ideas that no longer serve us or add value to our life. It is a time to cleanse ourselves and create space so that what is new can enter.

For many people, the dark moon is a time to rest, be introspective, and replenish their energy. Powerful, healing dreams have been known to take place during the dark moon, and you may discover that it is during the dark moon that you are most driven to meditate, explore your intuitive abilities, retrieve past life memories, or delve more deeply into your psyche.

One way to harness the energy of the dark moon is to perform a ritual where you light a black candle. First, ground and center...then call forth and visualize the different parts of your life that you are ready to let go of. Through visualization, bind these parts together with light and imagine this bundle moving toward the candle. Watch these old parts being devoured by the flames, and let the candle burn out. Trust that what you've released has left you. Thank the goddess and you are now ready to welcome the new into your life.

New Moon for July, 2009

July 22, 02:35

My List:

1.) My kids

2.) My cats

3.) Harry Potter movies

4.) Fish for the pond

5.) Snuggles and hugs and kisses...oh my!

6.) My Faeries Oracles cards

7.) Homemade burritos

8.) Fudgesicles

9.) Text messaging...It is the twenty first century!

10.) Stargazing with my buddy

New Moon.....Dark Moon

The other day I was listening to Ariel's podcast "The Witches Primer" when he used a term that I hadn't heard in many, many moons...(pun intended)..."Dark Moon". I remember my grandmother using that name when I was a child and really never thought too much about it then... but nostalgia has bitten me and I thought I'd explain the meaning of the terms "Dark Moon" as opposed to "New Moon" which we are all familiar with on traditional calanders.

The "New Moon" as we all know, is the phrase most often used when the last cresent of the waning moon has disappeared and the moon is all but invisible. It is still there of course but for roughly 1.5 to 2.5 days hangs in the sky, silently unseen by our naked eyes just before it starts on it's movement towards it's cycle of full.

Many modern witches and pagans as well as most astrologers call this phase the "New Moon" but some of us following a more traditional path of the "Old Ways" call it the "Dark Moon" as it is quite literally dark ( I mean no disrespect to any of the paths one may be following, I simply want to show that all beliefs and their terms used are not always the same). The first tiny cresent of the moon that we can see just after the "Dark Moon" is what many of us witches call the "New Moon." The words that are used in any case may seem to be very important but when it comes to timing our spells it makes a difference.

It was good to hear Ariel say "Dark Moon," since I have been on my spiritual path I always assumed that it was a lifestyle I had picked for myself but as I grow older I'm noticing that I have been handed down the groundwork from my grandparents and probably even their grandparents.

I hesitate to claim that it's a family tradition as my grandparents, even though as in tune with nature and the world as they were, were also church going...god fearing folk but no one is perfect and I loved them with my whole heart and being (again, please do not take offense, I was a church goer at one time in my life too, but that's a whole other blog!).