The Moon

New Moon: the seed

To start something and give it time to grow.

You need

A sheet of paper · A pencil

When

The night of the new Moon, or within the next two days.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Draw a seed on the paper.
2. Under it, write in one sentence what you want to grow during this cycle.
3. Say the words.
4. Add the first step, what you already have to take it, and a date to look at the page again.
5. Keep it where you'll see it.

“I welcome this beginning without asking it to be fully formed. May I tend what is being born and see what it still needs to learn.”

The new Moon coin

To greet the first sliver of the Moon and begin the cycle taking care of what you have.

You need

A coin in your pocket

When

The first evening you see the sliver of the Moon, a day or two after the new Moon.

Time

One minute

1. Step outside, onto the balcony, or open the window: look at it in the open air, not through glass.
2. When you see it, take hold of the coin in your pocket.
3. Turn it over three times without taking it out.
4. Say the words, looking at the Moon.
5. Back home, set that coin aside, or a small amount, for savings you'll check at the next new Moon.

“Welcome, new Moon. May what I have grow along with you, and may I know how to take care of it.”

A wish on a bay leaf

To put a wish in writing and keep it for one cycle of the Moon.

You need

A whole dried bay leaf · A fine-tip marker

When

At the new Moon.

Time

Five minutes

1. Hold the leaf and think of a single wish that depends partly on you.
2. Write it on the leaf in one word or a short phrase.
3. Say the words with the leaf between your hands.
4. Keep it in your wallet, between the pages of a book or under your pillow until the next new Moon.
5. That day, read the wish, write down what you did for it, and return the leaf to the soil of a potted plant.

“Bay leaf, hold this wish while I work on it. May I take the step that is mine to take during this Moon.”

Waxing Moon: tending

To keep going with what you started.

You need

Your new Moon page

When

While the Moon is waxing.

Time

Five minutes

1. Reread what you wrote at the new Moon.
2. Choose one small action you can repeat.
3. Say the words.
4. Each time you do it, add a line to your drawing of the seed: a sprout, a leaf, a root.

“I give strength to what I want to grow. May my enthusiasm find a rhythm, and may that rhythm leave room for growing.”

Full Moon: what can be seen

To recognize what has grown and give thanks for it.

You need

A light or a circle of white paper

When

The night of the full Moon.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Set the light or the white circle in front of you.
2. Look at what has come into view since the new Moon: what got done, what is still missing, what changed.
3. Say the words.
4. Spend a few minutes wishing peace and care for the world, and choose one thing you can do for someone else this week.

“I give thanks for what I can see today. May this clear light help me celebrate, set things right and share.”

Greeting the full Moon

To meet the full Moon on your feet, give thanks for the month and look toward the next one.

When

The night of the full Moon, wherever you can see it: a yard, a balcony, an open window.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Stand facing the Moon with your feet planted.
2. Take three deep breaths, looking at it.
3. Raise both arms wide, palms up.
4. Say the words.
5. Lower your arms slowly and bring your hands to your chest.
6. Quietly name three things from this month you are thankful for.
7. Name one thing you want to change before the next full Moon.
8. Bow your head to say goodbye and, once inside, write that one thing down with a date.

“Full Moon, I welcome you with open hands. I give thanks for what this month gave me, and I am ready to take care of what comes next.”

Moon water

To keep the light of the full Moon for cleansing and blessing through the month.

You need

A glass jar with a lid · Water

When

The night of the full Moon.

Time

Five minutes, plus a night of waiting

1. Fill the jar with water and put the lid on.
2. Leave it all night where the moonlight reaches it: a windowsill, a balcony, next to a window.
3. Before you leave it, wrap your hands around the jar and say the words.
4. Bring it in before the sun touches it and keep it somewhere dark.
5. Use it through the month: a few drops to wipe your table or your altar, to wash your hands before a practice, or to water a plant.

“Full Moon, leave your clear light in this water. May whatever it touches be left clean and calm.”

Care: Don't drink it, since it spent the night out in the open, and make a fresh jar at each full Moon.

The two letters

To let go of something and make room for something else.

You need

Two sheets of paper · A pencil · A dry bowl

When

At the full Moon.

Time

Twenty minutes

1. On the first sheet, write: “I am ready to stop carrying…”. Finish it with what you no longer accept in your life. Separate what you can change from what isn't up to you.
2. On the second, write: “I want to make room for…”. Add how you will recognize it when it comes.
3. Read both slowly.
4. Tear the first one into pieces over the bowl and take it to the recycling.
5. Fold the second, write a date on it for reading it again, and put it away.
6. Say the words.

“I let go of what I can let go of, I welcome what can grow in harmony, and I give shape to the step that is up to me.”

Seven bills in the window

To look with gratitude at what you have and get ready to manage it well.

You need

Seven bills or seven coins · A pinch of cinnamon on a small plate

When

The night of the full Moon.

Time

Five minutes, plus a night of waiting

1. Lay the seven bills in a row by a window, indoors, where they can't be seen from the street.
2. Set the plate of cinnamon beside them.
3. Say the words.
4. In the morning, put the money away or use it for what you had planned.

“I see what I have, and I am ready to manage it with attention. May I find honest opportunities and be able to prepare my next steps.”

Waning Moon: simplify

To finish, pare down and leave behind.

When

While the Moon is waning.

Time

As long as the task takes

1. Choose just one thing to pare down: finish something left undone, get an object you don't use out of the house, remove a distraction, or rethink a commitment.
2. Do it today.
3. When you finish, say the words.

“I give what has ended permission to find its close. What I let go of opens a space I can take care of.”

Dark Moon: pause

To rest before beginning again.

When

The day before the new Moon.

Time

One day

1. Don't start anything new today, if it can wait.
2. Spend a while looking back, resting, or tidying the place where you practice.
3. Before you go to sleep, say the words.

“I don't need to rush every beginning. I can listen to what has no shape yet.”

Eight stations of a lunar cycle

To stay with one purpose through the eight phases of the Moon.

You need

A notebook · A calendar that shows the phases of the Moon

When

One whole cycle, from one new Moon to the next: about twenty-nine and a half days.

Time

Ten minutes at each phase

1. Check the calendar for the Moon's phase.
2. Read in the table what that phase asks for.
3. Do it that day or the next.
4. Write the date, the phase and what you did in your notebook, in two lines.
5. Come back to the table when the Moon changes phase, until you have done all eight.

The Moon in the twelve signs

To choose where to put your attention according to the sign the Moon is passing through.

When

The Moon changes signs about every two and a half days.

1. Check a lunar calendar for the sign the Moon is in today.
2. Read its themes and ask yourself its question.
3. Answer with one small action.