Full Moon Rituals: How to Prepare for The Full Moon

Across many cultures and spiritual traditions, the Full Moon is believed to amplify prana or life force here on Earth. The Full Moon period includes the two days before, the day of, and the two days after the Full Moon. 

When it comes to the Full Moon, there are a number of ways to celebrate, honour and harmonize with its energy. I like to see the Full Moon period as a tool of reflection, manifestation and development. 

For this Full Moon article, I wanted to honour our unique backgrounds and bring a general preparatory equation for ritual to the table that can be used no matter what you practice. There are a few key pieces that are often left out of the equation, and I want to dive into the importance and role of each of those. Connecting it to the energy body, I'll offer tips to deepen your full moon ritual experience, help you let go of what no longer serves you, make your manifestation rituals that much more powerful, or support you with successful intention setting.

What happens during the full moon?

The Moon itself does not ‘send’ energy to us. Rather it reflects the light and cosmic energies from our Sun. I like to think of this as similar to when we hold a mirror and let it catch the sunlight, it forms a focused beam of light wherever we point the mirror. So it is during the Full Moon period when our moon is directing an illuminating beam of cosmic energies back down to Earth.

Even more fascinating is that this light reaches us during the dark hours of the day, shedding light on our path where previously there was none. If you’ve ever been out in nature on a clear night, you’ll know the Full Moon is so bright there’s no need for a flashlight. The way is obvious.

In much the same way, it can also bring the darker or hidden aspects of our personality into view, showing us what may need attention, reflection, or transformation. This unobstructed cosmic energy can stimulate our Astral or Emotional subtle body, a layer of the aura that oversees our emotions, thus bringing them to the surface in a way that is undeniable.

Usually the lower emotions take precedence during this time, causing impatience, heightened stress, anger etc. Some Full Moon periods can feel particularly chaotic. Some of us may feel a heightened sensitivity during these days. Psychic ability can be more stimulated - dreams more vivid. Physical fatigue is common (the struggle is real!)

For the non-spiritual person, one might think this is confirmation bias. “I know the Full Moon is happening, therefore I’m more hypervigilant and aware of how I’m feeling and what’s going on, and oh! This and this and this is because of the Full Moon.” Fair, that definitely happens from time to time. However, working with the Full Moon energies can be a great way to release, manifest and mark our time here on Earth.

Preparing for a Full Moon Ritual

When preparing for a full moon, I recommend preparing your space, purifying your energy, journaling, and grounding to support yourself to work harmoniously with the Full Moon period.

Energetically Purifying Yourself

Energetically purifying oneself of negative energy is a great way to harmonize with the Full Moon energy. It can also help your ritual be more powerful, or help you have a deeper experience. Not only that, but when the aura and chakras are relatively clean, manifestation work and intention setting becomes that much easier.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to do this is with a salt bath. Here’s the download:

• Put 2 handfuls of salt into the bath. The salt can be sea salt, dead sea salt or table salt. These specific salts purify the energy body. The energy gently dissolves darkness in the aura, helps to decongest the chakras. In return your body and mind will feel relief. Please do not use Epsom Salts for this purpose. They have a different energy to them which while beneficial is not good for purification.

• If you want some extra support choose one of the following oils for purification (a couple drops is sufficient): Lavender for deeper psychological healing and relaxation, Frankincense or Myrrh for deep purification, or one of my wintertime favourites. Clove Bud Oil, it is a power cleanser, aids in releasing heavy energies, helps with boundary setting, and really gets your circulation going. Great if you have a cold hands warm heart situation.

• Soak for 20 minutes, rinse off. If you’d like candles to support your purifying bath, white candles are perfect. The White colour sends light out and aids in releasing what no longer serves you. If you enjoyed this experience, you can do it as much as you like. 

After a few times of doing this self-care ritual, the life force should be flowing better and the chakras balanced. This can improve sleep quality, bring peace and calmness and a feeling of greater emotional stability.

Note: careful with Clove Oil, it’s very poisonous to cats and dogs. Don’t let your furry friends near the bath water when you use clove bud oil. 

Purifying Your Space

There are a few quick ways to energetically cleanse your space in preparation for your full moon ritual. I’m going to go ahead and assume we’re just dealing with some light negative energy, nothing too heavy or something straight out of a horror movie. 

Focus on the room where you’ll be having your Full Moon ritual. Here are some options:

• Incense: Frankincense, Myrrh, Lavender, or incense blessed or purchased from a temple. You want to work with incense that has purification properties.

• Sound: Play an Om mantra track, clap your hands, or ring a bell. Focus on corners and areas where negative energy tends to gather.

• Decluttering and cleaning up your space: Doing this before ritual has a powerful effect on the mind. This is something that can actually be measured energetically. While you’re cleaning up and organizing your room, your energy body changes. It will respond in a healthy way, certain chakras become bigger providing greater clarity to the mind. This can be useful when doing manifestation rituals or intention setting.

Note: if you are experiencing heavier negative energy throughout your home or space, I recommend a house energy clearing session 

Journaling during the Full Moon

Journaling can be a powerful tool for decluttering the mind during the Full Moon. If a lot is coming up, doing a brain dump by writing down everything on your mind, no matter how small or silly it may seem, can help release stuck energies and create space for clarity, creativity, and peace. By putting pen to paper or fingers to keys without judgment, you can better identify what you want to let go of, what you want to bring in, and where your intentions should focus.

If you don’t want to do a brain dump (I’ll be honest, when I journal like this I throw out or delete everything when I’m done) then simply documenting how you feel during the Full Moon can be illuminating.

You may start to notice patterns, dreams, recurring issues during the Full Moons, things that may be calling your name to be addressed. Once the Full Moon passes, some of these insights may settle back into the subconscious until the next lunar cycle, waiting to be noticed again.

Grounding during the Full Moon

Grounding is important all the time, but especially during Full Moon periods when it’s easy to feel out of your body, highly emotional, and sensitive. 

I recommend grounding after any spiritual practices or ritual. For any manifestation goals to come into existence, you need the lower chakras to be strong and healthy. You can help develop and strengthen them through grounding into the Earth. Grounding takes the beautiful energy you generated during your practice or ritual and transforms it into something you can carry into your physical world and daily life.

Grounding is quick, easy and important. Here’s how to do it:

• Bring your awareness to the base of your spine. 

• Say out loud: “My grounding cord is going straight down into the earth 3 meters or 10 feet. I am super connected, super rooted to Mother Earth” 

• Sit quietly for a few moments and enjoy becoming grounded. 
  

Try these tips for the next full moon

By preparing your space, purifying your energy, journaling, and grounding, you’re supporting yourself to work harmoniously with the Full Moon period. Ritual is important no matter what our practice, religion, or belief. Ritual feels uniquely human, something that allows us to mark life, meaning, and connection. When it comes to the Full Moon, I encourage you to let the darkness become illuminated. See what lurks in the shadows. It’s there to guide you on your path.

While preparing for the full moon, if you need extra support during this time, whether through remote energy healing sessions, akashic records readings, or home energy clearing, don’t hesitate to reach out. These practical tools help you align more effectively, making it easier to work harmoniously with the energy of the Full Moon.