The Moon – What and when

This page has been update on 23/11/2018.
Added: The Dark Moon, astrological calculations, moonstone correspondence, app links and mention of the Moonology oracle deck.

Hello lovely souls, today I want to talk about the 5 main phases of the moon and what you should best be doing around this time.

This post was inspired by a comment of one of my favorite Dutch witches when I forgot to take note of the moon phases myself! It happens, not just to beginner witches but also more experienced ones. In my case, I often let my impulsive ideas drive my actions and thus I don’t always think about what I’m doing beforehand.

So to refresh my own memory as well as help you guys out, here are the 5 phases I’ll be covering.

Lil’ note: some say the energy of a phase can be felt 3 days before and 3 days after as it mixes with the energy of the phase before and after. Determine for yourself what you believe, I added my personal and astrological notes to just give you all the info I can on the subject.

The New Moon

The New Moon is the first phase of a cycle, the first sliver of moonlight in the sky. Oh and just to inform you, a Moon cycle lasts around 28/29 days. The New Moon is the moment where we set our intentions for this cycle to build on and work with that may come to fruition around the Full Moon (not necessarily though). This is a time where you may feel a buzzing energy to start new things. For me, that feeling usually starts just before it during the Dark Moon. The New Moon lasts until the First Quarter Moon but is strongest on its first day. The New Moon (and the Dark Moon) occurs when the Moon and the Sun are in conjunction according to Astrology (I use 10 degrees or more ahead of the Sun for this).

Sidenote, calendars often mark the Dark Moon instead of the New Moon and these terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.

So what should I focus on or do during this phase:

Set intentions. What do you want to work with or on during this phase?
Make wishes. Not necessarily the same as intentions but it sets your wish into motion.
Start something new. You don’t necessarily have to do this but is a great time to start new things.
Reflect and turn it into action. Reflect is more for the Waning Moon, but this is where you turn this into action.
New routines. Want to create new habits then this is the time to think them out to get into action, and start doing them.
Spells: Spells that invite new things into your life are best done during this phase.
Crystal: Black Moonstone

The Waxing Moon

Following the New Moon is the Waxing Moon, often marked by the First Quarter Moon. (Remember, waxing reveals the Moon.) This is a time where things you started in the previous phase build up. It is a time of growth. This lasts until the Full Moon. Astrologically this means the Moon is 90 to 135 degrees ahead of the Sun.

Work on your intentions and wishes. You can do this by expanding them in detail and discarding things that aren’t working for you.
Get into action! You won’t manifest anything if you don’t get that butt into action. Staying home doing nothing isn’t going to make those things happen after all.
New routines. If you’ve stopped doing the routines you decided on, this is a reminder to get back into doing them. (I’m very guilty of this…)
Spells: Spells during this phase are best for promoting the increase of things and healing.
Crystal: Pink Moonstone

The Full Moon

The Full Moon is the climax of the phases. It is often where we will see certain results in life. A lot of people tend to sleep uncomfortably around this time and have more intense and/or strange dreams or sometimes even visions. While I personally believe the Full Moon only lasts one day, people usually consider it to work the day before and after. The Full Moon occurs when the Moon is in opposition to the Sun in Astrology.

Lucid dream! Like I said people tend to sleep differently around this time. Some claim it is the perfect time to try lucid dreaming where you can walk around in your dreams while being aware of it.
See the project out until the end. Just like the Moon, this is where your project may reach its climax. However, you might decide your plans need to be extended over a new cycle. Be sure not to simply delay it because you’re scared or procrastinating though.
Be grateful. This one extends to the next phase as well. Be aware of what happened or is happening to you and what you should be grateful for.
Spells: This phase is best for when you are seeking fulfillment, require a lot of power or when renewing things.
Crystal: Creme Moonstone

The Waning Moon

The Waning Moon speaks of decline. This is the time to rest, reflect and show how grateful you are. It is where we recharge for the upcoming cycle, a very necessary thing to do. So don’t be surprised if you feel burned up and need some more alone time. Astrologically this means the Moon is 270 to 350 degrees ahead of the Sun.

Rest. Take some time for yourself to just be. You will need to recharge your energy. So just breathe.
Reflect. What worked out and what didn’t? Does it simply need to be tweaked to work out for you or do you need to discard it completely? Things that reveal themselves to you here can be used for the next New Moon intentions.
Journal! Write down your thoughts and emotions. If you don’t really tend to do this often like me, then at least try to do it during this phase while going through these points.
Being grateful. Tell the people who helped you out that you’re grateful for them. Thank people. It really gives people so much energy when they need it.
Release. All those worries, fears, regrets you’ve been gathering during the cycle will need to be released and this is the perfect time for that. Whether you write them down, speak them out or release them in a spell or ritual. Release.
Spells: Best for when you want to release, let go, decrease or banish something.
Crystal: Green Moonstone

The Dark Moon

The Dark Moon is often overlooked as one of the phases, and that’s not that strange. Often times the Dark Moon is listed as a New Moon on calendars etc. So what is the Dark Moon? The Dark Moon is the moment before the New Moon, where there’s not even a sliver of the Moon visible in the sky. As you can imagine, this doesn’t leave a big timeframe to work with, around one day/night, and if you do choose to work with it, you’ll need to plan ahead accordingly. Astrologically this happens when the Moon and Sun are in conjunction.

The Dark Moon is the moment where we do our deepest, darkest shadow work to release and uncover everything we need to start the New Moon fresh. This is a time where you may feel a bit more down or uncomfortable because you’re being called to do some shadow work.

So what should you focus on or do during this phase:

Pause and reflect. By reflecting on what you’ve learned this cycle you absorb everything into your being to refer to it at a later time. In this moment of stillness, we grow.
Go deep within. Something may need to be uncovered and released before being able to start fresh. This is the perfect moment for introspection.
Release. If you need to release something from the deepest parts of your soul, do it now.
Ancestral work. By going within and standing still we can connect with our previous selves or those that came before us. A perfect time to honor our ancestors.
Crystal: Black Moonstone

More Moon knowledge

If you really want to learn more about the moon you can go look at a couple of things:

You can look up online sources or read books on the subject. Think of sources like:
When is which phase, what zodiac sign is it in, what should I do best, what does it promote? And so on. Some sources I use are Cafe Astrology (online), Moonology and Moon Spells (books). Then there are also several wonderful women who write guides, journals, planners, reports and so fort about the phases and energy imprints. I’ll be writing reviews on these books btw.

Astrology may be something most of you either think about or forgot about completely. The zodiac sign a moon phase is in is the sort of energy it promotes even more. So if you want to work on your communications it would be best to do it during a new/waxing/full moon in Gemini, because Gemini is a very chatty sign and ruled by Mercury, the planet of thoughts and communication. I use an Ephemeris app on my phone to check this as well as Moon Phase Calendar for the dates of transits from one sign to the next. Moon Phase Calendar even gives you a notification for the New and Full Moon. If you struggle to find the moon on a cloudy day then Star Walk 2 might be useful for you. Just note that this is not an accurate tool to see in which sign the Moon is it shows location-based, and that’s not how astrology works. These 3 apps I use myself which is why I recommend them (I have an android so I’m not sure if they are available on iOS as well).

Lastly, there are these amazing oracle decks. The ones I own are Wild Moon, by Tamed Wild and Moonology, like the book, by Yasmin Boland. These both help you get in touch with the moon in their own way. In Wild Moon each card is illustrated and features information like history, rituals, mantras, focal points etc. And Moonology reads more like an oracle according to the moon in different signs and phases. I really recommend you look into those if oracle cards take your fancy!

With that being said, I hope this was informative enough for you and you can start to explore your craft from a more in-depth angle.