Self Care Full Moon Rituals To Nourish You
During the time of the Full Moon, there is a window of opportunity to gain added benefits from the practices of meditation, self care, stress relief, gratitude, and other elements of our spiritual life.
With its close proximity to the earth, the energy of the moon influences our lives on a daily basis even if we’re not consciously aware of it. Every 28 days, it makes a full circle from the Full Moon, to the New Moon, and back to the Full Moon again with roughly half of the time in a waning phase and the other half in a waxing phase. These phases have an effect on the energy of everything on earth including plants, animals, and other living beings, as well as our physical appearance, and our emotional and spiritual states. By being consciously aware of these phases, we can work WITH the powerful magnetic energy of the moon.
Think about how the moon influences bodies of water through the ebb and flow of the tides, and then consider that our bodies are made up of about 70% of water (depending on our age). Consequently, the magnetic influence that we physically experience with the different phases of the moon is something that we can and should flow with to be in more harmony with what is naturally occurring.
Energy leading up to and on the Full Moon
As the moon is waxing, and especially around the actual Full Moon, the energy is pulling everything ‘up and out’ because of its magnetic force. This means that more water is being held in the body, and also the energy of plants is in their fruits and in their leaves. When we harvest and consume plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables, and herbs) during this time, the energy within is much more powerful. In addition, liquids that we drink have more strength as they have been charged by the waxing moon, and this energy is translated to us as an added benefit. Emotionally, our energy tends to be more powerful and runs higher, as well, which can also mean that more tension and emotions may come up that may have been suppressed.
Harvest Full Moon
5 Things to Do on the Full Moon for Self Care and Stress Relief
The Full Moon is a time for energizing and strengthening your energy field. So you want to surround yourself with things that support this natural occurrence. It is a time of fruition and empowerment, and the following rituals are designed to work in harmony with this flow.
Full Moon stress relief with an energizing bath or sponge bath
Water is a natural carrier of frequency and vibration and, therefore, emotion. If you have ever read Dr. Masaru Emoto’s book “The Hidden Messages In Water”, you know how our thoughts and emotions can be transferred into water.
Essential Oils that I recommend for this use:
Bergamot
Peppermint
Myrrh
Frankincense
Juniper
Vetiver
Clary Sage
Lemon
Grapefruit
Aura Cacia “Inspiration” (a synergistic blend of essential oils I like to use)
(Note: Before using any oils, be sure to check that you are not allergic to them.)
For a full bathtub of water: use no more than 14 drops
For a sponge bath: use 7 drops to 4 gallons of warm water
Use good judgement when any part of your body is immersed in water that has been infused with essential oils, and if doing a sponge bath, avoid the genital area.
Light candles, dim the lights, and soak for 15 minutes or mindfully perform your sponge bath. Focus on bringing in the things that you have been envisioning. If you are attuned to Reiki you can additionally send Reiki into your bath water. At the end of the 15 minutes or sponge bath, start shifting your awareness to gratitude and send it into the water as you drain it out and release it. I always want to be consciously aware of what I am leaving behind in every space in which I am present and in this way I can send gratitude into the water system as it is being transformed again.
Rinse yourself off with warm water and after you are dry, cozy up in something warm and comfortable.
Massage your feet with any of the suggested oils at 5% dilution.
Nourishing Full Moon Bath
2. Clearing and charging Crystals and Water in the Full Moon
For your Crystals: Instead of charging them in the sunlight, you will cleanse and bring your Crystals either outside to be charged in the light of the Full Moon, or if the climate does not permit this, you can also place them on a windowsill where the moonlight can reach them. Learn more on cleansing and charging Crystals in my blog post here.
For your Water: Prepare a glass bottle or pitcher by filling it with water and leaving the top open so that the water is exposed to the energy of the Full Moon while it is charging. Follow the same procedure as with charging your Crystals. This water can be used on a daily basis as is, or you may also create a Full Moon Elixir from this water.
Charging water in the late afternoon sunlight of the Full Moon
3. White candle ritual for sending your wishes through the strong magnetic energy of the moon
White represents light, connection, purity, peace, and spiritual enlightenment, so we use a white candle for this ritual.
To begin this ritual, you want to bring yourself into a heart-centered place. You can use my guided meditation, Heart Meditation, to easily flow into this space of alignment.
Hold your unlit white candle with both hands and bring your focus to any positive intentions you have for your life, while envisioning these intentions flowing into the candle. If you are a Reiki practitioner, you may also fill the candle with the beautiful energy of Reiki at this time. After a minute, you may even notice that you feel the energy bouncing from one hand to the other as you have formed this connection.
Next, light the candle and imagine yourself sending the same intentions into the flame. There is a symbolism in burning the candle: the liquid wax represents the water element that is holding your intentions, and the flame represents the element of fire which transforms the energy of your intentions as it is released and naturally pulled into the ether by the magnetic force of the moon.As you are watching the flame burn and gazing at the liquid wax, stay in a state of meditation and contemplation.
When extinguishing the candle, you want to use a snuffer, or a substitute for it such as an inverted spoon, so the energy of the air element, which would be activated by blowing out the candle, does not overpower the fire energy of transformation.
The element of air takes your thoughts and intentions and carries them throughout all space and time to better manifest your intentions!
Setting Sacred Space for the Full Moon
4. Balancing your feminine and masculine energy
When the feminine and masculine energies within our field and our bodies are balanced, we are able to stand more powerfully in the world as our emotions along with our critical thinking are harmonized. In general, the moon is believed to have feminine qualities which flow in water and through our emotions whereas the sun is believed to have masculine qualities of fire energy which energizes the creative force within us.
At the time of the Full Moon when the sun’s light is fully illuminating the moon, that creative fire energy is being infused into the night of the Full Moon. This is the best time to balance the feminine and masculine energies within ourselves because they are already working together in the universe.
If you have the Shiva Lingam stone, you can do a Shiva Lingam meditation. A Shiva Lingam Stone represents the energies of the God Shiva and the Goddess Shakti united through the cosmic masculine which is the ascending force, and the cosmic feminine which is the descending force.
The Shiva Lingam Meditation
Hold your Shiva Lingam in both hands and look at the natural patterns within it as you truly connect with and admire the qualities of this beautiful stone and how the gray feminine energy and the red fiery masculine are working in harmony within the stone. The deeper you get in to this meditation and connection with the stone, the more it is able to transfer its harmonizing qualities naturally into your field.
Yin/Yang Meditation
If you don’t have a Shiva Lingam stone, gazing at and contemplating a yin/yang symbol can achieve balancing your energies. With this symbol, look at the space within (the teardrop) and without (the dot within the teardrop). The space without is like a ‘void’...the void that creates new worlds as it holds the seed of its opposite within it and leaves room for balance. As you gaze at this symbol and meditate on the interplay of the parts of the whole, your feminine and masculine energies will naturally come into equilibrium.
Shiva Lingam
5. Giving the Gift of Your Creative Abundance to others
There is an element of self care in the act of giving to someone else, and we truly reap such great rewards in the gratitude that we feel for others as well as the appreciation they show when we do something nice for them. The Full Moon is truly a time of heightened creative energy, so by doing something for someone else, we are coming from a love-centered place, bringing beauty, giving and sharing our creative energy with others, and simultaniously setting good karma in motion. I share some ideas below to get you started.
Decorate and give/send a card or note telling someone why you are grateful for them
Give the gift of service - do something extra for someone (at home, at work, etc.)
Pay it forward - pay for the next customer’s cup of coffee or groceries, etc.
Give one of your charged crystals or some of your moon water as a gift
Create a Healing Lotion or create your own mix of Essential Oils in a carrier oil as a gift to someone special
Silke’s Healing Lotion, from Beauty Flourishing online membership
Your self care CAN be better than it’s ever been
Because you now understand how to work with the energy of the Full Moon, these rituals will energize you and will set you up for being able to be more present and balanced, deeply nurtured, and content in your life. You can have more energy for your family, friends, coworkers, and for the things that you enjoy doing!