NEW MOON GATHERING
It is time to gather together gals. The new moon is calling us and she has so much to share!
This is a chance to press pause, make connections and create a sacred space for ourselves. When we take a moment to reach out and unite with our gal pals, we can cut through to what is truly important.
At this moment in the lunar cycle, if you look up in the night sky, you will see that the moon is blank and hollow. It is the opposite of the full moon. This means the moon has just finished its waxing and waning cycle and is ready to grow. Right in front of our faces we get to see a wonderful example of new beginnings. When we gaze upon the moon we are reminded to ask ourselves, what do I want to bring into my life? What is important, positive and deserves my focus?
Of course you can do this ritual by yourself, I just encourage you to get together with one or more other women. We need this sisterhood and not to mention what magnificent things will happen when we link up! All of the visions, dreams and hopes we hold, will be magnified and multiplied in our unity. Think of it as an energetic interconnectedness not only in your immediate group but with women all over the world who are also gathering under the same moon. It even connects us to those women who have been gathering under the moon before we were even on this planet. When we hold space for each other, we are creating a space of support. We have each other’s backs– and when we heal these feminine bonds; we are healing our planet at the same time.
This new moon ritual can be shared in numerous ways. As long as you are gathering with your ladies, in the flow and enjoying the process, you are doing it right! Mystic Mamma first inspired me to host a new moon gathering. She said these gatherings are “reclaiming the power of women/goddess circles.” I knew I wanted to be a part of this process when I read this by her, “There is an inherent power in the mere act of a group of solely women coming together in a sacred space to support and empower one another. We connect as sisters in a context that is not usually embodied in our society. Sacred women space is truly healing and we need it as we move into bringing the feminine back into balance”.
I can tell you magic happens in these spaces of sacred women circles. Won’t you join us? Here’s how we did it. Feel free to use all or some of these suggestions.
Directions:
- The hostess will provide pink Himalayan sea salt (1 cup per person), paper tags, twine, flowers for the table, sage, rose water, instruments (drums, shakers, singing bowl), poem, blessing and astrological insights.
- Everyone will bring a recycled glass jar. If they have a favorite essential oil, a crystal, or dried flowers or dried herbs, ask them to bring it.
- Have everyone bring something healthy to share and eat after the ceremony. It could be a pot luck or a picnic.
- Open the circle with a cleansing smoke, like from a sage bundle. Spritz rose water on your face.
- Take a minute to breathe and ground into the moment.
- Have someone say a blessing or prayer for the group.
- Get the inspirations flowing with a poem or quote.
- Share what is happening astrologically.
- Write your intentions on the paper tags and program your crystal.
- As you share or silently ponder on your intentions place your crystal, oil, flowers or herbs in the salts.
- Bless and seal the circle with a prayer or poem. Hold hands and say “Aho, and so it is, we speak our truth and we ask for it to be blessed”.
- Everyone will fill their jars with salts and tie the tag of intentions on the jar.
- Over the next two weeks revisit your intentions. At the full moon, soak in your salts infused with intentions and watch them grow.
Step by Step:
When? Agree on a set time. We chose 4p.m. and agreed to start arriving around 3:30p.m. so that we could get settled in and have a moment to chat before the ceremony began.
Food. Plan your food ahead of time so that this is not a source of stress. I did this in three parts. Three nights before I made muffins and froze them. Two nights before, I made kale chips and stored them in an airtight container in the fridge. The day of the gathering, I made a mushroom tarte.
Organize. A couple of days before, I printed the prayers, blessings and poems we would say together. If you plan on doing more of these new moon gatherings, I recommend you create a folder and save them so that you only have to print it once. The night before I put together a craft for the kids to do together while we waited on everyone to arrive. This gave us moms time to chat while the kids focused on something. Yes, we included the kiddos in the circle for this one to introduce them to these kinds gatherings but we don’t always do that.
Adorn. Prior to everyone arriving, I laid down blankets and pillows in the backyard creating an area for us to gather in a circle. I set a low table in the center of the blankets and placed a large pot filled with the bath salts. Earlier that day I gathered flowers from around my neighborhood and used these to beautify the table.
Cleanse. When everyone arrived, we started our circle by burning sage to cleanse everyone that entered the circle. Sage can purify energy to hold and create the perfect space for rituals. I sprayed rose water on everyone’s face as roses are extremely high vibrationally.
Ground. Once everyone is seated pause, ring a bell or bowl and get present. Like we do in yoga, you can take 3 breaths and sing 3 aums. This gets the vibration of the circle high.
Give thanks. Say in unison an opening prayer. We said the Prayer For Opening Sacred Space (see below).
Encourage. Have someone read a poem. We read a quote from Marianne Williamson (see below).
Look to the sky. What is going on at the time astrologically? I love hearing what www.mysticmama.com says.
Intentions. This is the time to get your thoughts from the mental world to the physical world. Write on a paper tag what it is you desire to cultivate more of in your life. You can also hold a cleansed crystal and mentally program it with these intentions.
Share and stir. Go around the circle and take turns sharing or silently thinking about your intentions. As you share, add your crystals, flowers, herbs or oils to the salts. Your salts are getting infused with all that you want to create. Once everyone has spoken, stick your hands into the salts together and stir it all up!
Seal the circle. Say in unison a closing prayer. We said the Lakota Prayer (see below), with hands held and said “Aho, and so it is, we speak our truth and we ask for it to be blessed”. Beat a drum, shake a rattle and dance in belief!
Before leaving everyone fills their jar with salts and ties their paper with written intentions around the jar.
Over the next two weeks, re-read your intentions and trust they are growing. At the end of the two weeks, go outside and thank the full moon. It is time to soak in your salts and bask in your intentions.
These are the oils, flowers and herbs we added to the salts and it was a heavenly combo! Use whatever you have on hand or feel drawn to and make your own blend.
- Juniper essential oil, to release fears.
- Lavender essential oil, to aid in communication and open the throat chakra.
- Rosemary dried herb, to lift the spirit, motivate and ground.
- Roses dried flowers, for high vibrational love.
- Calendula dried flowers, to nurture.
- Camomile dried flowers, for patience.
- Bergamont essential oil, for calmness.
- One Mama brought calendula oil she made by soaking calendula flowers in extra virgin olive oil for one moon cycle.
Tips: This is what I bought. Make sure you’re getting organic ingredients!
(You can purchased these items and support my blog by clicking on the product listed. I really appreciate your support).
Prayer For Opening Sacred Space
- South
To the winds of the South
Great Serpent
Wrap your coils of light around us
Teach us to shed the past the way you shed your skin
To walk softly on the Earth
Teach us the Beauty Way - West
To the winds of the West
Mother Jaguar
Protect our medicine space
Teach us the way of peace, to live impeccably
Show us the way beyond death - North
To the winds of the North
Hummingbird, Grandmothers and Grandfathers
Ancient Ones
Come and warm your hands by our fires
Whisper to us in the wind
We honor you who have come before us
And you who will come after us, our children’s children - East
To the winds of the East
Great Eagle, Condor
Come to us from the place of the rising Sun
Keep us under your wing
Show us the mountains we only dare to dream of
Teach us to fly wing to wing with the Great Spirit - Mother Earth
We’ve gathered for the honoring of all of your children
The Stone People, the Plant People
The four-legged, the two-legged, the creepy crawlers
The finned, the furred, and the winged ones
All our relations - Father Sun
Father Sun, Grandmother Moon, to the Star Nations
Great Spirit, you who are known by a thousand names
And you who are the unnamable One
Thank you for bringing us together
And allowing us to sing the Song of Life
Inspiration:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”
Closing prayer
Lakota Prayer
Great Mystery,
teach me how to trust
my heart,
my mind,
my intuition,
my inner knowing,
the senses of my body,
the blessings of my spirit.
Teach me to trust these things
so that I may enter my Sacred Space
and love beyond fear,
and thus Walk in Balance
with the passing of each glorius Sun.
Heavenly Prayer of light
Peace before me
Peace behind me
Peace at my left
Peace at my right
Peace above me
Peace below me
Peace in me
Peace in my surroundings
Peace to all
Peace to the Universe
Love before me
Love behind me
Love at my left
Love at my right
Love above me
Love below me
Love in me
Love in my surroundings
Love to all
Love to the Universe
Light before me
Light behind me
Light at my left
Light at my right
Light above me
Light below me
Light in me
Light in my surroundings
Light to all
Light to the Universe
The next step is meeting under the stars. As more and more of us come together, our collective creativity grows. These moments of connecting and embracing in authentic love is the most powerful thing we can cultivate together. Our intentions and energies are the seeds that give a catalyst for change, not only for us individually but for all who live upon this earth.
Lunar Love,
Corrie
