Moon Phase Meanings:
New Moon: This is the beginning of the lunar cycle, and so magick which involves new beginnings, new ventures or projects, or attracting anything ‘new’ to you is usually performed around this time. The new moon is associated with the maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess.
Waxing Moon: The moon is growing towards full, the zenith of its power. The waxing moon is a great time to perform any magick which is designed to draw anything towards you, or increase or improve something you already have in your life.This is the point where we take action to achieve our goals, and make improvements in our lives.
Full Moon: The full moon is seen as a representation of the Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess and the Goddess is general. Rituals are performed at this time to worship and honour the Goddess and give thanks. The full moon is said to be the most potent time, when magicks are high, so this is a good period to perform any magick that needs a bit of an extra kick. Divination, and any magick related to the intuition or general psychic abilities are also good to focus on during the full moon.
Waning Moon: The moon is shrinking now; as such, this is a great time to perform magick that is focused around banishing, ridding yourself of bad habits, releasing negative energy, overcoming obstacles, removing illness, and inward reflection.
Dark Moon: The dark moon takes place just days before the new moon, and is the period where no trace of the moon can be found in the sky. Some practitioners refrain from performing magicks at this point, whilst others believe this is a good time for magick around closure and banishing deep rooted issues or ‘karmic patterns’ such as betrayal, neglect, etc., (I personally fall into the latter camp with what I believe when it comes to the dark of the moon).
We then arrive back at the new moon, and the cycle starts again.
Other Moon ‘Phases’:
Blue Moon: The blue moon is the second full moon of the month. It is a relatively rare event, taking place roughly once every 2.7 years.
There is a lot of conflicting information on the blue moon and what it symbolises. Some believe that working magick should be avoided during the blue moon as it is unlucky; treating this second moon as a 'trickster' moon. However, more people seem to believe that this is a great time to cast more long term magick, or work towards more long term goals.
With the rarity of the blue moon, it is also considered a great time to cast magick focused on abundance, success and personal happiness.
Black Moon: There are actually 4 different types of Black Moons, which can make things confusing!
Supermoon: When the Full Moon or New Moon occurs during the Moon's closest approach to Earth, its perigee
Micromoon: When a Full Moon or a New Moon coincides with apogee, the point in the Moon's orbit farthest away from Earth
Moonbows: Moonbows or lunar rainbows are rare natural atmospheric phenomena that occur when the Moon’s light is reflected and refracted off water droplets in the air
Blood Moon: A total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a Blood Moon, because of the reddish tinge the Full Moon takes on when fully eclipsed. The term is also frequently used to describe four total lunar eclipses that occur in a row
I have never been able to find much information as to whether these particular phases have specific magickal meaning other than them being potent times to cast magick due to their rarity, so keep an eye out for these phenomena and see how you feel when you work with them.
New Moon: This is the beginning of the lunar cycle, and so magick which involves new beginnings, new ventures or projects, or attracting anything ‘new’ to you is usually performed around this time. The new moon is associated with the maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess.
Waxing Moon: The moon is growing towards full, the zenith of its power. The waxing moon is a great time to perform any magick which is designed to draw anything towards you, or increase or improve something you already have in your life.This is the point where we take action to achieve our goals, and make improvements in our lives.
Full Moon: The full moon is seen as a representation of the Mother aspect of the Triple Goddess and the Goddess is general. Rituals are performed at this time to worship and honour the Goddess and give thanks. The full moon is said to be the most potent time, when magicks are high, so this is a good period to perform any magick that needs a bit of an extra kick. Divination, and any magick related to the intuition or general psychic abilities are also good to focus on during the full moon.
Waning Moon: The moon is shrinking now; as such, this is a great time to perform magick that is focused around banishing, ridding yourself of bad habits, releasing negative energy, overcoming obstacles, removing illness, and inward reflection.
Dark Moon: The dark moon takes place just days before the new moon, and is the period where no trace of the moon can be found in the sky. Some practitioners refrain from performing magicks at this point, whilst others believe this is a good time for magick around closure and banishing deep rooted issues or ‘karmic patterns’ such as betrayal, neglect, etc., (I personally fall into the latter camp with what I believe when it comes to the dark of the moon).
We then arrive back at the new moon, and the cycle starts again.
Other Moon ‘Phases’:
Blue Moon: The blue moon is the second full moon of the month. It is a relatively rare event, taking place roughly once every 2.7 years.
There is a lot of conflicting information on the blue moon and what it symbolises. Some believe that working magick should be avoided during the blue moon as it is unlucky; treating this second moon as a 'trickster' moon. However, more people seem to believe that this is a great time to cast more long term magick, or work towards more long term goals.
With the rarity of the blue moon, it is also considered a great time to cast magick focused on abundance, success and personal happiness.
Black Moon: There are actually 4 different types of Black Moons, which can make things confusing!
- Two New Moons within the same month. These occur roughly every 29 months
- Third New Moon in a season of four New Moons: These Black Moons are a little rarer, and occur about once every 33 months. We divide a year into four seasons - spring, summer, fall (autumn), and winter. Usually, each season has three months and three New Moons. When a season has four New Moons, the third New Moon is called a Black Moon
- No Full Moon in February. This is an even rarer occurrence where there is no full moon during the month of February. This occurs roughly every 19 years
- No New Moons in February. Again, this occurs roughly every 19 years. Instead, there are two Full Moons in January and March, also known as a double Blue Moon
Supermoon: When the Full Moon or New Moon occurs during the Moon's closest approach to Earth, its perigee
Micromoon: When a Full Moon or a New Moon coincides with apogee, the point in the Moon's orbit farthest away from Earth
Moonbows: Moonbows or lunar rainbows are rare natural atmospheric phenomena that occur when the Moon’s light is reflected and refracted off water droplets in the air
Blood Moon: A total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a Blood Moon, because of the reddish tinge the Full Moon takes on when fully eclipsed. The term is also frequently used to describe four total lunar eclipses that occur in a row
I have never been able to find much information as to whether these particular phases have specific magickal meaning other than them being potent times to cast magick due to their rarity, so keep an eye out for these phenomena and see how you feel when you work with them.
