Full Moon Rituals: Releasing What No Longer Serves You

If the New Moon is the time for planting seeds, the Full Moon is the time for harvesting what has grown and releasing what has not. Every 29.5 days, the Moon reaches its fullest expression, sitting directly opposite the Sun in the sky, reflecting its light back to Earth in a brilliant display of illumination.

The Energy of the Full Moon

Full Moons are times of culmination, completion, and revelation. Things that have been hidden come to light. Emotions that have been simmering reach their peak. Relationships and projects that began around the previous New Moon often reach a turning point. The Full Moon does not create drama, but it does illuminate what is already there, making it impossible to ignore.

Because the Full Moon is an opposition between the Sun and Moon, it often highlights the tension between two areas of your life. The sign the Sun occupies and the sign the Moon occupies represent a polarity, two complementary energies that need to be balanced.

A Full Moon Release Ritual

This simple ritual can be performed on the night of the Full Moon or within one day on either side of it.

1. Prepare your space. Find a quiet place, ideally where you can see or feel the moonlight. Light a candle and gather a piece of paper and a pen.
2. Center yourself. Take several deep breaths. Feel the moonlight (literal or imagined) washing over you, illuminating every corner of your being.
3. Write what you are releasing. On the paper, write down what you are ready to let go of. Be specific. It might be a habit, a belief, a relationship pattern, a fear, or a grudge. Write until you feel complete.
4. Read it aloud. Speak your releases into the moonlit air. There is power in giving voice to what you are letting go.
5. Safely burn the paper. Using the candle flame, carefully burn the paper in a fireproof container. As it burns, visualize the Full Moon's light dissolving these patterns, transforming them into ash and releasing them to the cosmos.
6. Express gratitude. Close by writing or speaking three things you are grateful for. The Full Moon is as much about celebrating how far you have come as it is about releasing what holds you back.

Full Moon Journaling Prompts

If ritual is not your style, journaling under the Full Moon is equally powerful. Consider these prompts: What has come to fruition since the last New Moon? What emotions are at their peak right now, and what are they trying to tell me? What am I holding onto that is weighing me down? What would I feel if I let it go?