A Might-do List for the Quarter Moons

Observing lunar time is one way of inviting a practice of ebb and flow into your healing work.

For those of us our raised in cultures and under institutional systems where our time and how we should “spend” it is often defined for us and not by us. So when we step purposely into healing work, at some point we find ourselves reassessing our time and all the ways that time can be measured and experienced. For me, the Moon offers an energetic pattern and mythological model that I find helpful when it comes to reconnecting to the sacredness of time (instead of its commodification), which is one of the reasons I’ve been writing a whole series on what you might (or might-not) do for the different phases of the Moon.

Having already offered might-do lists for the Full Moon and the New Moon, I wanted to turn our focus towards the Quarter Moons - the halfway points between energetics heights and depths of the lunar cycle.

The Quarter Moons, also known as Half Moons, are periods of balance tipping towards a period of expansion or increase with the growing or Waxing Quarter Moon or a time of retraction or decrease with the shrinking or Waning Quarter Moon.

The Waxing Quarter Moon, also known as the First Quarter Moon, marks a point of balance between what has been and what shall be. Momentum, disentanglement, vitality, and harmonization are key energies of the Waxing Quarter Moon.

The Waning Quarter Moon, also known as the Last Quarter Moon, offers us a time to shed, fall back, and sort out which seeds we're interested in planting, if not just quite yet. Change, reassessment, release, balance, and decluttering are all key energies of the Waning Quarter Moon.

With all that to explore, let's see what we might do (or might-not do, no pressure, it’s your time to experience) for our Quarter Moon celebrations.

image via @jannerboy62

Connect with the Elementals

I'm not entirely sure when or why I began associating the Quarter Moon with four element work and specifically working the spirits known as elementals, but it is a practice that has stuck with me through the years. The elementals or undines, salamanders, gnomes, and sylphs are part of European magickal and alchemical lore codified during the Renaissance, in part by German physician and alchemist Paracelsus, but with older folkloric roots. Of course, the idea of elemental beings is not isolated to European lore and you'll find stories of these types of creatures throughout the world - it can be a rewarding practice to seek out these elemental energy within your cultural and spiritual traditions if you’re not familiar with them already.

As a time of balance leaning either into expansion or retraction, the Quarter Moons can be an auspicious time to either call in more or release excess element-based energy by working with the elementals. If, for example, you've been trying to draw in more watery energy to you, such as for intuitive work, you might choose a Waxing Quarter Moon in a water sign such as Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces to help call in intuitive, watery energy through the mediating help of the undines. Alternatively, if you're dealing with too much fire energy in your life, you can work with the salamanders on a Waning Quarter Moon in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) where you offer them your excess fire energy, which they will be happy to accept. 

Practice Magnetizing Magick

The energy of the Waxing Quarter Moon is one of pulling towards and filling up. We can connect to this current of magick through magnetizing our practice to draw towards us of what we are seeking during any given lunar cycle. We might be in the midst of a long-term act of change, needing to draw courage to help us manifest who we are becoming. Other times we might need a quick bit of magnetic magick, drawing towards us opportunities and resources that we need as soon as possible. Within our communities, the Waxing Quarter Moon is a time for groups to act out big visions of what is possible, helping us all to bring in and anchor hope, and magnetizing our visions to draw in what is needed for the work.

Brew Recipes & Create Charms of Balance

Holding space between light and dark, the Quarter Moons are an auspicious time to make herbal recipes that help to bring us into a state of nourished homeostasis. Charms for balance, whether balancing energy, boundaries or whatever requires a steady balance in your life, can be made at either of the Quarter Moons. You might even draw the balancing energy of the Quarter Moons into the rest of your life through creating your own oracle of care to help remind you what it is that helps you feel centered.

image via @linalitvina

Rituals of Release

Whether walking a Moon Path (see below) or not, the Waning Quarter Moon is a time to release, let go, and sort out what seeds, ideas or dreams want to keep a hold of, and what we want to pass on for someone else to flourish with. Rituals to release regret, shame, sorrow, old identities and ideas, old pain and trauma, are all auspicious during the Waning Quarter Moon (and can be tied into any therapeutic support you've been receiving, such as supporting breakthroughs in therapy with ritual). If you need some divinatory support to better understand what needs releasing so that you can embrace your magickal gifts, come this way.

Get Rooted

Whether with the inward drawing energy of the Waning Quarter Moon or the expanding outward energy of the Waxing Quarter Moon, the Quarter Moon period is a wonderful time to practice grounding and centering magick. Living in times of hyperconnectivity and profound social noise, it can be increasingly challenging to slow down and get centered. Working with the phases of the Moon and the ebb and flow of lunar energy is a way to feel supported in our effort, connecting to an energy greater than our own to help us feel balanced. If you're feeling stretched too thin and pulled in too many directions, consider working with the energy of the Waning Quarter Moon. If you're feeling like you're struggling to stay strong and steady within yourself, consider working with the energy of the Waxing Quarter Moon.

Strengthen Your Resolve

By the growing light of the Waxing Quarter Moon we can practice rituals to help us strengthen our resolve, focus our willpower, and call in the allies needed to help us find whatever it is that we're seeking - from new job opportunities to like-minded friends to the courage to make a much needed change in our life. As the Moon waxes, so does your resolve, culminating in the vibrant energy of the Full Moon. As the Moon wanes, let it carry away doubt and fear, the New Moon carrying you forward with growing momentum.

Find Your Balance with Breathwork

One of the most effective ways that I know to find balance is through breathwork. Breathwork is free to practice and doesn't require any fancy equipment, and can be used at any time and in any place. With the balanced ebb and flow of energy present at the Quarter Moons, breathwork can be a powerful way to connect with your own sense of balance. You can find resources for your breathwork practice over here.

image via @oandersonrian

Tend to Your Tenderness

One of the ways that we can take care of those tender parts of ourselves is by taking time to pull our energy back from all the places it has gone wandering. Shedding layers of expectation, we can hold, with gentleness and care, those tender parts of ourselves that don't always get the space to just be soft. One of the mythological images of the Waning Quarter Moon that you'll find in modern Goddess spirituality spaces (though it is based on fragments of much older traditions), is the Waning Moon as the Goddess pulling her veil or blanket around her shoulders and head, retreating from the bright attention and needs of the world, to dwell a bit in the quiet dark. I love connecting to this mythological current of energy, drawing a protective mantle around my own energy, so that I can feel safe enough to spend time in my tenderness, instead of constantly trying to keep up with impossible demands of "toughing it out" under social and institutional systems not built for human scale. Plant allies like Milky Oat (Avena sativa) and Linden (Tilia x europaea) can be useful guides to work with if you're seeking extra support for your tender self.

Cast a Moon Path

Starting on the day of the Quarter Moon, there are about 8 to 9 days to either the New Moon, in the case of starting on the Waning Quarter Moon, or to the Full Moon if you're starting on the Waxing Quarter Moon. These days (or nights) of practice are an opportunity for Moon Path rituals, where you time your ritual to the increase or decrease of the Moon's light. If you're wanting to bring something into your life, something which requires effort and attention, a Moon Path ritual starting on the night of the Waxing Quarter Moon and culminating on the Full Moon can be a powerful act of magick. For something that you're wanting to release from your life, walking a multi-night lunar path into the dark to emerge again at the New Moon can be deeply healing.

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Do you have a lunar practice for the Quarter Moons? If you’re looking for more Moon-inspired might-do lists, I’ve written ones for the Full Moon and the New Moon. For more Quarter Moon practices, you can explore my simple rituals and healing practices for the Waxing Quarter Moon and the Waning Quarter Moon. If you’re looking for my full collection of post about the Moon (there’s a lot!), check out the Moon Studies section of my Astroherbology archive. If you’re looking for my might-do series on the sabbats, here you go.

And for those looking for a deep dive into the world of lunar healing work, come this way.

Friends, I hope that you found something useful for your own monthly practices, and that you find your unique balance and rhythm that helps you feel at home in your life.

This post was made possible through patron support.
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The Astroherbalism Apothecary: Crafting Herbal Charms for Your Sun Sign

I've written about the gifts of our Sun sign and how we can connect with that energy of our birth chart through a simple tarot practice - and now it's time to explore working with our Sun sign plant allies in magickal practice.

Building upon the energy of exploring our birth chart, I wanted to explore some astroherbalism techniques to help you craft elixirs and potions that support the energy of your Sun sign. As the Sun sign is a common starting point for many folks to western astrology, I'd thought it would be a good place to start, but I'll be continuing this series exploring the Moon sign and Ascendant, too.

While you'll find a few recipes in this post, what I really want to share with you is the framework of how we would approach creating your own unique potions, elixirs or herbal charms for your Sun so that you feel inspired to use what is readily available to you. We'll start by naming the ways our Sun sign affects our energy and then look at the common ways that Sun energy might need support in our life because its been blocked or undernourished. I'll provide you with some suggestsions to help you craft your own charms, and then leave you with a Sun sign ritual to support your magickal workings.

Let's get crafting in the astroherbalism apothecary!

As an herbalist, I work with astrology as a story-telling-listening tool and a way to help folks get to know and name the healing needs of their body (and by "body" I mean physical form, emotional and mental experience, the psychic body, and so on). Within traditional western herbalism, the Sun represents our inherent energy. There is no "good" or "bad" inherent energy, just the baseline energy that we're born with and our Sun sign helps us understand the ways that our energy flows throughout our life. Some of us, for example, have energy that is quick to show up and quick to disappear, while others have energy that is slow to arrive and meandering when it does get here. We bring this inherent energetic signature with us into all of our life experiences, including our experiences of wellness, discomfort, illness, and healing. 

Throughout our life we learn how to tend to the needs of our energy and develop skills to interact with the world that not only feels good to us (if at times challenging, but in a way that is helping us to stretch and grow more into who we are) but is sustainable. 

When it comes to supporting our Sun sign there are three primary paths that I work with: recipes that energize, recipes that soothe, and recipes that nourish. Below you'll find a brief description of each path of support as well as key phrases that help you identify your Sun sign energy needs. I encourage you to read these phrases aloud and if something resonates, to consider pursuing that path of magickal healing. Once you've identified what type of path will be most useful for you at this time, you can choose a few suggested herbs and then follow the guide below to creating your custom Sun sign charm with.

image via @mickeydziwulski

Energize Your Solar Energy

Herbs and essences that help to awaken, enliven, and generally stimulate Sun sign energy that may be sluggish, recovering from stress and/or illness, and in general need of waking up. Key phrases that indicate you might be in need of an energizing charm include:

• I feel like I can't get going. 

• I feel stuck in one place. 

• What's the point?

• I don't feel inspired or creative.

• I just feel "blah" all the time.

Herbs for an Energizing Charm

For a charm that is helping to energize and wake up our Sun current, we want to work plant allies that are stimulating, inspiration-inducing, and energetically bright. From a magickal perspective, seeds and fruits are especially energizing, which is why I love incorporating plants into my Sun charms that are brightly colored and grow prolifically like Calendula (Calendula officinalis) not only in flower form, but in seed form as well. While you should check out the "Remedy Herbs" section of your astroherbology profile for your Sun sign, in general, brightly colored, especially in warm and sunny tones, plants that grow easily in a variety of conditions, as well as spicy or strong tasting plants, are great options. Here are a few energizing Sun plant allies to consider connecting with:

• Calendula (Calendula officinalis)

• Ginger (Zingiber officinalis)

• Cayenne (Capsicum annuum)

• Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

• St. Joan’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

• Cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.)

• Sacred Basil (Ocimum sanctum)

• Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

If they are already in your collection, you might consider adding any of the following stone allies to your energizing Sun charm including Citrine, Clear Quartz, Carnelian, Red Jasper, and Tiger's Eye. You can also consider choosing bright and warm color tones for any candles, fabric, bottles or other items that you incorporate into your charm.

image via @rayhennessy

Soothe Your Solar Energy

Herbs and essences that help to soften, relax, and create a sense of calm for Sun energy that is in excess leading to feelings of agitation, anxiousness, and general overwhelm. Key phrases that indicate you might be in need of a soothing charm include:

• I'm so anxious!

• I don't fit in anywhere.

• I need a hug (or other comforting experience).

• I just feel on edge all the time.

• No one gets me.

Herbs for a Soothing Charm

Focus on herbs that help to diffuse excess Sun energy, helping to ground and center us. From a magickal perspective, roots and barks of plants (always sustainably harvested), have an inherently grounding energy which is why I love solar plants like Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale) for soothing solar charms. While you should check out the "Remedy Herbs" section of your astroherbology profile for your Sun sign, in general herbs that are cooling, including cooling colors such as blue or purple flowers, grounding, and relaxing are excellent options. Here are a few Sun energy soothing plant allies to consider connecting with:

• Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale)

• Lavender (Lavandula spp.)

• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

• Burdock (Arctium lappa)

• Borage (Borago officinalis)

• California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

• Rose (Rosa spp.)

• Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

There are also a variety of stone allies you might consider working with to help soothe your Sun energy if you already have them available including Smoky Quartz, Black Tourmaline, Bloodstone, Obsidian, Amethyst, Citrine, and Flourite. You might also consider choosing cool color tones for any candles, fabric, bottles or other items that you incorporate into your charm.

image via @kiendo

Nourish Your Solar Energy

Herbs and essences that tend to the fundamental needs of our Sun energy, helping us feel energetically fed and supported in our energetic needs - a Sun sign tonic. Key phrases that indicate you might be in need of a nourishing charm include:

• I feel burnt out.

• Everything feels like too much.

• I'm exhausted.

• Who's going to take care of me?

• I could really use a break right now.

Herbs for a Nourishing Charm

Focus on herbs that feel comforting and inviting, helping us to come home to our solar self. From a magickal perspective, flowers and leaves carry nourishing energy and I'm particularly fond of plant allies like Rose (Rosa spp.) to help nourish solar energy.  While you should check out the "Guardian Herbs" section of your astroherbology profile for your Sun sign to help you explore nourishing herbs for your particular Sun energy, in general focusing on vitamin and mineral rich plants, herbs full of gentle but warm color, and herbs that you enjoy the scent, taste, and/or feel of can be good options. Here are a few Sun energy nourishing plant allies to consider connecting with:

• Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)

• Angelica (Angelica archangelica)

• Linden (Tilia europea)

• Sage (Salvia officinalis)

• Nettles (Urtica dioica)

• Milky Oat (Avena sativa)

• Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

• Hawthorn Berry (Crataegus monogyna)

Stone allies that you might consider working with to help nourish your Sun energy, if you already have them in your collection, include Citrine, Rose Quartz, Rhodochrosite, Pink Tourmaline, and Magano Calcite. You might also consider choosing gentle and warm colors - such as rosy pinks, soft oranges, warm yellows - for any candles, fabric, bottles or other items that you incorporate into your charm.

image via @daiga_ellaby

Creating Your Sun Sign Charm

Decide the form that your Sun charm will take (i.e. a spell bottle, a charm bag, a solar altar, or something else entirely) and gather all of your ingredients and items needed as well as a candle and candle holder. If you are able to perform this charm on a sunny day, even better, but it's not necessary for success as often we need to recharge our solar energy because sunny days have been far and few between. Ground and center (perhaps with a tree of life meditation) and settle into sacred space through your preferred method. Lay the items for your charm out before you, along with your candle. Light the candle by saying:

By the light of the Sun
By the light of the fire
By the light of my heart's
honest desire
I work my magick
I cast my spell
To {charge, soothe, nourish} my energy
That all may be well.

Visualize the light of the candle (and the Sun if you are outside) growing and expanding, meeting with your own solar energy. Let the light fill up the places of your solar aura that need healing, helping to fortify your Sun energy. When ready, begin to craft your charm, naming aloud the purpose of each item that you are adding to it such as:

Calendula for energy and strength
St. Joan's Wort for hope and joy
Lemon Balm for clarity and community

Once the charm has been made, pass the charm through the flame six times, visualizing the light of the flame and the sun being gathered up into the charm. Then pass the charm between you and the the candle flame, reciting at least six times (or until the energy needed is raised) in a rhythmic fashion:

By light, I am {energized, soothed, nourished}
My Sun renewed
Round and about
Through and through

When you feel the energy has been raised, press the charm to your heart and exclaim: 

So mote it be!

You can now use your charm as you please, carrying it with you or setting placing it in an auspicious place in your home. The charm can be re-charged by putting it under sunlight and/or repeating the sun charm ritual as needed.

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While I love connecting folks with healing modalities, plant allies, and magickal practices, I've come to realize that a lot of my work is learning how to be an effective resource library and to help folks connect with their healing community. I find that astrological language can be an excellent tool for that, especially for marginalized folks who've been injured within medical systems - physically, emotionally, spiritually - feel hesitant to access the care they need. 

It was my own magickal practice that led me to re-membering, after being raised under the deep shadow of capitalism that tries to sell us the lie of the isolated individual solely responsible for earning their "wellness," that healing is a community act, that we all deserve healing resources (including accessing the work of mental health professionals) by simply existing. If you have read through this post and feel some resonance with a statement that you weren't expecting or feelings that feel hard to sit with, I invite you to seek out some of the incredible community-centered healing resources available to you (you can find a short list at the end of this post to help get you started). Part of working with paths like modern astrology is recognizing where the story of our birth chart is pointing us towards - including the types of collaborative healing spaces and skills that would benefit us the most during any and every stage of life.

That's magick, friends, clarifying our intention, naming it, asking for what we desire, and letting love open the path back home to ourselves and our community.

If you are looking to learn more about your Sun sign come this way and you can check out my astroherbology archive for an abundance of resources for your studies and practice. 

May your inner Sun shine brightly!

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

A Might-Do List for the New Moon

Every month the Moon cycles through phases of newness and fullness, representing our ability to shift and change in our own lives.

Humans have been measuring time for thousands of years by the Moon, so it is no surprise that many of us feel drawn to do something around the Full or New Moons. For my personal practice, I enjoy observing the esbats as part of my lunar healing work. The esbats are lunar-focused celebrations practiced by some magickal folk in some contemporary traditions of Paganism (most notably Wicca) and witchcraft. Having already written a might-do series for the sabbats and a might-do list for the Full Moon esbat, I wanted to follow-up with a New Moon list to continue to support your seasonal and lunar celebrations.

The New Moon is a time of possibility and promise, representing the release of what was to embrace what might be. With just a sliver of crescent in the sky - having emerged from darkness and growing steadily towards fullness again - the New Moon is an auspicious time for planting the seeds of intention and what we hope to bring into our lives. It is a time where energy feels sharp and brisk, untethered by old stories of the past cycle, and tumbling headlong into the new. There is a momentum in the air that many a folk draw upon for their magickal work and healing practice, something which you can do, too.

So if you're curious about developing a New Moon practice, here's a list of nine things you might-do for your esbat celebrations. 

image via @joshyb_

Refresh Your Altar

When I feel a need to refresh the energy of my inner and outer spaces, I take some time to refresh my altars.  The New Moon is a particularly fruitful time to practice an altar refresh because we can tap into the energies of newness, possibility, and focus that the New Moon offers. I tidy up any wax or ash, dust surfaces and objects, sometimes choose new altar art, and take some time to connect with my spiritual path through the items I use to represent this central part of my life.

After tidying, I’ll often light a candle and practice some simple devotional work before returning to the busyness of my day. Taking care of an altar, where all sorts of mystical and healing rituals take place, helps us to connect with the lovely truth that spiritual practice is both magickal and mundane, and paying attention to the needs of one aspect of our practice helps to support the other.

Clean Your Spaces

In addition to tidying your altar, you can also clean and cleanse your living spaces including your home, your workspace, and any modes of transportation you own and frequently use. Physically cleaning the space, maybe in a way that is more robust than a normal tidy session, helps to free up energy for the new lunar cycle and also provides us with the very practical benefits of a clean space.

I like to follow up a New Moon clean with an energetic cleanse. What an energetic cleans looks like for you will depend on your personal practice, sensory needs, and cultural framework. Some like to cleanse with the smoke of burning sacred herbs, others prefer candles, and others still choose sound based forms of cleansing like bells, songs, and/or drumming. You can choose the type of energetic cleansing based on the sign that the New Moon is in, perhaps cleansing by burning herbs when the Moon is in a fire sign or by asperging with water in the Moon is in a water sign. 

Draw a Lunar Bath

A bath blessed with lunar herbs, perhaps a bit of sea salt, and a spell sung over the water is not only a wonderful way to relax, but a beautiful way to wash away unwanted energy and invite in a feeling of renewal. Whether or not you use lunar bathing herbs or plant allies of your choosing, herbal baths are wonderfully customizable. You can add in Moon water either from the New Moon or the Full Moon, flower and gem essences, water-safe stones, fresh flower petals, and more.

image via @sayakbala

Burn, Bury, Banish

While the New Moon brings a promise of new beginnings, it is also a time to sweep out old unwanted energy. Writing down energies and experiences you want to banish from your life and burning it is a burn safe container can be deeply carthartic. Instead of burning, you can bury the paper, planting seeds over it to represent the power of earth to transform something old into something new. Burying is a particular good technique when you're trying to transform one type of experience into another (i.e. my stage fright is transformed into stage joy). There are also all sorts of banishing rituals that can be performed with the scythe-like energy of the New Moon, clearing the way for the abundance you seek to be drawn in with the growing light of the coming cycle.

Turn the Tides In Your Favor

As the Moon pulls the tides, so do folks who rely on the sea seek to pull Her favor. An old Hebridean chant to the New Moon goes: 

Hail to thee, thou new-lit moon,
I bend the knee, thou queen so fair;
Through the dark clouds thine the way be,
Thine who leadest all the stars;
Though thy light e'en find me joy-filled
Put thou flow-tide on the flood
Send thou flow-tide on the flood.¹

I love this charm, this simple Moon prayer, and it can be easily adapted to call in whatever sort of favorable energy you're seeking, from luck to love to peace and prosperity. If you're interested in learning more about Scottish traditions of charms like these, the Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael is a good place to start, including charms and the rituals surrounding them like these.

Cast A Healing Spell

For healing to happen, change is needed. The New Moon is a beautiful time to call in the change needed for the healing you are seeking to begin (or begin again or change directions). It can be as simple as intention setting or a more complex ritual to welcome in the energy of healing. I've written a series of healing rituals for each sign of the New Moon (you'll find the full archive of the New Moon Healer's project over here) and if you're looking for a place to start, how about calling in a healing temple? You can also, with permission, work healing magick at the New Moon for your loved ones, especially if they are starting on a new part of the healing journey and/or seeking some answers for where they should be headed next. The energy of the New Moon swoops in with clarity and hope, two things very much needed for any sort of healing work.

image via @contentpixie

Make A Wish

Making a wish at the New Moon is an old form of witchcraft in the British Isles, but one that you’ll find in cultures around the world. A New Moon wishing practice can be as simple as looking up at the New Moon blowing Her a kiss and making a wish. Or you might recite a charm like:

Blessed New Moon
Sharp and bright
I cast a wish
That you might
Bless me well
Seven-fold
Blessed New Moon
Bright and bold

Another New Moon wishing practice that flows into techniques of manifestation magick is to write down up to nine wishes on a piece of paper or in a journal at every New Moon. These wishes can repeat each month until they or something better comes to pass, or you might tie the theme of your wishing to the sign the Moon is in. Speaking a wish the first night a New Moon takes to the sky feels like it is a remnant of a much older form of ancestral lunar observation and a simple one for modern magickal folk to observe.

Offer Good Fortune

Take stock of the good fortune of the previous month (including, when times are tough, just being able to make it through) and consider the ways you can make sure the current of good fortune continues to flow by offering it on. Charitable donations are often what comes to mind when it comes to passing on good fortune, but you can also make offerings of time, skills, and attention.

Offering good fortune is a way not only of benefiting those people, places, and creatures in your life, but to recognize that you are a fortunate, needed being with meaningful things to offer community. So much of magickal and healing work is internal and invisible, so it is good to integrate regular community-oriented works into your practice to remind us that we are not only trying to return home to ourselves but to each other. 

Peek Into the Future

To quote tarot scholar Mary K. Greer "Tarot helps you meet whatever comes in the best possible way."² You've cleansed your space, your personal energy, and set some intentions, now is a ripe time to use divination to help set you up for ease and inspiration for the coming cycle. While my divination tool of choice is the tarot, I often like casting lots of some sort for New Moon divination - something about the action of throwing ogham feda or stones feels energetically aligned with the quickening energy stirred up by the New Moon. Check out a whole range of tarot spreads over here and if you're focusing on energies of renewal, you can easily adapt this annual spread for a monthly one.

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If you're looking for more lunar inspiration, check out my full archive of astroherbology posts, many of which are Moon-centered. You can also learn how to find your Moon sign in your birthchart (as well as understand how the current Moon shows up in your chart). For my newsletter subscribers they get access to over 100 rituals and recipes tied to the phases of the Moon - sign up to get free access. If you are a fellow herbalist or healer looking to incorporate more lunar wisdom into your healing practice, I invite you to join The Lunar Apothecary.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

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Footnotes

1. From The Road to The Isles Kenneth Macleod accessed via Graham King, The British Book of Spells & Charms (London: Troy Books, 2014), 251.

2. Via her resource rich website: https://marykgreer.com/

A Year of Healing Stories: Celebrating the Zodiac Seasons

In 2022 I spent a year writing about the seasons of the zodiac, complete with rituals, recipes, and tarot spreads for each of the twelve signs. Working through the celestial seasons of the year and trying to codify practice and folklore into a useful format for readers like you, lead me to reflect on and nurture my own seasonal practice. Throughout the year I found myself trying out new and reconfigured rituals, ways of connecting with my tarot work, and letting myself experiment with my practice in all sorts of ways.

So I'd thought I'd share with you some of the ways that I observe the seasons of the zodiac as well as why this way of working with time and space can be useful in our healing work.

If you've been wanting to incorporate astrological knowledge into your healing and tarot practice but feel overwhelmed by the idea (Why does this feel like spiritual math and the answer is always look within, but not there within and only when Uranus is not quincunx to Saturn?! What the heck is a decan and am I supposed to be walking with it?), starting with a the seasons of the zodiac may be a gentle but informative path to pursue.

image via @dariobroe

A Year Full of Stories

How we observe and engage with time says a lot about our healing work. Time is not only defined by cultural differences (i.e. observing a solar or a lunar calendar to mark the turning of the year) but also by social norms (i.e. the nine to five workday or whether or not there is a socially acceptable period of rest in the middle of the day). There is so much religious thought and custom dedicated to defining not only the length of time for different matters (i.e. the world was literally created in seven days versus seven days being a metaphor) but how we should spend our time (i.e. we have one life to live and it should be focused on the eternity of the afterlife versus this is one of many lives and we'll be back again). Every season can bring different expectations of what we should be doing with “our” time, that it can sometimes feel challenging to know how it is we want to be at any given moment of the day or night, much less the year.

So what are astrological seasons (aka seasons of the zodiac or zodiac seasons) and how do they fit in with healing work and learning to connect with time in a different way? In short, the astrological seasons are when a planet transits from one sign of the zodiac into another. The length of time that a planet is within that sign is a "season." The astrological seasons that are often referenced on social media and in popular books on astrology are usually solar seasons or seasons of the Sun. The Sun changes signs or seasons every calendar month and since the Sun is one of the most influential energies in the birth chart, it's one that we tend to pay attention to, but every planet has seasons for different lengths of time. The start and end of the solar seasons change by a few days each year, but they all start and end roughly around the 19th to 23rd days of the month. The Sun starts its annual journey through the twelve signs of the zodiac when it enters the sign of Aries around the 19th to 23rd of March.

For me, astrological seasons are a relatively neutral way to think about and define my experience of time. They help us to understand that there is time and space for all aspects of our lives to be experienced, taking out the idea of “using time wisely” within the narrow confines of productivity, success, and growth defined by institutional and cultural systems imposed upon us. I also enjoy the playful aspects of seeing time through the lens of myth and metaphor, instead of time being viewed as a transactional experience to be spent, saved, and used “wisely.”

When sitting in a consultation, I try to pay attention to how my client is speaking about time and space. Do they feel like they don't have enough time and space? Have they been sick forever and don't remember when they felt not sick? Do they feel like they're wasting time or are they overwhelmed by the increasingly large number of their age? Are they worried they are not using their time wisely or feel like they are losing time to activities such as social media or a job they don't like? There is so much interesting information to be heard in the stories people are telling themselves and others about time.

tarot deck shown is The Herbcrafter’s Tarot

As a witch and Pagan herbalist, part of my calling is not only helping to facilitate connections between plants and their people, but to help folks re-connect with the land and themselves as land. I do this in a number of ways including using seasonal remedies and including seasonal activities and observations as part of my wellness recommendations. While I talk of the wheel of the year and other tradition specific holy days with my Pagan clients, many of my clients come from varied social, religious, and cultural backgrounds, so I try and have a variety of myths and stories that I can use to help get them excited and interesting in how they engage with time. Here is where the seasons of the zodiac can really shine as a storytelling tool.

The language of astrology and specifically astrological seasons (i.e. Aries Season, Scorpio Season, Pisces Season, etc.) are one of those forms of storytelling that I draw upon. I find it useful to engage with the year as a series of stories, tied to the land, the planets, and the stars, as a way to find my unique rhythm and pace. These myths help me to release other people's notions of what I should or should not be doing with my time that doesn't work for me and my family. It's also another way to reshape difficult parts of the year as something you're part of and less of something that is happening to you. In the northern hemisphere, for example, Capricorn marks a time of deep winter and for some folks struggling with sadness during these darker and colder parts of the year, it can be interesting to work with the story of Capricorn. Capricorn is a sign that enjoys a certain level of stillness and structure, but it's not only in a linear productive sense (which can be over-focused on as desirable qualities under capitalism). Sometimes the myth of the goatfish is the creature that sits at your window on a still winter's night, saying, "In the quiet and the dark, we can build what we've been dreaming of before anyone can catch us."

For other folks, the myth of Capricorn they might be learning to connect with is learning about the power of slowing down and exploring deep - a muscle that not everyone is encouraged or granted the safety to explore in their younger years. For those familiar or interested in astrology, I like to point to the place where a season lands in their birth chart. "Look here!" I might say, "Capricorn is bringing energy to your Fourth House of home, which is not only the place that you live, but your experience of your body as home. Does that area of your life feel particularly tender or challenging during the winter months?" So many conversations and explorations can be started by looking at our own personal constellations of stars and planets. If a story like Capricorn feels useful to a client, I might draw on appropriate Capricorn herbs and remediation techniques to help support them further. Through our exchange of stories, I can also recommend further resources and healing modalities for clients to look into, such as somatic therapy and bodywork to help with the stagnant energy they might be struggling with in winter. 

Personally, when I began to be more mindful of the astrological seasons I found a lot of relief in being able to name, in ways that felt empowering to me, what it was about certain points of the year that felt challenging. It's the difference in being able to live my myth instead of trying to fit in with a story that has been told to me. 

If you're interested in exploring a seasons of the zodiac approach to the year, I suggest starting by making note of one or two months of the year that you find to be most comforting and enjoyable versus one or two months that you find to be the most challenging. Then, compare those months with the astrological seasons I've listed below and read more about the one or two signs and how their stories may help you understand your own.

Solar Seasons of the Year

Aries: End of March (Equinox) to end of April
Taurus: End of April to end of May
Gemini: End of May to end of June
Cancer: End of June (Solstice) to end of July
Leo: End of July to end of August
Virgo: End of August to end of September
Libra: End of September (Equinox) to end of October
Scorpio: End of October to end of November
Sagittarius: End of November to end of December
Capricorn: End of December (Solstice) to end of January
Aquarius: End of January to end of February
Pisces: End of February to end of March

Seasonal Rituals & Practices

Seeking Elemental Balance & Meeting Our Star Bodies

Each sign of the zodiac has a corresponding element of Earth, Air, Fire, or Water. Aries is a Fire sign and brings fiery energy into the season and whatever area of our life it is illuminating into your birth chart. If you're trying to bring more fiery energy into your life, for example, you might try engaging in fiery and energizing activities during Aries season such as energetic movement to fire magick as well as engaging in activities that feel exciting and adventurous. You might incorporate appropriate-for-you fiery herbs into your routine from spices and more stimulating herbs to digestive tonics. If you struggle with too much fiery energy and find Aries season to be overstimulating, you might try cooling and tempering activities such as gentle movement, forest bathing, activities that feel emotionally regulating, as well as relaxing herbs and liver tonics. 

Signs & Their Elements

Fire Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Earth Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Air Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Water Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

A simple way to start with elemental work is to ask yourself the following series of questions, and not only think about the answer, but try to feel your answer, too.

• Do I feel like I have enough {element} in my life?

• If not, what can I do that is {fiery, watery, earthy, airy}?

• If I feel like I have too much of {element} how can I balance it with {opposite element}?

Every sign of the zodiac is associated with parts of the body and it can be an interesting somatic experience to explore the corresponding parts of your body for each season of the zodiac. You can learn more about the signs of the zodiac and our bodies over here.

Seasonal Tarot Readings

I enjoy beginning a new zodiac season with the corresponding tarot spread (you can find links to all of my astrological season tarot spreads in the Solar Seasons of the Year list above). For me, these readings aren't about predictions or trying to peer too far and back in time, but about reading the energy of the next cycle of the zodiac. It is also about connecting with the energy of the season on a personal and energetic level. The reading is contemplative and somatic: I write about my reading and I also feel it out without trying to put it into words.

Side Note: if you've been in a bit of a tarot funk, I recommend these (or similar) seasonal tarot spreads to help you move energy and inspire your intuition in a relatively low stakes sort of way.

These seasonal readings can also be using the same spread each month (i.e. the Celtic Cross for Aries season, Taurus season, Gemini season, and so on). If you're trying to work with solar energy in your life, doing a regular reading when the Sun changes signs can be a rewarding practice.

Alternatively, I've really enjoyed doing a zodiac season reading at the end of the season (i.e. when Aries season is coming to an end and Taurus season is about to begin). This is a spread to help you reflect on the energies of the past month as they manifested in your life and can sometimes be a more useful approach if you're new to the idea of zodiac seasons. 

Alternatively alternatively, you can do a reading at the beginning and end of the zodiac season. I would do this when a month has been particularly intense or if I'm trying to better understand a particular sign of the zodiac better (i.e. what the heck is a Taurus and why is it in my ninth house?).

book shown is the stargazing notebook by the unemployed philosopher’s guild

Birth Chart Meditation

After I've done my reading, I'll pull out my birth chart and look at what is happening in the area of my chart that the current zodiac season is illuminating. Aries in the Third House, for example, might mean taking note of what is happening in your life in regards to your curiosity, your ability to communicate ideas and concepts about yourselves and your world, as well as paths of learning that we may be on or want to be on, and relationships with siblings (including chosen family siblings). If you have planets in this area of your chart you might explore what they signify when they're in the sign of Aries. Finally, consider how the energy of Aries has informed your understanding and experience of Third House issues (i.e. you might learn best in an active environment or are someone who needs to move in order to think). If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you can download my free guide to The Moon in the Houses in the subscriber’s only resource page, which can be used more broadly for understanding the general emotional energy of each House.

Again, I'm not trying to practice any sort of predictive astrology, but to familiarize myself with what energy might be stirred up, what concepts might be illuminated, and what shadows revealed while the Sun traverses this part of my birth chart and life. If you're just starting to learn about your birth chart, a practice of seasonal observation like this can be a great way of exploring the energies of the stars and planets at the time of your birth. 

Plant Allies

I try to work with the seasons in my herbal practice as much as possible, working with plants as they spring up on the Land around me. So it's easy to work with Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) to temper the energy of Aries during Aries season (which arrives in late March in the northern hemisphere) as Lemon Balm is one of the first plants to return after winter.

When working with plant allies for the zodiac season, especially if you're new to the practice, I would start with the herbs you already work with and learn about their astrological correspondences. It can be a fascinating practice to notice the type of astrological energies you're inherently drawn to in your choice of plants to work with each season. See the "Additional Practices" section below for some more ideas for working with plants.

Tarot deck shown is Thea’s Tarot by Ruth West

Additional Practices

Depending on the season, the time and energy I have, and honoring the human urge to arrange things in such a way that feels pleasing and spiritually harmonious, I might build an altar for each season. An astrological tarot altar might include traditional and personal images of the current Sun sign, symbolic connections to your birth chart, and anything else to represent the ways that you're working with the energy of the season, including symbols for what you're trying to call in or release from your life. An altar to help you connect with the energies of Virgo Season, for example, might include images of healing spaces, bowls of grain, and an item or two representing an area of your life that you’re calling in healing energy.

I love altar building and in addition to being a beautiful thing to do, I think that altars serve as excellent tactile representations of abstract information and can be a great practice for folks who are learning about astrology for the first time or expanding their knowledge into a specific aspect of the art.

You can also wear your altar and incorporate the energy of the season into your clothing and adornments. A specific piece of jewelry might represent the energy of Virgo to you, for example, and you might wear it everyday for the season.

I've also enjoyed making herb bundles and/or flower and gem essence blends based on my zodiac season tarot reading and my own emotional needs for working with specific energies of the zodiac. Solar seasons of the zodiac are roughly 30 days which is generally considered a good length of time to work with a flower essence. You can even choose to work with Bach's recommended essences for each sign (i.e. The Twelve Healers, Bach’s original guide to his essences and the zodiac is available for free via the Bach Centre), but I encourage you to work with what you already have as this can prove useful energetic insights with essences you're already in relationship with.

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What would your year feel like if time were a river of starry-hearted stories?

I hope that this post has brought some inspiration to your practice. If you want to explore more about the individual energies of each sign of the zodiac, come this way. You can also check out my entire seasons of the zodiac series.

If you’re looking for inspiration for a lunar practice, I’ve written about that, too.

May your year be a story ever-unfolding, helping you connect with the land and your community, as you find your way through your myths.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

Rituals & Recipes for Moonfolk (Or how I’m celebrating 13 years of community)

This past month marked thirteen years of Worts & Cunning Apothecary.

It feels like both a very long time and a very short time has passed since I first opened the Apothecary in a small Northeastern city at the end of autumn, specializing in home-made herbal remedies with a focus on alcohol-free options. Now, I write and teach full-time, helping others to craft their own remedies and explore their inner worlds and community connections through the lens of plant healing and magick. It's been an incredible (and wonderfully strange and challenging and joyful) journey so far.

I love what I do, I love our community, and I am so grateful to be able to fulfill this calling of mine to help connect people and plants for our collective liberation and joy.

While my ideas of what Worts & Cunning would be and what I’d be doing as an herbalist has changed over the years, a constant thread has connected all my various projects and offerings together - to create and share resources that are useful, that spark curiosity, and help folks to call themselves back home. I’ve doubted whether or not this calling of mine is useful (Maybe it’d be better to open a dog rescue instead! Camp out in a permanent protest on the steps of congress! Become a city planner to help our communities be centered around the planet and people instead of cars and corporations!), but I return again and again to what it feels like to share resources, to teach a class where I’m learning along with everyone else present, and to know that hours of quiet research might help someone grow more into their practice and community. I love the feeling of being able to share my joy of land and plants and stars and the unknowns of life with so many kind-hearted folks, and to hear their stories of land and plants and stars in return. For me, sharing resources is a form of sacred communion and expansive connection, and I’m so grateful that this is what I get to do.

While I don’t know all of what the future holds (though I’ve got a lot of exciting things I’m working on), I want to take a moment to celebrate what has already been done. I've been writing this community blog for thirteen years and it is chock-full of free and useful resources from plant profiles to seasonal apothecary guides, explorations of the energetic system of traditional western herbalism, a guide to creating financial access in your own business, and my growing collection of astroherbalism guides. I host four courses and a growing library of plant knowledge which you can access for as little as $1. I have hosted in-person workshops, classes, and sound baths featuring plant song which some of you have been able to attend (and those are all coming back!).  I've taught as a guest teacher in other herbal courses and been published in zines, planners, and plant guides (my self-published ebooks and zines are available in patreon). I've chatted on podcasts about plants and strange encounters with your ancestors and how healing is a community effort. Three years ago I started a patreon community which has been so much fun and features extra guides and posts, as well as plant song recordings, free access to The Plant Ally Library and a not-a-podcast audio class thing. 

All of this has only been possible because I've had a community supporting me along the way and it's why I continue to do this work. I have been able to grow into my kindness and softness and complexity as a person because I've been held in a community that values such paths and reflected them back to me. As I continue to grow and learn, my goal is to keep making the majority of what I do free and low-cost so that you can access useful information and inspiration on intersectional herbalism and magick that supports your ability to re-member how whole and holy you are.

Which is why it was such a joy to share The Moonfolk Book of Shadows with everyone. With over 120 rituals and recipes, Moonfolk is my big-hearted thank you for thirteen years of support. You can access it completely for free by signing up for my newsletter and if you’re already a subscriber to Magick Mail you’ll find all of the details in the Magick Mail Apothecary (yes, there’s a secret section of the blog for Magick Mail subscribers).

So, in celebration of Moonfolk and cycles of change and transformation, below I’ve shared the ritual and recipe inspired by the New Moon in Cancer.

But all of this is to say: thank you, friends, for helping to make possible this quiet and kind-hearted community space.

Developing Intuition
I am intuitive

So much of developing intuition is learning to trust oneself and that can be challenging for many of us. The experience of having influential people in our lives (parents, caretakers, friends, partners, etc.) denying or dismissing not only our intuition but our truths is all too common and can make it hard to connect with our intuition later in life. 

Reconnecting with our inherent intuition can be a long process, requiring multiple healing practices from therapy to spiritual explorations to boundary-setting and so on, so please don't feel bad if you feel like everyone else has an easy time with it. Fortunately, Cancerian energies are excellent at supporting our ability to connect our waking consciousness with intuitive states of being, which is why an intuition ritual at the New Moon in Cancer ritual can be so powerful. 

The following is a simple ritual and guided meditation that can and should be practiced over a length of time (at least a full lunar cycle) to help you cultivate your intuitive gifts. Approach it with a playful heart or at least a not too overly serious one too focused on "results" and you'll find yourself having an easier go at things. Why do I recommend a ritual performed every day or night for a full lunar cycle? Often it has been years that we've been hiding away from or denying our intuition, so we deserve to give ourselves plenty of time to make space for our intuition to awaken and be embraced again. The time and effort are part of the ritual, showing your intuitive self that you really do want them to come home to you and feel supported.

You will need:

• An intuition altar filled with inspiring things and supportive objects like quartz crystals, images of the divine and/or familiar and ancestral spirits, and so on

• Vessel of drinking water or tea such as a bowl and plate, cup and saucer 

• Incense or feather

• Stone of choice

• Candle

Once you have set up your altar, make a place for your water vessel with the feather, stone, and candle forming a triangle around it. Cast a circle if you like and practice some breathwork and/or your favorite grounding and centering technique. Light your incense or hold your feather and pass it around your water three times while saying:

By Air
I awaken my powers of intuition
Already within me
Ready to arise

Hold your candle and pass it around your water three times, saying:

By Fire
I awaken my powers of intuition
Already within me
Ready to illuminate

Pour some of the water on the plate or saucer, symbolizing your intuition spilling over from its current confinement, saying:

By Water
I awaken my powers of intuition
Already within me
Ready to flow free

Hold your stone and pass it around your water three times, saying:

By Earth
I awaken my powers of intuition
Already within me
Ready to be embraced

Visualize your water glowing with the power of the elements, here to help you awaken your own intuition. Take a sip and begin the following visualization:

In the air before you visualize a closed Rose. See it slowing turning in the air in front of you so that you can see it from all sides, its color and shape, the way it seems to glow with an inner magick. Slowly but surely the petals begin to open one by one. Take time to watch this happen, feeling that something within you is opening, slowly but surely. When the flower is fully open, a magnificent bloom, it comes close to you and lands upon your heart, where it glows and slowly fades into your energy.

Once you are done with your visualization you can drink the rest of your water, knowing that the magick of the Rose is working within you, its softness calling forth your intuition, its thorns protecting your boundaries. Continue to work this ritual for a lunar cycle, keeping your altar fresh, and playfully practicing intuitive when you feel called to them.

Intuition Tea
I am tending to my psychic nervous system

I believe that part of the work of reconnecting with or strengthening your intuition is not only to strengthen your psychic body, but to tend to your psychic nervous system. While our intuitive gifts can show up in all kinds of settings, not least of which in stressful or challenging ones, developing intuition over time requires an ability to develop a sense of peace and inner security. Cancer is an excellent sign to work with when developing your intuition because it reminds us that the security of our shell (i.e. our boundaries) allow us to protect our inner softness (i.e. our receptivity to psychic insight). The following blend incorporates herbs that help us feel protected and regulated, as well as the gift of helping us awaken our intuition.

Blend together the following herbs:

• 4 parts Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

• 1 part Rose (Rosa spp.)

• ½  part Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

Standard dosage. Placing blended herbs under the light of the New Moon adds to their magick. Store with a quartz crystal inside or on top of the jar. Make a cup before any form of divination, ritual, and/or meditation. 

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If you want more lunar-inspired rituals and recipes, be sure to sign-up for Magick Mail so you can access The Moonfolk Book of Shadows for free.

Thank you again for thirteen magickal years and here’s to many, many more!