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A Might-Do List for the Dark Moon
It feels fitting that the final post in my series of might-do lists for the lunar cycle is on the Dark Moon, when the Moon pulls tight her veil of night, letting the stars illuminate the night sky as she takes respite.
The Dark Moon, sometimes called the Old Moon, Black Moon or Void Moon, is the final period of lunar waning before the New Moon takes to the sky, marking a time of respite and retreat, dissolution and discernment. While the Dark Moon is one of my favorite times during the lunar cycle, I debated whether or not to write a might-do list since I try not to do much of anything except get slow and rest for this phase. I realized, though, that while I don’t often make remedies or perform rituals of any kind during the Dark Moon, when I do, these inevitably end up being some of my most beloved acts of magick.
So let's travel together, beyond the edge of illumination, to a realm of lustrous unlight and explore what we might do (or not, because the dark is meant for resting) during the darkest lunar phase.
image via @masonkimbar
Bury the Dead
Many New Moon lunar practices involve cleansing and renewing my spaces, but if you feel that extra effort is needed to clear out a particularly stubborn bit of energy, you can work with the magick of the Dark Moon to "bury the dead." In this case, the "dead" might be dead flowers or expired good, old remedies that are no longer useful, any clutter or unwanted items that can be lovingly re-gifted or donated. Try to lay all this dead and decaying energy embodied in these item to rest in the most ecologically respectful ways, making the bright promises of the restart of the lunar cycle that much easier to connect with. If I'm called to this sort of cleansing work during the Dark Moon it is often because the energy and items I'm trying to clear out have been stagnated and stuck for a while, requiring me to journey into the dark to get them, honor them, and let them go. A ritual of burying the dead, followed by experiences like good food and relaxation in your nearly cleared space, can be the sort of impetus needed to finally move this energy out of your home and life.
Become Invisible
There are all sorts of interesting spells for invisibility from old to modern grimoires and these enchanted me as a young witch. In fact, some of my earliest lessons on plant identification was trying to figure out what fern spores were and how I could collect them as an essential ingredient to an invisibility spell I had come across on the internet.¹ These days there are two approaches to invisibility that I find particularly useful: invisibility charms which help you go unnoticed as a matter of protection in everyday life and going invisible on social media. For some powerful Dark Moon magick, try a ritual practice of social media invisibility by disappearing off of social media, from posting on it and scrolling through it, for one full lunar cycle. It is an increasingly profound act to practice invisibility like this and whenever a spell of invisibility is cast a spell of revelation is cast, too. What would it mean to be less visible to the invisible spectators of social media? What would it feel like to cultivate relationships of shared, sacred, silly, and loving visibility with others? Working with Dark Moon energy is one of the ways we can explore our stories of visibility.
Explore Your Shadows
The Dark of the Moon is an auspicious time to practice shadow work. I prefer shadow work with some form of divination, like tarot, but the opportunities for shadow work are limitless. You could explore an area of your birth chart that you've judged to be "bad" or not well aligned, taking time to explore what really lies there. You could get yourself back in therapy, but this time with a culturally-competent therapist who specializes in your mental health needs. Shadow work comes in many forms, but at its core, shadow work is paying attention to and exploring the parts of ourselves we'd rather not acknowledge (i.e. keep hidden away in the shadows away from the view of ourselves and others). Shadow work is both deeply personal and collective - our shadows are formed by our personal experiences as well as shaped by cultural shadows (i.e. the cultural shadow of patriarchal norms that influence and help to shape our personal shadows). One of the easiest ways to spot a shadow is paying attention to when feelings of jealousy or feeling left out arises, perhaps while scrolling social media, and then following that feeling and the story that unfolds. I think shadow work is best performed when you have at least a few strong relationships that you can lean on and keep perspective with while you explore your own tenderness. Not that you need to share all the details of what you're exploring with someone - though I hope you have at least one trusted confidant that you can open up to - but that you have a person who'll help you decompress after you return from the shadowlands.
image via @nathananderson
Write an Ancestor Letter
I think that letter writing is one of the sweetest forms of ancestral magick and the Dark Moon, especially when near a veil-thinning sabbat like Samhain, is an especially auspicious time to practice it. You can surround the following practice with as much or as little ritual as you like, but gather a pen and paper, choose an ancestor known or unknown to write to and start writing. You can update a beloved ancestor on what has happened in your life since they passed or connect with an ancestor in your distant past if you're trying to explore that area of your ancestral line. If you like you can even ask questions asking for answers in dreams, divinations or other forms of communication. After you are done writing the letter you can burn or bury it, or if you're using water soluble ink you can pour water over your letter and let the letters flow back to the earth. Another option is keeping the letter hidden away, but pull it out after a length of time has passed (at least a few months, but a year is great), reading through it again and paying attention to how your ancestor may have responded to your words.
Dissolve & Banish
If you need to perform a banishing spell, the Dark Moon is a great time since the lunar phase is rich with the energy of dissolution. My favorite simple banishing spell involves a bowl of water, some salt, and a spoon. You can perform any additional ritual before or after this spell, but for the banishing spell itself begin by holding the bowl of water in your hands. Speak what it is you seek to banish from your life to the water, visualize pouring all the energy of the thing to be banished into the water. When you feel ready, and without touching the water, pour in the salt and stir it widdershins with your spoon. When the salt has dissolved pour it outside or down the toilet and walk away. Let the spell run its course without speaking of it to anyone, but taking real world actions to follow up with your energetic banishing.
Cut Your Hair
There is a lot of folklore surrounding the growth of hair and the lunar cycle, including the most auspicious times to cut it. I personally like a Dark of the Moon trim so that the physical and energetic hair can grow strong and healthy with the increasing growth of the Moon. Dark Moon hair cutting can also be another gentle act of dissolution in your life, letting the pieces of your cut hair carry away unwanted energy. Expand hair cutting to a whole hair spa experience by scheduling the monthly hair treatments that you usually partake in, from masks to rinses, at the Dark Moon.
image via @ryan_hutton_
Create A Community Memorial
Whether as part of an organized event or as part an individual act of devotion, create a memorial in a public setting (respecting nature, accessibility - don't block sidewalks, etc. - and the neighbors). It can be a memorial which brings attention to what used to exist on a part of land that was paved over, for the loss of plant or animal life, of community members, beloved family pets, changes to the local ecosystem due to the climate emergency, and more. One of the great powers of the Dark Moon is its energy that draws us in, and we can direct this energy in a way that gets folks to pause, engage with, and let themselves feel together. Consider the ways that your memorial creates interaction (i.e. animal memorials with statues that can be petted) and the space you hope to create to let people feel what they feel.
Rattle the Bones
There are times when we are seeking insight into the faraway depths - that is when performing divination during the Dark Moon can be useful. We can ride the ebbing of lunar energy, letting it draw us down and inwards, helping us to find the hidden knowledge that we seek. Incorporating plant allies like Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) or Sage (Salvia officinalis) as teas, herbal baths or incense can help draw in Dark Moon energy to support your intuition. If you like, you can whisper the following charm (spells spoken under the breath are an invocation of Dark Moon energy) to support your divination practice:
By the Moon
and by my blood
Between the space
of land and sky
Guided by
ancestral love
I open now
My third eye
Brew A Dreamer’s Elixir
If I am to engage in remedy making during the Dark Moon it is usually a recipe associated with dream work. I like to imagine that while the Moon is dark in our world, she is shining Full in the otherworld, helping to direct the energy of our dream elixirs toward the bright light beyond our world and at the edge of another. For a Dreamer's Elixir combine herbs that your ancestors would have worked with (and I mean ancestors in the most expansive of ways, from biological, cultural, and spiritual), especially if those herbs have dreaming folklore attached to them. Then add in Elder Berry (Sambucus nigra) to bring in the herb's otherworldly energy as well as add a dark purple color to your final brew whether you choose to make a tea, tincture, oil or bath. Let your remedy sit in a dark place where no light will reach it for a full lunar cycle - Dark Moon to Dark Moon. Once the cycle has passed the Dreamer's Elixir is ready to use and should be taken before dreamwork or pathworking (use standard dosage guidelines for whatever type of remedy you make).
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If you’re looking for inpsiration for your Dark Moon practices, I’ve also written a simple ritual, recipe, and tarot spread for your Dark of the Moon healing practice. You can also find the rest of my might-do lists for the lunar esbats below:
For those of you just starting out on your lunar explorations, how about finding your Moon sign first? And for those of you ready to dive deeper, come this way.
Wherever you find yourself in the dark, I hope that your practice illuminates your path back home.
This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎
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Footnotes
1. Can we bring back website-based grimoires that we visited through the labyrinthine magick of webrings? The longer that webrings are gone from the modern internet, the more useful I think they were as our modern social media landscape rapidly degrades. I also love that there are a few of you who are currently searching "what are webrings" and I'm glad to share that old internet tradition with you.