7 Full Moon Rituals For Manifestation And Release
Whenever a Full Moon is here, it is a powerful time to practice rituals for manifestation, release, and energy cleansing. As the moon reaches its peak, it brings a potent energy that can be harnessed for positive transformation. Here are seven full moon rituals you can use to manifest your goals and release anything holding you back.
Ancient humans had an intimate connection to nature - we lived by the sun and the moon cycles, followed the flow of water when determining where to settle, and planted and sowed according to the shifts in seasons. By our very being, we are a part of nature.
To find your footing here on earth, practice breathwork, host a manifestation circle for friends lifting each other up while mapping out your dreams, and look to the cosmos for intuitive guidance. Study astronomy and astrology and let your imagination, focus, and intention shape your energy.
We talk a lot about mystical things around here. We talk about spiritual vibes, planetary combinations, what certain tarot cards mean, and how the cosmos play out in your life as a whole. We even talk about ways in which we can align ourselves to the energy of a Full Moon.
In this article, you’ll learn seven powerful practices — moon rituals for manifestation, release, and self-love — including lunar-specific journaling exercises, a full moon meditation, the moon breath, details on hosting a manifestation circle, and the process of making moon water.
What is a Full Moon Ritual?
Personally, I love following the natural rhythms of the universe and exploring my psyche by understanding how the planetary flow can sync up with my personal being. One way I do this is through a Full Moon ritual.
A ritual is a symbolic practice, observation, or exercise designed to align and honor. The goal of a moon ritual is to align yourself with the energetics of the Moon; they are an empowering way to reflect, set intentions, and manifest.
I have a morning wake-up ritual, a pre-flight ritual, a writing ritual, a skincare ritual, a pre-yoga ritual, a wind-down at night ritual: you get the idea. Rituals are all about doing daily activities with intention and care. These practices are vital to a mindful life and set the foundation for everything I do.
Moon rituals originated in cultures that worshipped the moon, like Babylonia and Egypt. Today, moon rituals are an empowering way to reflect, set intentions, and manifest. If you're practicing rituals at home, it's nice to set your space - a few things I recommend investing in: a meditation cushion, a plant-based candle, sacred smoke tools, and crystals.
As you begin to practice rituals and personal ceremonies, I recommend being incredibly mindful when sourcing sacred herbs, smokes, crystals, and spiritual tools. The commodification of white sage, for example, has created concern that it's being over-harvested and has contributed to a loss of respect for Native American religions and rituals.
Meaning Of The Moon & Lunar Phases
The Moon represents the divine mother in each of us. It reflects our deepest wishes, mystery, emotion, and unconscious. The Moon represents how you see yourself: imagine catching your reflection in a pool of water and observing what's on the surface and what lies beneath. In Astrology, the Moon rules Cancer and has an energetic connection to our emotional body. Lunar energy is cleansing, cooling, receptive, calming, sensitive, and empathic.
Your Moon sign in your astrological chart represents a massive part of who you are - it tells you about how your heart is most fulfilled and how your soul finds nourishment in the world. As the moon cycles through its phases and the zodiac signs, we experience different energies and themes. Moon rituals can help harness these unique energies, and avoid inadvertently working against the natural rhythm of the cosmos.
Timing your daily rituals to coincide with the lunar phases is a beautiful way to stay in the flow of life while connecting with the natural elements. While there are eight moon phases, moon rituals are most commonly practiced under the full moon, waning moon, new moon, and waxing moon.
Read on to learn more about the meaning of the lunar phases, and what kinds of rituals work best with its natural energy:
LUNAR PHASE: FULL MOON
Illuminate and manifest. Full moons occur when the Moon and Sun oppose each other in the sky, shining light and illuminating areas in our lives that may require evaluation or change. Our manifestation energy and magnetism peak during the full moon phase. The power of this lunation amplifies creativity and action, so use the full moon for reflection on the previous cycle.
LUNAR PHASE: WANING MOON
Express gratitude and reap the benefits of your work. The waning moon follows the full moon - as the light starts to retreat, it's a time to express gratitude and reap the benefits of your work. Release stagnant energy, celebrate the completion and cultivate rest.
LUNAR PHASE: NEW MOON
Reset and set intentions. Considered the best time to set intentions, the new moon is a time to germinate. According to the Farmer's Almanac, farmers can use the new moon to guide seed planting as it's a time when the earth is most fertile. In addition, new moons are the optimal time to allow new ideas to arise, tap into creative flow, and nourish and create routines of care for self.
LUNAR PHASE: WAXING MOON
Nurture yourself and your new ideas. Waxing moons are the perfect time to get creative. The waxing moon's energy is noted as overt, outward, and expanding; it wants you to spring forth and finish what needs to happen to make your dreams a reality. Our energy builds during this moon phase; it's the time of the month to strive to achieve our goals by creating action around our intentions.
How To Manifest On A Full Moon
Lunar living is gaining traction as a way to connect with nature. Being mindful of the moon cycles can bring more balance to daily life, giving purpose beyond the Gregorian calendar's monotony or providing routine when life feels a bit out of control. Grounding your manifestation process in moon cycles and moon rituals can help you stay committed and amplify your manifesting power.
At Oui, We Studio, we teach courses on the topic, guiding students through the basics of Manifestation and giving them the tools to work with inspired action to design blueprints of their future.
Contrary to what many think, manifestation is more than just setting intentions and saying positive affirmations. Manifestation has nothing to do with superstition. It has everything to do with your beliefs and learning to work with your emotional state and vibrational frequency. It’s an ongoing practice of finding personal empowerment, strategic goal-setting, and deep reflection.
It's about creating a vision, feeling into the emotions associated with it, and then taking inspired action to bring your imagination and feelings to life.
By syncing our daily lives to the cycles of the Moon, we align to the wealth of the universe. The Moon tells us when to go inward, when to tap into intentions, when to take action through creative self-expression, when to amplify our manifestation powers, and when to cleanse our energy. Each full moon, we get the opportunity to chart our progress toward what we hope to call in.
The Oui, We method for creating a manifestation practice combines journaling, meditation, breathwork, movement, and rituals. Read on to learn more about creating a full moon manifestation ritual practice.
7 Full Moon Ritual Ideas
Here are a few of my go-to full moon rituals: these are simple ways to disconnect from the busy and tune back into nature, the universe, and YOU.
Before you begin, remember this: enter into rituals with a clear mind and an open heart. If you feel negative thoughts arising, simply ask your mind to ground into the present moment and wash away worry, focusing only on the exact moment at hand.
Full Moon Ritual #1: Journaling
Spend time with yourself to uncover your inner truths. The full moon arrives halfway through the lunar cycle, this is a time to illuminate within and manifest your desires.
MANIFESTATION JOURNAL PROMPT: 111 GRATITUDE PRACTICE
Your manifestation energy reaches its peak during the full moon. Practice gratitude for the gifts the universe has brought you and the small shifts you experience every day. The power of appreciation will continue to amplify and supercharge your manifestation energy.
In honor of the full moon, begin a 3-day practice of journaling on gratitude. Number a page in your journal 1 - 111, and think about what you’re grateful for. Write with intention, from a high vibrational space.
When you finish writing your 111 gratitudes, ask yourself:
What shows up for me when I express gratitude?
How can I continue to hold a high energetic vibration in which my gratitude practice amplifies my manifestation power?
MANIFESTATION JOURNAL PROMPT: REFLECT ON YOUR AURA
To create clarity of vision for your manifestation practice, consider the eighth chakra — the chakra of the aura or radiance. It's the electromagnetic field of energy surrounding your physical body. When your aura is strong, you have reliable intuition and a high level of magnetism. In your manifestation practice, your aura will determine what you're able to attract.
Use these journal prompts to reflect on your aura:
When I consider my connection to myself and my spiritual body, what I notice is:
The ways I can ensure my auric crown is polished:
When I consider what makes me the happiest and what truly illuminates my inner being, the first thing that comes to mind is:
When I consider my radiance and how I glow, here's what comes to mind right now:
Something I'll call in more of this month is:
Full Moon Ritual #2: Meditation
Practice Kundalini meditations to work with your breath and chakra energies to cultivate inner peace, higher awareness, and self-love.
MEDITATION OF CREATIVE FLOW
This is a rhythmic meditation, connecting to flow and future vision. This meditation is especially powerful when you're feeling stagnant or overwhelmed and need to let go of stressors to tap into your creativity. It involves visualization and the practice of mantra to reset your inner narrative.
How to do it:
Start with engaging the breath. Inhale and hold your breath comfortably. Then, as you suspend the breath in, meditate on the number zero.
Say to yourself: "all is zero; each thought is zero; my stress is zero; my problems are zero."
Bring to mind anything creating stress for you, and imagine dialing the energy around that stressor to zero. Even if you don't yet believe it, begin to imagine dialing any swirling thoughts down to zero. Meditate on all negative, emotional, mental, and physical conditions and situations. As each thing crosses the mind, bring it to zero.
Next, as you've released your stressors, imagine you're floating in a body of water: the sea, a lake, or whatever body of water feels best to you. Feel the water rising beneath you, allowing your body to float. As you inhale, imagine waves gently rolling in; as you exhale, the waves gently roll away. Let this water hold you. Feel its coolness on your skin, hear its movement as it splashes against your body, and smell the salty air.
Tell yourself: Your imagination is free in this water, and your creativity is boundless. In the visualization practice, imagine your body floating to the shoreline. Stand up and take a moment to let the water fully cleanse you. Let the water rinse all the way through, cleansing each of your energy centers beginning at your head all the way through the root of your body.
Notice if you're holding on to any pain, tightness, or sadness inside your body. Let the water rinse those feelings away. Notice that an inner shine, a golden light, is coming from within you as you rest on the shoreline. Notice an outer shine and the sun creating a ring of light around you. Allow this light to permeate through you until your inner light, and the outer light have merged into one.
Once you've completed the visualization, close with this mantra: I am creative infinity. Say the mantra aloud several times, and write it in places you'll see it throughout the day too.
You can practice this visualization-style meditation anytime you're feeling burdened, overwhelmed, or experiencing intense stressors that need to be processed to move forward and feel balanced, grounded, and productive.
Full Moon Ritual #3: Breathwork
Work with your breath to create energy within. We breathe to release, restore, stock the creative fire, inspire radiance and magnetism.
THE MOON BREATH
In astrology, there is an interconnectedness between the Moon and water. At the most basic, many spiritual modalities, customs, and cultures represent imagination, emotion, intuition, inner knowing, and the feminine.
Even the ocean tides link to the Moon. During the waxing gibbous phase, the Moon is approaching the full phase, and during the waning crescent phases, the Moon is approaching the new phases. During these two times every month, the tides increase in size until they reach their maximum intensity.
The most extreme high tides, called spring tides, occur when the Earth, Moon, and Sun align, also known as a solar eclipse. It's a marvelous and magical natural occurrence.
This breath practice inspires us to explore the depths of our creativity and connects us to our lunar energetics.
Our prana, or breath - the strong wind that brings life force into our body, creates unique energies as it moves in and out of each of our nostrils. The left nostril and right nostril each have different effects corresponding to the qualities associated with each side of the brain. This beath works with the left nostril.
The nerves from the two brain hemispheres cross at the brow line. The left hemisphere of our brain connects to the right side of the body and the right nostril; alternatively, the right hemisphere connects to the left side of the body and the left nostril.
We have a wide array of techniques to control our moods and energies through the simple mechanism of closing or opening one of the nostrils.
The left nostril is the end of the Ida Nadi, one of the three main channels of energy running through our body. Breathing through the left nostril stimulates the lunar side: creativity, emotions, a sense of flow, and intuition.
Breathing through the lunar side also invokes a cleansing and cooling sensation.
How to do it:
Cover your right nostril and breath long and deeply through the left.
Practice for at least a minute to stimulate the lunar energies.
A daily practice of three minutes can bring calmness and balance into your day and elevate your energy, vitality, and confidence in your creativity.
Full Moon Ritual #4: Host A Full Moon Manifestation Circle
A Moon Manifestation Circle can technically be hosted at any time of the month, during any month's phase. It's wise to consider what sort of energy you're interested in cultivating when planning your circle.
Lunar forces are invisible; however, just as the moon affects the tides, our bodies can feel the energetic shifts. New moons are a time to rest, regenerate and go inwards.
If you're hosting your circle around the new moon, it's a beautiful time to reflect and set your goals for the month ahead. The sky is dark on a new moon, resembling a blank canvas and a time of new potential.
During a new moon ceremony, you'll want to spend time pondering and refining the intentions you want to manifest in the coming new lunar cycle. If you're hosting a Full Moon Manifestation Circle, it's time to get specific about your dreams.
HOW TO HOST A FULL MOON MANIFESTATION CIRCLE:
Create a ceremony that resonates with your group. Build a moon altar together, sip tea, make ritual water under the moonlight, charge your crystals, light candles for ancestors, or practice a fire release ritual.
Write a list of what you're calling into your life.
Celebrate and express gratitude. Gratitude is a brilliant practice to amplify and supercharge your manifestation energy.
Practice meditation, chanting, and journaling.
Focus on being in the present moment and enjoy the experience of being in communion with others, raising your vibrational frequency together. As you work toward your dreams, noticing and acknowledging small shifts can lead to meaningful transformation over time.
Leave space for time to connect.
Full Moon Ritual #5: Moon Water Manifestation Ritual
This simple ritual can help you explore your inner sensitivities while providing a simple moment of care for yourself.
You can make moon water during any phase of the Moon, but it is most commonly done on a full moon and charged overnight in the moonlight. There are limitless ways you can use your moon water.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
a mason jar with a lid
filtered water or from the tap
HOW TO MAKE MOON WATER:
Take your jar, fill it with water, and place it outside or on a window sill in the direct line of the moonlight overnight.
Place crystals on top of the jar to amplify your water, allowing them to bathe in the moonlight overnight. Blue Calcite, Lapis Lazuli, Labradorite, Selenite, and Moonstone are all wonderful for tuning your intuitive flow.
As you place the water outside, spend a few minutes considering your intentions. It’s a good idea to look into the zodiac sign of that particular Moon when setting intentions to best work with the energies of the current cycle. For example, choose an Aquarius or Pisces moon if you have intentions around intuition, vision, and dreams.
In the morning, collect the jar and use it however you wish! Here are a few ideas of what you can do with it:
Drink it — taking a sip or two every day, reminding yourself of your intentions and the power of the Moon.
Bathe your crystals in it — your crystals can absorb all types of energy. Bathing them in your moon water will give them a refresh and amplify their power.
Beautify with it — place your moon water in a spray bottle, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil and use it as a facial toner each morning.
Full Moon Ritual #6: Release Ritual
Cleanse negative, stagnant energy from your home by burning incense and herbs. A full moon night is a perfect time to ceremoniously clear away bad vibes lingering around your home, electronic devices, or you.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Incense or herbs like rosemary, juniper, & lavender
It’s important to note that white sage and Palo Santo are essential tools in Indigenous ceremonial practices. However, due to their popularity in stores like Urban Outfitters, Sephora, and Amazon, these precious resources are at risk of over-harvesting and extinction.Out of respect to these traditions, please source ethically or avoid them altogether unless they are a part of your heritage. Learn more about this issue and sustainable alternatives in my Smoke Cleansing 101.
HOW TO DO A SMOKE CLEANSING RITUAL:
Gather your incense or herbs and start by lighting them up (a little fire goes a long way).
Waft the smoke around yourself, and then move to each room of your home, allowing the smoke to move through your space.
As you do so, set your lunar cycle intention and release anything that’s not serving you. Choose a mantra, like: “I release the thoughts that no longer serve me. I call in abundance and positivity for this new month ahead.”
Be sure to waft the smoke into each corner of your rooms and around your electronic devices. Follow your intuition, wafting the smoke wherever you feel guided.
Once you’ve wafted the smoke throughout your home, open a window or a door to allow the old energy out and new energy in.
Open a window to the moonlight to allow it to bath your home in fresh moon energy.
Full Moon Ritual #7: Moon Wishes Manifestation Ritual
List your manifestations. Let the spirit of the evening move you! This one is so simple and beautiful.
What you’ll need:
Paper, pencil, box or jar, candles, and matches
HOW TO DO A FULL MOON MANIFESTATION RITUAL:
Start by lighting a candle, focus on getting present, and letting go of everything spinning through your mind.
Spend a few moments thinking about what you want to release and what you want to call in.
Take the paper, and one by one, jot down the things you’d like to manifest into your life over the next month—these are your full moon wishes.
Place the wish list somewhere special: in a pretty box, for example, or roll up the page and place it in a jar. Then, set it outside to soak up the moonlight.
In the morning, bring the wishes back inside and place them somewhere you will see them daily. I have a little altar over the fireplace in my bedroom where I keep mine, but something as simple as placing it on your nightstand works just as well. Each evening before you go to sleep, take a look at your list and reflect.
Moon rituals are the perfect practice for the woo-woo curious to create a sacred space, set intentions, and commit to self-care. Find what works best for you, pay close attention to the moon’s movement, and express gratitude for the moon to develop a deep connection.
If you're reading this right now–you already have what it takes to build a soul-led life that attracts. Commitment and consistency are key.
Oui, We is here to guide you to finding a lifestyle that works – with location freedom, financial independence, and self-care as a priority. Our Studio makes it possible for everyone to have access to the exact rituals I use to cultivate self-worth, discover my purpose, and design the life of my dreams. We know you’ll love it!
