Dark Moon Magic

Dark moon magic is of a piece with waning moon magic. Any spell work you do around traditional waning moon themes during this time will pack an extra punch. However, dark moon energy, spells, and ritual are also their own compendium. It is that time where we cut the tether to the old in order to construct radical creations. Cast your dark moon spell accordingly.

Traditionally, dark moon magic is synonymous with banishing spells and release work.

If we’re being honest with ourselves, much of the time when we cast a spell what we are mostly seeking is to change the way we feel. We wish for peace, or at the very least, neutrality. Going nuclear against anyone or anything you perceive to be impeding your goals, if it isn’t actually the case, is a sign that it isn’t a banishing spell you need: it is therapy. If you are resentful and annoyed at the majority of people in your life, then it is time to figure out why you feel this way.

When you are ready to be done with something once and for all, it’s time for a banishing spell. As always, put your focus on your thoughts and behavior. After you untangle from the energy you wish to banish, you can enact your ceremony or spell. Afterward, always, always, always take care to seal and protect your energy. Seriously commit to stop thinking about the person or situation. Stop going places or engaging with anything that will stir that energy for a while. A banishing spell is a fundamentally altering spell: it is radically changing a relationship you have had in your life, whether that be to an ex or the patriarchy. Think of your energy field like a healing wound. Treat it tenderly and with proper protocol.

Personally, I prefer to conduct release or integration work during a dark moon. Release work requires less energy, for one. Release work is like slowly driving away from a place you know you’ll never see again, giving yourself space to cry, hash out old memories, and process as you depart. Banishing is similar, energetically, to suddenly shoving someone out the door of your house, dead bolting all the entrances, and lighting all that they’ve left behind on fire while vowing to never speak to them again. (Which, while dramatic, is sometimes a needed action!) A banishing spell could look like going through your house and discarding any reminder of the person/situation, energetically clearing all the conscious and unconscious imprints of the situation, and mentally and psychically transforming it—destroying it and changing it into something better. Then, you very effectively protect your house, your vehicle, and your person so that your energy is airtight and will be so for at least a lunar cycle. That’s banishing. Banishing is to be used when you never, ever, ever wish to see or experience something ever again. Use it to quit smoking, or when leaving an abusive relationship. In my experience, banishing takes quite a bit of skill, quite a bit of energy, and even more discipline.

Integration is softer. Integration can be shadow work, but it can also be love work, and rest. It is allowing space for the feelings about the situation to be recognized, and extending compassion to that aspect. In doing so, we stop repeating harmful thoughts and patterns. This takes practice. Often, this takes eradicating all punitive impulses and rigid edicts. The self will shrink, will disconnect, will freeze, will run if given more messages that it is wrong, or that it should or must or has to. Sometimes our perceptions need to be examined and altered through pausing and inquiry: What if I stopped doing this? When does that mood surface most? How can I move this energy, this emotion? What does my body need? Do I need to turn my brain off and just breathe for a while? Integration allows us this spaciousness.

Dark moon magic encompasses creativity, generative practices, and deep visioning work. It is a very fruitful time to cast spells you would like to be planted deep inside your psyche. This is the energy of the Fool card in the tarot: you are about to take a great leap, so what instincts do you want guiding you? Spells for connecting to intuition or the subconscious, support around taking risks or new expressions, illuminating dreams, and new muses all are supported at this time. Spells for reinvention and rebirth correspond to this time. Pull those glimmers of your next best self out of the ether by beginning to dream about what could be. The dark moon time is a beautiful space to experiment with innovative ways of making, expressing, being. Try something you’ve always wanted to. Do meditations to connect you with other worlds, other beings, the planets. Creating states always begins with unbridled imagining.

Your Dark Moon Altar

The shape your dark moon altar could take could vary wildly. This is the unknown, the wild zone. Your dark moon altar could be moments spent in the cradle of a large root system of an especially alluring pine tree you find in your forest wanderings. It could be screaming in your car. You may wish to especially rely on your intuition in this phase and follow what bubbles up.

If you are in a dark moon life phase, you could take advantage of this phase by constructing an altar that you decide to leave up as a sacred space to connect to this energy. As with all of the lunar phases, your altar could exist solely in your mind. Your altar could move through you like a rattlesnake shake, delivering you closer to abandon through interpretative dance. Your dark moon altar may symbolize anything you are ready to offer up to the void to be transformed in generative ways.

Some Magical Correspondences of the Dark Moon

It is important for any practitioner to develop their own set of correspondences depending on how they personally interpret each phase of the moon. Below are some suggestions that might resonate with you. Feel free to leave what does not resonate, and add your own. Some of the correspondences of the dark moon also overlap with the correspondences of the waning moon. Violet, datura, thorns; volcanic ash, pumice, charcoal; shungite, jet, hematite, vanadinite, lepidolite, rhodonite, black moonstone, merlinite, Dumortierite; black salt, salt water, vinegar; bones, vintage leather; black holes; Death, Temperance, the Tower, Judgment cards in the Major Arcana, and the 10’s in the Minor Arcana.

Deities that correspond with the dark moon: Shiva, Kali, Hecate, Baba Yaga, Medusa, Lilith.

Archetypes that correspond to the dark moon: the work and lives of Nina Simone, Toni Morrison, Diamanda Galás, Hilda af Klint, and Pamela Colman Smith.

Animal guides that correspond to the dark moon: the phoenix, cat claws, cats, shark teeth, sharks, snakeskin, snakes, leopards, lobsters, horseshoe crabs, katydid shells, cricket symphonies, ravens, crows.

DARK MOON SPELLS

A Spell to Banish Confusion and Doubt

You can use this spell as a template for the banishment of anything you’d like. Commit to making the behavioral shifts that will ensure that this spell will be successful.

You will need:

 

 

 

• At least two hours’ time, true resolve, and committed focus
• A pen
• A small black candle that will not burn for more than a few hours
• A small pin with which to carve the candle
• A small bowl or cup filled with water
• Five very small pieces of paper
• A small piece of black tourmaline
• A small piece of quartz crystal

Before the spell:

Get very clear on what you are banishing. Examples could be: behavior that is time wasting, dependence on being disorganized, self-punishing behaviors like staying up too late, reliance on misogynist notions of success, etc. Pick one thing and one thing only. You can always do this spell, or a spell you create similar to this one, once a month at the waning or dark moon.

Spell set-up:

Write down the thing you are banishing on the five separate pieces of paper, one for each element. Place your candle in the center of your altar, with each stone on either side of it.

Casting the spell:

Get centered and cast your circle, or begin your spell in your usual fashion. Carve the word or a symbol of what you want banished on your candle.

Charge the candle with the energy of the thing it is you wish to banish. Feel it leaving your body and going into the candle. Take as many deep breaths—with an emphasis on your exhale—as you need in order to feel some of the energy detaching and moving into the candle.

Light the candle.

Say: “I banish _____ with the power of fire! Fire, burn this energy off me and turn this energy into good!”

Cross the writing out on the paper until you cannot see it, and burn it, using the lit candle.

Say: “I banish _____with the power of water! Water, wash this energy off me and dissolve it into something cleansing!”

Cross the writing out on the paper until you cannot see it, and then put it in the bowl of water.

Say: “I banish______with the power of air! Air, clear away this energy and replace it with peace!”

Cross the writing out on the paper until you cannot see it, and then tear it into tiny pieces, and breathe on it.

Say: “I banish______with the power of earth! Earth, absorb this energy and turn it into something nourishing!”

Cross the writing out on the paper until you cannot see it, and crumple it into the tiniest ball.

Say: “I banish______with the power of my center! I conjure my will to keep my promise!”

Cross the writing out on the paper until you cannot see it, and then poke it full of holes with your pin.

You may wish to add a chant you made up, or yell, “Begone begone begone! I banish you I banish you I banish you! Go away go away go away! Never to return never to return never to return!” until you feel like the energy has retreated.

As the candle burns, take time to imagine moments when the energy you are banishing might come back in. Imagine yourself dealing with that energy. Imagine yourself ignoring it, or walking right past it, or allowing it to have no control over you. Do this at least three times.

Touch base with where you feel it in your body. This might be the area that needs extra love, release, and attention. Place your hands over the body part and send it love and neutrality. Clench your entire body up and release it. Take some very deep breaths. Move energy around and out of your body.

Conjure up a feeling of joy or harmony. Maybe you think of a color that you love. Allow this energy to fill your entire body.

Imagine your mind being wiped clear of the clutter and replace it with a grounding object or word.

Now imagine yourself with a new energy. This energy comes as a result of allowing what is banished to be gone. Take time to imagine yourself doing things you want, communing with folks you love, in this freer state. Imagine yourself in specific scenarios that are healthier, that are more in line with your soul. Do this at least three times.

Take time to thank every element that has helped you, and your other helpers, the universe, source, your higher power.

Close the circle.

As you step out of the spell, imagine vibrant parts of your soul flowing into you; you are stepping back into yourself with more clarity. This is a person who is powerful, this is a person who is not distracted. Promise yourself you will no longer engage in chaos, confusion, conflict, or drama.

Bury or burn all the pieces of paper, as well as any remainders of the candle, somewhere far away from your home.

Carry your tourmaline with you for at least a week to remind you to put up your protection shield.

Once a day, meditate with your clear quartz.

Direct your energy toward what is true for you when you are at your most neutral or calm. When you get frazzled or derailed, take deep breaths, close your eyes, and imagine the color, word, thought, or visualization that makes you feel calm.

A Spell to Strengthen Intuition

This spell fosters a greater intuitive connection between yourself and a chosen tarot card, infusing you with the specific intuitive gifts of the card archetype. You can do this spell at any day, at any time, at any point on the lunar cycle.

Spell set-up:

Choose a tarot card that communicates power, confidence, and clarity. Maybe it is a card that reflects the ability to easily receive information. You could pick the High Priestess, for example—the card that directly corresponds to psychic ability or intuition. Other cards associated with psychic ability and intuition include any of the Queens, the Star, the Fool, the Empress, the Hierophant, the Chariot, the Hermit, the Hanged One, the Moon, the Aces—feel free to use any you feel attracted to.

Make your altar. Place any objects around the card that resonate with the energy you have chosen to ignite.

If you are working with the High Priestess, some of its magical correspondences are: moonstone (all kinds), selenite, clear quartz, Herkimer diamond, lumerian quartz, lapis lazuli, silver, coral; mugwort, motherwort, datura, chamomile, jasmine, lavender, rose, ylang ylang; water, dolphins, whales, any animals that live in the sea, any animals that transform or shed, such as snakes, frogs, and toads; black, all shades of blue; pomegranates.

If you feel called to use a candle or candles in your spell, white, black, blue, or silver all work.

If you are using another card, you can use some of these ingredients, as all of the above correspond to elements of intuition, or you can make up your own that correlate with the card you are working with.

Before you cast the spell, write specifically about what the card can help you with. Turn that into a spell chant, or a petition to the archetype of the card, or a song you will sing in your spell.

Cast the spell:

Cast your circle, create your safe container. Allow your body to get relaxed and open. Light your candle or burn your incense, if that is part of your ritual.

Pick up your card and really drink it in. What do you love about it? That is what you love about yourself. What does this card excel at? This is what you excel at. Accept these wonderful things about yourself. This is the truth. Your intuition picked the card, and your intuition is the truth.

Invite in any messages from the card. Listen, notice. Take note. Put the card back on your altar.

Read your spell, chant, or sing your song. Do this until you feel energy move. Now try to move like the archetype of the card would. Change your posture, pose as the card. Take deep breaths and move the energy of the card into your body. Maybe it is the colors of the card. Maybe you bring the symbols of the card into your aura or mind’s eye, maybe you imagine yourself eating pomegranate seeds, flirting with the moon, talking to stars. Really place yourself energetically in the realm of your card.

When you feel energy move or shift, you know that you have integrated the energies of the card on some level. Thank the energies of the card.

Promise to carry out the energies of this card in small or large ways every day. Dialogue with the card. Journal as the card. Research the symbolism of the card; dig up mythologies of the card—look for any tales or myths or deities from your culture, or even from your family history, or your personal history, that resonate with the energies of the card. Pull the energies of the card into your cells and intertwine them with your actions. Make the card your helper for at least two weeks.

A Ritual for Nothing

This ritual requires nothing other than a calm, quiet, comfortable space. You may wish to have the following read to you, or you may wish to read it out loud. A recording of this meditation can be found at: themoonbook.com. It is meant to evoke the void.

Focus on your breathing. There doesn’t have to be a particular rhythm, just allow for your breath to take up all the space it needs to inside yourself, inside your lungs, moving from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. Spend time connecting yourself to your breath, its ins and outs, and the spaces between. Explore where your breath wants to go, and where it may be tight. Explore where your breath needs to go, and what happens as a result. (Pause.)

Now imagine a circle around you. It is a circle of energy. It is a circle that protects you. It is a circle that keeps all your energy inside its boundaries and everything else out. As your eyes close, can you feel how far away from your body this circle needs to be? Just notice this. (Pause.)

Make sure to fill your circle with your breath. With every exhale, expand your breath out past the skin of your body, into the circle of protection, the boundary around you. With every inhale, imagine fresh energy from the sky coming into your body and filling you up.

You may imagine your breath as colors. You may imagine your breath as a sound. Notice what your breath needs from you. Notice what you need from your breath. (Pause.)

In your circle, allow all your thoughts, all your dreams, wishes, mental chatter to fill up the space. Have it all out there, all around you, all inside you. Take the time to see what pops up. Notice if it has weight, if there is an overriding energy there. (Pause.)

Then imagine a big gust of wind blowing it all away outside your circle, outside your body. Imagine everything leaving your body, and with it, you suddenly have all the space you need. You feel very clear. You have now entered the nothingness of clarity. (Pause.)

Your body slowly and easily sinks into the earth. You find yourself magically in an underground tunnel, full of crags and pockets and curves. The earth is alive, and you feel grounded, concrete, and tangible.

You are safe here and you explore. You find yourself in a small dirt room, made naturally by a cave. In a niche in the dirt wall, there is a secret object. See what it is. Hold it. Listen to it. The dirt room becomes a tunnel becomes a portal to the outside. You follow the light that leads you out of the ground. (Pause.)

You break ground, and as you leave the earth, your body begins to get lighter. With each breath, you rise higher and higher and higher, until you are in the sky, floating like a cloud.

Imagine your consciousness dissolving so that you are aware that the thoughts you are thinking are of you and not of you. Imagine yourself connected to sources inside of you and outside of you. Imagine any resistance to the idea that you are actually part of everything and everything is part of you; fade away. You are actually everything, and everything is part of you.

The more everything you become, the more nothing you become. You are actually nothing, and nothing is actually you. Both things are true. The more this is true, the more true you are. As you allow yourself to become very, very still, notice any new awareness you have. Keep breathing. Keep filling your lungs with air. (Pause.)

Your consciousness slowly leaves the sky, you slowly rise through the atmosphere and into deep space. You see stars, and nebulae, and planets. You see the sun, the moon, and realize that just as you are a part of yourself, just as you are a part of earth, just as you are a part of the sky, you are also a part of space. You slowly allow yourself to dissolve. You see yourself, and all your thoughts and your actions and your pain and suffering and love, turn into the tiniest particles of matter and float away.

A gentle sense of calm washes over you. Tell your subconscious that after you wake up, any downloads, any messages will be enacted in your life following this dark moon period. Thank everything for showing you nothingness. Thank nothingness for showing you everything.

Take three deep breaths. Count backward from thirteen. Open your eyes, stretch your body, come back to yourself.

Death Doula Tarot Card Pull

This tarot pull is designed to help you facilitate, name, and enact the parts of the process that create room for the transformational qualities of death. Give yourself at least forty-five minutes to do this spread and process it.

You will need: a tarot deck, a notebook, and a pen.

Get into a cozy position in a quiet area. Take some slow and calming breaths. You may wish to shuffle between each card pull, or just shuffle once for as long as you like and then pull all the cards one after another. Place all the cards in a row.

Card 1: What needs to leave.

Card 2: What the resistance or grief is around.

Card 3: How to work with that resistance or grief.

Card 4: What spirit wants to tell you; another perspective.

Card 5: The healing that waits on the other side.

Journaling Prompts for the Dark Moon

What have been my major accomplishments this season or lunar cycle?

What is my pain teaching me?

How can I change my relationship to pain and suffering?

What is dying in my life? What will this death clear out space for, in the future?

What must I surrender?

How do I deal with transitions?

How do I stay hopeful in the dark?

Who am I ready to be now?

What is the work of my life about?

What are the major themes, patterns, and energies of my life?

What are my wildest, most exciting dreams for my future?

What are my wildest, most exciting dreams for the collective?