Full Moon Releasing Ceremony

The full moon is a special time for spiritual ceremonies. Illuminating the earth, it amplifies our intuition and sheds light on what may usually be dark and hidden from us.

When full, the moon has completed its cycle, representing endings, closure and transformation. It is a prime time to face, bless and release anything in ourselves and our lives we wish to move on from. This could include addictions, harmful habits, painful experiences, unhealthy relationships, worries, fears, even desires we have become too attached to.

Since ritual can be a powerful catalyst for transformation, honing the light and magic of a full moon is an opportune time for releasing the old. Full moon ceremonies are a gift passed down to us from cultures that honoured its mystical power. Pagan and Native American cultures in particular understood the moon’s cycles and created rituals to receive its blessings.

An important element of Native full moon ceremonies is the practice of smudging. This is the act of burning herbs like sage, sweet grass or cedar and allowing the smoke produced to clear negative energy.

Usually in the form of a smudge stick, these herbs are bundled, tied and dried together. As the Natives often set spiritual intentions while making the sticks, they are considered a sacred tool for rituals. You can find smudge sticks at health food or new age stores. If you can’t find a smudge stick, incense is more readily available and will work well too. Sandalwood is especially good for cleansing and purifying.

I practice full moon ceremonies usually at the prime or end of a season or when a full moon coincides with a powerful date, like it did this past New Year’s Eve. I always feel lighter immediately following the ceremony, and start experiencing miracles in the area I focused on releasing within weeks.

Given tonight is a July full moon, it is a great time to reflect on the first half of the year and let any residue from negative experiences go. Here are steps I have used to perform a full moon ceremony that I trust will bring healing and blessings to you as well:

You will need:
· Pen and paper*
· Matches and candles*
· Incense* or a smudge stick*
· A deep clay or steel pot with a lid, or a fire pit, BBQ etc.
· Water to put out fire (of burning paper)
· Spiritual or relaxing music (Native American flute, meditation, etc.)
· Any spiritual symbols or pictures you wish, like a crystal, an angel or Buddha sculpture, picture of a saint – whatever resonates with you
* Always ensure candles, incense, or any fire materials are lit and contained in a safe place and manner

Ceremony Steps:
Find a place in or outside your home where you can see the full moon. Gather and set the ritual materials in this space. If you’re inside, open the windows to let in fresh air.

Set your intention for the ceremony. You can say silently or aloud, “Under the power, beauty and light of the full moon tonight, I release what no longer serves me, and allow my path to be bright.”

Start to light candles and invite sacred beings you feel connected to - God, Goddess, Great Spirit, Universal Love, angels, saints or spiritual masters - to join, guide and protect you during the ceremony. You have heaven’s help no matter what your beliefs and you are always worthy of Divine love and support.

After taking a moment to feel connected with your Divine helpers, sit down comfortably with your pen and paper.

Now think about all the things in yourself and your life you wish to release. Even if you can’t think of everything you can start by writing:

“I am ready and willing to release all patterns of negativity in my consciousness and life that no longer serve me. I thank these experiences for their lessons, and now release them with full forgiveness towards myself and others. I especially release ______.” Fill in the blanks with anything you have been struggling with or want to move on from. Even if you don’t feel ready or strong enough, trust that you have powerful, benevolent forces helping you take this step.

Close the release prayer by writing, “I now surrender all of this in exchange for wisdom, growth, and new beginnings. I let this all go for the best and highest good of all concerned.”

Put aside your paper. If you have incense or a smudge stick, you can burn it now. Start inhaling its earthy, purifying scent and allow the smoke to cleanse the energy around you. Wave the incense or smudge stick around your body and in your space, ensuring you are safe and there are no flying flames.

Once the smoke has permeated you and your space, you can keep it lightly burning in a fire-safe bowl or incense holder and put it out after the ritual.
Now, take your paper, and stand by your pot or fire pit/BBQ. Feeling willing to let go, light the paper on fire with a match and throw it in. Be sure the burning paper is contained safely in the pot or pit.

As the paper burns, know that everything you have written on it is being taken up in smoke and surrendered to heaven. Allow yourself to breathe deeply as you observe the old negative patterns turning into smoke and ashes, for purification and transmutation. Once completely burned, put out any remnants of the fire with water (you can flush it down a toilet later to completely release it).

If you’re outside, breathe in fresh air now. If inside, keep your windows open and take some deep, cleansing breaths of new air. Know that as you have released the old, you are now ready to breathe in new and fresh beginnings and blessings.
Start lighting out your candles and thank all spiritual supporters for watching over you. Place your hands together in front of your heart, and thank heaven, earth and the full moon for blessing you. Thank yourself for performing this transforming act.

Feel and enjoy your new lightness. Know that like the full moon, you are ready to shine brightly and allow your own beautiful Divine light to illuminate your path.

A Goddess Bath

Your body is a temple. It is your spirit manifest into form, and it deserves to be revered. A healing bath is just the ritual to relax and rejuvenate your body and spirit. And by adding certain natural elements, you can actually honour and uplift both.

Preparation:

Gather beautiful candles, fresh flower petals, sea salt, an essential oil of your choice, a body butter or oil and relaxation music.

Ritual:

Pour your bath with water at a comfortable level of warmth for you. Add two cupfuls of sea salt. Sea salt has been known since ancient times to cleanse negative energy in your environment and aura, as well as detoxify your body.

Add a few drops of your favourite essential oil. Rose is great to open the heart and is said to be the scent of angels. Lavender relaxes and calms, while citrus energizes and uplifts.

Play soothing music in the background and turn off your cell phone and any other distractions. For a goddess touch, add fresh flower petals to your bath and light candles around the tub. Candles and fresh flowers have forever been used in sacred ceremonies, and this is yours.

Take a few minutes to enjoy this sanctuary you have created. This is all for you. Take your time stepping into the tub and just surrender once you’re in. Allow the healing water, infused with nature’s magical gifts, to cleanse and revitalize your body and soul. Soak in your bath for 10-20 minutes before washing off.

After your bath, treat yourself to a self massage using a rich body butter or oil. Take your time massaging each part, and thank your body for all the wonderful, miraculous things it does for you every second, without any effort on your part. Appreciate and admire every part of your beautiful body.

Wrap yourself in something soft and luxurious, like a robe or silky pyjamas. Drink a glass of fresh water with a lemon slice to rehydrate and replenish, or relax with some herbal tea.

To complete the ritual, look at your glowing face in the mirror, and thank yourself for doing this ritual.

In taking the time to treat yourself to this bath, you are demonstrating self-love while honouring yourself physically and spiritually.

And there’s nothing more goddess-like than that.

Forgiveness Meditation

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the foundation for all healing. I know that I would not be able to live and love as openly as I do today had I not chosen to forgive.

When we have been hurt, abused, betrayed or feel wronged by another, we carry with us the toxins of that experience. These toxins live in us as anger, hurt, resentment and other negativity that act like an emotional and spiritual disease within us.

You cannot change what the other person did to you. But you can change the effect it’s had on you by freeing your heart, mind, spirit and body through forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean that what the other did was acceptable, but that you are willing to free yourself so you can live as openly as you were meant to. You deserve to forgive so you can be free.

Forgiveness also opens the doors to new blessings of love, abundance and opportunities. After using many powerful meditations to forgive those I needed to, I have experienced wonderful new beginnings and blessings in my life. Here is a mediation I have created to help you release the old so you may embrace the new.

I invite you to first read the meditation and then close your eyes to practice it.

Forgiveness Meditation:
Sit comfortably in a quiet space where you will not be interrupted.

Light a candle and play some soothing music.

Take a few deep, relaxing breaths. Feel your belly expand and contract as you inhale and exhale deeply.

Once you feel centered, call upon any spiritual supporters you wish to. These can be angels, a saint, or just your own higher self. Know that you are fully supported as you take this powerful step.

Now imagine yourself sitting in front of a magical pond.

With your spiritual supporters beside you, set your intention. You might say, “I am here to forgive all whom I need to forgive, so that I may be free to live my best life.”

Your spiritual supporters hand you a magical sword. Holding it you feel empowered.

Across the pond, you now see a being walking to the edge. This is first person you need to forgive. Keep breathing as you allow yourself to see this person fully.

You now see all the darkness and negativity between you and the other person. The toxins of your experience with this person have taken the form of a tube filled with darkness, which floats between you two across the pond.

See where this cord is attached to you, sucking away your energy and filling you with toxins. Perhaps it is attached to your heart, your solar plexus (the place of your personal power), your pelvic area (your sexual center), or your pelvic floor (the centre of physical safety and security).

You now look into this person’s eyes and say, “I acknowledge that you (hurt, betrayed, angered, abused, wronged) me. I have been carrying this with me and I am willing to release this for good. I now forgive and release all patterns of negativity between us in all directions of time.”

Saying this, you take your sword and cut the cord.
As you cut this cord, affirm, “I am unbound from you as you are unbound from me. I am free and I set you free. There is nothing unfinished between us now, and all karma is fully healed and balanced in all directions of time. I am free.”

Before this person leaves, you decide to take an even more empowering step. You put your hands together in front of your heart, and slightly bowing your head, you say, “Thank you for teaching me to (fill this in with what they taught you: to be more loving, honouring, respectful, kind, compassionate) towards myself and others.”

As the person bows to you and leaves, you notice the severed cord between you two drowning in the pond.

As the pond devours the cord, it transmutes it and turns it into a lotus flower.
This lotus is you: you have risen above the muddy waters of your experience with that person, and have come through pure, beautiful and untainted.

Feel your newfound freedom and lightness. Feel your mind, body, heart and spirit as light and beautiful as the lotus flower.

Now repeat this exercise with any other person you need to forgive.

After you have forgiven everyone you wish to, and especially those you need to, thank yourself for taking this empowering step on your path of happiness.

Know that there is no need to repeat any old negative patterns as you have learned your lessons with each person and have released them with full forgiveness.

As a final step, imagine yourself stepping into the magical pond, where it cleanses you of any remaining residue, and the lotus flowers infuse you with their healing energy.

After this cleansing, you sit onto a large, sturdy lily pad.

Sit here and centre yourself again. When you feel ready, open your eyes.

To ground this healing in your physical experience, drink some spring water, go for a walk in nature, or take a sea salt bath. Buy yourself some fresh cut flowers and enjoy your newfound lightness.

You are free to flourish.

Grow. Rise. Flourish.

A lotus flower rises above muddy water and flourishes. At night the flower closes and sinks under water, only to rise again and open at dawn.

With its simple beauty and innate wisdom, the lotus inspires us to grow among obstacles. It shows us that we can rise above the muddy waters of our lives and remain pure, beautiful and untainted by what we overcame. It teaches us to flourish.

I myself was almost defeated by the muddy waters of my life. My childhood was marked by every form of abuse. As a consequence, I spent my teens suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), terrible self-esteem, self-mutilation, and at times, no will to live.

It was during the darkest night my soul - my teens - that I sought professional and spiritual counsel. By Divine grace, I received the psychological support I needed to establish a foundation for healing that would become part of my life’s journey.

The counselling helped me to face and accept what happened to me without shame or guilt. Most importantly, it showed me what I was really made of: strength, wisdom and purity, and the power to rise above the traumas of my early life.

In my twenties, I have enjoyed exploring various mind-body-spirit healing practices that have helped me continue to flourish. I have learned to forgive and release that which was painful but showed me my strength, and embrace and express all the goodness, love and joy that has always been within me.

I now invite you to join me as I share with you healing rituals and practices that have helped me on my journey. Let us go within like the lotus flower to rest, reflect and replenish. And let us rise again each day, allowing our inner light to shine and inspire as we flourish.