I mentioned in my last post that moon rituals are a part of my spiritual practice, so I thought I’d show you a simple example of what one might look like! This is a ritual I’ve done several times in the past when I wanted to get rid of negative emotions. For a big chunk of last year I was feeling very chaotic and at the mercy of my feelings, and I felt like I had no control over how I felt and why. This ritual was a way for me to take back control and understand these feelings, and then to let them go.

This is a great ritual for if you’re feeling sad or angry and you don’t know why, or if you’re dealing with emotions such as jealousy or bitterness that you know are only eating you up inside. This ritual has four steps meant to guide you through the entire process of releasing your unwanted feelings, and each can be modified slightly depending on your own practice and what you have available. Let’s jump in!

You will need:

• Method of cleansing (sage, a spray, etc.)
• White tea light candle
• Paper and a writing utensil
• A quiet place to sit
• Glass of salt water

1. Cleanse.

I don’t always think cleansing is necessary before you start a ritual – who has time for that? However, it IS important for this one. We want to come to the ritual with as open and unbiased a mind as possible. This is a no-judgement zone, and in order to be able to face your emotions truthfully you can’t be coming in with a bias or strong negative feelings.

Start with yourself: cleanse your aura using sage smoke, a cleansing spray, or by taking an Epsom salt bath. Then cleanse the area you’ll be working in. It’s okay if you’re still feeling the emotions you want to release, but the idea is to disrupt the cycle of negative thoughts long enough for you to be able to think rationally about why you feel this way.

2. Reflect.

Light a white tea light candle and set it somewhere near you (but not so near that it’s a fire hazard!) I like to put mine on the windowsill or incorporate it into my altar space. We’re going to let the candle burn until it burns itself out, so be sure you put it somewhere you won’t be disturbed.

Sit down with the paper and writing utensil and focus on the unwanted emotions. When did they start? What do you think the cause is? Whatever thoughts come to mind, write ALL of them down, no matter how silly or bitter they sound. Meditate in this portion if you think it will help. Remember, we’re not here to judge ourselves: it’s okay to feel whatever it is you’re feeling in this moment, even if those feelings aren’t pretty.

Once you think you’ve gotten to the bottom of it, go even deeper. Often our emotions are a reaction to some deep problem we have that we might not even be aware of. We might be really angry at a friend for blowing us off, but that’s only because deep down we have a fear that they don’t really care about us. That deep, internal truth is what we want to get to.

3. Release.

Now that we understand the true cause of this emotion, it’s time to let it go. Fold up the paper you’re written on and completely submerge it in the salt water. As the water soaks through the paper, feel the salt purifying the deep, unwanted feelings within you. Place the glass next to your candle and observe the smoke rising from the flame. Envision your emotions rising with the smoke, being gently carried away.

The candle will burn itself out. Leave the glass of water out somewhere near a window overnight so it can be cleansed by the light of the full moon. In the morning, discard the water and the paper and remove them from your property (basically, dump the water down the drain and toss the paper in the trash.)

4. Transform.

It’s unfortunately not enough to just will our emotions away: we have to do something about them. The good news is that now that you understand where these feelings came from, you’re no longer at their mercy. You have the power to change your situation!

This last step requires that you take an action towards letting go. This action will vary depending on the nature of your emotion. If you’ve had a falling out with another person, take a step towards repairing this relationship. If the issue is entirely internal, you might want to do a tarot reading to help build yourself a game plan. If the problem is that you’re unhappy with an aspect of your own life, think about some ways you can change it. No matter how hopeless a situation may feel at the time, you are never stuck. There’s always something you can do, even something small, to change it.

And that’s my go-to full moon ritual for releasing unwanted emotions! I hope you find it useful (but I also hope you don’t have to use it as often as I did last year… I was a mess.)

How are you celebrating this full moon? Let me know in the comments! <3