Some believe the moon is a piece of earth itself, flung into space by the speed at which the earth was spinning. Others find the moon to be born by the earth rather than of it, as various other debris collided in its creation. Most often, the moon is considered to be from some other part of space and simply found itself drawn into the earth’s orbit. We still do not know the true origin of the moon which in a beautiful, mysterious way leaves more than enough room for magic.

Commonly referred to using she/her pronouns, the moon has occupied the stories of nearly every culture due to her divine feminine magic. Naturally there are some cultures that embrace the moon as a man, including the Maori myth explaining he is every woman’s husband and responsible for womankind’s fertility. Modern perspectives might find this concept somewhere between sexist and heteronormative, but it’s just another story connecting the moon to the power of femininity. Some stories stray from gendering the moon altogether, from Siberia’s tale of Alklha the black-winged monster who feeds on the moon, to the Native American legend explaining the moon was captured by a hostile tribe. Still, these stories imply this celestial being attracts magic beyond the earth. 

As the number of people studying astrology increases, the moon has returned to the focus of a population that believes in magic again. How does earth’s closest neighbor touch humans in invisible ways? How can we send a message back?

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Lets transcend from the idea of the moon being our emotions, which are only an experience, and instead imagine our entire emotional selves. The difference is theoretical but, in my experience, so crucial.

The moon connects mostly with this middle layer of us. Although this isn’t exactly astrology but rather my preferred perspective, you could visualize the outer layer like the earth, the middle like the moon, and the inner like the rest of the solar system. We live here on earth, where we can see and touch everything around us. We can’t touch the moon, but since the very beginning we’ve watched the phases of the moon from down here. The solar system is untouchable and invisible to us from this distance, but we know it is there and we know it impacts us. The same goes for our layers. Since we’re here to figure out what magic comes from the moon and how we can use it, we’ll be focusing on our inner layer, this visible and untouchable part of human beings.

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Phases & Signs of the Moon

The moon phases and zodiac signs of the moon indicate how the moon’s energy affects everything. Although this common knowledge of astrologers, with eight phases and twelve signs we’re given ninety-six passing energies to try and understand. In my studies of astrology, I find a formulaic perspective can help you figure it out as you go. Every day and night, the moon offers us a better understanding of the world through phase + sign = emotional self.

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You can use references like these to fill in the left side of the equation, but how do you determine the right? It’s not as hard as it seems.

I’m writing this under a full moon in Aries. Full moons are exactly like they look, a fulfillment of energy and a time for gratitude. Aries is the sign of ambitious independence, inspiring self-confidence and meaningful creations. Aries is a sign that struggles with the mindfulness that encourages acting slowly and wisely. These are only the strokes, can you see the whole painting yet?

During a full moon in Aries, don’t mistake your confidence for arrogance. Embrace the desire to celebrate your achievements, whether that means treating yourself or taking your passion to the next level. Remember that full moons aren’t about manifesting as much as letting go. In this case, let go of the long days and various obstacles you had in order to appreciate where you are now. This is not a great time for confronting others, rushing yourself, or creating long-term goals. This is a great time for shameless self-promotion, hosting a fun kickback, or submitting your art in a competition. Imagine that you are a fearless child and interact with the world around you through those eyes.

I believe you are capable of understanding any moon using these resources and my example, but I’ve decided to write a simple analysis for each combination anyways!

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The Energy Behind Each Moon

ARIES ♈︎

☾ On a New Moon in Aries: Do that thing you’ve been too scared to do. Don’t attempt to create any new routines.

On a Waning Crescent in Aries: Admit to yourself the truth you don’t want to accept. Avoid acting on this newly accepted truth.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Aries: Forgive yourself for anything you regret so that you can trust yourself during new choices. Forget about unsatisfactory endings that randomly invade your thoughts.

On a Waning Gibbous in Aries: Help another person learn how to achieve something you’re successful at. Help yourself by releasing anything that drains you, whether a person to a project.

☾ On a Full Moon in Aries: [Mentioned Above]

On a Waxing Gibbous in Aries: Review your work with fresh eyes, be willing to totally reimagine it. Remember to slow down and take your time in all that you do, from talking a walk to spending hours on one artwork.

☾ On a First Quarter in Aries: Trust your intuition by choosing what naturally occurs in your mind. Take time to listen and care for others, no matter how long they need from you.

On a Waxing Crescent in Aries: Plan, in detail, a new project even if you might not finish it anytime soon. Practice patience with yourself by not immediately telling others what you’re working on.

TAURUS ♉︎

☾ On a New Moon in Taurus: Incorporate a new routine that helps you stay grounded emotionally. Invest your time in environments and people that don’t rush you.

On a Waning Crescent in Taurus: Give into your need for relaxation, whether that means laying in bed all day or meditating with the trees. Give up your desire to convince another person of your perspective in order to preserve your confidence.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Taurus: Laugh at your past mistakes in order to make room for future mindfulness. Let go of your unintentional, harmful habits. 

On a Waning Gibbous in Taurus: Provide another person with support, even if you’re just sitting in the present moment with them. Perceive everyone, regardless of their personal beliefs, as someone deserving of love.

☾ On a Full Moon in Taurus: Appreciate the routines you’ve managed to keep which add to your success. Acknowledge the difference between immediate success and intentional success.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Taurus: Force yourself to do something you wouldn’t normally, like going to the gym or getting a professional massage. Find out when and why you sometimes give more of your time to others than yourself.

☾ On a First Quarter in Taurus: Decide that saying no to yourself can be unhealthy, then say yes to something you’ve been wanting. Discover which habit has been taking away from your ability to reach your full potential. 

On a Waxing Crescent in Taurus: Be present in every moment, no daydreams or planning ahead, so that you can see how each moment leads to the next. Be open-minded about your skills so you can practice them without ego.

GEMINI ♊︎

☾ On a New Moon in Gemini: Get out of the house and go to a new coffee shop or hang out with a new friend. Give yourself time to respond mindfully to challenging conversations.

On a Waning Crescent in Gemini: Survive difficult experiences by expressing what makes them difficult for you. Surrender to the inevitability of platonic and romantic relationships ending.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Gemini: Make peace with your overthinking by laughing at it as it passes by. Mend your habit of overthinking by accepting how unpredictable human connections are.

On a Waning Gibbous in Gemini: Listen to a stranger or new friend talk and reply mostly with more questions. Love yourself more by cleaning your room so positive energy can easily flow through.

☾ On a Full Moon in Gemini: Express gratitude for your friends. Encourage yourself to reiterate your boundaries regardless of how others react.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Gemini: Spend time being with another person in silence so you can see all the other forms of communicating. Save yourself from overstimulation by creating spaces to work peacefully.

☾ On a First Quarter in Gemini: Teach yourself how to say what you mean regardless of if you’re in a social or professional environment. Teach others how to speak kindly to you if they say things that limit your joy.

On a Waxing Crescent in Gemini: Meet new people without any expectations of your future relationship to them. Make sure your words are intentional, even in unexpected arguments or disagreements.

CANCER ♋︎

☾ On a New Moon in Cancer: Spend time with people who make you feel safe in your authenticity. Save yourself from future pain by letting go of poor emotional cycles. 

On a Waning Crescent in Cancer: Accept the past for exactly what it was without letting it dictate your present actions. Avoid dismissing your intuition just because you feel it during an emotional time.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Cancer: Forgive your family for not always being what you think a family should be. Forget about any perspectives that values logic over emotion.

On a Waning Gibbous in Cancer: Ask your parents, siblings, or distant relatives how you can help them. Attempt to put your feelings in a diary without sharing them on the internet or aloud.

☾ On a Full Moon in Cancer: Value your home for being a space that you can exist unfiltered. Visit a place you’ve never been to practice not dwelling on what you miss about the past.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Cancer: Redefine the word family through creating a chosen family. Remember that the past isn’t a fact but rather the sum of our emotions.

☾ On a First Quarter in Cancer: Rearrange a room in your house that doesn’t feel right anymore. Revisit healthy coping mechanisms for unhealthy emotional patterns.

On a Waxing Crescent in Cancer: Go grocery shopping for foods that make you feel good, both healthy ones and guilty pleasures. Get rid of momentos you’ve kept of your exes.

LEO ♌︎

☾ On a New Moon in Leo: Create new content in a new style that best expresses the new version of you. Cast aside your insecurities and the ways in which they keep you from evolving.

On a Waning Crescent in Leo: Take yourself on a date to your favorite restaurant, pretending that you’re a main character of a movie during the transformative montage. Take clothes you never wear anymore to a thrift store as donations.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Leo: Forgive old mindset that encouraged you to fit in. Find who you would be if no one was watching.

On a Waning Gibbous in Leo: Encourage your friends to embrace themselves by complimenting their most unique qualities. Engage in that same process with yourself through the mirror.

☾ On a Full Moon in Leo: Look at the style of your art and how it has changed over time. Listen to your intuition about uninspiring people, places, and things.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Leo: Allow yourself to grow into leadership roles rather than demanding yourself to fit into them. Alleviate stress by not paying attention to the details for a while.

☾ On a First Quarter in Leo: Spend an entire day deciding what you’re going to do in each moment. Satisfy your craving for validation by sharing artwork you’re proud of or a selfie you like.

On a Waxing Crescent in Leo: Go shopping for clothes that you like even if they aren’t trendy. Get rid of uninspiring home decor.

VIRGO ♍︎

☾ On a New Moon in Virgo: Attempt a bullet journal or a planner and see if it can help you stay structured. Accept that your perspective or advice is just an option, and someone could do fine without it.

On a Waning Crescent in Virgo: Reflect mindfully on what you put into your body and how it affects you. Release disappointing outcomes of your work and other people’s opinions of it.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Virgo: Edit or remake an old piece of writing or artwork. Expect nothing and appreciate the practice when working with a client or going into a job interview.

On a Waning Gibbous in Virgo: Offer a helping hand to someone who is having a hard time focusing on their work or chores. Open yourself up to receiving advice, even if you didn’t ask for it.

☾ On a Full Moon in Virgo: Celebrate your grades, job performance, or passion regardless of if you met your own expectations. Cope with unmet expectations by purposefully making imperfect art.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Virgo: Organize your office, computer, or desk in ways that maximize your efficiency. Obey the desire for a break when it comes, even if you’re in the middle of working.

☾ On a First Quarter in Virgo: Work on the hardest task you need to achieve for the day first, then work your way backwards. Write a list of qualities you appreciate in yourself and put it somewhere you can see it every day.

On a Waxing Crescent in Virgo: Try doing a task in a completely different way than you normally do it, just to see what happens. Take ownership of your need to relax between tasks.

LIBRA ♎︎

☾ On a New Moon in Libra: Meditate and visualize yourself living life years from now for manifestation purposes. Make conversation with your future self whenever you feel discouraged.

On a Waning Crescent in Libra: Consider what made your most valuable friendships so successful. Consider your toxic patterns that ended previous friendships.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Libra: Embrace a culture you’re not familiar with as a way of connection with the collective consciousness. Engage in meaningful conversations about how you can treat yourself and others in mindful ways.

On a Waning Gibbous in Libra: Confide in others about your feelings, even if your feelings may change. Correct yourself when you wrongfully assume something about someone.

☾ On a Full Moon in Libra: Define beauty without referencing physical appearance or material items. Defend the world when you have cynical thoughts about it.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Libra: Do something that makes you feel more beautiful, externally or internally. Don’t make a decision until it really feels like your unfiltered decision.

☾ On a First Quarter in Libra: Have a difficult conversation you’ve been procrastinating on. Hold a stuffed animal or your pet in your arms when you fall asleep.

On a Waxing Crescent in Libra: Speak up for what you believe in even if you’re scared. Stand your ground when someone disagrees with you.

SCORPIO ♏︎

☾ On a New Moon in Scorpio: Be honest with your romantic interest about what you’re looking for, even if they don’t want the same thing. Be careful around new people regardless of if your caution rubs them the wrong way.

On a Waning Crescent in Scorpio: Answer the personal questions your friends ask you honestly, accepting vulnerability as an important part of life. Avoid ruminating on the things you did with previous sexual partners and instead use those as a guideline for what you really want.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Scorpio: Forgive someone, just to practice the art of moving on. Find peace in the idea that your family may not know who you are anymore.

On a Waning Gibbous in Scorpio: If you want to learn something, give yourself all the time you need to really learn it. Initiate conversations about what you want during sex.

☾ On a Full Moon in Scorpio: Let yourself engage in a deeper conversation with a stranger. Let go of what you think you owe your family, and show up for them only when you’re emotionally capable.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Scorpio: Don’t get angry if a friend or significant other takes longer to open up than you do. Differentiate between genuine awareness and an unfair psychoanalysis.

☾ On a First Quarter in Scorpio: Work on a project that consumes you and if someone asks for your time politely reject in favor of your work. Write a poem about what aging feels like to you.

On a Waxing Crescent in Scorpio: Pay attention to your loved ones when they talk, then challenge yourself to bring up a small detail later on. Provide a shameless space in your mind to navigate all of your darkest thoughts.

SAGITTARIUS ♐︎

☾ On a New Moon in Sagittarius: Question your own philosophies to make sure they’re aligned to your truest self. Question if there is bias in the way someone teaches you something.

On a Waning Crescent in Sagittarius: Go on a long, silent hike just to let all of your thoughts pass by. Give your anxiety a second to escape, then show it the exit.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Sagittarius: Forgive yourself for any lies you let yourself believe. Find the truth and shamelessly share it.

On a Waning Gibbous in Sagittarius: Disagreements do not always need to be hostile, consider that they can sometimes be informative. Divide your time into what needs to be done and what you want to get done.

☾ On a Full Moon in Sagittarius: Read a book in your free time. Relinquish your need to understand the meaning behind life.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Sagittarius: Accept your frustration when you find it difficult to learn something. Anticipate your needs so you can make mistakes without punishing yourself.

☾ On a First Quarter in Sagittarius: Consider how beautiful it is to be challenged by life lessons. Create more opportunities to accept accountability.

On a Waxing Crescent in Sagittarius: Share your opinion without a need for it to be validated. Some people do not make enough room for you emotionally, so grant yourself the freedom to leave.

CAPRICORN ♑︎

☾ On a New Moon in Capricorn: Write a list of anything you can live without, then spend a day trying to live without those things. Work on a new perspective of your identity, a side you don’t normally share.

On a Waning Crescent in Capricorn: Read a self help book or article and see if it could improve your life. Record the details of your day in a journal as honestly and vulnerably as you can.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Capricorn: Solve a problem without asking for help or opinions. Set your phone to do not disturb when you don’t feel like talking.

On a Waning Gibbous in Capricorn: Help a friend get one step closer to accomplishing their passion. Hangout somewhere that no one will find you while you’re working.

☾ On a Full Moon in Capricorn: Memorize the feeling of accomplishing a goal so you can focus on that when new obstacles appear. Make the most of structuring your goals, even if you normally prefer to wing it.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Capricorn: If working on something begins to frustrate you, stop what you’re doing and go for a walk. Imagine that the entire world takes a break each time you do.

☾ On a First Quarter in Capricorn: Even if you already have a method, try a new strategy for accomplishing a task that might help you accomplish it faster. Energize yourself by creating a list of one thing you’d like to accomplish each year for the next ten years.

On a Waxing Crescent in Capricorn: Force yourself to give up a guilty pleasure for a while. Figure out if your unproductive habits provide pleasure or not.

AQUARIUS ♒︎

☾ On a New Moon in Aquarius: Ask everyone you talk to in a day a question you’ve never asked them before. Attend a volunteer opportunity.

On a Waning Crescent in Aquarius: Without judgement, spend time with someone very different from you. Write a journal entry about your day using only the feelings you had during it.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Aquarius: Imagine your ideal word either by drawing it or writing a story about it. Incite change in others by asking them how they decided what they believe in.

On a Waning Gibbous in Aquarius: Put together an event about a social issue that you’re passionate about, even if it’s just an open conversation. Prepare yourself for possibly changing your mind about something you believe in.

☾ On a Full Moon in Aquarius: Reflect on how you successfully and unsuccessfully spread awareness about a social issue. Rework your methods on persuasion to incorporate more compassion.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Aquarius: Do something that feels fulfilling to your sense of purpose. Don’t interrupt someone sharing an idea, even if you don’t agree with them.

☾ On a First Quarter in Aquarius: Watch a movie from a genre you don’t normally like. Write a list of ways you’d make the movie better.

On a Waxing Crescent in Aquarius: Invest something that doesn’t exist but could benefit almost everyone. Invite people from different circles of your life to meet one another.

PISCES ♓︎

☾ On a New Moon in Pisces: Write a poem or a song about a feeling that won’t go away. Wish for something on a shooting star or by tossing a coin into a fountain.

On a Waning Crescent in Pisces: Keep a dream journal and look up the meaning of your dreams. Kick a ball around in a field, pretending you’re still eight years old.

☾ On a Last Quarter in Pisces: Meditate on your regrets and forgive yourself for them one by one. Make a bubble bath and soak it in without your phone, a book, or any distractions.

On a Waning Gibbous in Pisces: Bring up a spiritual perspective during a boring or one-dimensional conversation. Be accepting of rejection whenever your ideas are too far out for others.

☾ On a Full Moon in Pisces: Allow yourself to shamelessly daydream. Avoid overstimulating environments, even if that means staying home all day.

On a Waxing Gibbous in Pisces: Do a new form of art to understand your emotions. Don’t immediately reject someone who isn’t naturally considerate of others.

☾ On a First Quarter in Pisces: Turn on your favorite music in the car and dance to it, even at a red light where other drivers can see you. Try to connect with someone who has an entirely different perspective of life.

On a Waxing Crescent in Pisces: Create a self portrait in any medium that speaks to you. Call your best friend and tell them about your dream last night.

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How to Utilize Rituals & Spells

Now that you’ve achieved a general understanding of the meaning behind the transiting moon, how can you use them to manifest? I offered ideas for each moon, of course, but they were mostly things that can be done in our everyday reality. Ritual and spells can range from meditation to candlelit seances to manifestation jars. How do you know which one to do for which day?

I think the best way to decide is through the phases of the moon. They focus on different parts of our linear timeline. In my opinion, the phases correspond with the following times and I include the best form of magic.

Past: Waning Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, and Full Moon

• Lighting candles, writing something you wish to let go of, and burning it with the candles.
• Writing a poem about a reflection and then reciting it aloud beneath the moon.
• Time traveling to your past self through reenacting a memory.

Present: Waning Gibbous, First Quarter, and Waxing Crescent

• Meditation, focusing on the present moment as a way of transcending.
• Reciting a mantra at the same time every day.
• Placing a tarot card under your pillow in order to dream about a specific question.

Future: Last Quarter and New Moon

• Manifestation jar, where you put symbolistic trinkets into a jar and seal the lid with wax.
• Drawing or painting a visual expression of what you want, then leaving it under the moonlight.
• Saying your intentions to a cup of water, leaving it under the moonlight, then drinking it.

Magic is a personal, subjective experience. Therefore, manifestation is an occurrence that succeeds solely through your belief in it. You can create your own spells and rituals or use ones others have been successful with before. Feel free to comment your personal form of lunar magic below. At the end of the day, magic lives entirely inside us. We are the portal between the spiritual world and reality.

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Dedicated to Lukas, who (like me) has a tropical Aries moon and a sidereal Pisces moon, one of many reasons our friendship is beautiful.