A Might-do List for the Quarter Moons

Observing lunar time is one way of inviting a practice of ebb and flow into your healing work.

For those of us our raised in cultures and under institutional systems where our time and how we should “spend” it is often defined for us and not by us. So when we step purposely into healing work, at some point we find ourselves reassessing our time and all the ways that time can be measured and experienced. For me, the Moon offers an energetic pattern and mythological model that I find helpful when it comes to reconnecting to the sacredness of time (instead of its commodification), which is one of the reasons I’ve been writing a whole series on what you might (or might-not) do for the different phases of the Moon.

Having already offered might-do lists for the Full Moon and the New Moon, I wanted to turn our focus towards the Quarter Moons - the halfway points between energetics heights and depths of the lunar cycle.

The Quarter Moons, also known as Half Moons, are periods of balance tipping towards a period of expansion or increase with the growing or Waxing Quarter Moon or a time of retraction or decrease with the shrinking or Waning Quarter Moon.

The Waxing Quarter Moon, also known as the First Quarter Moon, marks a point of balance between what has been and what shall be. Momentum, disentanglement, vitality, and harmonization are key energies of the Waxing Quarter Moon.

The Waning Quarter Moon, also known as the Last Quarter Moon, offers us a time to shed, fall back, and sort out which seeds we're interested in planting, if not just quite yet. Change, reassessment, release, balance, and decluttering are all key energies of the Waning Quarter Moon.

With all that to explore, let's see what we might do (or might-not do, no pressure, it’s your time to experience) for our Quarter Moon celebrations.

image via @jannerboy62

Connect with the Elementals

I'm not entirely sure when or why I began associating the Quarter Moon with four element work and specifically working the spirits known as elementals, but it is a practice that has stuck with me through the years. The elementals or undines, salamanders, gnomes, and sylphs are part of European magickal and alchemical lore codified during the Renaissance, in part by German physician and alchemist Paracelsus, but with older folkloric roots. Of course, the idea of elemental beings is not isolated to European lore and you'll find stories of these types of creatures throughout the world - it can be a rewarding practice to seek out these elemental energy within your cultural and spiritual traditions if you’re not familiar with them already.

As a time of balance leaning either into expansion or retraction, the Quarter Moons can be an auspicious time to either call in more or release excess element-based energy by working with the elementals. If, for example, you've been trying to draw in more watery energy to you, such as for intuitive work, you might choose a Waxing Quarter Moon in a water sign such as Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces to help call in intuitive, watery energy through the mediating help of the undines. Alternatively, if you're dealing with too much fire energy in your life, you can work with the salamanders on a Waning Quarter Moon in a fire sign (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) where you offer them your excess fire energy, which they will be happy to accept. 

Practice Magnetizing Magick

The energy of the Waxing Quarter Moon is one of pulling towards and filling up. We can connect to this current of magick through magnetizing our practice to draw towards us of what we are seeking during any given lunar cycle. We might be in the midst of a long-term act of change, needing to draw courage to help us manifest who we are becoming. Other times we might need a quick bit of magnetic magick, drawing towards us opportunities and resources that we need as soon as possible. Within our communities, the Waxing Quarter Moon is a time for groups to act out big visions of what is possible, helping us all to bring in and anchor hope, and magnetizing our visions to draw in what is needed for the work.

Brew Recipes & Create Charms of Balance

Holding space between light and dark, the Quarter Moons are an auspicious time to make herbal recipes that help to bring us into a state of nourished homeostasis. Charms for balance, whether balancing energy, boundaries or whatever requires a steady balance in your life, can be made at either of the Quarter Moons. You might even draw the balancing energy of the Quarter Moons into the rest of your life through creating your own oracle of care to help remind you what it is that helps you feel centered.

image via @linalitvina

Rituals of Release

Whether walking a Moon Path (see below) or not, the Waning Quarter Moon is a time to release, let go, and sort out what seeds, ideas or dreams want to keep a hold of, and what we want to pass on for someone else to flourish with. Rituals to release regret, shame, sorrow, old identities and ideas, old pain and trauma, are all auspicious during the Waning Quarter Moon (and can be tied into any therapeutic support you've been receiving, such as supporting breakthroughs in therapy with ritual). If you need some divinatory support to better understand what needs releasing so that you can embrace your magickal gifts, come this way.

Get Rooted

Whether with the inward drawing energy of the Waning Quarter Moon or the expanding outward energy of the Waxing Quarter Moon, the Quarter Moon period is a wonderful time to practice grounding and centering magick. Living in times of hyperconnectivity and profound social noise, it can be increasingly challenging to slow down and get centered. Working with the phases of the Moon and the ebb and flow of lunar energy is a way to feel supported in our effort, connecting to an energy greater than our own to help us feel balanced. If you're feeling stretched too thin and pulled in too many directions, consider working with the energy of the Waning Quarter Moon. If you're feeling like you're struggling to stay strong and steady within yourself, consider working with the energy of the Waxing Quarter Moon.

Strengthen Your Resolve

By the growing light of the Waxing Quarter Moon we can practice rituals to help us strengthen our resolve, focus our willpower, and call in the allies needed to help us find whatever it is that we're seeking - from new job opportunities to like-minded friends to the courage to make a much needed change in our life. As the Moon waxes, so does your resolve, culminating in the vibrant energy of the Full Moon. As the Moon wanes, let it carry away doubt and fear, the New Moon carrying you forward with growing momentum.

Find Your Balance with Breathwork

One of the most effective ways that I know to find balance is through breathwork. Breathwork is free to practice and doesn't require any fancy equipment, and can be used at any time and in any place. With the balanced ebb and flow of energy present at the Quarter Moons, breathwork can be a powerful way to connect with your own sense of balance. You can find resources for your breathwork practice over here.

image via @oandersonrian

Tend to Your Tenderness

One of the ways that we can take care of those tender parts of ourselves is by taking time to pull our energy back from all the places it has gone wandering. Shedding layers of expectation, we can hold, with gentleness and care, those tender parts of ourselves that don't always get the space to just be soft. One of the mythological images of the Waning Quarter Moon that you'll find in modern Goddess spirituality spaces (though it is based on fragments of much older traditions), is the Waning Moon as the Goddess pulling her veil or blanket around her shoulders and head, retreating from the bright attention and needs of the world, to dwell a bit in the quiet dark. I love connecting to this mythological current of energy, drawing a protective mantle around my own energy, so that I can feel safe enough to spend time in my tenderness, instead of constantly trying to keep up with impossible demands of "toughing it out" under social and institutional systems not built for human scale. Plant allies like Milky Oat (Avena sativa) and Linden (Tilia x europaea) can be useful guides to work with if you're seeking extra support for your tender self.

Cast a Moon Path

Starting on the day of the Quarter Moon, there are about 8 to 9 days to either the New Moon, in the case of starting on the Waning Quarter Moon, or to the Full Moon if you're starting on the Waxing Quarter Moon. These days (or nights) of practice are an opportunity for Moon Path rituals, where you time your ritual to the increase or decrease of the Moon's light. If you're wanting to bring something into your life, something which requires effort and attention, a Moon Path ritual starting on the night of the Waxing Quarter Moon and culminating on the Full Moon can be a powerful act of magick. For something that you're wanting to release from your life, walking a multi-night lunar path into the dark to emerge again at the New Moon can be deeply healing.

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Do you have a lunar practice for the Quarter Moons? If you’re looking for more Moon-inspired might-do lists, I’ve written ones for the Full Moon and the New Moon. For more Quarter Moon practices, you can explore my simple rituals and healing practices for the Waxing Quarter Moon and the Waning Quarter Moon. If you’re looking for my full collection of post about the Moon (there’s a lot!), check out the Moon Studies section of my Astroherbology archive. If you’re looking for my might-do series on the sabbats, here you go.

And for those looking for a deep dive into the world of lunar healing work, come this way.

Friends, I hope that you found something useful for your own monthly practices, and that you find your unique balance and rhythm that helps you feel at home in your life.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

Manifesting : The Waxing Quarter Moon in Capricorn

In the Lunar Apothecary we explore our relationship to both celestial and terrestrial cycles, including the phases of the Moon. 

As part of your inexpensive and in-depth year-long membership in the Lunar Apothecary, I send out bi-monthly newsletters exploring the upcoming cycles of the Moon as well as herbal practice and plant allies (all of this is in addition to your monthly study guides). If you're ready to deepen your herbal practice and study both the medicinal and magickal powers of traditional western herbal healing and the exciting world of astroherbology, you're invited to join our starry-hearted circle. I am also pleased to announce that payment plans are available for Lunar Apothecary memberships to those who are in financial need - find out more!

The following blog is a sneak peak from one of my latest Moonlight newsletters - enjoy!

It is one of my most favorite times of year, dear Lunas! It is nearing the season of Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere and in my own town we've finally had a slight break in the heat (I might even wear a sweater!). But as the Witch's New Year approaches I focus on living in a way that I want to live in the next year - a bit of manifestation magick! If I want my next year to be full of rest and time outside, for example, I might plan a camping trip or regular outdoor excursions during this time period for a bit of forest bathing. Generally, this is the time of year that I make sure to gather together with family and friends - especially those that live far away. It is a practice of how I want to live my life in the year to come (a mix of restorative retreats and joyful gatherings) and as well as working some manifesting or like-attracts-like magick.

bagby hot springs - photo by author

A question that I ask my clients (and myself!) a lot when they come to me for a wellness consultation is not just "What feels out-of-balance right now?" but "What do you want to feel going forward?"

It can be very easy to focus on everything that feels out of sorts, wrong or just plain crappy (or maybe fancy crappy if it's been that sort of year). While I don't believe that having "negative" thoughts will only manifest negativity in your life (that can lead to blaming and shaming of victims of trauma and further traumatization), I do know that our emotions and thoughts have a physical impact on our wellbeing. If you're interested in the current scientific explorations about the connection between our emotional and physical wellbeing check out the fascinating field of psychoneuroimmunology. As herbalists we've known about these interconnections for quite some time because herbs work in an interconnected way in our bodies. It is no surprise, for example, that many herbs that relieve digestive complaints are also fantastic nervines as so often indigestion can result from stress or bring on stress (usually a combination of both). Recognizing the inherent interconnections between our body and our environment, we begin to return home to ourselves.

Much of the energy of Capricorn is about coming home, but coming home in unexpected ways.

So when I ask folks "What do you want to feel moving forward?" it is not uncommon for them not to have an answer or to find the question very challenging. Feeling well and whole is feeling at home, so when we lose that feeling of wellness and wholeness it can be very easy to lose sight of where home is and how to get back there. Often what has worked for us before either no longer works or we've forgotten what has felt like home to us before. When we ask, and more importantly answer, the question of what we want to feel we begin to reconnect to our inner compass that will help guide us back to ourselves. It can be really friggin' hard work, Lunas, but I know that many of you know that already. It is still work that needs to done and it is so rewarding in the long run.

bagby hot springs - photo taken by author

What do you want to feel moving forward, Luna?

There is no one answer to this question and that is important to remember. I know that for some folks they want to feel "happy" whatever that might look for them, but I often find that first folks want to or need to feel really, truly, uninhibitedly sad or angry or wild first. Because it is acceptable to feel happy and to want to feel happy - but that is what is expected and we're dealing with the unexpected homecoming energies of Capricorn. Sometimes we need to feel angry and rage a bit in the process of coming home. Want it, Luna. Sometimes we need to grieve and let our heart break open. Call it to you, Luna. Be honest, be accountable, find what you want and to heck with the expectations of others and dominant cultural narratives that don't align with your values. Work your magick, Luna.

In the process, invite in green allies who help you connect with what you want by supporting strength and wholeness in all parts of your selves. It is not just Capricorn but all of the signs of earth that deal with concepts and experiences of home. I recently wrote about a Virgo herb, Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and the type of person that it best serves (Virgo is particularly good with coming home to community and healing spaces).

Fennel is not only excellent at offering aid to those folks who not only experience digestive complaints stemming from a dried-out digestive system, but also for folks who are stressed-out worriers who lack a sense of security in the world.

Fennel folk struggle to feel like they can move freely through their day and that there are too many restrictions placed on them (whether self-imposed, inflicted by relationships or a combination thereof). Fennel folks begin to forget things that they need to do, adding to their feeling of playing catch-up all the time. Fennel will help them to take stock of the stressors in their lives, release it, and digest their emotions instead of stuffing them down. They will learn how to find the core of their need and truth under the layers of worry, stress, and anxieties. Fennel helps to bring us home to ourselves by simply holding up a mirror to who we are and letting us see ourselves.

We have spoken about homecoming before in the Lunar Apothecary, dear Lunas, and we will continue to do so as it is such a central component of herbal healing. What herb will help you to come home to yourself and manifest that which you want to feel in the world? Be sure to check out the Waxing Moon in Capricorn Ritual and Recipe which are all about manifestation for help and inspiration in calling your desire to you (both are available in the Lunar Apothecary). Find your remedy, Luna.

Ready for more herbal healing + magick in your life?
Heck yeah!

Be sure to check out the rest of my Astroherbology series including other samples from my Lunar Apothecary Moonlight newsletters. In the meantime, clever ones, I wish you well in all your manifestations, co-creations, delicious destructions, and the wild-hearted way you bring wisdom to the world. ❤

Moonpath: Week 1

The people who say you are not facing reality actually mean that you are not facing their idea of reality. Reality is above all else a variable. With a firm enough commitment, you can sometimes create a reality which did not exist before.

Margaret Halsey

Welcome to our first week of Moonpath! For the full details of why I'm doing Moonpath and how it works, come this way, but mostly all you need to know is each Monday you are invited to the following:

• Prioritize your 1 - 3 herbal study + practice goals for the week.
• Pursue these 1 - 3 herbal study goals by choosing what you will do to accomplish them. Then do them!
• Make Pleasure in your practice.

Check out tips for success on our original post!

Our inspiration for this week is inspired by Halsey's quote above and the name of our very adventure - Moonpath! Halsey's quote points out a key component of pursuing a path of study, a path of life, a path of enchantment that reflects what you love and believe in - that reality is malleable and we have a central roll in shaping it. So what does this have to do with the meaning behind the name Moonpath? I'm glad you asked!

The Moon is a changeling in the sky - but only because we perceive her to be so. Even though we know that the Moon is a rock that maintains its general shape night after night, our perception of her changing and the waxing and waning of her light, holds power for many of us. It represents change as a dependable constant and the ability to shed and reshape ourselves and our world as we need to. The Moon can represent renewal, trying again, and learning to ebb and flow. I think that is powerful, reality-shifting magick.

So how are you walking your Moonpath this week? Post your goals below!

Today the Moon is in its Waxing Quarter phase in the sign of Taurus.
She is visiting the Third Lunar Mansion.
Sustainable success + pleasure are her energies.
Want to learn more?

Fires of Peace : Waxing Quarter Moon in Aries

May we know peace between one another. May we find peace when we return from the streets, marching against systems of power that do not value the lives of people or plants or sacred places. May we find peace as we walk away from cruelty into the arms of compassion. May we find peace as we study our privileges and oppressions, recognizing how damn complex it all is, and yet how simple - that we must find peace between each other. May we find peace after our anger is spent, after our joy has expanded beyond the limits of our consciousness, after we wash off another day of surviving, another day of thriving. May there be peace at the bottom of every tea cup. May our hearts fall madly, deeply, wildly in love with peace.

May you always know Peace, blessed friend.
And when Peace is lost, may you find it again.
And when Peace is forgotten, may you always remember.
And when the day comes that Peace is the face of all we meet,
may you recognize it as a familiar, a friend, a lover.

In wild community,
Alexis J. Cunningfolk