Lunar Living
Moon clocks, rituals and folklore
Hello and a very big welcome to anyone who’s new here. So happy to have you as part of our nature tribe! If you want to weave a bit more nature into your home and live a life more wild then you’re in the right place. My newsletters have been described as ‘warm, gentle and cosy’. My hope is they will find their way to you just when you most need them.
Today we’re taking a walk on the moon side and dipping into all things related to Lunar Living. Right, let’s set off to the Moon shall we…
In the pagan Wheel of the Year we very obviously celebrate the Sun with our Seasonal festivals and Solstice and Equinox celebrations. But running alongside this solar calendar is another one - a lunar calendar, with rising and ebbing energy levels each month. And if you want to live a life more connected to the natural world and its rhythms, tuning into this cycle can be both practical and romantic.
Want to find out more? In this guide to Lunar Living we’ll be dipping into some moon folklore, understanding the phases of the moon and looking at how to embrace some lunar rituals at home.
What is Lunar Living, in a nutshell?
The basic concept of lunar living is that each month the moon grows stronger and brighter (waxes), building up in energy towards a Full Moon, then dims and quietens (wanes) towards the New Moon. It is believed that you can use the growing energy of a waxing moon to manifest something you want to happen in your life and you can use the diminishing energy of a waning moon to get rid of things in your life that you no longer need.
Following these moon phases is obviously an ancient concept; cultures all around the world have long created stories, rituals and practices around these moon cycles. Our ancestors used them to dictate when crops were planted, when ceremonies were performed and when it was time to work and time to rest. The Harvest Moon for example, was so called because it provided much needed night-time working hours for farmers to harvest crops at the end of September near the Equinox.
Did you know:
Even if you don’t follow any kind of lunar calendar, you’re probably already well aware of the strange energy that Full Moons can bring. Wolves howl at them, tides are drawn by them and birdsong is affected by them. Anecdotally, more babies are said to born during a full moon than at any other time and more accidents are also reported in hospital A&E departments.
Children are often very connected to, and aware of, the phases of the moon too. When my son was tiny he was so obsessed with the moon I actually bought him a moon clock for his room, which tells the time in moon phases rather than hours and minutes. It takes a full month to complete one cycle so it’s completely useless for leaving the house on time but there’s something very magical about it (I’ll put a link to it at the end).
Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash
Using the Moon Phases at home
How we use this ancient magic is up to us to decide. Bringing in a few soothing or inspiring rituals at various points of the month is a good way of weaving a bit of the wild energy of the moon into your home. It can also help you to tap into what’s happening in nature too. Not all of us are going to have time to track the moon’s cycles every day, but even just making a point of looking for the Full Moon each month can be a nice way of following a natural calendar and an ancient rhythm.
If you want to embrace a few lunar rituals throughout the month, here are some ideas:
New Moon (or Dark Moon)
This is a time of rest and recovery, so now could be a good time to:
Take a soothing bath
Reset and take stock of the past month
Light a candle
Say no to invites and take a moment of peace
Read and enjoy this newsletter!
Waxing Moon
Now is the time to harness the rising energy as we head towards the next Full Moon. You could:
Write a fresh to-do list
Clean your home space
Plan how you are going to achieve what you want to by the time of the Full Moon
Create / Write / Bake - do anything that harnesses the rising energy
Full Moon
This is a time of high energy and the realisation of any goals you set earlier. You could:
Welcome people into your home
Celebrate what you’ve achieved
Get outside and be active
Moon bathe / Moon gaze at the Full Moon
Learn the folk name of the Moon for that month
Waning Moon
Now is the time to let go of anything you no longer need in your life. You could:
Declutter
Say no to anything that’s been stressing you out or worrying you
Simplify your surroundings
Take gentle exercise such as walking, swimming or yoga
Moon Folklore
Fairy tales and folk lore are full of strange happenings around the time of a full moon. Werewolves, witches and worship are all linked to the moon and weatherlore is also often influenced by moon phases. Here are a few snippets of Old English Moon folklore for you:
A blue moon is a time when secrets come to light
Flowers gathered during a blue moon will bring luck and beauty
Fairies are particularly active under the light of a Full Moon
If Christmas falls on a Dark Moon, the following year's harvest will be a good one
Weather lore
Here are a few pieces of weatherlore to squirrel away until the next full moon when you can bring them out and test them. Look at the last one…
Clear Moon, Frost Soon
If the Full Moon rises pale, expect rain
If a Full Moon rises red, expect wind
A Full Moon in April brings frost
A Moon Halo predicts a storm
Two Full Moons in a calendar month bring on a flood
Folk Moon Names
There’s such a romance to the naming of each moon. Many cultures have named the moon according to the landscape and seasons around them so they offer a handy reminder of what is going on in the natural world each month. Some of my favourite folk moon names are Rose Moon, Strawberry Moon, Ice Moon, Wine Moon and of course, the Harvest Moon.
More Lunar reading
If this brief introduction has tickled your fancy, there are lots of great writers who cover this topic in more depth; Kirsty Gallagher writes about Lunar Living in a lot of detail.
On Substack I highly recommend subscribing to Will Dowd’s The Lunar Dispatch newsletter which he sends on each full moon - these are always unexpected, thought-provoking, and beautifully written.
Finally…
If you’re intrigued by the idea of a moon clock, this is what I mean.
Well, I hope you enjoyed that flight to the dark (and light) side of the moon. It was a bit outside of my usual subject matter, but I really enjoyed writing it. I’m now pondering the idea of a monthly mini-series on the moon - let me know if you’d be interested in reading that? There’s so much juicy folklore, ritual and magic to explore around each of the seasonal moons.
Have a great week,
Vicky xx
I love thinking about the moon's effect on the body...since our bodies are mostly water (we're basically oceans contained in skin), I can't help but wonder about our tides.
This was incredible, Vicky. Thank you so much for sharing! I stumbled into seasonal living through slow living, and am now finding myself entranced by lunar living. I guess it's all one and the same, at the end of the day. But I love learning about how to live based on the phases. Thank you so much for sharing.