Taurus New Moon: Anchoring into your Senses
As a fixed earth sign, the Taurus new moon anchors us into the changing season (spring for the Northern hemisphere and autumn for the Southern hemisphere).
The question for this new moon is clear: How deeply can you go into and be with the body? Explore ritual support to connect with your body and access the power and wisdom of your senses.
As a fixed earth sign, the Taurus new moon anchors us into the changing season (spring for the Northern hemisphere and autumn for the Southern hemisphere). It is a reminder to be with your body and the body of the earth, two sides of the same coin.
The corresponding sign for Taurus is Venus, which brings a welcomed sensual nature to the sturdiness of this sign. This new moon invites you to examine the riches of your body, senses, and the earth. Of course, what those riches are will vary from person to person.
Your body and the body of the earth are the keys to accessing the medicine of this new moon.
This is a slow and steady new moon, not one of those new moons to jump on a new project. This one is all about feeling. Maybe it is time to reorient towards something new in your life, rather than planning. Imagine what it would feel like to reorient in a new way. What would it smell, taste, look, sound, and feel like?
Keep reading for a ritual to work with the elements and your body to get your senses going.
New Moon in Taurus Themes
Themes: the body, earth, slowness, sensuality, intentional movement, embodiment, the senses, claiming or creating one's desires
Shadow themes: stubborn, unfeeling, lethargic, unresponsive
Corresponding planet: Venus
Element: Earth
Modality: Fixed
Quote: "Supremacy and oppression does not want us to slow down, connect or have space for our uncomfortable emotions to land because doing so is a threat to systems of violence." -Thérèse Cator
New Moon in Taurus Ritual Support
There are many simple ways to be with this new moon. Embodying a slow and sensual way of being while walking, eating, dancing, or taking a bath would all be excellent ways to explore its energy.
Below, I outline a malleable ritual for you. As always, please take what you like, leave the rest, and make it work for your practice.
Consider practicing this ritual with a trusted friend or lover if that sounds supportive and fun. The best time to practice this ritual is on the day of the new moon or up to two days after.
I adapted this ritual from a practice I learned from Kalah Hill.
For this ritual, you'll need the following:
A quiet and uninterrupted place to be with your body, inside or outside
A physical item representing each of the four elements (examples: feather for air, candle for fire, water for water, and food for earth, or favorite scent for air, lava stone for fire, rose for water, granite for earth)
Optional: any other items you want to explore physically or have near you for the ritual, pen/pencil, and paper
Gather your supplies and prepare your space (inside or outside), making it as cozy and comfortable as possible.
Take 5-10 minutes to be with your breath and body to allow space to arrive in the present moment.
One at a time, move through each item that you brought to work with for each element by exploring it tacitly. Tune into the item and element it represents for guidance on how it wants to be experienced or felt.
Slow way down and be playful. For example, gently and carefully move items over sensitive parts of your body like your face, neck, or the backs of your thighs. Try to spend 5-10 minutes with each item.
When you finish with each item, pause and notice how you feel and which senses were most utilized for each item. Spend a few minutes tuning into your body and breathing before moving to the following item.
Once you're finished moving through each item, tune into your body and breathe again. Notice how you feel and what sensations are arising. If you have time, lie down and be with your body for a while before moving to something else.
Consider journaling about the experience. Find some journaling prompts below.
New Moon in Taurus Journal Prompts
How does it feel to slow down and give yourself time to be with your body?
What is your relationship with pleasure? In what ways do you cultivate pleasure in your life (sexually and non-sexually)?
What kinds of sensations would you like to cultivate more of in your body?
What riches have you discovered by engaging with your senses, body, and/or the earth?
As you move through this new moon, may you be reminded of the power of your senses and your ability to cultivate pleasure within your body. See and feel it in the beauty and wisdom of the earth.
Blessed new moon!
Cassie
Deepen Your Intuition by Building a Personal Intuitive Language
If you're reading this, you likely already have a relationship with your intuition, but what happens when you're ready to go past gut feelings? So much of what's available online and in books skim the surface of what it means to be in touch with your intuition.
As global changes continue to stir and we move deeper into unknown times, having a robust relationship with your intuition will help you navigate these times.
Knowing your gut feelings is essential, but it's just the tip of the iceberg when working with your intuition. Is it time to deepen your intuition into a full-fledged intuitive language?
Working with an intuitive language is something many mediums rely on, but don't let this scare you away. You do not have to be a medium to utilize this essential intuitive skill. I've created a system to make crafting your intuitive language accessible, whether you're just getting started or already have a well-honed intuition.
If you're reading this, you likely already have a relationship with your intuition, but what happens when you're ready to go past gut feelings? So much of what's available online and in books skim the surface of what it means to be in touch with your intuition.
As global changes continue to stir and we move deeper into unknown times, having a robust relationship with your intuition will help you navigate these times.
Knowing your gut feelings is essential, but it's just the tip of the iceberg when working with your intuition. Is it time to deepen your intuition into a full-fledged intuitive language?
Working with an intuitive language is something many mediums rely on, but don't let this scare you away. You do not have to be a medium to utilize this essential intuitive skill. I've created a system to make crafting your intuitive language accessible, whether you're just getting started or already have a well-honed intuition.
In this blog, you'll learn:
What an intuitive language is
How building your own can help deepen your ability to navigate life and relationships with your guides and magical allies
How to start creating your unique, intuitive language
An example of what an intuitive language can look like in real life
Do you already know you want to go deeper and learn practices to create your intuitive language? Explore my in-depth workshop, Building an Intuitive Language in the Craft Your Own Magic Circle membership here to access the class, or grab a drop-in class pass to attend live and get the replay here.
What is an Intuitive Language?
A personal, intuitive language lets you dialogue intuitively with your spirit (higher self, oversoul, whatever term you prefer), spirit guides, magical allies, ancestors, deities, etc. But keep your mind wide open. I'm using words like "language" and "dialogue" here as metaphors. Communicating with your intuitive language will differ from chatting with your bestie.
Having an intuitive language is unlike learning French or Spanish; I can't just teach you my language. Building your intuitive language will be unique because we each receive and process intuitive information uniquely and have different associations with feelings and images. Sure, some people might have a similar language to you, but it's like a fingerprint; yours is unique.
An intuitive language enables you to go beyond binary "yes" and "no" dialogue with your intuition. While establishing a “yes” and “no” communication is an integral part of the process I lay out for you here, adding additional vocabulary is also essential.
Having an intuitive language allows you to decipher the subtleties of intuitive communication more clearly and accurately.
While building your intuitive language will help you navigate life, the goal isn't to utilize it as a spiritual vending machine. Having an intuitive language doesn't mean you'll suddenly know how to navigate every moment of life perfectly. Even with a robust, intuitive language, aspects of your life and this world will remain in flux in ways that won't allow you to gain definitive advice. Some details will always belong to the Great Mystery of life.
I'll share an example of my intuitive language later in this post, but for it to make more sense first, let's cover why you'd want to do this and how to get started creating your intuitive language.
Why Create an Intuitive Language?
Creating your unique intuitive language isn't just about gaining insights about how to navigate your life. It's about knowing yourself better and understanding the depth of variety in which intuition can express itself (in yourself and others). But it goes beyond this.
Creating a unique, intuitive language allows you to form genuine and reciprocal relationships with your closest magical and spiritual allies.
Think about some of your closest relationships, friends, family, or animal beloveds. What's your communication like with them? You probably have a deep rapport with them, perhaps even unique ways you communicate that only happen between you and that beloved.
When you focus on your ability to communicate with your spiritual and magical allies, your relationship naturally deepens.
By learning how to communicate better via intuition, you create an environment that leads to deeper relationships, creating a cyclical loop of understanding and deepening.
When you communicate intuitively regularly with your closest spiritual and magical allies, it will come naturally to you, and your ability to understand your intuition will happen more automatically.
5 Steps to Build Your Unique Intuitive Language
When building your unique intuitive language, understanding how intuition manifests in your body (subtle and physical) and how it feels is key. You might already have a great foundation with this. If so, great, skip to step two! If not, start with step one below to learn more about the "clairs".
1. Understanding your dominant "clairs"
This will give you a place to focus when learning what intuition feels like in your body. Think clairsentience (clear feeling), clairvoyance (clear seeing), clairaudience (clear hearing), etc. Check out a past blog post where I break these down in greater detail here. While the clairs aren't the only way to understand how intuitive information lands in your body, it's a great starting point.
2. Practice noticing how your intuition shows up and feels in your body
Understanding your clairs points you toward where and what to pay attention to. Practicing listening, feeling, seeing, and knowing how your intuition shows up makes sensing it more automatic. Like learning any language, understanding how these sensations arrive in your body without spending a lot of time questioning is part of the process. Think of this step as an intuitive bootcamp. At this point, what's most important is recognizing how intuition feels in your body instead of focusing on how accurate you are. Building up your accuracy comes later.
Here are some simple ways to start weaving intuitive practices into your day. Lean into your most dominant clair sense for each one.
Tune into your intuition each morning to ask for any insights or guidance for the day.
The next time you need to make a decision that won't have a long-lasting or serious consequence (like deciding which direction to walk or what to have for dinner), check in with your intuition.
Practice pulling tarot or oracle cards for yourself or others, and don't rely on the guidebook.
Tune into your intuition each night before bed to ask if there's anything you missed during your day that would be important to know.
3. Create a “yes” and “no” communication system
Once you understand what your intuition feels like in your body, start practicing a simple "yes"/"no communication system with your intuition to begin strengthening your communication muscles. I share some simple techniques for this in my book, Craft Your Own Magic, and will also share them in the Building an Intuitive Language workshop here. Essentially, you'll need to discern what an intuitive "yes" vs "no" is like in your body; again, this will be different for everyone.
4. Form relationships with your guides, ancestors, or magical allies
To practice any language, having someone or something to communicate with will be helpful. Now, it's time to build a relationship with a spirit guide, magical ally (plant, tree, crystal, etc.), God, Goddess, or ancestor. If this sounds like a big leap from step three, grab my free guided journey to connect with a spirit guide here to get started. Start practicing your "yes" and "no" communication with a being of your choice and notice how it feels in your body.
5. Incorporate an inner circle of correspondences to form your intuitive vocabulary
Moving your intuitive language beyond a "yes" and "no" system will require understanding what I call your "inner circle" of spiritual and magical allies. For some, myself included, these are the four elements and four cardinal directions. Feel free to borrow my inner circle if you're not sure what yours is yet, and don't worry; you can always change it later.
Your inner circle is the birthplace of your intuitive vocabulary. Understanding how each energy in your inner circle appears in your body creates your intuitive vocabulary. For example, suppose you're getting to know a new plant, and you receive an intuitive insight that reminds you of something in your inner circle that aligns with themes of openness and curiosity. In that case, that plant is likely sharing that its energy is one of openness and curiosity.
Apply the same intuitive communication principles in the previous steps to incorporate your inner circle of correspondences into your intuitive language.
Want more guidance? I share practices and a more in-depth look at this step in my workshop Building an Intuitive Language here, which you can also access in my membership here.
Keep reading for an example of how I utilized my intuitive language in a recent experience.
What an Intuitive Language Can Look Like in Action
Here's an example of how working with my intuitive language has been helpful recently. I sensed a need to build some quiet time to journey, a practice of spiritually traveling to different planes of existence and times. This initial nudge is what people often refer to as the gut feeling. My intuition got my attention.
Here's where my unique intuitive language starts to come into play. Leaning on my intuitive language enabled me to discern what the journey was about, so I could decide if it was something I wanted to do.
Based on the feelings in my body that I associate with the element of earth, I could tell the need to journey was rooted in something ancestral. In my practice, I associate the ancestral realms with the cardinal direction north and the earth element.
I also saw pink roses in my mind, indicating that this ancestral journey pertained to my mother line because I associate pink roses with my mother line.
I could also sense an intense fire energy around this invitation to connect with ancestors in my mother line. Coming up on a full moon in Leo, I knew fire would likely be very present, and the messages I needed to receive were likely quite intense.
Journeying on the Leo full moon felt aligned. The ancestor in my mother line made herself known immediately. What came up was intense, but I was prepared. Our work together resulted in ancestral healing on my mother line, and I began noticing shifts and changes within myself and my family members within days.
Start Building Your Intuitive Language
As the example above illustrates, building an intuitive language can make connecting with your intuition easier to understand and more approachable. Other benefits include connecting with plants and crystals, performing rituals or energy work, receiving insights from your guides, and more.
While I have dedicated years to honing my intuitive language, I did much of it alone. I do this work to help you skip over some of the trial and error I went through. How different could this world be if more people could tune into their intuition from a deeply grounded and embodied place? The potential is incredible and positive. This is why I want to see you communicating intuitively with a well-honed and robust intuitive language.
Did you find some new avenues to navigate building your intuitive language? I hope so. If you want to dig deeper, I'd love to see you in the Craft Your Own Magic Circle, where you can access this class or get the class on its own here.
Deep care,
Cassie
Reframing Energy Clearing to Claim Energetic Accountability
You know how this story goes: light up your herb of choice or grab your selenite, wave it around, and PRESTO, the energy is clear. While this narrative is standard in many spiritual and magical spaces, it lacks the nuance and know-how to really do much and can even be harmful.
So, what is energy clearing?
It's a vague phrase that means different things to people based on their practice and ancestry, so it's hard to define concisely. Many folks think of energy clearing as a technique to remove unwanted energy.
You know how this story goes: light up your herb of choice or grab your selenite, wave it around, and PRESTO, the energy is clear. While this narrative is standard in many spiritual and magical spaces, it lacks the nuance and know-how to do much and can even be harmful.
Like so much floating around in spiritual, wellness, and magical spaces, the art of energy clearing has suffered tremendously at the hands of capitalism and other harmful systems.
By commodifying such a sacred practice, we've also lost its magic and subtlety.
It's not hard to look around now and see that this plane is undergoing massive transformations. Yes, it's intense right now, but this is precisely why I want you to be aware of your energetic field and fully in your power.
Instead of stopping at "I need to clear my energy," let's mine down deeper to discover what's underneath—a call to take accountability for your energy and find the gold hidden within you.
So, What is Energy Clearing?
First, it's important to note that energy clearing varies culturally and from practice to practice. If what I share doesn't resonate with your practice, that's okay. As always, come with an open mind, take what you like, and leave the rest!
Energy clearing is a vague phrase that means different things to people based on their practice and ancestry, so it's hard to define concisely. Many folks think of energy clearing as a technique to remove unwanted energy.
I prefer the phrase energy tending or maintenance because energy clearing is nuanced and usually needs to go beyond removing energy.
Does Energy Clearing Work?
The art and practice of energy clearing is absolutely a real and powerful practice. However, the need for energy clearing is often misidentified and misused. Why?
Not every uncomfortable feeling can or should be removed from your energetic field.
Of course, this isn't always the case, but it points to the truth that the cause of our discomfort is often nuanced, layered, and personal.
Think of a time when you experienced a difficult situation only to discover it was exactly what needed to happen because it clarified something, opened a new pathway, or provided a valuable lesson.
Oftentimes, what you feel inclined to clear away is an invitation to pause and go deeper, especially if it’s a sensation you find yourself wanting to clear away regularly.
Here’s the reframe: most energetic tending is energy balancing, not clearing.
The good news: real, powerful, and transformative ways to shift, balance, transmute, and clear your energy do exist.
They're not all quick fixes, and some require training or permission, but there are many things you can do to take your energetic well-being into your own hands today.
Let's get into this.
Energy Clearing vs. Balancing
In most cases, it's not a person, place, or situation causing harm to your energy; it's your response or reaction to them.
Clearing your energy or cutting cords from your field will usually do little to nothing. A more pressing and helpful approach is addressing the imbalances in your energetic field caused by your response to other people and situations.
This doesn't mean that bad actors and harmful systems don't exist. They 100% exist and cause harm on all levels, but trying to clear them away will be a constant game of whack-a-mole.
What I'm inviting in here is energetic accountability rather than an energetic blame game.
Next time you think, "So-and-so's vibes were off, so I need to clear it away." What would it feel like to approach it like this, "Wow. I had a response to so-and-so's energy. Let me investigate that."
Maybe after investigating a response to another person, you discover a wound within yourself that doesn’t require energy clearing but requires the soothing aid of water, or the grounding safety of earth to bring you back into a place of balance. (side note: eternal perfect balance isn’t the goal either, it’s the awareness of when you’re off balance and knowing how to come back.)
This approach requires accountability, time, possibly outside support, boundaries, and honest introspection.
When you focus on taking accountability for your energy, you get to identify the parts of you that need tending, better understand your energy, and work with it in ways that allow you to claim your personal power, and not the gross power over kind, but power with.
When you prioritize being aware of your energy and balancing it, it keeps you in your power.
Any good magician or healer knows that facing their shadows is necessary for healing or transformation to occur. Attempting to clear away every uncomfortable feeling won't work and skips over potential gold within you.
When to Use Energy Clearing
You might be wondering if energy clearing has a place. It does, and it's a practice I utilize with myself and others.
Energy clearing works wonders for residual energy, the energy you pick up in busy places, or maybe an old house with a lot of sticky energy hanging around. It can also work for entity removals and exorcisms, but these are very involved practices requiring training and/or permission.
Energy clearing won't help with the habitual personal, ancestral, and societal patterns that may have deep grooves in your energetic field or the soul lessons you might need to walk through.
Keep reading to understand more about the 4 key energy maintenance concepts I lean on in my energy maintenance practice with myself and clients.
4 Key Energy Maintenance Concepts
The good news is that countless energy maintenance methods and techniques are available, and you don't have to do it alone. Maybe the tips I share here will be enough to get you started. Or, you decide to take my Reframing Energy Clearing class here or work with me or someone else one-on-one.
An energy worker or healer can bring light to these things and begin the energetic balancing process. However, experiencing long-lasting energy healing will require honest introspection, which can take time, and sometimes, multi-pronged support (this is why I stopped offering single energy work sessions). To receive lasting results from energy work (outside of the rare Mary Magdalene, Buddha, and Jesus situations) requires an in-depth and honest process.
I approach the practice of energy maintenance through the lens of the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), which provides common ground for many practices and is the lens from which I work.
Here are four key concepts to help you understand the basics of performing regular energy tending.
Assess what types of energies are present, e.g., residual, collective, personal, ancestral, etc.
Identify how each energy present best corresponds with an element (earth, air, fire, water)
Determine what approach is needed, e.g., clearing, balancing, transmuting, protecting, etc.
Build or utilize reciprocal and ethical relationships with practices to carry out the needed approach(es)
Energy Clearing is One of Many Tools
Considering these four key energy maintenance concepts, it makes sense that a simple wave of a selenite wand might not always do the trick when tending to your energy body. (Side note: this is 100% not a dig at selenite. Selenite is AMAZING, especially regarding energy work, but there are helpful steps that can make working with it more reciprocal and effective.)
The next time you reach for the herbal wand or crystal for a quick energy cleanse, pause, take a breath, and see if anything else wants your attention or if a different approach would better support you.
You deserve better than playing the energetic blame games. It's time to take full accountability for your energy, and I want to see you fully in your power.
Thank you for being here! If you enjoyed this post, share it with someone else who might enjoy it, or get in touch and let me know your thoughts. Join the Reframing Energy Clearing class here, and I’d love to see you in the Craft Your Own Magic Membership, where you’ll find monthly classes and much more.
Deep care,
Cassie
Aries New Moon: Claiming Your Power
The Aries new moon initiates us into springtime. As the earth begins to wake up, the cardinal fire sign associated with this new moon can infuse you with passion and focus that can anchor you into your deepest creative desires.
In essence, Aries energy is about your power and how you’re wielding it.
In a world where power is often violently distorted and misused, it’s only natural that you may feel a sense of trepidation about utilizing yours. This new moon is a place to explore that, too.
The Aries new moon initiates us into springtime (or Autumn, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere.). As the earth begins to wake up, the cardinal fire sign associated with this new moon can infuse you with passion and focus that can anchor you into your deepest creative desires.
In essence, Aries energy is about your power and how you’re wielding it.
In a world where power is often violently distorted and misused, it’s only natural that you may feel a sense of trepidation about utilizing yours. This new moon is a place to explore that, too.
As so many continue to see and experience the harm of mishandled power in our world, I encourage you to remember that not all power is power over, power can also be used in collaboration to support yourself and others from a place rooted in love, creativity, and justice.
Power is helpful and healing, if handled properly.
In this post, I’ll offer gentle support to navigate this energized new moon. If you’re reading this in 2025, this new moon coincides with a solar eclipse! Eclipses can be intensely illuminating. Be tender with yourself!
Aries New Moon Themes
Themes: Initiatory, active, discernment, passion, creativity, focus, courage, warrior archetype
Shadow aspects: anger, rage, destruction, violence
Element: Fire
Modality: Cardinal
Quotes: “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” -Alice Walker
“Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear and punishment.” Mahatma Gandhi
Aries New Moon Ritual Options
This ritual is aimed to help you identify where you’re currently placing your power and if you’d like it to shift, where your power is placed. New moons are a time of curiosity and openness, so this support is aimed at being curious around where your power is placed rather than taking action.
As always, take what you like and leave the rest. The ideal time to work with this new moon is the day before, the day of, or the day after the new moon.
What you’ll need:
Something to write with and on
20-60 minutes
Space to move
Optional: music, candle, oracle or tarot cards, any other items that feel connected to the themes of this new moon, and food and drink to ground post ritual
Gather your materials and create sacred space for yourself. This could involve lighting incense or a candle, getting into comfortable clothing, turning on supportive music, and/or calling in helper spirits or guides.
Spend a few minutes connecting with your breath, body, and the moon. If it feels aligned, set an intention aloud or in your mind to connect with this new moon and themes of power and action.
If you are working with a candle and have not lit it yet, do that now.
Begin by exploring the prompts below in the next section by contemplating them, journaling about them, or drawing oracle or tarot cards based on them.
After spending time with these prompts, tune into your breath, body, and the moon again. Notice if there are any shifts.
Check in to see if you feel complete in your new moon exploration or want to continue.
If you want to continue, and it feels accessible, move into the body for an intuitive movement practice to work with your relationship to power. This might look like noticing where you feel power in your body and moving with it, turning on music that helps you feel empowered to move with, gazing at your candle flame to connect and move with the element of fire.
Stay with the movement practice for as long as you’d like. When you feel complete, give yourself time to tune in with your breath, body, and this new moon again. Notice how you feel and what arises. Journal or draw if it feels supportive.
Close your practice in a way that feels good to you. This could include thanking yourself, this new moon, and any guides or helper spirits you called upon.
Eat and drink to help you ground if it feels supportive.
Aries New Moon Prompts
Enjoy these prompts for card readings or journaling:
Where are you currently focusing your power and strength?
What’s motivating your action?
What are the effects of where you’re focusing your power and strength right now?
Is the focus of your strength and power contributing to yourself, family, and community in the way you want?
Are there any ways you want to shift where you’re putting your power? If so, what might this look like for you?
As with all new moons, the sun is in the sign of Aries until mid next month to help you carry this energy through this moon cycle. Notice how your relationship with your power, and how you exert it shows up as the moon waxes towards full.
New Moon in Aquarius Visioning Ritual
Welcome to this new moon in Aquarius. A fixed air sign, Aquarius encourages radical, innovative, and authentic ways of being. This energy, paired with the new moon, invites you to explore how your most radical and authentic self wants to be honored now.
Looking at the moon’s phases holistically adds even more insight to this lunation. In the previous new moon of Capricorn, you were asked to get curious about creating structure and stability. A question to consider with the last new moon in mind is, “What does authentic expression look and feel like when moving from a place of stability?” Click to read the full post.
Welcome to this new moon in Aquarius. A fixed air sign, Aquarius encourages radical, innovative, and authentic ways of being. This energy, paired with the new moon, invites you to explore how your most radical and authentic self wants to be honored now.
Looking at the moon’s phases holistically adds even more insight to this lunation. In the previous new moon of Capricorn, you were asked to get curious about creating structure and stability. A question to consider with the last new moon in mind is, “What does authentic expression look and feel like when moving from a place of stability?”
Themes for the Aquarius New Moon
Themes: Radical thinking, innovation, authenticity, not settling, curiosity, and visioning new ways of being.
Element: Air
Modality: Fixed
Quote: “The exercise of imagination is dangerous to those who profit from the way things are because it has the power to show that the way things are is not permanent, not universal, not necessary.” -Ursula K. Le Guin
Learn more about the essence of Aquarius here.
Aquarius New Moon Visioning Ritual
The quote from Ursula K. Le Guin perfectly encapsulates the necessity of your imagination. The intention of this ritual is to encourage imaginative and innovative visioning for yourself, your family, your community, and the world to help yourself and others remember the infinite possibilities available to us all.
This is a very open-ended ritual to help you access a state of visioning. The ideal time to perform this ritual is the day before the new moon, on the new moon, or the day after the new moon.
As with any ritual, take what you like, leave what you don’t, and modify what you want to change. This is your ritual.
You’ll need:
25-60 minutes of quiet and uninterrupted time
Paper and pen
Drumming recording or music that helps you relax
Optional: herbal smoke or incense (mugwort, vervain, and lavender are great options for this ritual)
Optional: purple candle (any color will work if purple is unavailable)
Optional: a crystal that helps you feel connected to your third eye or ability to vision (amethyst, fluorite, howlite, charoite, or quartz are great options)
Steps:
Gather your materials and prepare yourself, your space, and your music. Preparing yourself and your space might involve energetically cleansing yourself and your space and casting a circle.
Determine an intention and short phrase for your new moon visioning. This could be something like, “I imagine new worlds rooted in collective care and well-being.”, “I imagine a life rooted in authenticity, creativity, joy, and care.”, or “I envision a community focused on abundance, joy, and equality.”
If you’re working with a candle, herbs, or crystals, arrange them in a way that feels good to you. If you’re unsure, ask the crystals and herbs where they want to go or how they want to be a part of your ritual. An example might be placing your candle on your altar dressed with any herbs you’re working with and the crystal in your hand.
If working with a candle, light your candle and state your intention. Ensure your candle is in a fire-proof dish in a safe space.
Turn on your steady drumbeat music and begin to settle in. Learn more about the science of drumming and reaching altered states of consciousness here. It is also fine if you prefer a different kind of relaxing music.
Sit or lie down and ground yourself. This might look like imagining roots growing from the base of your spine to connect with the earth or doing a round of box breath.
State your intention again, close your eyes, and allow the drumbeat or music to wash over you.
Focus on your third eye, perhaps even imagine it expanding or opening as you begin to vision based on your intention. Allow your mind to imagine and visualize a life, community, or world based on your intention.
Vision for as long as you like anywhere from 20-60 minutes is ideal.
When you feel ready to come to a close, slowly come back to your body by rolling to one side or placing your hands on your body. Open your eyes slowly and look around the room. I also like to have some tea and a snack ready to help me ground back into my body.
With your journal, write or draw anything that came to you in your visioning time. Consider placing a note or a drawing on your altar or sacred space for the moon cycle as a reminder to move towards this vision.
Express gratitude to any guides, plants, and crystals who assisted you in this visioning process. Release your circle if you cast one.
Bring Your Vision into Your Life and the World
It can be helpful to schedule some processing time after your visioning. As the moon moves farther into the waxing phase, consider taking some time to reflect on your visioning. Here are some questions to consider as you reflect.
What parts of your Aquarius new moon visioning that stood out to you the most?
What parts seemed unrealistic or even impossible?
What parts excited you the most?
How might you begin taking action toward some of these visions?
After the new moon in Aquarius comes the full moon in Leo. The fiery and playful energy of a full moon in Leo can help you act on your visions, even the ones that might seem far-fetched.
May this new moon in Aquarius grant you the imagination to explore what authentic expression means to you and how it might better your community and the world. Blessed be.
Why We Vigil & The Oak and Holly King
Vigil means to stay awake and keep watch in the dark. In a season dominated by darkness, the vigil invites presence. While often touted as a passive, restful season, being awake to what’s going on in the dark requires awareness; it’s also where you’ll find the richest compost.
As winter steals the sunlight, the land reacts by going silent, hibernating, and sometimes dying, reminding us to peel back hurried layers of mundane to-dos and sink deeper into the darkness. Vigil means to stay awake and keep watch in the dark. In a season dominated by darkness, the vigil invites presence. While often touted as a passive, restful season, being awake to what’s going on in the dark requires awareness; it’s also where you’ll find the richest compost.
With a candle in hand, do you see what’s ready to die within you this season, or are you prepared to sit with what’s dying in your family, community, or the world? In a primarily death-phobic society, the vigil asks us to honor the wisdom of death and dying.
A beautiful example of the need for balance in our understanding of birth and death comes through the story of the Oak King and the Holly King, two mythical land figures embodying dark and light. While no one knows the exact origins of the Oak and the Holly king, versions of their story can be found throughout Ireland, Wales, and England.
I’ll share my version of this story, adapted from several versions I’ve heard and read. I’ll also share more about vigils, their importance, and ways to reclaim this sacred practice of being awake in the face of death.
The Oak King and The Holly King
Long ago and still to this day, there were two brothers, the Oak King and the Holly King. These brothers ruled over the lands now called Ireland, Wales, and England. The Oak King brought light, warmth, growth, fertility, and abundance. He was sometimes called the green man of the forest. On the other hand, the Holly King brought darkness, cold, rest, decay, and death.
“The Oak King” and “The Holly King” by Anne Stokes
The brothers often battled, bringing light, darkness, warmth, and cold throughout the land. Over time, the people began to favor the Oak King and preferred the warm sunlight and the abundance he brought to the land and their crops. As favor grew for the Oak King, he became stronger with the help of the people, driving the Holly King farther and farther north.
Endless Summer
Eventually, the Oak King reigned throughout the land and brought what seemed like an endless summer. The people were delighted and relished the warmth and abundance of their crops. After a long time, however, they noticed their crops were not as bountiful, and the blooms of the flowers were not as bright as they once were. Not only was the land growing tired, but the people, too, were growing tired of constantly harvesting. Unsurprisingly, the Oak King himself was beginning to tire as well.
Tucked far away to the north, the Holly King noticed that his brother and the people were growing tired. He knew it was time to make his return. After over a year, on the day of the year when the sun shone the longest, the Holly King returned to the south to battle his brother. While the Oak King did battle, it was short-lived because he was so tired.
Winter Returns
The Oak King retreated into the forest to rest while the Holly King took over again. Quickly, a cold and dark winter covered the land. The land was quiet again, and the people were grateful to go into their houses around the fire to rest and tell stories. The plants were grateful to die back and return to the land to compost for another growing season.
After some months, as the nights grew longer and longer, the Oak King began to stir after his long rest. On the longest night of the year, the Oak King returned full of strength to battle his brother again. The battle took much longer, with the Oak King and the Holly King at full strength. They fought day in and day out, the days slowly getting lighter until eventually spring returned, and the Holly King began retreating north to rest again.
The Need for Balance
From then on, the brothers continued their annual battles to protect the well-being of the earth and all her creatures. The people and the brothers now understand the importance of the balance of light and dark and that both are needed to support the earth and its seasons. Still, to this day, we can celebrate the brothers at the height of their power: the Oak King on the summer solstice and the Holly King on the winter solstice, and the gifts they bring by honoring their true nature. So it is.
Why We Vigil
The story of the Oak King and the Holly King expresses the need for balance between light and dark, warmth and cold, expression and receptivity, and birth and death. None of these themes are good or bad; as the story teaches, they are all necessary to life. In our hyper-productive capitalist society, we tend to focus on the light, expression, and birth parts. So often, hiding death and dying away to focus on more, bigger, and better. The Holly King teaches us that death is necessary for life, and the holly plant that remains green-leafed throughout winter reminds us to be present with what’s dying.
With our quickly warming climate, like the people in the story, perhaps we’re also headed for an endless summer. While I don’t believe sitting vigil is the cure to human-made global warming, I do think death has much to teach us, and the best way to learn about death is to sit with it. The word vigil comes from the Latin word “awake.” Vigil goes beyond understanding that there is a need for death; it is an opportunity to honor the wisdom of death by remaining awake and aware of it.
The vigil honors the inevitability, presence, and importance of death. Sitting vigil helps us remember our seasonality, humanity, impermanence, and humility. The vigil is not the time to shame and blame based on the past or dream of the future; it calls you into the present moment. When you enter into the vigil, the time for resuscitation has ended. It is now time to surrender to the process of dying. We do not vigil to tell what’s dying how to die; we vigil to honor the death process and the magic that the Holly King brings with winter. We vigil to lean in and trust the Great Mystery together.
Similar to birthing, our bodies know how to die. Cycles of death and rebirth happen in your body every day. Cells all over your body die. We bleed, sleep, shed, and change. In these bodies, we are cyclical and ever-changing beings. Dying, just like living, is in our nature.
Welcoming the Vigil
What’s dying in your body, mind, and soul? What’s dying in your home, community, and the world? How would you live your life if you trusted death? Death carries innate wisdom, and when you avoid it, you cut yourself off from the remembered wisdom held within your blood and bones. How can you reclaim this innate wisdom? Remaining awake and present to death within and around you is one way to remember. While deciding to sit in vigil is a massive privilege, its importance remains.
Winter Solstice vigil.
Vigils need not be relegated to the dying person. Even if you don’t want to admit it, you are surrounded by death every day. Opening yourself up to the practice of the vigil opens you to death processes already occurring within and around you. All you have to do is decide to be present with them, which is a practice.
Sitting vigil was never intended to be done alone or long-term. Vigil requires a honed ability to be present with what is, even when uncomfortable. While it might appear passive, it requires self-awareness, emotional regulation, and discernment. Like birth, it is a communal act that happens in shifts. You may visit the depths for some time, but eventually, you’ll need to pass the baton to tend within, knowing others will keep watch.
Here are some simple ways to weave vigil into your practice.
Ways to vigil
Vigil with winter: Sit outside in winter amidst dying plants, perhaps a specific plant you already have a relationship with, and listen and notice for as long as you want or can. Notice what’s happening to the plant(s) in their dying process. Note physical and energetic changes.
Hold a candlelight vigil to be with what’s dying in the world: Light a candle at night, in your home, or outside, and set aside time to contemplate something dying in the world. As I said, there’s no shortage of death around us. What deaths are weighing heavy on your heart? Can you be present with them without trying to change them or apply a narrative to the death? What do you notice physically and energetically? This could be done solo or in a small group.
Hold a candlelight vigil for yourself: Light a candle at night, in your home, or outside, and set aside time to contemplate something dying within you. You are a cyclical being, constantly changing. Whether it’s your body, beliefs, or how you operate, cycles of death and rebirth are always present. Notice your personal seasons and deaths occurring within you, not to change them but to be present with them.
Attend a vigil: Communal vigils occur for all kinds of reasons. See if you can find one in your community to attend. I also hold occasional virtual vigils called Living Vigil. Click here to see if one is on the books.
Reclaiming the practice of the vigil can help you reclaim a part of your innate humanness. Like the holly plant that remains alive throughout winter, you, too, can meet death with honor and reverence. As winter works its magic, light your candles and remember there’s wisdom in the dark.
Rituals to Embody the Harvest Season
Let's go beyond "grateful" decor or compulsory gratitude lists this harvest season, shall we? In a world infiltrated with attention economics, it can feel difficult or even unsafe to savor the fruits of your labor, but the truth is, we really need to (I’ll share why later.) Whether it’s your garden or a new endeavor, each harvest season grants you a sacred pause to evaluate what needs to go into the compost and what you want to harvest. But, with harvest comes responsibility. If the harvest goes untended or forgotten, it will undoubtedly rot.
Gleaners, by James Tissot. Public domain.
Let's go beyond "grateful" decor or compulsory gratitude lists this harvest season, shall we? In a world infiltrated with attention economics, it can feel difficult or even unsafe to savor the fruits of your labor, but the truth is, we really need to (I’ll share why later.) Whether it’s your garden or a new endeavor, each harvest season grants you a sacred pause to evaluate what goes into the compost and what you want to harvest. But, with harvest comes responsibility. If the harvest goes untended or forgotten, it will undoubtedly rot.
In this post, you'll learn what the harvest season means and its importance. You'll also find a card spread and ritual to help you embody what you're harvesting this season that goes beyond a basic gratitude list.
What is the harvest season?
For many witches and pagans, the Autumnal Equinox sits in the middle of the harvest season, beginning with Lugnasadh or Lammas on August 1 and ending with the season of Samhain, which starts on October 31. These seasons were associated with harvest, celebration, satisfaction, and gratitude themes. But what happens if your gratitude remains on the surface and doesn't have space and safety to permeate through your body as deep satisfaction?
Many of our ancestors' harvest seasons were labor-intensive and celebratory. The harvest moon, the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox, was given this name because it provided additional light for our ancestors to harvest into the night. The harvests during this time were of utmost importance because their livelihood depended on it for themselves and their communities. It's why so much lore and magic is associated with grain, crops, and livestock during the harvest seasons. For example, making apple magic, making corn dollies, baking bread with the first harvest, and running cows through smoke to protect them over the winter.
“Wholeness” Original artwork copyright Cassie Uhl 2023
For many of our ancestors, it may have been easier to feel grateful and satisfied amidst a harvest season because their lives depended on it. Today, in many ways, we're set up for failure around feeling a true sense of gratitude and satisfiability within a season of harvest. With the ease of grocery stores, 2-hour delivery, and advertising that aims to prey on our attention just enough to distract us toward the next shiny thing, it's not surprising that many of us have been groomed into a cycle of lack where it can feel difficult to access a sense of satisfaction. I'm undoubtedly guilty of succumbing to the immediacy of consumerism only to miss the delectable fruit right in front of me.
Why it's time to embody your harvest!
By design, the dominant culture seeks to separate you from an embodied sense of gratitude. When you're satisfied and deeply grateful for what you have, you become useless to capitalism.
There is also immense pain and sadness in the present moment. With multiple genocides occurring and ecocide at all of our doorsteps, it can make feeling satisfied not only difficult but unsafe. It requires immense bravery to feel deeply satisfied while also being alive to the pain in this world.
Image: Grain Harvest in Bulgaria. Public Domain.
The misalignments with the gratitude platitudes displayed during this season are easy to spot. Why? If you are brave enough to embody, savor, and feel the depth of whatever you're harvesting this season, it will undoubtedly be followed by aligned action. Yet, this year (2024) we reached Earth Overshoot Day on August 1 (coincidentally the beginning of the harvest season!), which, according to overshoot.footprintnetwork.org, "marks the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year." OOOF. Yes, I know, that's a lot to stomach. This is where the need for all of us to lean into a deeply embodied sense of gratitude comes in.
Ritual to Embody Your Harvest this Season
For this ritual, you'll need the following:
20-40 minutes
A fruit, grain, or vegetable in season that you have access to and would want to eat (think apples, grain products, squash, or root vegetables)
Pen or pencil and paper
I will encourage you to recall something you harvested this season. It could be a vegetable crop, making new friends, attending your first protest, or picking up a new painting hobby. I'll invite you to sit with your harvest, think about how different parts of the process made you feel, and take slow, intentional bites of your food as you consider how this harvest has shaped you and those around you.
Prepare your materials and space in a way that feels good to you. Consider lighting a candle or incense and calling on any benevolent guides or ancestors to assist you.
Spend a few minutes writing about what you're harvesting this year. It could be a physical harvest, like fruits, vegetables, or flowers from your garden. Or, it could be a hobby you picked up, a project you finished, a goal you accomplished, or a new way of being. This could be from any point in the year or something that isn't finished. For example, if you've been practicing reading tarot cards, what can you celebrate that you've learned so far?
With your harvest written down, hold your food item in your hand and remember what it felt like when you started this new path or project. Remember how it felt in your body, take a few breaths with that memory, and take a bite of your food item.
Think about everything that happened before you started that path or project that led you to that moment of starting. Notice what comes up in your body, and take a few breaths here. Give thanks (aloud or in your mind) to those past parts of yourself and your life that lead you to start the new path or project, and then take another bite of your food.
Think about how it felt to engage in the new path or project. How did it go, or has it gone up until now? What has it stirred up for you? What did you learn? Sit with these questions, notice what comes up in your body, take a few breaths, and take another bite of your food.
Come to the present moment with your harvest. How does it feel today? What are you grateful for right now? What is there to celebrate? What is there to grieve? How has this harvest affected those around you? Notice what comes up in your body, take some breaths, and then take another bite of your food.
Continue this for as long as you'd like. When you feel complete, and if it feels aligned, leave some food to return to the earth as an offering for holding you in this ritual. You might even consider burying your written harvest with the food in the earth. Be creative. There are many beautiful ways to complete this ritual.
Thank any guides or ancestors you included in this ritual, and close your space in a way that feels good.
Embodying the Harvest Card Spread
Try out this four-card spread with your favorite tarot or oracle card deck to help you work with what you're harvesting this season. If journaling is your thing, these questions can be used as prompts.
What from this harvest season is ready to be put into the compost?
What from this harvest season is ready to be savored and embodied?
How can I better savor and embody this harvest?
How can this harvest nourish me, my family, or my community?
Each harvest season is an opportunity to release what's no longer serving and harvest what is. But remember, harvesting comes with the responsibility to savor and embody the fruits of your labor. I hope this harvest season ritual and card spread help you feel more satiated this season in all you have accomplished this year. Click to learn more about the harvest season, which includes Lughnasadh, the Autumn Equinox, and Samhain.
Vervain and Slow Magic
Do you ever rush your magical practice or push for a result? Urgency, production, and instant gratification are common themes in the overculture, so naturally, they can find their way into your magical practice. These themes have certainly shown up in my practice!
Here’s a little story about how Vervain taught me the importance of slowing down to different timelines to co-create potent magic.
Hoary Vervain (Verbana Stricta). Copyright Cassie Uhl 2024
Do you ever rush your magical practice or push for a result? Urgency, production, and instant gratification are common themes in the overculture, so naturally, they can find their way into your magical practice. These themes have certainly shown up in my practice!
Here’s a little story about how Vervain taught me the importance of slowing down to different timelines to co-create potent magic.
Listen here or click below. Transcript coming soon.
Awen in the essence /|\. Copyright Cassie Uhl 2024. Find the essence here.