A full moon ritual for beginners: 15 minutes, nothing to buy

You do not need crystals, sage or a special altar. You need fifteen minutes, a pen, a page and a moon. The next full moon is Tue 24 Nov.

What the full moon is for

Everything is visible now, the beautiful and the unfinished. Look, give thanks, and let yourself be seen. Many traditions meet the full moon with thanks and with letting go. The same gesture lives in China’s Mid-Autumn Festival, where families gather under the full moon, and in Buddhist uposatha days, kept at the full and new moon.

The ritual, step by step

1. Prepare (2 min). Put your phone in another room. Light a candle if you like, away from anything that can catch, and never leave it alone.
2. Arrive (3 min). Two breaths in through the nose, one long breath out through the mouth. Repeat for three minutes.
3. Look back (4 min). Write three things from this month that you are thankful for. Small is fine.
4. Let go (4 min). Write one thing that has already ended, a habit, a worry, a story you keep telling. Fold that part of the page away from you.
5. Close (2 min). Look at the moon for a moment. Keep the page.

What science says about each step

• Breathing: in a 2023 trial, five minutes a day of cyclic sighing lifted mood a little more than mindfulness meditation for the same time (Balban et al.).
• Gratitude: writing down what you are thankful for over a few weeks went with more wellbeing and better sleep, with moderate effects (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
• The moon itself: large studies have not found that the moon changes our sleep (Cordi et al., 2014). The moon is the reminder; the gestures are the practice.

Common questions

Do I have to do it on the exact night? No. The evening closest to the exact moment, or the night before or after, all work.

Do I need to believe in astrology? No. Believe what you choose. The ritual is fifteen quiet minutes with a page.

Is it safe to look at the full moon? Yes. Looking at the moon is safe. Never look at the Sun, even during an eclipse.

Lune: Moon Rituals reads the moon for your own chart and gives you a 15-minute practice to live it. Join the waitlist.

Sources: Balban, M. Y. et al. (2023). Cell Reports Medicine. Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389. Cordi, M. et al. (2014). Current Biology.