Hold a Spring Full Moon Ritual

Moon stars and cherry blossoms
Project with vigour/Aflo / Getty Images

Spring is finally arriving, and there's a different sort of feeling in the air. The frigid cold of winter has been replaced by the promise of new life and growth, and a spring full moon is a magical time. It's a season that offers a chance at fertility and abundance, rebirth and regrowth. Whether you're celebrating March's Storm Moon, the Wind Moon of April, or May's Flower Moon, the focus in Spring's lunar cycles is that of the element of Water.

Spring Full Moon Ritual Basics

  • Celebrate the seasonal full moon with a water-themed ceremony.
  • Each participant should bring a cup of water, and you'll need a flower cutting to symbolize the spring.
  • Include this as part of a larger celebration, or simply hold it as a single, short ritual.

Along with the sun, water helps bring life back to the earth. It is the source of much of our existence and helps to cleanse and purify us. It can both destroy us and heal us. In ancient times, the well or spring was often seen as a sacred and holy place — a place in which we could truly bathe in the touch of the Divine. To celebrate the arrival of Spring's full moons, we acknowledge and honor the many aspects of Water.

Before You Begin

You may also wish to have a CD playing in the background of water sounds — a trickling stream, a waterfall, the waves of the ocean — but this is optional. You'll need a small bowl of water, a large empty bowl, a cut flower of your choosing, and a cup of water for each participant

Setting Up Your Altar

Full Moon Witch Pagan Altar decorations with Moon Phases, crystals, purple flowers and pentacle pendant
Decorate your altar with spring flowers. CreativeFire / Getty Images

For this ritual, you'll want to go ahead and set up your altar in a manner appropriate to the season. Add things that represent this time of year, like spring flowers, fresh cuttings from the garden, or packets of seeds. You'll also need a small bowl of water and a large empty bowl. Ask each participant to bring a cup or jar of water of their own, representing a place that is special to them. Finally, you'll need a freshly cut flower (if you can't find one, or if your flowers haven't bloomed yet, a sprig of grass or a clipping from a newly blossomed shrub is a perfectly good substitute).

If your tradition requires you to cast a circle, you may do so. Although this rite is designed for a small group, it can easily be adapted for a larger group or even for a solitary practitioner.

The High Priestess' Role

Silhouette of a woman standing in the night with the arms up, giant moon in the background
Delpixart / Getty Images

The High Priestess (HPs) holds the small bowl of water to the sky, facing the moon, and says:

The moon is high above us, giving us light in the dark.
She illuminates our world, our souls, our minds.
Like the ever-moving tides, she is constant yet changing.
She moves the water with her cycles, and it nourishes us
and brings us life.
With the divine energy of this sacred element,
we create this sacred space.

Dipping the cut flower in the water, the HPs walks a circle, sprinkling water on the ground with the petals of the flower. Once she has created the circle, she returns to the altar and says:

Spring is here, and the earth is bursting with new life.
Mornings begin bright and sunny, and afternoon gives way
to blustery showers of wind and rain.
We welcome the water when it comes,
because it nourishes that which has yet to bloom.
We welcome the water from all around,
from places far and near.

The HPs takes the large empty bowl and walks around the circle. As she approaches each participant, she pauses so that they can pour their water into the bowl. As they do, invite them to share where the water has come from, and why it is special:

This water is from the ocean, from my last trip to the beach.

or

This is water from the creek behind my grandmother's farm.

When everyone has poured their water into the bowl, the HPs uses the cut flower once more, stirring and blending the water with the stem of the flower. As she is mixing the water together, she says:

Listen to the water, coming together,
the voice of the moon from up above.
Listen to the voices, growing with power,
feel the energy and light and love*.

Anointing the Participants

The HPs takes the blended bowl of water and invites each participant to step forward. As they do, the HPS anoints the individual's forehead with the symbol of your tradition — a pentagram, ankh, etc. If your trad doesn't have a particular symbol, you can use a triple moon image or other lunar design. As she anoints each person with the blended water, the HPs says:

May the light and wisdom of the moon guide you through the coming cycle.

Take a few moments to meditate on the magical power of water. Think about how it flows and ebbs, changing all in its path. Water can destroy, and it can bring life. Consider how our bodies and spirits ebb with the tide, and how we connect to the cycles of water and of the moon. Remind everyone that we are all traveling in the river of life itself, and while we may have different backgrounds and beliefs and goals and dreams, we are all seeking the divine in ourselves and in those around us. By embracing the power and energy of water, we are able to welcome a pool of sacred space — ever constant, yet ever changing.

When everyone is ready, end the ritual. You may wish to move on to a Cakes and Ale ceremony, or drawing down the moon.

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Wigington, Patti. "Hold a Spring Full Moon Ritual." Learn Religions, Aug. 28, 2020, learnreligions.com/hold-a-spring-full-moon-ritual-2562398. Wigington, Patti. (2020, August 28). Hold a Spring Full Moon Ritual. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/hold-a-spring-full-moon-ritual-2562398 Wigington, Patti. "Hold a Spring Full Moon Ritual." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/hold-a-spring-full-moon-ritual-2562398 (accessed March 29, 2024).