A few weeks ago, my friend’s daughter yelled, “Next month, the blood moon rises! Are you ready?” through the house. Her daughter is eight and cooler than I have ever been or will ever be. As the family’s go-to witch, I made a point to text my friend all the things she and her kids could do for the full moon. I’m not saying that two feral eight-year-olds, their teenage siblings, and their mother started a moon cult in their back yard with directions from yours truly, but I’m also not not saying that.
The moon wants what the moon wants. And sometimes, what the moon wants is a magical cult of awesome in an Ohio backyard. Who are we to deny the moon anything? No one, that’s who.
I realized this morning that the moon is in its new moon phase and shot off a text to my friend asking if she wanted some tips. She said yes, and I figured that everything I sent her could be shared here as well.
The new moon is an excellent time for setting intentions, starting new projects or renewing your interest/goals for a current or old project, and cleansing – yourself, your space, and your tools. If you do any form of divination, this is a great time to pull a few cards or cast a few runes to see what you should focus on this lunar cycle.
This new moon is in Taurus, and that means this is also a great time to focus on long-term goals, home, comfort, and stability. All of which are things that make for happy and healthy kids.
Here are a few ideas of things you and your kids/family can do today/tonight to honor the new moon:
Cleaning/tidying your personal space. Clutter happens – I have ADHD and understand this on a soul level – but clutter often makes energy stagnant. Moving things around and tossing out anything that doesn’t belong is a good way to renew your space and allow the new moon’s energy to flow through it. If nothing else, making your bed can be a big help.
Cleansing yourself. If you have the ability/funds to do so, now is a great time to invest in a sugar scrub for your teens/tweens/kids (and yourself) to use in the shower or bath. You can also mix seasoning salt and hand soap and have your family use it to wash their hands and feet. I know seasoning salt sounds weird but trust me. It usually has turmeric (purification and moon work), paprika (magical booster and good for creativity), onion and garlic (both are good for protection, banishing, and healing), and black pepper (protection and banishing). If you don’t have seasoning salt or don’t like the idea of using it on your body, you can just use the hand soap. However you do it, tell the kids to focus on the soap removing not just dirt but also any energy they’ve picked up in their day-to-day life that they want to get rid of. Our hands and feet are in contact with the world more than any other part of our bodies, and that can sometimes weigh our energy down.
Cleansing your tools. This is a great time for kids/tweens/teens and adults to cleanse their cell phones, tablets, working spaces (desks/offices/cars), and any magical items they use. When it comes to magical items, please look up safe ways to cleanse what you use/have. When it comes to electronics, you can use smoke to cleanse them. I personally like to get a cinnamon stick and light the end on fire like you do a stick on incense. I pass the items through the smoke rising from the smoldering end of the cinnamon stick. Cinnamon is good for protection, healing, luck, increasing personal and spiritual power, and general prosperity. Our electronic devices are often windows into our lives as much as they are windows into the outside world. It’s important to make sure we are protecting those portals/windows the same way we protect/ward the doors and windows to our homes.
When it comes to cleaning your car, office, or desk, the same thing applies as cleaning your bedroom or house. Toss out trash, straighten up, and then walk through with your preferred smoke offering of choice. If you want to get super fancy, you can sprinkle the area with salt and cinnamon – or seasoning salt – and then vacuum or sweep it up.
Divination. There are tarot spreads all over Pinterest and Instagram for the new moon. You can get more specific and search for New Moon in Taurus spreads if you like. You can also wing it and pull a card or rune to focus on for the coming cycle. Honestly, that is what I usually do, and so far, it works. You also don’t have to do divination if you don’t want to or if you don’t like the idea of your kids dealing with divination tools.
If you want to do something less woo and more low-key, you can always have a family TV/movie/game night. If you want to have snacks, you can make popcorn (associated with luck, protection, abundance, and blessing, among other things, and makes a GREAT offering) or have some potato chips (potatoes are associated with moon magic, grounding, and stability).
Haggis asked for pizza, so we’re having that and fries for supper. It’s a treat and has magical properties, so it’s a win-win situation.
I’ll probably make popcorn with him later for a snack and an offering. We also plan to go for a walk tonight to get treats for Ian and Haggis, which means we will get outside and have some fresh air. That is also a great way to celebrate this moon phase. When we are out, I will show him that the moon is “hiding” and talk to him (at his level of understanding) about what that means.
If nothing else, the new moon is a great time to start a conversation with your kids. Ask them about themselves. What are they interested in right now? What songs do they like? Who are they friendly with at school? What do they want to do this weekend or this summer? How can you be more of service to them? What sort of family activities would they like to do?
The new moon is about new beginnings. This is your chance to create something with your children that will hopefully be a good memory and become a building block for their adulthood.
I know that sounds like a massive thing. That’s because it is. It’s also simple, and I believe in your and your kids. Y’all have this on lock. So get out there and do the damn thing.
Blessed Be!
Hávamál Mama 