Full Moon and New Moon Rituals: A guide to reconnecting with lunar cycles 🌛
Introduction
The Moon has always governed life on Earth.
Invisible or radiant, waxing or waning, it accompanies the seasons, influences the tides, and inspires spiritual rituals across cultures.
Observing the lunar cycles means accepting the need to slow down, to listen, and to reconnect with a natural wisdom that is often forgotten. Each phase invites a different intention:
🌑 The New Moon opens a space for renewal,
🌕 The Full Moon illuminates what needs to be released, celebrated, or transformed.
While the dates of the Full Moon and New Moon change each year, their symbolism remains universal. This is why lunar rituals can be practiced throughout the year , in harmony with your personal energy and that of the seasons.
In this guide, discover how to create your Full Moon and New Moon rituals, understand the energies associated with each phase, and reconnect with the lunar cycles through simple, intuitive and deeply soothing gestures.
🌑 New Moon & 🌕 Full Moon: two complementary energies
The Moon goes through different phases each month, but two key moments structure lunar rituals: the New Moon and the Full Moon.
These two phases act as opposing and complementary poles, inviting very distinct intentions.
🌑 New Moon Ritual: Setting Your Intentions
The New Moon marks the beginning of a new cycle. Invisible in the sky, it symbolizes renewal, beginnings, and the seeds that are planted in silence.
This is an ideal time to:
- define new intentions
- to initiate a project or a change
- clarify one's deepest desires
- refocus on oneself
New Moon rituals are often introspective and gentle. They invite writing, meditation, visualization, and inner listening.
Stones that promote clarity, intuition and calmness, as well as light incense, perfectly accompany this moment of recentering.
🌕 Full Moon Ritual: Release and Celebrate
Conversely, the Full Moon is a time of intensity and revelation. It illuminates what has matured since the New Moon, highlighting emotions, blockages, and realizations.
The Full Moon is auspicious for:
- to release what no longer has a place
- purify your energies and your space
- to give thanks and celebrate the journey so far
- recharge stones, objects and intentions
Full Moon rituals are often more expressive and energetic. They may include purification practices, deeper incense, grounding or protective stones, and moments of gratitude.
✨ New Moon and Full Moon respond to each other, forming a natural cycle of intention, evolution, and transformation. By honoring them, you learn to move in harmony with the Moon's rhythm… and your own.
🌕 Full Moons throughout the year: symbolism and energy of the seasons
Each Full Moon traditionally bears a symbolic name, derived from ancient traditions linked to nature, the seasons, and agricultural cycles.
These names describe not just a date, but above all an energy, an atmosphere, an inner invitation.
The names of Full Moons thus evoke the transformations of the year: the rest of winter, the awakening of spring, the expansion of summer and the return to the essential in autumn.
Although the dates change each year, the associated energies remain similar, offering valuable reference points to accompany your lunar rituals.
Full Moon Calendar 2026 – illustration inspired by lunar cycles and seasons.
Illustration created by Whimsy and Bug – Available for free on their website.
❄️ Winter Full Moons: Slow down and refocus
Winter Full Moons — such as the Wolf Moon, the Snow Moon or the Cold Moon — invite inner retreat, silence and introspection.
This is an ideal time to:
- to break free from old fears and patterns
- strengthen anchoring and protection
- listen to your deepest needs
Winter rituals favor gentleness, enveloping stones and soothing incense, promoting calm and inner clarity.
🌸 Spring Full Moons: Renewal and Growth
In spring, the Full Moons — Pink Moon, Flower Moon, Worm Moon — symbolize renewal, fertility and creative impulse.
They are a perfect complement to:
- personal growth
- the emergence of new projects
- reconnecting with joy and vital energy
Spring rituals are often bright, focused on expansion, creativity, and emotional harmony.
☀️ Summer Full Moons: Expansion and Celebration
The summer Full Moons — Strawberry Moon, Deer Moon, Sturgeon Moon — amplify energy, confidence, and personal radiance.
This is a favorable time for:
- celebrate his successes
- to state one's intentions
- boosting vitality and self-confidence
Summer rituals are often more expressive, carried by warm incense and solar stones.
🍂 Autumn Full Moons: Transformation and Letting Go
In autumn, the Full Moons — Harvest Moon, Hunter's Moon, Beaver Moon — mark a time of transition and liberation.
They invite you to:
- to take stock of the year
- let go of what is no longer aligned
- gently prepare for a return to the essentials
Autumn rituals promote purification, grounding, and emotional balance.
🌕 Each Full Moon is a symbolic gateway, an invitation to listen to the cycles of nature to better understand your own.
✨ How to practice a simple lunar ritual, all year round
There are no strict rules to follow when practicing a lunar ritual. The most important thing is the intention you put into it and the time you dedicate to it.
A ritual can be simple, intuitive, and perfectly suited to your daily life.
Here are the essential steps to create a New Moon or Full Moon ritual, at any time of the year.
🕯️ 1. Create a conducive space
Choose a quiet place where you feel comfortable.
Light a candle, open a window if possible, and take a few moments to refocus.
Clearing the space is often the first step in a lunar ritual. It allows you to set a clear intention and create a calming atmosphere.
🌿 2. Purify and set the intention
Depending on the phase of the Moon:
New Moon : Write down your intentions, wishes, or plans
Full Moon : Note down what you wish to release, give thanks for, or transform
Take the time to formulate your intentions sincerely. You can read them aloud or keep them to yourself; the essential thing is inner clarity.
🔮 3. Accompany the ritual with symbolic supports
Ritual objects are not essential, but they can enrich the experience and strengthen the symbolic anchoring of the moment.
Depending on your needs, you can use:
- natural stones for grounding, protection, or intuition
- natural incense, Palo Santo or white sage for purification
- Moon water, prepared during a Full Moon, to amplify the intention
Each element then becomes an extension of your intention.
🌕 4. Conclude the ritual mindfully
Take a few moments to breathe deeply, give thanks, and gently return to the present moment.
A lunar ritual always ends with a moment of integration and gratitude.
✨ Regularity matters more than perfection. Even a few minutes are enough to reconnect with the lunar cycles and create a space for self-reconnection.
🌙 Going further with lunar rituals
Full Moon and New Moon rituals are first and foremost an invitation to listen, to be present, and to trust your intuition. They evolve with time, the seasons, and your own needs.
If you wish to deepen your practice, some complementary rituals can enrich your journey, such as the preparation of Moon water, used to amplify intentions, purify a space or accompany moments of recentering.
👉 You can discover this other lunar ritual in the article dedicated to Moon Water, which you can link here to continue reading.
Finally, surrounding yourself with carefully chosen objects, natural stones, incense, purification accessories or symbolic objects, can transform a simple moment into a true conscious ritual, aligned with your energy and that of the Moon.
🌕 Whether you are a novice or already familiar with lunar cycles, let yourself be guided by your feelings.
The Moon asks for nothing more than your attention.
To complement your lunar rituals, certain objects can enrich the experience:
natural stones chosen according to intention, incense and purification resins, moon water or ritual accessories.
Let your intuition guide your choices.👉 Discover our collection to accompany your Moon Rituals.