A Full Moon Ritual

So one of my colleagues on here asked me what a full moon ritual was. i was a dick and answered "a ritual for the moon" lol sorry Tim but i think it's a good idea to clear that up and build an understanding for what it is for people who aren't witches. or people who are and are learning of course. there are many different "full moon rituals" out there in the world of witchcraft. some of them are just plain retarded and some are just weird o_0 but im here to discuss the basic meaning and then go into a typical full moon ritual outline for Stregheria. now i wont go into detail on how the ritual is preformed because that's exclusive for stregherian witches. im sorry, not trying to be mean but we keep a lot of our practices to ourselves. that way people wont try to preform them and hurt themselves blahblahblah.

Okay so we'll start with the goddess:

witches who follow italian witchcraft or stregheria typically follow the moon goddess Diana. that's the mother goddess of Tuscany and of all strega (witches). she is coupled with the god Lupercus, the sun god. moon and sun, there ya go. the full moon ritual is focused on Diana and her journey into the Underworld to meet with her husband down there. thus where the story of Persephone and Hades stems from. then in turn she's also related to Hecate, Artemis, and Selene, but we wont get into that. Diana is a prominent deity with witches that follows even after christianity's rise. beginning with Horace's historical records of Diana's association with witches, as well as records of a group known as "Society of Diana" that was mentioned by the Inquisition. Diana's association with childbirth is sampled when offerings to her were made on the shores of Lake Nemi for an easy birthing. Italy is full of references to the goddess Diana, which i saw for myself when i spent three months studying abroad in Florence. so there you go. a little thing about Diana and how she's the goddess of witches. i can get more into that in another post.

So now onto the full moon ritual. the basic purpose of this ritual is to cleanse yourself of the previous month and to prepare for the new. it's setting up goals for the coming month and a great time for magic weaving and harvesting power. but it also serves a deeper purpose. Diana's journey into the Underworld represents the different levels of the human mind and layers of consciousness and subconsciousness. it's journeying down into yourself and shedding the old habits and unhelpful mind sets and preparing for a new way of thinking. that enables you to move on to positive and productive changes in your life. then in the winter season when the goddess is submerged in the kingdom of the Underworld, it is a time to journey down to our darkest reaches and face your shadow self. this means facing your problems head on, all the nasty things you dont want to face, and clearing them all out. it's basically a slap to the face and a nice reality check that makes you break down and cry like a little bitch lol then in spring time when she's ascending from the Underworld you can focus on new change blooming. it's a good time for projecting outcomes during a full moon ritual. summer is her full power when she's high in the sky and the ritual is pretty basic. then fall is about the descent, preparing yourself for the journey down, harvesting strength and clarity, preparation for facing one's shadow self.

now a full moon ritual, in basic terms and relating to ones i've attended, consists of a circle being cast with people arranged in a circle (duh). with the full moon above us we say our monologue of a prayer and some hymns, then we eat some cakes and lemon juice and say some more stuff lol. sometimes though full moon rituals focus more on the prayers and of the shedding of old habits. they focus on destroying negativity and unhelpful behaviors that leave you in a rut. you stand in a circle and state your little issue. then the gathered members around you interact and chant however which way serves the issue and magic starts up. the course is made for change, and you can feel the difference. usually it makes people bust out crying lol. it is a very powerful, supportive, and uniting experience to have your coven members come together and help in such a way to move you forward for the new month.

Then what i do in private solitary practice for the full moon is i cast my circle, say my hymns and prayers to Diana, and then i fall into meditation. from there i receive an assortment of visions about how to progress into the coming month and then i weave some magic to make those positive paths open. when im done i leave out an offering of wine and cakes or bread (or whatever food i have to offer) for Diana, and then leave my pentacle necklace out to soak up moonlight. but that's just me.

so this is a basic outline on the variety of rituals used in Stregheria for the full moon. it's different im sure than how full moon rituals are preformed in contemporary witchcraft, but im not versed in those. if any of you would like to share how you preform your ritual for the full moon, or what philosophies reside behind them, or what the moon means in your own religion, i'd love to read

Wow thank you, Amazing

hopefully that explained a bit..lol