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The Esbats: Working With The Moon Phases

In the world of Pagan Metaphysics, we call the observance of the Moon, Esbat days, or Ritual days. These phases are where we combine the energy of the Divine Goddess, in this case in the form of Grandmother Moon, with your own energy, for magikal working.

Every magikal practitioner should know which days to work with the Moon and which days to take off. Which Moon phases are best for what kind of casting and which are for rest.

These guidelines are not cast in stone and certainly if you have a friend in dire need of healing, you don’t need to wait until the next Waxing Moon to conduct a ritual. But for some of the best results, here are a few guidelines, interesting tid-bits, and helpful hints to keep in mind.

Picture the movement of the moon in terms of a clock whose hands are moving backward. The moon rests on the clock’s hour hand, Earth sits at the clock’s center. While the sun shines far off in the direction of 12 o’clock. As the moon orbits counterclockwise around Earth, its position relative to the sun and Earth changes, giving us the varied phases of the moon. Each phase of the moon lasts approximately 5 days.

Not everyone observes all 5 days as Magikal Working days. Some cultures recognize 3 days, the day before the pinnacle of the phase, the day of pinnacle and the day after. In other words, the day before a Full Moon, the day of the Full Moon and the day after. While other culture only recognize the day of the event. I’m partial to the 3 day concept. It lines up with the idea that magik is practiced in whole, as a union between the physical world and spiritual world. A better way to think of this would be in the Divine Conscious state of Mind, Body and Spirit. Continue reading →