Admittedly, I don't do this every full moon. Let's face it, sometimes life gets in the way and some other social engagement may land on the same day, or other commitments are required.
That being said, I LOVE to do this ritual, alone. I have done it with my partner before and it was magical, but he likes to do his own thing on a full moon - his current thing is attending a full moon drumming circle - that's a pretty awesome way to bring in the full moon too.
Anyway, back to the ritual.
Firstly, I like to take a cleansing bath with 10 drops of peppermint oil, a pinch of dried sage and 1/2 cup of Epsom or Himalayan salt. I light a candle (usually have a few around the bath) and grab my clear quartz, placing it in the bath before stepping in. I visualise and soak myself with white cleansing light and enjoy the fresh scent of the peppermint oil. I usually play soft meditative sound track (like this one on Spotify)
and let my body and mind rest with the visualisation of white cleansing light.
I always take a journal - it's handy if anything comes to light, through finding the stillness within my mind and body.
The bath is a beautiful way of cleansing the aura, washing away any heavy energy that you may have been carrying around. When the water has disappeared down the drain, trust it has taken away all the negativity you were holding onto, and it's time for a new beginning.
After the bath I like to dress in white as a reminder of resetting myself.
I take my journal, some paper and a pen and my crystals outside to the fire pit. I allow my crystals to be charged under the moonlight before consciously lighting the fire; thanking the four elements; the water for cleansing; the earth for supplying the wood and holding us; the fire for burning away what no longer serves, clearing the space for new beginnings; and the air for life (of ourselves and the fire).
I bring to mind anything or anyone I wish to forgive. Often this includes myself - for any self-sabotaging behaviours or negative thought patterns that may have consumed me. Or any behaviours or events where I may have not been true to myself.
Yasmin Boland has a nice forgiveness ceremony which includes writing a list of anyone or anything that has upset you; writing as much as you need to about what happened/what they did. She suggests to visualise each person in a pink bubble, seeing them smiling at you as you say to them 'I forgive you' before watching them float away in their pink bubble. She then suggests reciting a prayer, 'Under the glorious Full Moon, I forgive everything, everyone...and myself for past mistakes. The Universe is Love and I am forgiven and governed by love alone. Love is now adjusting my life, realising this, I abide in peace.' I tend to say my own prayer of forgiveness letting it flow naturally/intuitively before burning the piece of paper with gratitude.
I then 'tune in' to my intuition and ask what I need to let go of at this time. I usually have an idea of what this is prior to the ritual as something tends to come up in line with the full moon! This month it's to release the fear of fully stepping forward into my soul's path/purpose and to release and dissolve the fear of what other people think. I write this on a piece of paper and take time burning this in the fire.
I then consider what I wish to bring in during this next moon cycle or what patterns of my life I desire to take forward. Again, I've usually considered this prior to the ritual. For me, this full moon it's about bringing in more freedom and fun, more soul clients, more of the Goddess/ Divine Feminine energy and more self awareness. Again, I write on a piece of paper and burn with grace and thanks into the fire.
I then write a gratitude list; listing everything I am grateful for in that moment before watching the fire burn out, sitting and soaking in the full moon energy.
Let me tell you, this is a powerful ritual - there are often tears - of both sadness and joy, but any tears are good tears - it's all releasing energetic blocks from your body!
Happy Full Mooning!
Much love xx
(Image from Pinterest but it looks like a Rebecca Campbell beautiful oracle card to me!)