Various cultural traditions have divided the Moon’s cycle by three (new, full, dark), four (new, first-quarter, full, last-quarter), eight (new, crescent, first-quarter, gibbous, full, disseminating, last-quarter, balsamic), twenty-seven (Hindu nakshatras), and twenty-eight (days of the lunar month).

 

The eight-fold cycle of transformation is evidenced by the in the increasing and decreasing light of the Moon's monthly cycle. It is also evident in the growing  and diminishing light of the yearly solar seasonal cycles, which are marked by the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days. The lunation cycle as a whole describes the various qualities of energies that comprise the successive stages of any organic life process of coming to be and passing away. 

 

In Dane Rudhyar’s seminal work in 1936 on the lunation phases, he used the metaphor of the growth of a plant to illuminate the successive stages of growth symbolized by the phases of the lunation cycle." [1] 

 

You can deepen your practice if, in addition to understanding the ebb and flow of the lunation cycles, you combine that knowledge with western astrology. That combination will enrich the experience and help you plan and create a ritual. When my website is operational: Astrology4transformation.com, it will explain each lunation. In the meantime, other sites can help you with this:

• Brush Up with Brenda: https://www.brendabrush.com    

• CaféAstrology: https://cafeastrology.com/calendars/moonphasescaledar.html

• AstroStyle: https://astrostyle.com/new-full-moon-rituals

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The lunation is cyclical; it repeats, month after month, year after year. However,  it is never the same. Performing ceremony occasionally will not dramatically impact your life or create a life-changing transformation. 

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Ritual is repetitive and necessitates that you perform it. Ritual and ceremonial work grounds you. It provide you with a calendar for change and transformation. if you understand this and keep your expectations in line with an understanding of how cyclical process unfolds, you will see transformation.  

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You can do the ceremony by yourself, lunation rituals work best in a group. Group ritual amplifies the energy and allows you to learn more. Try it for at least six months, and then evaluate its importance and impact on your life. 

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The first step in planning a lunar ritual is to understand what is occurring of astronomically.  That includes knowing how the lunation cycle works. Understanding ritual and intention is also important essential. So is knowing how to create sacred space, how to how to open and close a circle. 

 

Another component of ritual/ceremony is knowing how to smudge or sage. That includes knowing what to use, how to do it, and what to say. You must have an idea of what to do for your ritual and plan it. It does not just happen,

 

Finally, the The role and importance of gratitude is key if you are performing a ritual. So is knowing what to do the energy that you create--both positive and negative. 

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Astronomical Explanation 

 

The Moon cycles are an astronomical phenomenon. They reflect the interaction of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun with each other. Like the planets, the Moon does not create her light; it reflects that of the Sun. As the Earth rotates around the Sun—a rotation of approximately 23 hours and 56 minutes, known as the sidereal day—she takes the Moon along with her.

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Unlike the Earth, the Moon does not rotate.  Our changing perspective from Earth as she goes around the Sun causes for the lunar phases. When the Moon is New, the  Sun, Moon, and Earth are in alignment. From the perspective of the Earth, the Moon appears to be dark because the face of the Moon turned towards the Earth cannot reflect the light from the Sun. 

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When the Moon is Full, the alignment changes and the face of the  Moon turned towards the Earth appears to light up. Although there are six other phases, these two main phases are critical for they indicate when the Moon begins to grow or wax, and fade or wane. And this is key to understanding the purpose of the lunation.

 

The time to bring in energy to help us create something is when the Moon is New and waxing.  When it is waning and declining, it is time to release whatever stands in our way of manifestation or transformation. 

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[1]  Demetra George, The Lunation Cycle._