Working with the Moon
Before we get into this entire section I do want to say that I wrote this YEARS ago and I have blog posts now on updated information/thinking/perception around the moon phases. Please CLICK HERE to check that out.
Phases, Power, and the Witch’s Tide
“It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about power. Who’s got it, and who knows how to use it.”
— Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Moon’s Current
Every witch worth their salt knows the Moon isn’t just pretty in the night sky, she’s the clock, the pulse, the tide we live and die by. Her phases shape our magic, our moods, and our bodies. Ignore hir and you miss the rhythm of witchcraft itself.
The Sun gives us life, but the Moon tells us how to use it. She swells and wanes, reveals and conceals, calls us forward and then strips us bare. When you learn to work with her phases, you’re no longer just casting spells — you’re moving with the current instead of against it.
Personal Note: Moon-Tides
I’ll be real with you: I’ve always been especially sensitive to the Moon. I’ve had nights where a Full Moon left me raw and restless, staring at the ceiling while my body buzzed like live wire. I’ve also had times when a Waning Moon pulled me into the kind of shadow work that felt like drowning in my own thoughts, but came with clarity I couldn’t have found otherwise.
Not every witch feels hir phases the same. Some run hot at the New Moon. Some crash hard after the Full. Pay attention to your body, your cycles, your tides. That’s where the real power is.
Moon Phases in Practice
Here’s the beauty: the Moon gives us a natural structure. A spell worked on the wrong day can still be effective, but when it aligns with her phase, it’s supercharged.
New Moon → Planting seeds, beginnings, clarity.
Waxing Moon → Building momentum, attraction, growth.
Full Moon → Power at its peak, revelation, manifestation.
Waning Moon → Release, banishment, shadow work.
Dark Moon → Rest, endings, deep magic, necromancy.
You don’t have to chain yourself to these phases, but if you ignore them, you’ll feel like you’re swimming upstream.
Moon Journaling Exercise
Here’s a practice I swear by: start a Moon Journal.
Each night, note the Moon’s phase and what you’re feeling — emotionally, physically, magically.
Record dreams, synchronicities, or pulls you feel toward certain workings.
Over time, patterns will reveal themselves. You’ll notice which phases light you up, which drain you, which expose your shadows.
This isn’t just diary work, it’s data. Your personal tide map. Once you know it, you’ll time your craft with precision that no book can hand you.
The Witch’s Moon
One of the biggest lies witches get fed is that the Moon is always “gentle,” always “nurturing.” That’s only half the story. Yes, they can heal, inspire, and cradle you. But he can also gut you, strip you bare, and drag you through the underworld. Both are true. Both are needed.
Working with the Moon means accepting that hir light and her shadow are inseparable. You can use her to call in love, or to curse. To heal, or to cut cords. To bless, or to bury. That’s the Deviant Witch’s path — not half the story, but the whole thing.
What to Expect Next
In the posts that follow, we’ll break down each phase in detail — love, wealth, protection, healing, malediction, and Witchlings (because our kids are lunar creatures too). Each phase has its own strengths, its own traps, its own flavor.
Think of this intro as the map. The real journey starts with the New Moon, where we plant seeds in the dark and whisper our first demands into the void.
The Moon doesn’t give a damn about your schedule. She waxes, wanes, disappears, and returns whether you honor her or not. The choice is yours: ignore her and stumble, or walk with her and claim the tide as your ally.
A Witch who knows the Moon doesn’t ask for permission. They pull the current into their bones and ride it, light and shadow, blessing and curse.
So grab your journal, step outside tonight, and look up. The Moon’s waiting.
