Leo Full Moon Ritual
The First Full Moon of the Year
The moon represents our subconscious, so the energy surrounding a full moon is the illumination of the subconscious for acceptance, integration, and renewal. Of course, each full moon carries a unique energy signature that can be harnessed and woven into your intentions to improve your life and call in manifestations. Let’s discuss!
If you consider that everything in this world exists on or between two poles, your mind’s poles are the conscious and subconscious. Similarly, the sun and moon are opposites, the sun represents masculine, active energy and the moon represents feminine, passive energy. (I did not make this up and it has nothing to do with male/female gender expression, which also exists on a spectrum.) During a full moon, when the sun illuminates the moon completely, symbolically, the active mind is illuminating the subconscious for creative release.
This full moon on January 25 is the first one of 2024 and falls under the fiery sign of Leo, which is ruled by the sun. The energy of Leo is bright, confident, and passionate. In my astrological chart, Venus is in Leo in the 4th house, which means that my social, romantic, and artistic qualities find their highest expression within the realms of home and family. Thus, I will be using this full moon to illuminate, then clear and burn away all ways of being that no longer serve me in these areas. Depending on where Leo is in your chart, you may use the energy of the full moon to bring out the highest expression of self in that particular area of your life.
This is, of course, not the only way to use the full moon energy. Leo energy is passionate and lustful, so if you have some spicy desires, you can use the full moon energy to ignite a spark. To harness this Leo full moon’s energy, I recommend using candle magic, or any kind of flame to symbolically burn away that which no longer serves you to make room for new things to enter your life. I love a full moon ritual, so let me share with you what I am doing for this one!
I am gifting my friend who is calling in a partner a red candle carved with her name, birth date, astrological symbol, and intentions carved into it. The candle is dressed with patchouli oil for passion, stability, security, and balance, rose petals for passion, love, and generosity, hibiscus for beauty, wealth, and passion, and honey for pleasure, sweetness, and honesty.
I am suggesting that my friend write down how she wants to feel in a partnership, how she wants to show up as her highest self in the partnership, and the direction in which she would like this partnership to grow. Please take note that this is different than calling in traits or attributes of a person, or even a specific individual. If you focus on how you want to feel within this partnership (for example, you want to feel safe, secure, seen, valued, and respected), this opens the door for the universe to provide you with someone who can meet your needs, rather than someone who simply checks off boxes. If you are manifesting from a place of ego, usually your manifestation lists will look like a grocery list (i.e tall, dark, handsome), but if you’re manifesting from your heart space without your ego, your list might look more abstract and esoteric, but your needs are more likely going to be met by the things you call in.
Once my friend has completed her list, she should then fold the piece of paper up and set aside for burning in the candle when the full moon is high.
Before lighting the candle, she should take a moment to collect her thoughts, call her energy back to her, and focus her intention of finding a balanced and secure partnership, take a deep breath that fills her lungs and light the candle at the same time. She may say out loud:
Allow this full moon to illuminate and burn away all internal and external blocks to a loving, passionate, and balanced partnership. Just as moonlight is a reflection of the sun’s light, the relationship I am calling in will be a reflection of my wholeness. Under this full moon, I embrace myself absolutely so that I feel comfortable and safe in the embrace of another. I embody the fearlessness of the lion and under this Leo full moon, I let my heart roar with desire so it might purr like a kitten when it’s met in equal partnership. And so it is.
Once the candle has burned down an inch or so, it will be ripe for burning the paper with her feelings and manifestations. I am suggesting that she let the note burn all the way through, but if that is not possible, then she can burn as much as she feels comfortable, then submerge the note into a bowl of water under the full moon. Once the note is saturated, she may bury it in the pot of a houseplant or in the dirt outside.
If you would like to do this ritual, here it is in step-by-step format:
Leo Full Moon Candle Ritual:
You’ll need:
Red or white candle (white can be substituted for any candle color)
Something sharp to carve the candle
Ingredients (herbs, flowers, oils, crystals, etc) that symbolize what you want to call in. For our ritual, we used:
dried rose petals
dried hibiscus
honey
patchouli oil
Paper
Pen(cil)
Steps:
Using your sharp object, carve your full name, date of birth, astrological symbol (or another symbol to represent yourself), and a few words to describe your intention. For example: Partnership, Passion, Respect, Love
“Dress” your candle with the oils, honey, flower petals, and spices that match your intention.
On a piece of paper write down how you want your manifestations to make you feel, and see if you can experience those emotions within you as you write them down. The practice of feeling these emotions in your body is so that you will more easily “know it when you see it,” or in this case, know it when you feel it.
Once the candle is in a safe space for burning completely through, take a deep breath to focus your intention and call your energy back to yourself while you light the candle at the same time. You may use the incantation included above, or write your own. Here it is again:
Allow this full moon to illuminate and burn away all internal and external blocks to a loving, passionate, and balanced partnership. Just as moonlight is a reflection of the sun’s light, the relationship I am calling in will be a reflection of my wholeness. Under this full moon, I embrace myself absolutely so that I feel comfortable and safe in the embrace of another. I embody the fearlessness of the lion and under this Leo full moon, I let my heart roar with desire so it might purr like a kitten when met in equal partnership. And so it is.
Once the candle is burned down at least an inch, you may burn your piece of paper with your manifestation list. Allow the page to burn thoroughly, or burn as much as you can safely, then submerge it in a bowl of water under the full moon. Once saturated, you may bury this outdoors or in a potted houseplant.
Let the candle burn through, and the work is only half done. Now you have to put yourself out there and follow your joy so you can meet your manifestations halfway. You cannot manifest the life you desire in a vacuum, so this part is crucial! Magic isn’t magical. It is intention, symbolism, and energy infused to materialize our internal world into our external environment. You must guide your manifestations home to you by creating an environment where they will feel cozy and welcome.
Share your full moon rituals, or if you do this one, please let me know how it goes!