The dark moon is unseen. Energetically speaking, it is a place of the void, a place of limbo, and one of the midpoints of the lunar cycle, the full moon being the other. The dark moon straddles the threshold of this world and the next, allowing us to travel back and forth if we choose, and under the darkness of this moon we find ourselves in this liminal place of the void, where nothing has been formed yet, and where everything awaits creation. Another aspect of the void is that it is the place of death, passing, transformation, and endings. The dark moon is an excellent time for healing, and letting go of old emotional wounds, pain, trauma, and confusion.
Feminine and receptive in nature, the dark moon occurs when, due to its position, the moon is not reflecting the bright light of the sun, but rather it is in the shadow of the earth. It is said that when the moon is dark, she is going within herself, to be with her own essence, power, and nature. And it is this going within, this darkening of the moon that sets the tone of the entire lunar cycle, for when the moon goes within, she is regenerating, renewing, and resetting. At this time, we can go within to seek our own counsel, and to be in stillness, meditation, prayer, inwardness, contemplation, and trust for our own renewal, and resetting.
In the dark silence, and stillness of this moon, you can discover not only who you truly are, but you can also reveal that which is hidden, unhealed, and unrealized within you, and recover a lost sense of freedom, passion, and desire. In addition, you may find that the dark moon helps you to reclaim the permission to be wild in the most feminine of ways.
Traditional lunar wisdom suggests that no magic is to commence during the dark moon as the veils are very thin at this time, and it is too chaotic, and unstable of an energy to be worked with, but I have found that this is a very special time for a very special kind of magic, which is the magic of darkness, shadow, and the in-between, and you can capture this magically by crafting lunar essence water.
Making your own lunar essence water is a very special way of working with the energy—and the power of water, and whatever you will be infusing it with. Energetically speaking, water is feminine, and receptive, and it is related to the emotions, dreams, compassion, love, sadness, intuition, healing, rest, cleansing, dissolution, astral travel, death/rebirth. It is extremely ‘impressionable’, and can be programed with even the slightest of your intentions, as well as the energies of anything that you intend for it to be infused with, such as the power of the dark moon, and the planets, sun, stars, and the signs of the Zodiac.
If you are familiar with the idea and process of making flower essences, then you are also familiar with making charged essence waters, as both techniques aim to capture the subtle, yet powerful energetic essence, or imprint of a thing.
You can use essence waters to sip during a ritual, pour it into a bath, mist your aura with it, and you can also spray this water on tools that you will use in your rituals, such as crystals, candles, etc. You can also bless objects—and people with essence water. When making essence water for the dark moon, I suggest using it for magical workings of all kinds, most especially for sex magic, rituals of transformation, and for rituals of releasing. You may also wish to sprinkle some of this as a blessing or offering water upon the gravesite of a departed loved one, or perhaps use it as an anointing water prior to communicating with those who have passed on.
If you decide to make essence water for drinking, please use bottled spring water, keep your ‘medicine’ in the fridge, and use within two weeks. Never use tap water for making essence water, and do not use distilled water for essence water intended for drinking, as drinking distilled water can leach vital minerals from your system. Distilled water is the preferred choice for making essence water not intended for drinking, as this water has a bit longer of a shelf life. If you wish to keep your charged water—drinking or otherwise a bit longer than a week, or two, add some vodka (about 15-20%), as this will prevent your water from growing bacteria, and other undesirable things.
I often draw symbols, such as astrological, alchemical and such, and also affirmations, intentions and prayers on a piece of paper, then place a bowl of water upon it to let it absorb the lunar energies, and the energy of the symbols and words overnight. You can leave your bowl indoors, or outdoors, and I like to cover my bowl with something clear, such as a glass plate or glass pot lid so that insects, dirt and other unwanted debris does not fall into it, but the moon, sun, or starlight can still shine through. It is also ok if the only covers that you have are opaque, the heavens will still infuse into your water, as they will be directed to do so by your intentions.
If you intend to charge your essence water with the moon, or other nighttime light sources, such as planets, and stars, make sure that the water is not going to be in direct sunlight once dawn arrives, as then it will become charged with the energies of the sun as well. If it is your intention to add the sun to your recipe, then leave it out until you feel the sunlight has been infused. It is good to know that sun-and-moon water has tremendous balancing, harmonizing and re-aligning effects, and sun-moon-and earth water, which can be made during a total solar eclipse, has even more of these qualities. Energizing the water with the moon alone can be used for dreaming, intuition, and for working with The Divine Feminine, and also for working with the shadow self when infused during the dark moon. Water infused with the sun alone—which is called sun water, or solar essence water, is also quite healing, energizing and revitalizing, and can be used for working with abundance, energy, health, and for working with The
Divine Masculine.
In addition to making lunar essence water for the dark moon, you can create moon-and-star water to capture the effects of any of the constellations that the moon is passing through, and you can also leave water out during very specific celestial events, such as meteor showers, blue moons, and eclipses, etc. You can capture the essence of specific lunar phases, too, simply by making your moon water during that time. You can infuse your essence water with anything that you choose – the possibilities are endless!
**Renee Starr is one of our amazing Mystery School of the Goddess Teachers – see all of her classes here
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