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Using the moon cycles can be a fun and interactive way to consult the tarot deck. A full moon tarot spread can be a powerful reading.
While the new moon tarot spreads can help us to release and let go, the full moon is here to help us align our intentions with the universe. The moon helps us to remember that there is order in the chaos of life. Aligning with the moon’s cycles helps us to remember that everything in life is cyclic- even if we are too impatient to be aware of it. When considering a ritual for the full moon, it’s important to remember that rather than changing the physical, they help to change our perspective.
A change in perspective is sometimes all we need.
The full moon is the perfect time to incorporate a ritual and a reading into your day. The full moon is the time when the moon is brightest- shining the most light. For this reason, we can use this very symbolism to shine the light on the things in our life we want to keep and celebrate, and what we should close the door on.
This full moon tarot spread will help to harness the energy of the full moon. I have included a simple ritual to incorporate into your full moon reading. You don’t have to include it in your tarot reading if you don’t want to. But I have found it creates a sacred space to do the reading and helps to bolster the intuitive messages we receive.
Remember, keep an open heart, open mind, and stay present at the moment. Just set your worries aside for a few minutes, I promise they will still be there when you want to get back to them.
Full Moon: What Does it Symbolize?
People have used the various moon cycles for millennia. It was the original clock and time was told by the cycles of the moon. Now that we have more intricate ways of keeping time, society, in general, has lost touch with a sense of the moon and its cycles. Let’s get back to honoring the ancient way by doing this full moon reading and ritual.
The full moon is typically an exuberant time for harvest and celebration or release and closure. The full moon is a time to emerge out of the dark, and out of our shells. Celebrate the wins you’ve experienced, and release the things that weigh heavy on your soul.
Use this full moon reading and ritual to step into the full light of life’s possibility.
Full Moon Ritual
You can do this ritual on the full moon or a couple of days before or even after. You can check the lunar phase with a variety of apps or you can even check on www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases.
Prepare Your Space
If you don’t live alone, make sure you have some time where you won’t be disturbed. Doing the full moon ritual outside is ideal, but not everyone has that luxury, so inside will also be perfectly fine. If you can manage it, have an open window where fresh air can enter the space.
Here’s What you Will Need
Your favorite deck of cards. These can be traditional tarot cards or even your favorite oracle cards.
- Some candles
- A smudge stick of lavender or other herbs that you like
- A bowl to burn the herbs. Clay is best but a metal one will work just fine. Any fireproof material
- Have a notebook, pen, and a loose piece of paper handy
Creating Sacred Space
Sacred space is surprisingly simple to set up. Don’t be discouraged by the perfect beauty you see on Pinterest and Instagram– it’s not what it looks like, but how intentional you are about it. If you enjoy using crystals, then set up a crystal grid or place them on your altar space. Everything on your altar should be set with intention. Remember, there is no wrong or right way to do this.
Place your bowl in the center of the altar space.
Light your candles and as you do, watch the flame dance as it gets accustomed to the wick. Light your dried herb bundle and allow the smoke to float up and over the altar space. You can wave the smoke over your body and over your head, using a feather if you like or even just your hand.
Place the smoldering herb bundle in the bowl or set it aside on a fire-resistant surface.
It’s time to shuffle your cards. With a clear mind and a peaceful heart, begin to shuffle the cards.
When you feel you have shuffled enough, cut the deck and prepare to draw the cards for the reading. Choose from the spreads below and arrange the cards how you feel fit.
6 Card Full Moon Tarot Spread
Card 1: What has Happened Since the New Moon?
This card is taking stock of what has transpired since the new moon. This card shows you what you have manifested since then.
Card 2: The Current Situation
This card shows you where you are now. Not your physical location, obviously, but more where your head is at and what’s going on in your mind and life.
Card 3: What you Need to Consciously Focus on
This card directs your energy towards what you need to actively pay attention to
Card 4: What you Need to Release
This card helps you to pay attention to what you need to let go of before manifesting something new.
Card 5: How you can Release
This card gives you guidance on releasing the energy presented in card 3.
Card 6: What is Helping you to Release
This card is similar to card 5, but it is more focused on the resources you already have that you might not be aware of.
Once you have the cards set out, take some time to record whatever comes to mind in your journal. Jot down without judgment, and allow the thoughts to flow. Each card has significant keywords that help to stimulate your subconscious, so don’t be surprised at what you end up writing down.
Now take some time to think about the intention you set during the previous new moon. Did you honor these? What new opportunities were you presented with?
The full moon signifies the closing of a cycle. The moon is at its fullest before it begins to slink back to the new moon. Use this time to nip old and stagnant energy in the bud.
Write down any achievements during this cycle. Take your time with this. All too often we don’t give ourselves credit, because we are too busy focusing on what we still need to achieve. Take this time to honor your accomplishments, however insignificant they may seem.
Time for Release
Take your loose sheet of paper and write down the things you want to release. Allow yourself the time to sit with this- sometimes it is difficult, to be honest about what we need to let go of.
Once you’re done, use the candle to light the fire. But please be conscious of safety! Hold the paper over the fireproof bowl as you light it. As it begins to burn, imagine yourself literally letting go of whatever it is you penned onto the paper. Place the paper into the fireproof bowl and let it burn to ash.
Closing Sacred Space
Take a moment to give thanks for your guides, yourself, and any elements you wish to acknowledge.
Blow out the candles. Give yourself a moment to just relax before rushing back into the ‘normal’ world and your everyday life.
Here is an additional spread you could use. There are no limits to the different questions you can ask or guidance you can seek. Bearing in mind that the full moon is a phase of completion, recognition of work done, and celebration- you could use the spreads I suggest as inspiration. Feel free to use these spreads as mere suggestions, and tweak them to suit you.
5 Card Full Moon Tarot Spread
This is another full moon tarot spread you can use to deepen your understanding of yourself and this journey we call life. The Full Moon is all about illumination, it can bring positive things to light but it can also bring things to light that we might want to think about.
Whatever the case, be gentle with yourself and keep your thoughts about yourself non-judgemental. The full moon can also be a great time to acknowledge our best qualities. Sometimes we tend to be so hard on ourselves that we do not acknowledge our positive qualities.
These 5 Cards Full Moon Spread Can Help Bolster a Positive Self-Image
Card 1: Your self-image, how you perceive yourself. This card can help show you what relationship you currently have with yourself.
Card 2: What are your best qualities? This card helps you see what your strengths are so you can bolster your relationship with yourself and feel more self-confident in your attributes.
Card 3: What you can offer to others. This card helps you to recognize how to gift others and helps you identify your talents.
Card 4: Where you can find joy. This card helps you see where you can find joy in your life. Use this card to show you where to invest your energy for fulfillment. We are all filled with potential, we just need someone (or a tarot card) to show us where our potential lies.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What is a Full Moon?
Answer: When you look up into the unclouded night sky and spy a complete bright circle in the sky- you’re probably staring at a full moon. More often than not, you can even be lucky enough to see an orb around the moon. Of course, the moon is always physically full, but it appears to change because of our position as earth. Here on earth, we see the full moon when the complete side of the moon comes into our view unhindered. We see a full moon because the side facing the earth is wholly illuminated by the light of the Sun.
The moon itself does not exude any rays of light, which is why we are only able to see the parts of the moon the Sun lights up.
But the sun isn’t the only star to shine on the moon. The moon receives a small portion of light from other stars further away. The earth does give the moonlight- but not directly. Light reflects offs the earth onto the moon. This light reflecting from the earth is called Earthshine.
Question: What is the Importance of the Full Moon?
Answer: Society has been living according to the moon for millennia. The full moon used to provide light for voyages, and in the modern world, some of us are relearning how to connect with the full moon’s energies.
While some people believe they have trouble with mood and insomnia during the full moon, there are other positives we can use the full moon energy for. The new moon is the phase for setting new intentions and starting new ventures while the full moon is time for harvest, culmination, and fruition.
Question: What is the Spiritual Significance of the Moon?
Answer: The moon is often personified as a ‘she’ due to her strong feminine symbolism. The moon is also highly representational of cycles, shedding, and time’s rhythm. While the moon’s phases are representative of eternity, immortality, and the symbiotic nature of darkness and light.
Question: Is there a Moon Goddess?
Answer: The Greek Goddess Selene is the moon goddess. According to Greek philosophy, Selene is the daughter of Titans parents Theia and Hyperion.
Question: What does the Full Moon Mean in the Tarot Cards?
Answer: The full moon signifies a ripe time of enhanced intuition and completion. Many people that consult the tarot cards particularly enjoy reading the cards during the full moon. The pull of our intuition is said to be at its clearest during the full moon.
Question: How often does a Full Moon Occur?
Answer: A full lunar cycle takes roughly 29.5 days, so we experience a full moon once every 29.5 days.
Question: Is there a Full Moon every Month?
Answer: There is always at least one full moon per month. The word ‘month’ is derived from the word ‘moon’, and the Gregorian calendar is linked to the moon.
Before we settled on months alternating between 30 and 31 days, a month was either 29 or 30 days. This matches up with the 29.5 days it takes for the full lunar cycle. But, to match up with the 365-day long solar year, a few months had 31 days. So, before our modern-day calendars, there used to be one full moon per month. But today, we sometimes get a ‘blue’ moon- which is the second full moon to occur within one month.
Conclusion
While science hasn’t quite yet nailed the link between the full moon and our intuition, feelings, or even insomnia, there is something undeniable about the effect of the full moon. How do you feel during the full moon? Many people report different experiences. I have one friend who suffers from insomnia during the full moon every month, without even being aware of the lunar phase.
The moon is closely linked with intuition and symbolizes a great deal of the subconscious realm. Why not use this heightened intuition to get further in tune with nature and her cycles? Whether you want to do a detailed full moon ceremony or a simple full moon tarot spread is up to you. Either way, take the time to enjoy this bright lunar phase and see what your tarot deck has to say.
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