Seeding: Waning Quarter Moon Ritual & Healing Practices
After the first round of intense heat, many of the grasses, the salad greens and sweet peas, and some of the herbs growing on the land I live with have gone to seed. I live in a place of multiple growing seasons each cycle of the year, so this cycle of seeding will happen a few times yet. This cycle, I'm learning how to collect seeds - it's an incredible sensation to be able to hold a small seed in your hand, knowing that it contains the possibilities of a new plant within it, and the possibilities of who it'll feed, help heal, bring beauty to the body and all the senses.
These periods of seeding are times that fall both backwards and forwards. There is the plant and flower which has died back, fallen to the earth, and revealed the forward momentum of a seed ready to find earth. Sometimes that finding of earth to grow in takes time - sometimes seeds are digested and eliminated from the bodies of people and animals, sometimes they are carried on the wind, sometimes they take a nap in a carefully folded seed packet passed from one gardener to another. All of this ties into the energy of the Waning Quarter Moon, sacred pause that allows us time to reassess where we've been, where we currently are, and where we might be going, after the climatic height of the Full Moon.
Like with the Waxing Quarter Moon, the Waning Quarter Moon is a time of balance. As the Moon is growing towards darkness, marking the midpoint between the Full and New Moon, the Waning Quarter Moon offers us a time to shed, fall back, and sort out which seeds we're interested in planting, if not just quite yet. Change, reassessment, release, balance, and decluttering are all key energies of the Waning Quarter Moon.
image via @ao_space
Herbal Traditions
In Traditional Western Herbalism the New Moon is considered a time of cold and moist herbs. If we were to think of the Moon phase as a cycle of building a sacred structure, the Waning Quarter Moon is a time for redesign and reworking of a temple space after it has been lived in for a while, bringing back the cool damp of malleability to reshape a space. For my garden minded friends, the energy of the Waning Quarter Moon is of the compost, already spread in the garden, ready to receive water and new seeds.
As I've shared throughout this series, there are so many ways to approach the meaning of the different phases of the lunar cycle and what follows is my interpretation through the lens of Traditional Western Herbalism and magickal practice. I encourage you to be guided by your own intuitions, spiritual practices, and cultural stories. For me, plants that have gone to seed and are in that phase of focused tension between having died back and letting loose their seeds to the earth embody the energy of the Waning Quarter Moon. I enjoy working with plant allies that help me to figure out where to draw my focus in and down as opposed to expanding outwards and up. Herbs that help me to relax, sleep deep, and digest experiences (from food to emotions to information) are all ones that I reach for. As mentioned in my Waxing Quarter Moon post, sometimes I like to use the aboveground parts of a plant during the Waxing cycle and the below ground as well as barks and seeds of a plant during the Waning cycle.
Examples of Waning Quarter Moon Herbs: Aloe Vera (Aloe vera), Borage (Borago officinalis), Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale), Elder (Sambucus nigra), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Lavender (Lavandula officinalis), Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), Willow (Salix alba).
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
I was first introduced to Hawthorn through the work of herbalist Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals (in fact learning that I could even be a professional herbalist happened because a friend in college handed me a copy of Deb's herbal catalogue - I read it through many, many times, completely enchanted). One of the remedies she offered was for the broken-hearted featuring Hawthorn as a primary ingredient. A few years later, remembering Deb's remedy, I blended together a couple of herbs I had stored in my dorm room, Hawthorn included, into an incredibly bitter tea for a friend who had shown up crying and heartbroken from their break-up. She drank it in stride (brave, sorrowful soul) and I began my journey with Hawthorn as a teacher (who would teach me that bitter times doesn't always call for bitter medicine).
Hawthorn is a deeply prized cardiotonic herb in Traditional Western Herbalism. The herb is a cardiac trophorestorative which is a restorative tonic for the heart, bringing the hard working muscle back into balance whether from an illness, stress, or the effects of aging. As a powerful but gentle herb, Hawthorn can be used for children, seniors, and all between. Part of Hawthorn’s heart healing gifts is its possession of antioxidants which prevent and reverse damage caused by free radicals as well as reducing oxidative stress on the capillary walls and improving circulatory tone (whether by relaxing or strengthening). It's an herb best used over the long-term and integrated into your daily life.
I like working with Hawthorn during the Waning Quarter Moons to help reflect on the ways that grief and loss has shaped me. This can be the small griefs of temporary separation from loved ones or the unexpected change in plans (like not getting into the program you wanted or missing out on an adventure with friends) to the long and enduring griefs of losing a loved one. Hawthorn helps us to swing between what was and what shall be as we deal with the grief of what is. This magick arises from Hawthorn's power as an herb of the hedge and the hinge. The hedge refers to its use both as a thorny bush marking land boundaries but also as the hedge marking the space between our world and other worlds (traditionally that of the Good Folk and Land Spirits), between one possibility and another. As a hinge herb, Hawthorn assists the "doors" between the chambers of the heart helping to regulate and improve myocardial function. But since herbs work on multiple levels of experience, Hawthorn also "acts as guardian of the hinge, hawthorn wisely discerns the right timing for the wounded heart to open" as noted by Judith Berger in Herbal Rituals.
I write more about Hawthorn within the context of thorn magick. It's an herb that I use in my practice often from breathwork to eclipse season, too.
Altar + Rituals
Decorate your altar with dualistic images if that calls to you or images beyond the binary and objects that evoke a sense of balance from within you. If you've built a Waxing Quarter Moon altar earlier in the cycle, you can choose to rebuild it, but reverse the location of all the objects for a bit of mirrored magick. Seek out patterns of harmony amongst the unexpected. Before you begin any ritual, take in an even number of deep and sustaining breaths. Shed any symbols, jewelry, items of clothing of who you no longer wish to be or things you no longer wish to hold onto before you reach your altar. Earth and seed planting spells, spells of ink and sigils, ice and snow magick, grounding and centering magick, and rituals that help you to slow down and focus in. As an offering, think of what you can do now that will be of great benefit to future you or your future communities from booking your first appointment for mental health services to planting the first seeds of a community garden. Learn about the sign that the Moon is in for more specific ideas and recommendations.
image via @brunoadamo
A Simple Waning Quarter Moon Ritual
To ground and center in your magick
For this ritual you will need one stone, preferably large and heavy but comfortable enough to lay on your belly - but it's completely ok if you only have a small stone available. This might be a stone from your garden or a sacred crystal that’s lived on your altar for a while, but be sure to invite them into the ritual before you start, honoring our stone ancestors in the process.
Relax into a position where you can feel the edges of your body - this might be laying down before your altar or somewhere outside, covered in blankets on your bed or sitting in your comfiest chair. The purpose is to feel planted like a seed within the nurturing earth. Take up your stone and place it on your body (such as on your belly or over your heart) or hold it in a way that you are relaxed but able to feel its weight. It can also help to have a soft cloth or pillow over your eyes to aid your meditation.
Close your eyes. Take deep and relaxing breaths, allowing yourself with every in-breath to sink deeper into a state of grounded relaxation and with every out-breath releasing any tension you might be carrying. If you get distracted, that's just fine, as it is in our nature to become busier in our minds when we are trying to become quieter in our bodies. Simply call your attention back to the weight of the stone and your breath.
Begin to visualize your body growing roots into the earth below you. It can be one single taproot or multiple smaller root systems extending from your body into the earth. Spend some time reaching out to the healing dark of earth and soil.
Take a deep breath in and out, noticing a green energy stirring around you and your root systems. The earth is reaching out to you. Call up their green energy through your roots into your body. Let the earth energy pool and swirl within you. Spend some time breathing deep here, filling up with earth energy.
When you feel grounded in the energy of the earth, it is time to center. With every in-breath draw the energy of earth inward towards a single point in your body - you can choose this spot intuitively or draw the energy into the center of your body, an inch or two below your belly button. With every out-breath feel yourself releasing excess energy back into the earth. Feel the energy coalesce into a single, vibrant place within you, humming with contentment and power.
When you feel centered, draw your attention back to the stone. Feel it's presence helping to draw you back up from the depths of your meditation. Begin to slowly move your body, stretch, and open your eyes.
Speak the following charm three times into the stone as a way to help collect the energy of the ritual so that you can easily evoke the experience of grounded centeredness again in the future:
By earth, to earth, through earth.
It is by earth we are made, to earth we are born, and through earth we come home again and again. Having completed the ritual, you can keep the stone on your altar, beside your bed or carry it on your person for extra grounding and centering magick.
A Simple Waning Quarter Moon Tarot Spread
To help you recognize your magickal gifts
Card 1 · Mirror
The Moon is a mirror reflecting back our truths. This card helps you to understand who you are as a magickally gifted and psychic person.
Card 2 · Veil
At the Quarter Moons, the Moon draws a veil across half of Her face, retreating from view. This card helps you to understand the ways that you hide your gifts from the world. A veil can be beautifully protective and holy, so this card doesn't always suggest that you are inappropriately hiding something, but that there are certain parts of your magickal gifts and psychic abilities that you might keep secret for your own benefit. This card can also help you recognize something about yourself you are not seeing.
Card 3 · Soil
This card helps you to understand what supports or hinders your ability to grow into your gifts.
Card 4 · Seed
This card shows one way that you can grow into your gifts, perhaps sharing them with others or using them in your life in ways that you currently are not.
Card 5 · Story
The overall message of the Waning Quarter Moon in your life. If you are familiar with your birth chart and how to find the transiting Moon in your chart this card can help you to understand the message of the Waxing Quarter Moon in the context of where it lands in your chart.
I hope you enjoyed this fourth post in my series exploring simple ritual practices of the lunar phases (and thanks to my patrons who requested this series!). You can find the posts for the other phases here:
If you're looking for more encouraging tarot spreads, check out my tarot as your best friend spread. For spreads to help you connect with your inner wisdom (and time travel) check out my conversation spreads with your ancient and future selves. And if you want to dive deeper into the world of lunar magick, come this way.
This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎
