Rituals for Every Moon Phase & Printable Moon Cards

Want to start harnessing the power of the moon, but don’t know where to start? There are simple and powerful things you can do for each moon phase. Scrolling through your Instagram feed, you might just think the full moon and the new moon are the only times worthy of your time. Not true, there is a special meaning behind each phase of our glorious moon Goddess!

I created a simple and beautiful deck of ritual moon cards so you can better use your moon phase calendar. To get your printable moon cards, click here.

How to Use this Deck

None of these rituals require you to have anything except some time, space, and maybe a pen and paper. I do provide optional additions to each ritual that include accompanying tools like crystals, but they are all optional! Even better, you do not have to do these rituals in order. If the mood hits to do a moon phase ritual for the waning gibbous, but you didn’t do the ritual for the full moon, that’s fine!

Click here to download your free moon phase ritual cards from your email, print them on card stock paper, cut, laminate them if you wish, and use your moon phase calendar to see what phase you’re currently on. There are instructions for assembling your moon phase ritual cards within the free download. Don’t want to download a deck? You can simply check out my rituals below.

New Moon

☾ Themes: New beginnings, openness, hope

☾ Action: Allow 5 minutes of quiet solitude. Think about what changes, gifts, or manifestations you’d like to bring into your life. If lost ask for guidance from the universe, be open.

☾Optional: Light a white candle for newness and purity.

You can also check out this blog post for a new moon card spread.

Waxing Crescent Moon

☾ Themes: Set intentions, declare, cleanse

☾ Action: Create a list of 3 goals or manifestations you’d like to realize. Speak your list out loud. Put your list somewhere visible.

☾Optional: Cleanse your space with a smoke wand or herb.

First Quarter Moon

☾ Themes: Focus, momentum, face your fears

☾ Action: Choose one goal or manifestation you’re focusing on, commit to taking one action towards making it a reality within the next 24 hours.

☾ Optional: Tell one trusted soul your action to hold you accountable.

Waxing Gibbous Moon

☾ Themes: Refine, adapt, align

☾ Action: Allow a quiet moment, ask the universe for signs on how you can better align with your intentions.

☾Optional: Using divination tools like oracle cards, tarot, or runes, ask the universe for clear instructions on moving forward.

Full Moon

☾ Themes: Harvest, celebrate, gratitude

☾ Action: Write a gratitude list that includes everything you’ve accomplished over the last two weeks.

☾Optional: Let the moon's special relationship with water amplify any goals that have not yet come to fruition. Write down intentions you’re still working on, place the paper in a bowl of water under the light of the moon.

Waning Gibbous

☾ Themes: Reflect, meditate, receive

☾ Action: Meditate for 5 minutes. Before you begin ask the universe to shed light on your progress, or lack of progress, with your intentions. Receive and allow.

☾Optional: Take a bath with frankincense and myrrh essential oils to allow extra time for reflection. These scents will help you meditate and better tune into your inner knowledge.

Last Quarter Moon

☾ Themes: Release, surrender, let go

☾ Action: Choose something to remove from your life that is no longer serving you, a physical object, personality trait, or relationship. Write it on a piece of paper and burn it in a cauldron or other fireproof vessel.

☾Optional: Get in touch with your shadow side by tapping into the energy of the Goddess Kali.

Waning Crescent

☾ Themes: Accept, forgive, allow

☾ Action: Lay down for 5 minutes, mentally scan each part of your body, take notice of any areas you feel resistance. Be present with any resistance you feel in your body and offer it love.

☾Optional: Carry a piece of rose quartz with you to offer loving support during this sometimes painful process.

Dark Moon

This phase is often ignored, but I find it to be an important phase to recognize.

☾ Themes: Rest, self-care, reflection

☾ Action: Take everything in, relax, do nothing. Allow yourself space and time to simply be.

☾ Optional: Lay down, place a quartz crystal on your third eye and allow its subtle energy to wash over you, heal you, and calm you.

I hope you adore your deck of moon ritual cards and are inspired to have some moon rituals of your own! Be sure to tag @cassieuhl on social media to show off your deck.

4 Ways to Embrace Your Light for Litha

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Summer Solstice, but are you familiar with Litha? Litha is the pagan holiday that is celebrated on the Summer Solstice, also referred to as Midsummer. The Summer Solstice brings with it the longest day of the year when the sun appears to hang in the sky all day long reminding us of its life-giving light. Litha is all about embracing and celebrating this light.

This year Litha falls on Tuesday, June 20th. Invoke the energy of the sun and embrace your own radiance with these Litha inspired rituals.

Enjoy Some Solar Water

Harness the life-giving power of the sun in a solar water elixir. Place a covered clear glass cup or clear glass pitcher of water outside for five hours. Fresh fruit is often enjoyed during Litha, so feel free to add some slices of your favorite fruits into your water for a tasty addition. Drink and enjoy your solar water throughout the day in honor of Litha.

Bonus, some believe that soaking your water in the sunlight can give you a subtle energy boost, and have an ionizing and antimicrobial effect on your water. Though there’s no hard proof of these benefits, it’s certainly worth trying and won’t do you any harm.

Goddess Amaterasu “Beauty Bath” Ritual

“Amaterasu is here to tell you to bask in the radiance of your own beauty.” -Amy Sophia Marashinsky, The Goddess Oracle.

For the ultimate act of accepting your own light invite the Goddess Amaterasu into your day for Litha with this powerful “beauty bath” ritual from The Goddess Oracle:

All you need for this ritual is a mirror and the willingness to see your beauty.

Find a time and place when and where you will not be disturbed. Sit or lie comfortably with your spine straight. You may remove your clothes or do the ritual with your clothes on, whichever is appropriate for you. When you feel ready, take a deep breath and release it letting everything go . Then take four more deep breaths, focusing on the rhythm of your breathing. If at any time during this ritual you feel uncomfortable or are afraid of doing anything suggested, just take a deep breath, experience the feeling while continuing to breathe deeply, then slow down and continue at your own pace.

When you feel relaxed and ready, pick up the mirror. Look at your face. Just look. If judgments or criticisms come up acknowledge them, then let them go. Focus on the uniqueness that is you, reflected in your face. Look at your face and allow yourself to feel compassion, tenderness, acceptance, and love.

Next look at your eyes. Say to yourself: "My eyes are beautiful." Look at your nose and tell yourself: "My nose is beautiful." Then your forehead, cheeks, mouth/lips, teeth, ears, skin, bone structure. When you are finished enjoying the beauty of your face, go on to the rest of your body. When you have acknowledged your entire body, take a deep breath and look in the mirror. Tell yourself: "I (name) am beautiful." Say it over and over. Allow yourself to bathe in your appreciation of your own beauty, till you feel a tingle of appreciation and delight.

Love Spell Bottle

Many regard Litha as a time to honor the power of light over darkness, and the idea that love and light will always win. Litha is a time when marriages would often take place (and still is!), and is the perfect time to invoke some love magic. Any spells or rituals you hold on the Summer Solstice will be amplified in power.

I adore this love spell because it is easy and open-ended. It can be used for bringing more love of all kinds into your life.

Love Spell Bottle from Spell Crafts: Creating Magical Objects

You’ll need:

• Rose water

• Dried rose petals

• Dried lavender

• A glass vial or bottle (size of your choice)

Hold each of the dry ingredients in your hands before placing them in your vial and imbue them with love. Fill the rest of the bottle with rose water. Close the bottle, hold it against your chest and say these words:

Flowers drenched with love,
drench me with love.

When you’re finished, place your love spell vial in your bedroom.

Embrace Sunny Symbolism

Want a quick and easy way to honor your light and Litha? Place some of these sunny and powerful symbols on your altar, desk, or around the house.

• Fire element symbol or symbols of the sun

• Shells, or any other earthy bits that remind you of the summer sun

• Light a red, yellow, or orange candle to honor the sun

• Place fresh herbs and flowers out as a reminder of the gifts of the sun

• Light incense or diffuse EO’s containing lemon, pine, and/or myrrh

I also created an infographic for those of you who love visuals!

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A post shared by Cassie Uhl (@cassieuhl)

Embrace your light and honor your beauty so you can reflect it back into the world! I hope you found one or two tips to help you celebrate Litha and honor your light. Here in Arizona, we’re looking to top the day at 120°, though it seems fitting, I hope your Summer Solstice temperatures are a little more conducive to enjoying the outdoors! Find more rituals for Litha here and meditations for the Wheel of the Year here.

4 Ways to Connect with Your Passed Loved Ones // Guest Post by Lindsay Marino

Losing a loved one is something that is indescribable. It’s as if a part of you has died with them. When someone has a physical presence in your life and they’re taken away from you, it’s hard to imagine communicating with them when you can’t “see” them as you did before. With the loss of my own loved ones, I’ve felt so much grief, at times that I could hardly get out of bed. The moment I started communicating with them, everything started to shift for me.

There are ways you can still continue communicating with them because they’ve actually never left. They are very much alive, but just in a different form. It may feel odd at first, but once you get in the flow of connecting with them, there’s no turning back.

Here are 4 ways to communicate with your passed loved ones:

Talk to Them

• I always suggest for first-timers, to talk to them out loud (even if you feel like a crazy person).

• Wait for their response to pop up as a thought in your mind. This is an easier way to separate your thoughts from theirs.

• Once you get comfortable with that, you can start communicating through your thoughts. It’s very easy to feel like you’re making up this conversation in your head, but you aren’t!

Acknowledge Their Signs

Your passed loved ones are constantly nudging you to listen to song lyrics, look at the clock at a certain time, remind you of a memory they’ve had with you, and play around with your electricity. Once you start seeing these signs, let them know that you recognize them. They live on and want you to be aware of their presence.

Use Automatic Writing

Automatic writing is an amazing way to connect with them too. Here are some directions on how to use automatic writing:

• Set the intention for them to communicate with you

• Take out a pen and notebook

• Put on some relaxing music

• Move your pen and allow them to write a letter through you

Use Physical Tools, such as Oracle Cards or Pendulums to Get the Conversation Flowing

When you focus your attention on something, you will bring in that energy. Using an oracle deck specifically for connecting with passed loved ones, will help you open up to their messages. I created an oracle deck called Unlock Your Connection so you can receive messages from your passed loved ones.

• Directions to use my oracle deck “Unlock Your Connection” cards:

• Hold the deck of cards in your hand

• Think of your passed loved one

• Shuffle the cards and ask your loved one to help you choose a card

• Read your healing message

Click here to read this previous post by Cassie Uhl, on using a pendulum to learn another way of connecting with your passed loved ones.

Once you open up to communication with your passed loved ones, you’ll notice your loved ones are constantly guiding you in your life. They want you to live a full life and they are always a part of it. You just have to become aware of their continued presence. 

I hope you find some peace in these tools! To order my Unlock Your Connection oracle deck, click here.

5 Simple Steps to Get Started with Shadow Work

Intimidated by starting shadow work? Most of us have spent a lifetime hearing phrases like “be positive” and “look on the bright side,” so it’s no surprise that you might be a little freaked out about shadow work. While these sentiments are always shared in love, they can also cause us to repress trauma, difficult emotions, and thoughts we'd prefer to keep to ourselves. This constant repression will usually backfire, causing your fears and judgments to erupt out onto others later.

It’s no wonder most of us are hesitant to jump into shadow work. We’ve been told our whole lives to ignore it.

There are three fundamental steps to doing shadow work: to identify your shadow aspects, allow space for you to process them, and, finally, integrate them. By integrating your shadow side, you become whole.

As with all deep work, sometimes a qualified professional is needed. If you feel you need help from a therapist, psychiatrist, doctor, healer, or even a friend, I encourage you to do so. Facing the parts of ourselves often ignored can be difficult, especially if you've faced particularly traumatic events in your life.

I invite you to approach these offerings as ancillary allies to a shadow work practice. Here are four simple steps to help you get started with shadow work.

1. Practice Mindfulness

I mentioned in my last post that much of shadow work is becoming aware of how you’re projecting your shadow onto others and being triggered. Imagine your triggers as little notes from your shadow self.

The most effective way to bring more awareness into your daily life and catch those projections and triggers is through mindfulness. I’m not saying you need to commit to 30 minutes of silent meditation a day; a simple 5 minutes can really go a long way. If you need some pointers on how to start meditating, check out this earlier blog post on 8 quick tips to “be here now.”

2. Connect with Goddesses Associated with Shadow Work

There are Goddesses worldwide across cultures who correspond with the parts of life we're often told to keep to ourselves or ignore. Each Goddess below offers unique wisdom concerning shadow work. There are many more Goddesses and Gods to connect with

Kali

Kali is the wild and intense-looking Hindu Goddess of time, death, destruction, and rebirth. She is often shown with skulls around her neck and one in her hand. Morbid as it may seem, these skulls actually represent the death of the ego. Even though the image of Kali may be jarring or even scary, she is the personification of shadow and can help you get in touch with darker aspects of your ego that you may be avoiding.

Lillith

The Goddess Lilith has roots in several cultures and religions including ancient Sumeria and Christianity. She's referred to as both a demon and a seductive sex Goddess. Lilith is in touch with her sexuality which has caused men to fear her. She represents equality between men and women. Connect with Lilith to explore any sexual shadows you may have hidden.

Hecate

Hecate is a Greek Goddess of witchcraft and magic, she's closely related to ghosts and death. Hecate is often shown standing at a fork in the road as a reminder to examine our motives clearly before making a decision. She offers protection and wisdom. Hecate is perfect to work with if you're going through transitions. Ask for her guidance to shed light on the shadow side of changes you are going through.

Once you’ve found a goddess or god that you connect with, place a card, picture, or statue of her on your altar or in a place you’ll see it regularly to offer inspiration while meditating or journaling.

One of my favorite ways to connect with the goddesses is through The Goddess Oracle card deck. It doesn’t shy away from the dark goddesses, and my readings are always so powerful when they show up!

3. Create an Altar Space to Explore your Shadow Side

Altars are powerful healing tools. Much like a sacred container, your altar can hold space and energy for difficult emotions, traumas, and experiences. An altar can be as small or large as you'd like. It serves as a physical representation of what you're working on or working through. Small objects, tarot or oracle cards, crystals, herbs, pictures, or journal entries, etc., could all be parts of an altar. Learn more about creating an altar here.

To implement an altar for shadow work, start by selecting some representative items of what you're working through. It could be as simple as a black candle and a piece of rose quartz. Use the altar space to meditate at, call upon some of the Goddesses mentioned above, cry, yell, journal, process. When you're done, leave the energy you created at your altar space. You can go about your day knowing your feelings are safe at your altar, ready to be revisited when you're ready. The altar space will also serve as a reminder of your commitment to integrating your shadow.

4. Work with Supportive Crystals

Several crystals can be used for helping you with shadow work, but these are my favorites. Here are my top 3 picks for crystals to recruit for starting shadow work:

Snowflake Obsidian

This grounding stone is my top pick for shadow work. It can help open the door to your shadow side by bringing emotions, patterns, and fears to the surface. Black obsidian is also good for shadow work, but the balancing flecks of white in the snowflake version soften and balance its energy nicely.

Blue Kyanite

This stone is the softer, subtle version of snowflake obsidian. If you’re looking for a very gentle introduction to shadow work, kyanite is your stone, or you can just add it to your shadow work crystal collection! Kyanite comes with a host of other benefits but is helpful for recalling old memories and working through obstacles.

Rose Quartz

Shadow work will most likely bring up strong emotions for you. It’s important to bring in some soothing self-love energy while diving into shadow work, and rose quartz is the mother of loving vibes!This quote really says it all.

“If darkness is the absence of Love, then the most effective tonic to use in healing internal shadow is self-love. The more love we flow into our deepest wounds and darkest emotions, the quicker we are able to clear and raise our vibration.” - Jennifer Diamond

Place your shadow work crystal on your altar or in a place you’ll see them regularly. Another good alternative is to wear these stones for a beautiful and powerful reminder of your intention to do shadow work.

5. Draw, Paint, Write & Journal

You may find that tapping into your shadow side is more difficult than you thought. If you find yourself stuck in positivity mode, grab a pen or paintbrush and spend some time journaling and creating. Allow yourself time to create and/or journal without any outcomes in mind and let your subconscious flow. You might be surprised what naturally comes up when you commit yourself to some no expectation creative time.

This is the perfect time to keep some snowflake obsidian or kyanite nearby to help bring your darker side to the surface.

I also created an infographic for those who like visuals, and I added more ways to process shadow work.

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A post shared by Cassie Uhl (@cassieuhl)

Shadow work is not a one-and-done kind of deal. This is work that will happen over a lifetime. Every time you uncover and process one thing, you'll usually find there's more underneath. It's part of the process of being a whole human.

What is Shadow Work & Why You Need It

When was the last time you had an all-consuming work week that resulted in snapping at someone you love? You don’t mean to, you don’t want to, but it just comes out. I’ve certainly been there too.

Just one week, or even less sometimes, of repression can result in some pretty gnarly backlash.

Now, imagine what years of repressing part of your soul might cause. Let’s go one step further. Imagine what the repression of an entire society of souls might look like.

You probably don’t have to spend much time imagining this because it seems to be playing out right in front of our eyes.

I don’t mean to scare you off and promise you that this isn’t a doom and gloom rant! This is a topic that has some stigma attached to it, but it also desperately needs to be talked about.

Shadow work is something that has been calling to me since the passing of my grandma and my dad in 2015. After experiencing this loss, I went into a dark place that I’d never experienced or even knew was possible for me to visit. I was scared of myself. I was scared of what others thought of me. I was scared I’d never come back.

Through therapy and soul searching of my own, I slowly came back to the light, but not as the same person. I was reborn with integration and understanding of the darkness that lives within me, that is a part of me.

Since this experience, I’ve been drawn to explore shadow work more deeply. Before I dive into some methods for exploring shadow work let me give you a brief overview of what it is and why we so desperately need it right now.

What is Shadow Work?

Shadow work is the conscious effort of exploring the dark feelings, often ignored, that bring up shame, embarrassment, and fear in you. Many of these shadow feelings are not on the surface and reside in the subconscious.

The practice of exploring the shadow side of our nature can be found in religions and rituals all over the world, and more recently by psychiatrist Carl Jung.

Here’s another explanation of what the shadow self is:

“...the Shadow Self is an archetype that forms part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, instincts, impulses, weaknesses, desires, perversions and embarrassing fears.”- Mateo Sol

Why is Shadow Work Important?

In order to become a whole and fully healed person, you must integrate the dark and the light.

The more you suppress shadow the more it will come seeping out in destructive and self-sabotaging ways, oftentimes when you least expect it. When you acknowledge shadow and give it space to be, you may find that you’re more patient, kind, and accepting of yourself and others.

All worldly change must start within first. Taking a closer look at your own dark side can further the progression of our society taking a look within as well. Think of shadow work as a way to lift the veils and expose our earthly troubles. In order to heal, individually and as a species, we must acknowledge the dark.

Getting Started With Shadow Work?

You might be wondering how to identify parts of your shadow side. If these attributes tend to reside in the subconscious how can you become aware of them? You know the phrase, “you spot it you got it”? Most of us walk around projecting our shadow sides onto others, constantly judging and condemning others, for things that secretly reside deep within us.

Next step, cultivate mindfulness.

Now that you understand that your gut feelings of anger and judgment are your own shadows being reflected back to you it’s a matter of being aware of when they come up.

Keeping a journal or a list on your phone can be a great way of keeping track of instances, people, and events that send you down the judgment rabbit hole.

Side note, exploring shadow is heavy work. Though you can certainly work on it alone, it may bring up things that are hard to work through on your own. If you really want to dig deep, I encourage you to recruit guidance from a therapist or healer as well.

Next week I’ll share some rituals and tools for diving deeper into exploring your shadow side.

3 Healing Uses of Copper

The powers of copper-where do I even start?! You might be thinking, “Ya sure, copper is great-it helps power my house, my phone, my washer and dryer…” but did you know that copper is used for healing bodily maladies and facilitating spiritual healing, too?! You might know that it conducts electricity, but this element will also warm your insides!

Where does copper come from?

The largest copper mine is located in Chile, the United States is the second runner-up, which is where we source all of our copper from here at Zenned Out. While copper is not considered a renewable resource, it is reusable, and 100% recyclable (all of our scrap copper is recycled!). Maybe this is why copper is referred to as “man’s eternal metal.”

What is it good for?

Copper is a building block for bones and tendons, is necessary for iron absorption, and also plays a role in melanin production and reducing free radicals.

Here's an interesting fact- copper is antimicrobial. So, hospitals coat their doorknobs in copper to prevent contamination! Aside from its germ-fighting superpowers here are a few more uses for copper:

• Wound Healing

• Arthritis/joint pain

• Anemia

• Blood Circulation

• Energy Blockage

• Conducts Spiritual Energy

• Helps the body make red blood cells

• Necessary for iron absorption

How can you use it?

Even though there’s more copper in your smartphone than any other metal, I'm not about to suggest that you harness the power of copper through that! However, I do have some fun and interesting ways for you to access the opulence of this element!

Most of us will get enough copper from eating a balanced diet. Also, keep in mind that copper is a heavy metal so don’t go overboard! Fortunately, these copper uses have bonuses beyond getting more copper in your system.

Copper Mug

Did you know that ancient civilizations stored their water in copper containers? It wasn’t just because they looked nice! Choose a copper mug or bottle to keep your water in overnight to enjoy coppers alkalizing benefits. Don't forget, copper is naturally antimicrobial so your drinking water will remain super fresh!

Many filtered waters have been stripped of their natural minerals, but keeping your water in a copper cup or vessel will help restore natural copper minerals that have been filtered out and also make the water more alkaline.

Copper Jewelry

Luckily for you, much of your Zenned Out swag will fall into this category! Copper jewelry allows for slow and steady absorption of copper into your skin. Some claim that wearing copper helps with arthritis and circulation.

What if your skin turns green? Well, oddly enough this is a sign of your body's acidity. Copper reacts to acidic environments and will create a green tint on your skin. This could be a sign of too much red meat or junk food in your diet…or even a warning that you could be getting sick! I love to wear copper for this specific purpose, if my copper is causing more green discoloration than usual it’s a good reminder for me to add some more fruits and veggies to my diet.

Copper Pyramid

There’s more to copper than absorption and being antimicrobial, copper is also a beloved spiritual tool as well. You may not be able to visit the pyramids of Giza, but you can easily bring the benefits of a copper pyramid into your favorite sacred space.

Grab a smaller copper pyramid to clear and cleanse your crystals, essential oils, and well pretty much anything you can fit inside of it!

You can find some affordable and handmade copper pyramids on Etsy. 

Copper is a great conductor of energy so copper pyramids are also perfect for meditation and balancing the chakras. Large copper pyramids can be pretty expensive, but you can use a smaller copper pyramid for the same purpose by placing it on your head during meditation or over a chakra for the same energetic benefits.

Copper has a cornucopia healing of uses and it’s beautiful, what could be better? I hope you’re inspired to rock some copper jewelry and enjoy some of the other perks copper has to offer.