Everything Under the Moon

Do you always work with the moon phases?

I was recently informed that there are rituals to help you and your familiar bond.

I am extremely eager to do this, but it is currently a waning moon, used to banish things out of your life.

Would it be bad luck to perform a bonding/friendship ritual during the waning moon? Is it absolutely crucial to wait until the correct moon phase? (full moon perhaps?)

I suppose it comes down to personal preference and sometimes tradition. I am not Wiccan (so those who are, please correct me if I'm wrong) but I do believe they usually always follow the moon cycles as its a large part of working with the goddess/female energy.

I suppose if you are worried about banishing, think of it like this: I am am saying goodbye to my times where I wasn't close with my familiar and now hoping to get closer.

It all depends, though.

I don't always work 'according' to the moon phase, and I think it's worth mentioning that different traditions do sometimes ascribe slightly different meanings to moon phases (especially around the time of the new moon), so I tend to think of it as something more we use to focus ourselves, rather than something that has a real strong energy of it's own. Of course, there are a lot of different ideas and views on the subject, so it's usually best to think of what makes the most sense to you, and what works for you. There are also those who see aligning spells with the moon to be a nice boost, but not a necessity - and that can also go for day of the week, and even hour of the day, depending on how detailed you want to get!

And as was said, if you do put a lot of emphasis on moon phase in your workings, it's also possible to harness that to whatever your goal is by shifting the idea a bit. Like, to bond with your familiar using using the idea of banishing, you could banish the things that keep you from forming a close bond, banish the space between you and your familiar, that sort of thing.

Thanks guys.

I think I might just have her join in on a full moon ritual

Thank you for giving your opinion
I didn't think she was a familiar until I did my research.
Then I started noticing how loyal she was to me especially when doing any witchy things.
I have even caught her digging in my small box of supplies, hauling away candles and such.
I will continue to do some research and watch what she does until the next full moon when I intend to incorporate her in a ritual

I usually TRY to work with the moon, but I don't always find it necessary. Usually I will just reword my spells or ritual to suit what I need.

But here is some food for thought: Scott Cunningham once said (forgive me, I don't remember which book I read it in and don't real;y feel like looking for it at the moment) you are always working with the moon, no matter what. If there is a waxing moon where you are standing, some one else sees a waning moon.

Tonight is a New moon, (the 20th) and the next full moon is Feb 3rd.

smogie_michele wrote:If there is a waxing moon where you are standing, some one else sees a waning moon.

Moon phases are actually same all across the world. Well, give or take a few hours - so this might be true right at a very particular time around the new moon or full moon, but for the most part if the moon is waxing where you are, it's waxing everywhere. It just looks inverted in different hemispheres, since it's being looked at from different angles, but it is still waxing and waiting at the same time even if it looks different. (This site probably shows what I'm trying to say a bit better. )

Again, its a quote from a book I read and someone else opinion

I understand, just thought it was worth mentioning, since it might lead to some confusion for those looking to time things to the moon.

I feel a strong closeness to the Lady Moon so I work mostly with the moon phases when I can. But its not absolutely necessary to do so. To me working with the moon phases just adds that extra ommph to your spell/ritual. The moon is a very powerful energy, so I use it as a booster to my spells.