Moon Phases
Beneath the same moon our ancestors watched, we still find a rhythm that steadies the spirit and reminds us we belong to the turning Earth.
The Moon in Modern Druidry
Modern Druids often honor the moon through personal rituals and creative rhythms rather than fixed rules. Many use the lunar cycle to guide both spiritual and practical work
- 🌑 New Moon
- for beginnings
- 🌓 First Quarter (Waxing)
- for building and growth
- 🌕 Full Moon
- for clarity and celebration
- 🌗 Last Quarter (Waning)
- for reflection and release
Some hold monthly full moon rites outdoors or weave lunar symbolism into OghamAn ancient Irish writing system of lines carved along a central stem. It is used historically on stone monuments and spiritually in modern practice. Ogham… practice, divinationThe practice of seeking insight through symbolic systems or natural signs. It provides guidance and reflection rather than prediction. The goal is understanding rather than…, or poetry.
The cycle becomes a great way to mark time and also a way to live in rhythm with nature.Trickster-mage of the Mabinogi whose cleverness makes and unmakes fates. creator of Blodeuwedd and tutor of Lleu. more…
Ancient Roots: The Lunar Calendar of the Celts
Long before modern calendars, Celtic peoples measured time by the moon.
The Coligny Calendar, discovered in France and dating to the 1st century CE, reveals a year divided into lunar months. Each month began with the new moon, guiding rituals, agricultural cycles, and festivals.
Seasonal celebrations like Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain, and Imbolc often aligned with key lunar points within the solar year. To early Druids, the moon wasn’t just a night light in the sky… it was the heartbeat of the ritual year.
Mythic Threads: The Goddesses of Moonlight
While the Celts had no single “Moon Goddess,” lunar qualities shine through many figures in Celtic mythology:
ArianrhodWelsh lady of sovereignty and magic whose name evokes the ‘silver wheel.’ Arianrhod presides over initiation, restriction, and the forging of identity. more…, the “Silver Wheel,” whose name evokes the moon’s turning path. She governs fate, rebirth, and cosmic order.
Brigid, radiant with fire and poetry which mirrors the moon’s cycles of inspiration, healing, and renewal.
CeridwenCeridwen is the Welsh goddess of transformation and inspiration, keeper of the cauldron of Awen, the divine poetic inspiration. Through her, wisdom is brewed, death… more…, keeper of the cauldronA large vessel representing transformation of transformation. She embodies the moon’s phases, waxing, full, and waning… as the soul’s eternal dance of change.
These figures reveal a deep truth: that the moon is not only celestial but spiritual, a guide through transformation and renewal.
Symbolism: The Moon as Teacher
In Druidic thought, the moon embodies rhythm, reflection, and renewal.
Its light does not originate from itself, it reflects the sun, reminding us that wisdom often comes through quiet listening and inner light.
The moon teaches:
Cyclicity: that all things grow, ripen, fade, and begin again.
Reflection: intuition and inner truth emerge in stillness.
Liminality: moonlight belongs to neither day nor full night, dwelling in the in-between where inspiration flows.