Moon Dance

and a spell to ease a broken heart

Every 28 Days (or so), when the full moon rolls around, I talk about folklore, correspondences and moon magicks. But what we rarely talk about in witchy circles is the correspondence of the moon and love.

Our culture provides plenty of fodder as evidence of the powerful spell the moon casts over us, in literature, music, and movies. Topping my list of favorites are:

• Turtle Moon, a novel by Alice Hoffman

• Moondance, by Van Morrison

• Moonstruck, with Cher and Nicholas Cage

Each of these weave their own enthralling story of the moon’s magical sway over our mortal hearts.

The Full Moon if February is generally known and the Snow Moon, Bone Moon or Hungry Moon. I talked about it here, when this moon was new.

Image Source: Simple Witchery ~ simplewitch.com

But when the full moon falls so close to Valentine’s Day, for modern day witches it’s also a Lovers’ Moon

Valentine’s Moon

The February moon reaches its full illumination in the early morning hours of the 12th, two short days before Valentine’s Day. Moon magic holds sway from Tuesday night through Thursday night, making Valentine’s Day a marvelous time for stirring up a little full moon love magick.

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Witchy Tip: Holidays are the best time to hit the stores for seasonal magickal supplies - colored candles, themed candies (for offerings to deity or to be enchanted with a purpose), altar decorations and more.

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If you already have the love of your life by your side it can’t hurt to work a strengthening spell. Use herbs like rosemary for remembrance, basil for fidelity, and marjoram to reinforce those love bonds. Sounds like the beginnings of a good pasta sauce . . . a romantic dinner for two? As you twirl the spaghetti think of your interwined love for each other. Or serve over fusilli (representing the spiral of life). Check out this spaghetti spell from Llewellyn’s Spell-A-Day.

Why not work a little magickal gratitude for the friends in your life. Go old school and buy a pack of valentines, the kind you exchanged as a kid in school. Tape a chocolate heart to each one, for bestowing the good things in life. Chocolate is associated with luxury and riches.

Cut small hearts from multi-colored construction paper. Using a white gel pen, write words of affection and friendship on each heart. Fill envelopes with the confetti hearts and give to friends and family as tokens of your affection.

Love is always more successful the better we know ourselves and our needs. Spend some time journaling on what makes you feel loved. I feel loved when . . .

Cast a spell of self affirmation ~

After repeating the spell, meditate on ways to show yourself love while the candles burn. Votive candles are the perfect size for this conjuring.

Waning Moon Cord Cutting

Love doesn’t always go the way we hoped. The grief of a broken heart can feel all consuming, especially at this time of year. Supressing your sorrow will only make it burrow deep into your shadow; it will come back to haunt you (can you say trauma and baggage?). Give yourself permission to grieve. Honoring your emotions is the first step toward healing. Remember that healing from grief and heartbreak is a two steps forward, one step back dance—sort of a cha-cha-cha.

Surround yourself with people who support you, engage in activities that bring you even the smallest moments of joy, and reclaim parts of yourself that may have been lost in the relationship. Write, meditate, practice self-care. This is a time to nurture your spirit, to reconnect with your true self, apart from the love you lost. For a rule of thumb, healing from heartbreak takes at least one month for every year of the relationship.

I don’t often work with deity, but there is a Goddess that stands out in my mind whenever I’m feeling broken. The Hindu Goddess Akhilandeshvari—the Goddess Never-Not-Broken. If she sounds familiar, I’ve written about her before.

Akhilandeshvari has been torn asunder. It is from her brokenness that transformation is possible, and with it, the limitless opportunities of discovering new pathways (even though it might feel like a death march in the beginning). Whirling in her grief, Akhilandeshvari spins herself back together pulling her her pieces back to wholeness.

Most of us have known these moments of utter misery. We curl up into a ball, we are overcome by despondency and despair, we believe that we have been forsaken by Goddess, God and all divinity. But we eventually uncurl, rise up and begin again. Our life transforms into a new interpretation, one that likely would not have come about without the sorrow that struck us so low. Akhilandeshvari embraces her brokenness in what seems like a celebratory dance, with a smile on her face, assuring us that there is still life worth living after brokenness, if we only rise up to pursue it.

And in case you hadn’t noticed (I didn’t until I was editing this piece), there is a recurring theme here . . . the dance. Movement is an often forgotten magickal tool in the craft, specifically the movement of dance. So seriously, dance your joy, but also dance your sorrow. Cha-cha-cha.

Spell to Ease a Broken Heart ~

When the moon enters her waning phase find a quite place where you won’t be disturbed. Technically the moon begins to wane right after her fullsom glory on Wednesday, but for this spell, let’s say beyond the three day working window of full moon magick—so Friday. Create a play list of up to nine songs. . . .

Paid subscribers may access the complete spell below. And for those in a relationship that could use a bit of passion, I’ve also included my recipe for magickal Valentine’s Day cupcakes.

Until next time ~

Blessed Be and Journey Well