The Surprising Truth About Dark Moon Energy And Its Benefits

The Dark Moon Energy is something rarely discussed in Spiritual Communities. Everyone focuses on the Full Moon. Calendars list the New Moon, although most of the dates are actually incorrect because they don’t take the Dark Moon into account. But tell someone you want to work with the Dark Moon, and they might sort of flip out on you. Since when did everyone become so afraid of the dark?

SEE ALSO: 5 Ways To Learn To Trust Your Intuition

We currently focus on too much light

The past five years has seen a huge uptick in Spiritual Practices and communities focused on Love and Light. While this is a great advancement in many ways and has helped the Collective Consciousness progress, practicing “Love and Light” to the exclusion of everything else is leading to increased anxiety, stress, burn-out, and a LOT of anger.

By forcing down all so-called “bad” emotions, lightworkers are stunting their ascension. Denying that we all have anger, hurt, sadness, and pain negates the human experience, and it amounts to little more than Spiritual Bypassing. The first step is to understand that light and dark exist in balance and that we must work with our Shadow sides and bring them to the light in order to transmute the energy and rise to our next spiritual level.

The problem with working with only full moon energy

For the past couple of years I have been deeply called to work with the Dark Moon Energy, but resources have been few and limited. Most women work with the Full Moon only. Unfortunately, if your menstrual cycle coincides with the Full Moon (like mine does), the last thing you want is to do some ritual during that day or night. If you cycle with the Full Moon you may find yourself drained, completely out of energy, and too tired to participate in a gathering or Women’s Healing Circle.

That could mean that you are out of luck, for many circles only meet on the Full Moon. This leaves many women isolated and alone during their spiritual practices because there are no alternatives. Full Moon Energy is also at its peak, with the waning moon starting very shortly thereafter. This means that if you are trying to use the Full Moon to start a new project, manifest a pay raise, or create a relationship, you have about 12 good hours to do it, astrologically speaking before the moon begins to wane.

The Dark Moon is a time for rest, reflection, and recuperation

In our busy, every day lives there is little time to stop and reflect on where we are and what we are doing. While a daily mindfulness practice is amazing for this, it is also important to dedicate extra time for deeper exploration. On the Dark Moon, pull out your journal and take a moment to reflect on the past month. What went well for you? What didn’t? Then decide what you would like to unfold next. This is also a great time to decide what is no longer serving you. Are there relationships that need to be healed or let go of? Do you have physical items that need to be released? Take anything you don’t want to carry with you into the following month to a donation site and let it go with your blessing.

Using the Dark Moon energy for rest, reflection and recuperation restores your natural cycles and leads to optimal health.

Consider working with a Dark Goddess

As we move into the new year, the Dark Goddess energy is rising. It may come as a surprise to people who have been trying to suppress it, but this is a good thing and the energy needs to come up. As the Goddess Nyx says in the House of Night series,

What is light is not always good, and what is dark is not always bad.

In Ancient Greece, the Dark Moon was dedicated to Hekate. According to the Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon, Hekate means “bringer or giver of light.” Each month devotees would spend part of the day focusing on cleansing the self, the home, and their personal affairs and relationships. Other Dark Goddess that you might wish to connect with include Lilith, Circe, Persephone, Kail (if you find her too intimidating as I do, try working with Durga, her Mother Aspect), the Morrigan, or Ershkigal. There are many to choose from so you will be able to find a Goddess that feels comfortable for you.

Working with a Dark Goddess in the Dark Moon energy helps you understand your Shadow side and to start making great strides in your spiritual maturity and practice.

Connect with natural cycles and rhythms including death

In the cycle of the Moon, the Dark Moon is part of the natural order. The moon starts off Dark, not visible, and grows until it reaches its peak. It then begins to wain until it goes dark again. This cycle mirrors our own lives. We come from darkness and begin to grow. We reach our peak and then slowly our health begins to decline. We naturally age until we fade away to the Dark again. This darkness is like death, a transition from this life into the next. Our society is obsessed with avoiding the topics of old age and death, and deleting the Dark Moon from the calendar is just one of many ways we reflect that.

In ancient times, elders led the community. They were granted a place of value and their wisdom was revered, unlike today when they are often ignored. To put the Dark Moon back in its rightful place in Spiritual Practice, we can begin to right these events again and revere elders and bring out death as a natural topic of our transition to the next plane so that there is less fear and mystery around these natural processes.

Learn to embrace the Dark

As Spiritual Healers, seekers, and life-long learners, we have a duty to explore the multifaceted topics that spirituality has to offer us. If we only stick with the light, we miss half of what we are here to experience. Denying the dark also carries an undercurrent of racism and prejudice. It is all too common for black-skinned people to be oppressed, persecuted, and denied opportunities. Additionally, black animals are rarely adopted. Black cats are considered to be “bad luck.”

Embracing the Dark Moon energy as a Spiritual Community can begin to heal these issues and bring about more awareness, equality, and social justice across the planet. Your Spiritual Practice will become not just about yourself but also help heal your ancestral line and carry it forward into future generations.

The Dark Moon is just the beginning

The Dark Moon energy has long been the sign of an impending new month. As the Dark Moon cycle completes, the new month begins. The waxing moon brings new energy and new opportunities for growth. In order to take advantage of this new energy, you need to first work with the Dark Moon. Give yourself the space and the time to rest and reflect. Go deep. Look within. Heal yourself.

Then you will know the true power of the Dark Moon Energy.