The moon, in all her changing phases, offers a rhythm we can root ourselves into—an ancient mirror for our inner terrain. Just as she waxes and wanes, we too move through cycles of nestling, emergence, release, and renewal. Working with herbs attuned to each moon phase can help us deepen our connection to the Moon. Moon carries wisdom and offers fertile grounds for rest, action, healing, or insight depending on where we are in the lunar cycle. The lunar cycle can serve as a visual guide to the seasons of our lives. What follows is a soft guide to working with plant allies through each moon phase—an invitation to align your intentions and energy with the moon’s path. To walk alongside the moon is to internalize what it means to move with nature and live in its flow. It is also a radical act—one that reconnects us with ourselves, with community (especially when shared with a friend or two), and with the natural world.
As I deepen my relationship with the moon, I’ve come to realize there’s no one source of truth, or agenda authorizing which herbs to use and when. Be your own influence. Follow what feels right and familiar to you—even if plants still feel a bit foreign. Herbs can call to you—sometimes as a whisper, sometimes as a siren. Respond to that calling. Tune into your intuition.
This is a soft guide, a gentle offering of herbs aligned with each moon phase based on their properties and plant wisdom. But remember, there is also deep wisdom inside you. You are free to create your own inner passes to explore and trust what calls to you. Also, I love adding herbs that bring body, heart, and calm to any blend—like rose, chamomile, oatstraw, or butterfly pea. Feel free to sprinkle one (or a few) into your mix if you’re making a blend alongside the moon phase herbs. Follow whatever inspires you. Let the process be both intentional and a little bit experimental.
The new moon (or “dark moon”) marks the first day of the lunar cycle, when there is zero percent illumination. This is a time of stillness, where we’re invited to burrow inward and set intentions.
Themes to internalize during the New Moon: rest, renewal, recharging, new beginnings, tending to the underworld, dreaming, visualizing, and planting seeds.
The waxing crescent (1–49% illumination) offers a glimpse into what is possible. This phase brings a sense of optimism and is a time to re-establish habits.
Themes to internalize during the Waxing Crescent Moon: an open mind and heart, deconstructing, reshaping, shaking off what no longer serves, stepping into new actions, and experimenting with new processes.
With 50% illumination, the first quarter moon marks the halfway point in the lunar cycle. It’s when ideas meet effort — a prime window to act on the seeds planted during the new moon. Move forward with discipline, boundaries, will, and healthy routines. (It’s still okay to fine-tune; don’t overload with stress or perfection — just bring your best effort.)
Themes to internalize during the Waxing Quarter Moon: forward action, consistency, holding boundaries that will help you shape your ideal reality, slow burn not quick flames, and building inner foundations.
Full Moon
The moon shines her brightest at 100% illumination — this is when we’re called to release and radiate. Let your body and mind bloom open to any downloads. That might mean dancing barefoot in the grass or riding a wave of late-night creativity. The two days before and after can also carry the same potent charge, with emotions and messages moving through the earth’s energetic grid.
Themes to internalize during the Full Moon: inner and outer release, emotional downloads, consciousness work, ancestral healing, divination, intuitive connection, embodiment, and anything needing a spiritual push.
This waning phase (50% illumination) is a natural descent into rest. It invites integration and soft release of what no longer serves. This is a time to come to your center and retreat into slowness. The days following the Full Moon may leave us feeling depleted from such force and inner energy exertion, inviting us to lean into deep restorative practices that build us back up.
Themes to internalize during the Waning Quarter Moon: unraveling, decompressing, reaffirming, internalizing, and surrender.
Waning Crescent Moon
With 45–1% illumination, the waning crescent is a final sweep before the cycle resets. It continues the descent, urging us to clear, brush, and weed — emotionally, energetically, physically. This is a time to compost what’s been shed and gently make space for what’s next.
Themes to internalize during the Waning Crescent Moon: self care, taking a step back, nesting, and weaving mindfulness into the mundane.
The Moon shifts, illuminates, and fades through phases all in one month, showing us—and all life forms on Earth—ways to work with our inner forces. We can be whole or a glimmering slice of light and still honor what is happening on the inside: an ever-changing inner terrain. Whenever we seek connection with the Moon and Earth, plants can be a bright, shining bearer of light on that journey. Infusing our bodies with plant and moon wisdom is a way home to the natural rhythms of the world and of ourselves.
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