It’s quite true that many Wiccans conduct their main Esbats on the full moon but many also celebrate the new or dark moon with as much celebration and joy. The question for new students is often, “why?’ Let’s look at the differences between the full and new moon so we can see why the new moon can be as important as the full moon.

When the moon is full, her energy as it its height and of course the pull and strength of the moon is reflected in the tides around the globe. But there’s even more evidence that a full moon signals the time of the strongest, global energy. Statistics clearly show that more murders, violence and unusual events occur during the full moon part of the lunar cycle than at any other time. If you couple that with unusual heat or humidity then suicides, crime and episodes of insanity and unruly behaviour skyrocket. The police force, welfare agencies and support services like Centrelink (Social Security) know and prepare for this cyclic rise in events. Many years ago I used to work for Social Security and staff would always know that there were more incidents around the full moon period than at any other time of the lunar cycle.

So what does this tell us? It highlights that the moon has a direct influence over our behaviour and over the strength of our magick. Conducting magick at the full moon injects just that little more power into it and is a perfect time for doing ‘diminishing’ type of magick. Diminishing magick is magick that makes something go away, get smaller or reduce. Banishing magick is a great example of that. If you want to give up smoking, then that’s an example also of diminishing magick. You want your cravings for cigarettes to diminish for example. So when we want something to go away, or get smaller, if we do it when the moon will be getting smaller, we’ll be doing the magick in tune with the natural forces of the lunar cycle.

The new moon by contrast is the time when the lunar energy level is at rest and is about to slowly and gently climb again. As such it’s a great time to do ‘expanding’ magick. As the moon and its energy expands, so too can your magick and its results. Expanding magick is spell work conducted to create something or to increase something. For example you might want to increase your self esteem of bring more love into your life. The new moon is a great opportunity to match your need for more of something at a time when there will also be more and more of the moon and her powerful energy to bring to your spell-craft.

For many covens, the new moon becomes the night for training, either for Outer Court students but often for those more advanced and initiated members looking to improve their skills and work towards higher degrees. Given the lower energy levels of the lunar cycle, it forces the magickal practitioner to work harder, to test themselves more strongly and devise more intense means of creating and directing magickal energies. Thus it’s a fabulous time to really push skills towards more advanced levels of competency.

With the light of the new moon so limited as well, covens and solitaries are much more likely to work outdoors perhaps in forests or by the ocean because it’s less likely that outsiders can spot them and watch what they do. With such bright light at the full moon, it’s easier to be spotted than it is when the moon’s light is dim and softer or virtually nonexistent.

Finally, and probably most importantly, is that it actually doesn’t matter when you conduct your circle casting. The main reason for casting a circle is to honour the Lord and Lady and you actually don’t need a moon to do that. She’s a wonderful symbol of the feminine aspect of the universe’s Divine but you can still honour and respect deity regardless of whether the moon is full or dark, whether it’s hidden in clouds or extenuated by the smoke of a harvest bonfire. Many covens don’t adhere to a schedule of full and new moon cycles at all but instead work to meeting on the first Saturday of each month because it’s easier to get everyone together on a Saturday than on a Tuesday work night when the moon might be full. Still other covens, and solitaires in particular, will just cast a circle and honour the Divine when the feeling takes them regardless of the date or the passage of the moon. Whilst it’s nice to use the splendour and delight of the full moon to aid your circles of worship, your prime objective should always be to love our Lord and Lady and you can do that anytime.