A Powerful Waning Moon Ritual for Manifestation and Cleansing

After the powerful energy of the full moon, the moon begins to wane. This is a time for slowing down, cleansing, and preparing to begin again. Today I’m sharing powerful waning moon rituals for manifestation, so you can stay in tune with this beautiful and gentle phase of the lunar cycle.

The waning moon is a powerful time of cleansing, releasing, and letting go. During this period, you can use rituals to connect with the energy of new beginnings, reflect on the lessons of the past and make room for something new.

Waning Moon Spiritual Meaning

The waning moon is associated with the spiritual meaning of endings and release. 

When it’s visible in the sky, it looks less full each night until it disappears for a few days. During this time, you can reflect on what needs to be released from your life, from unfinished projects to toxic relationships. 

It’s also a good time to review goals to make sure you’re making progress and pivoting away from anything that is no longer serving you.

You can think of the moon phases like the cycles of your own breath, where the full moon is the tippy top of your inhale when your lungs are full, and the new moon is the very bottom of your exhale when your lungs are empty.

Think of the waning moon as the process of exhaling: letting go, coming down, and making room for another inhale of fresh air.

In this guide, we’ll explore some helpful rituals you can use to take advantage of the waning moon’s power.

How To Do a Waning Moon Ritual

Your waning moon ritual can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. I personally prefer to keep my waning moon rituals simple, since it’s a time for cleansing and winding down.

Your personal intentions are the most important piece of your moon ritual, so have no fear – you cant get anything wrong!  

So as you read through these ritual ideas, you should feel empowered to tweak them so they are an authentic reflection of you.  

Here are the basic steps to follow for waning moon manifestation, along with several ritual ideas to choose from.  

1. Gather Your Ritual Supplies

The first thing you’ll want to do is prepare for your ritual, both in terms of your surroundings, and your mental state. This is your sacred time to honor your intentions and connect with your soul! So be sure to practice mindfulness as you prepare your space and gather supplies. 

I’m sharing a few different ritual ideas in step 3 to choose from. So grab anything you may need for the option you choose, plus anything from this list that you feel drawn to: 

• White or colored candles  
• Incense or dried herbs for burning
• Manifesting oils 
• Your favorite stones and crystals
• Mala beads for meditation
• Soothing music
• Oracle cards
• Manifesting journal or notebook

2. Set Your Waning Moon Intentions

Your waning moon intentions are going to drive your entire ritual. 

As always, use your own inner wisdom when crafting your intentions, but as a rule, I recommend sticking to one intention per ritual (or at least one subject). Your ritual requires focus, and it’s hard to focus on more than one subject at a time!

You can say your intention aloud, which is a really nice way to make a connection with your spirit team/the universe. Or, if you prefer, you can state your intention in the privacy of your mind, or write it down on paper. 

You can set intentions for literally anything, of course. But in the context of the waning moon, you may want to consider your desires from the angle of how you can smooth your transition from old to new. Here are some ideas to get you started:  

• Healing up from your previous chapter
• Processing emotions  
• Receiving clear guidance on next steps 
• Addressing any actions you’ve been putting off 
• Gentle self-care and restoration
• Creating space for adjustments and transition
• Cleansing your energy and physical space
• Finding mental clarity
• Preparing for your new beginning

3. Choose Your Waning Moon Ritual

Now it’s time to pick the perfect activity to support your waning moon intentions. You are welcome to take bits and pieces from each of them to customize your ritual. 

Smudge To Cleanse Your Energy

The waning moon continues the trend that began with the full moon of clearing away what doesn’t serve you, to ultimately make room for something new and improved.  

While you consider your intention, light your sage bundle and smudge your body (and your entire space, if that resonates with you).  If you have certain object you feel are holding onto negative energy, waft smoke over those as well.

If you have never smudged before, that is no problem (it’s easy)! This post walks you through it step-by-step: How to Smudge with Sage

Clear Away Clutter

The universe adores a good symbolic gesture! If you’re ready to simplify and make room in your life, then this is the perfect time to do just that in your physical space.

These activities can make you feel like a brand new person:

• Donate old items collecting dust
• Get rid of clothes you haven’t worn in the past year or so
• Clean out a junk drawer
• Unsubscribe to emails you don’t read
• Weed your garden, landscaping, or potted plants
• Toss old stuff in the fridge
• Put away that pile of laundry you’ve been ignoring

While you perform these seemingly ordinary tasks, practice mindfulness by focusing your attention on the task at hand. As you focus on tidying up and making space, your vibration will rise, which makes you a magnet for your desires.

Organizing your physical space is a powerful signal to the universe that you’re ready to let go of the old and make room for new blessings.💛

Do Some Self Reflection

The waning moon is the perfect time for self-exploration, and journaling about your thoughts is a beautiful way to do this.

Consider the following:

• Consider the past month. How has it affected you?
• How can you simplify your life so you can feel more peaceful?
• Make a list of things you’ve been putting off.
• If you could change anything, what would it be?

Journaling is a powerful self-discovery tool. Here are some more posts to explore during the waning moon:

Take a Sacred Bath

Nothing says cleansing like sacred bathing. If you’re a bath person, fill up your tub, grab your favorite candles, music, and crystals and treat yourself to a soak.

While you connect with the water element, focus on your waning moon intention. You may want to try a simple meditation like staring at a candle flame for a few moments. Notice what thoughts, feelings, and ideas come to mind.

This post is all about sacred bathing, if you love this idea: 12 Amazing Bath Tips for Your Sacred Self-Care Ritual

Pull an Oracle Card

A simple and sweet way to connect with the waning moon is to simply pull an oracle card. You can ask a specific question, or say something like this:

What do I need to know in order to clear away the old and make room for my upgrades?

Shuffle the deck until you feel like it’s time to stop, and then pull your card.

If you love connecting with lunar energies, the Moonology Oracle Cards deck is a perfect choice for you. 🌘

Try Lucid Dreaming

Have you ever tried connecting with your Higher Self or spirit team in your dreams? It’s a deeply profound experience.

The waning moon is a great time to experiment with dreamwork. I share everything you need to know in this post: Lucid Dreaming How-To Tips

But for your ritual, try calling on your spirit team, and inviting them into your dream experience for that night. You can say a lucid dream affirmation if you’re not sure what to say.

Call in your spirit team and set intentions to receive guidance during dreamtime. Journal your dreams when you wake up to strengthen dream recall. 💙

4. Close Your Ritual

Once you complete your chosen waning moon manifestation ritual, take a moment to consciously close out the ritual in your mind. You can say “and so it is” if that resonates with you. Or, something like “my waning moon ritual is complete, and I will now move forward with a light heart.”

Then place your supplies back where they belong, for safe keeping.

5. Journal Your Progress

I strongly recommend taking some time to journal about the impressions, feelings, and ideas that come to you after your waning moon ritual is complete. 

Then, as you move through the month, make notes about your progress so you can see how far you’ve come over time.

Waning Moon Ritual FAQs

Below I’m answering the most frequently asked questions about the waning moon phase.

How Does the Waning Moon Affect You?

When the waning moon is visible in the sky, its energy can be used to help you release old patterns that no longer serve you. The waning moon’s energy encourages you to gently let go of anything heavy and negative in your life, so you can make space for new opportunities. 

With its perspective shift away from the actions associated with the New Moon, it brings clarity to understand why certain things need to be released in order for your personal development and manifestation goals to come into fruition.

How Do You Feel During a Waning Moon?

During the waning moon, your emotions may still feel a bit amplified, like they do during the full moon. You can do root chakra healing to gently bring yourself back into balance as you process your feelings and reevaluate situations that need adjustment. 

Waning moon energy helps you to make sense of why certain things need to go so you can welcome new experiences and self-growth with an open heart.

When To Do a Waning Moon Ritual?

The waning moon phase moves through 3 sub-phases as it makes its way toward the new moon: waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent. You can perform your waning moon ritual anytime 3 days after the full moon, through 3 days before the new moon.

Otherwise, you’re better off doing a full moon ritual or new moon ritual.

What Do You Do on a Waning Moon?

When you’re working with the energy of a waning moon, you can use this time to do activities that will help you let go of any emotional burdens, negative patterns and beliefs that don’t support your growth. 

You can also focus on releasing physical items or behaviors like clutter or an outdated habit. Choose rituals like burning sage, writing in your journal, or meditation to help you focus on these goals.  

What Not to Do During a Waning Moon?

Keep your diet gentle and avoid any drastic change during the waning moon. This is a time for self-care, relaxation, and self-soothing.

So, reach for relief as opposed to overexerting yourself. As you follow your intuition and honor your body’s requests for nurturing and rest, you will set yourself up to manifest your upgrades more easily.

Conclusion

As you focus on self-care activities throughout the lunar cycle, you’ll more easily begin to manifest your upgrades.

Do you feel more attuned to the subtle energies of the waning moon? Leave me a comment below and let me know what activities your ritual will include!

Sending you love!

XO, Andrea

Andrea Scalisi

Andrea has been practicing Astrology, Numerology, and Tarot for many years. She is a certified Aromatherapist and Reiki Master in Central NY, and also holds a Masters Degree from Syracuse University. Andrea loves helping her readers bring more spiritual self-care into their lives.

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