Cold Moon Ritual for Kids
The Cold Moon is December’s Full Moon, the last Full Moon of 2022! One of the most visited posts on this site is my Full Moon Ritual for Kids from April of 2020. Here we are 2 years later and we still practice fun rituals with the New and Full Moons, so it felt like time for an update!
Having awareness and practices that synch with the moon’s cycle is a beautiful way to connect with your kids, nature and cyclical rhythms- it’s absolute magic!
Here in Los Angeles the Cold Moon will happen at 8:08pm on Wednesday December 7th, 2022. Last year we went to the desert for some full-moon basking in the darkest sky possible!! I know bailing out of town at this time of year isn’t always possible- so here is how we celebrate the Full Moon when we’re home. As this is the LAST Full Moon of the year- it’s really the perfect time to let it all go! This is a great time to write down or discuss anything from 2022 that you’re not taking with you into 2023 and release it with gratitude or just simply burn it up and release that energy from your life!
How we frame it:
Part of our practice is understanding the cycles of the moon and the different energy of each phase. We start this with focus on the New and Full Moon. When the Moon is FULL and BIRGHT we connect with that energy by doing things that are FULL AND BRIGHT!
How we celebrate:
We keep a moon calendar you can print a blank template HERE and start one as part of your ritual this weekend!
Set aside 15 - 30 minutes (depending on the age and capacity of your kiddos) to have your Full Moon Celebration.
This is a fun time to learn the various names of all the full moons or at least the one you are celebrating. This week we have the Cold Moon, aka the Winter Moon or the Long Night Moon.
When we started out Full and New moon rituals we established a simple theme for these two cycles- the New Moon is “new and dark” the Full Moon is “full and bright” and we use these themes to guide our practice. The Full Moon is the END of the moon cycle- so we talk about that quite a bit at this time. What has been completed? What are we ready to move on from? What did we learn or accomplish during this cycle?
Here are some of the ways we celebrate the Full Moon:
Mindfulness Practice- we spend a few minutes at the Full Moon practicing joyful mindfulness. We sit or lay together and take deep cleansing breaths and focus our thoughts on what makes us feel the most joy as we inhale, and we release anything we no longer need with each exhale. If your kiddos have waaaay to much squiggly full moon energy to lay and do this, it can also be done while taking a walk or standing up!
Discussion/Journaling- depending on the age of your kiddos this could be art-based, a conversation you have or some personal writing time. Here are some “prompts” to get your journaling started!
What is something we have worked on the past few weeks?
How are you feeling about the progress or accomplishment of the work we’ve been doing?
What is something that makes me feel full and bright?
What is something I would like to let go of or say good-bye to?
Art- this can be as simple as coloring in the page on your moon calendar (print one for free HERE) or heading over to Pinterest and doing some fun Full Moon inspired art! Anything with bright colors or big fun energy works well for this part!
Movement- the Full Moon is a great time to MOVE YOUR BODY! It’s no secret that there’s extra wild energy about when the moon is full and we as humans are totally impacted by that- so get moving in any way you can! If the weather is agreeable you can hike, or go for a walk, you can have a living room dance party, you can go somewhere where there are good trees to climb….whatever feels right, but be sure to create a way to release some energy during the time leading up to and the time after the Full Moon.
Time outside- This one depends on your weather situation, but any time outdoors counts even if it’s quick! You can totally do a two or three for one and combine your outside time with movement or fire! Having a moon cycle practice is about connecting with the rhythms of nature so getting out there and enjoying what’s going on at this time of year is a great way to celebrate the full moon. PLUS- when the moon is full and the sky is clear you can possibly even get in some more fun outside time at night (again, if it’s safe to do so!)
Fire- what’s a good ritual without fire? In this house we are big on blazing up the fire pit in the back yard as often as we possibly can. Since the Full Moon is a time to release, let go, and end cycles- we like writing or drawing those things and burning them up! You can also totally do this inside using a candle (safely, make sure you have water near by and obvs don’t let the kiddos do this unsupervised). Or even make a pretend fire with tissue paper or construction paper.
You can also do fun things like making moon water (put water in any glass container and set it out where it will be in the Full Moon light, then remember to bring it in the next morning). You can put your crystals in the Full Moon light to charge (be mindful of weather, some crystals should not get wet, so it’s good to do this in a window sill!) too!
Originally posted 12/17/2021. Updated and re-shared for the Cold Moon, December 7, 2022.