Menu
  • Home
        • What to Do as Pluto Enters Aquarius

          What to Do as Pluto Enters Aquarius

          Aquarius is a future-oriented, humanistic sign that rules technology, scientific breakthroughs, and social revolutions. We can't over-estimate how dramatically (Aquarian) …Read More »
        • Aries New Moon: Warrior Spirit

          Aries New Moon: Warrior Spirit

          What big dream are you ready to fight for? The Aries New Moon, which falls on the heels of the …Read More »
        • Aries New Moon Energy Reboot

          Aries New Moon Energy Reboot

          Energy: Where to find it, how to grow it, how to conserve it, and how to channel it: that is …Read More »
    • Close
  • Free Astrology
    Chart
  • Your Birth
    Moon Phase
  • Dana’s Moon
    Workshop
  • The Astrology
    of Bliss
  • Astrology
    Reports
  • Sessions
    with Dana
          • Astrology Readings With Dana

            Astrology Readings With Dana

            I believe in life, in the archetypes, and the capacity of people to write better and better stories for themselves. …Read More »
          • Astrology Mentoring

            Astrology Mentoring

            Are you an astrology student who’d like to turn pro? Hoping to read charts with greater insight and accuracy? Desiring a boost in confidence? …Read More »
          • Boundaries & Emotional Mastery Sessions

            Boundaries & Emotional Mastery Sessions

            From the beginning, my 12th House Moon has attracted plenty of likeminded spirits I call “energy sensitives,” whose intuitively gifted natures benefit …Read More »
    • Close
  • Books
    • [Widget Area]
          • Dana's eBooks

            Dana's eBooks

            Dana’s writing… brings the meaning of the planets to life like no other writer in this field. She’s the Meryl Streep of astrological writers: …” Jeff Jawer, The Mountain Astrologer …Read More »
          • Free eBooks

            Free eBooks

            “It took me years to learn each of these simple principles, and with each one, my Moon practice deepened. May they do the same for you!” …Read More »
          • Books We Love

            Books We Love

            Looking for a good read? Mooncircles authors share a few of the great books on their shelves. Read More »
    • Close
  • Store

Mooncircles

Moon Astrology

Current Moon Ritual
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • View Cart
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Moonlight Ecstasy: Full Moon Fertility Ritual

By Dana Gerhardt

The Moon is full in mysterious Scorpio, opposite the Sun in earthy Taurus.  What will happen? What sort of magic emerges when transformation meets sensuality and pleasure?  Maybe you’ll taste new vitality in something ordinary and routine. Perhaps you’ll discover new comfort with a strange situation.  It’s a propitious moment to seek transformation. Consider the basics: Taurus is fertile. Scorpio regenerates. That means–for Moon priests and priestesses everywhere–this is an auspicious Moon to perform a fertility ritual. In fact, it may be the year’s best Moon for this.

Trees are often major players in ancient fertility rituals. Whether your ceremony was complex–full of incantations and libations–or simple–just putting a blanket on the grass–the heart of the ritual was always the same: You make love, under the tree, in the dappled moonlight. The tree creates the sacred space. It offers a sheltered bower so you can bring your body to ecstasy under the Moon.  Whether you do this alone or with a partner, it’s a wonderful way to enliven your earth experience. Moonlit ecstasy is the kind of thing you should enjoy at least once a year. The less scripted your ceremony, the more interesting it can become.  Spontaneity is a delightful expression of fertility.

From a practical standpoint, what this means is that the clever work is done in your preparation. Set yourself up for a safe and positive experience.  Choose a time and location that will work, when you can relax and unwind into greater receptivity. Decide whether you want to be partnered or solo.  If you feel safer indoors, choose a time when moonlight will illuminate the space.  You’ll need to know which windows face east and west. The Moon will be in the east after sunset. She’s high in the sky at midnight. After midnight, she is in the west.  Sex just before sunrise in a western facing room can be delicious.

Enchanting the space

If you have a tree, this can help to create sacred space.  But there are plenty other options, limited only by your creativity.  Create an altar; arranging special ritual objects. Burn sage or mist the area. Light a candle. Spiritual props help to invoke the protection of illuminated souls and ancestor spirits, though, in truth, props are largely used to alter human consciousness.  Beautiful scents, sights, and sounds cast a spell over our everyday mind, drawing it away from the usual worries and distractions.  Design your ritual to include objects and experiences that can cast a spell on you.

Breath is always the simplest and most powerful mind-shifter. When you tune into the natural rise and fall of your breath, your center begins to steady, your intuition is more acute and refined.

Raising the Energy
Let your ordinary thoughts dissolve. Just be with the atmosphere. Soak it in. Ideally you are sitting or lying in a patch of moonlight, though it’s not necessary.  The Moon’s influence is everywhere.  Notice how the environment is responding. What’s the mood? Welcome all of it. Even the jarring sounds, if there are any. Keep returning to your peace in the ocean of sensuality that is building in the moonlight. Pour a scented oil into your hands and begin massaging. Where will this take you tonight?

The Heart of the Ritual
Your body may want to do all the talking. But if your imagination wants a fantasy, you can tune into the charged dance between Sun and Moon, engaged now, as two opposing forces.  Each is a vortex of energy, equal to the other.  They see life so differently–yet they’re drawn to each other. Eros — the loving, life-giving energy that is the matrix of all creation — charges the atmosphere with intensity. Everything becomes infused with the erotic force generated by the attraction of these two celestial bodies.

Within your own field, see if you can sense these two sky lovers drawing passionately together as one.  Let your desire build.  Feel into the moonlight’s passion, promise, and possibilities.  Let this grand universal love consummate. Let this be a moment of delight and perhaps surprise. Maybe there will be heat, a burst of light – a blossoming – the birth of a beautiful star.

Winding Down
Breathe. Receive. Soak in the bliss for as long as you like. In the ancient rituals, lovers would lie under their moonlit tree all night long. Sunrise rang the bell indicating the ritual was done. But if that’s not convenient for you this year, you can seal your ritual with an energetic anointing.  Open your hands to the sky.  Receive the celestial energy that is pouring into them. When your hands feel full, or like they’re vibrating, turn your palms towards yourself. Gracefully lower them through your energetic field, in the air across from your face, chest, hips, legs, and feet. Hold your feet with your hands until you can feel the energy grounding–going from your feet, into the earth.

Rise. Move slowly. Sensuously. As though you were filled with an ecstasy of new possibilities — because, of course, you are.

Make 2017 the year of archetypal vibrance. Enjoy imagination and support with Dana’s monthly  Moon workshop and Mooncircles’ fabulous astrology reports. Order a Skylog to find out what’s up for you this year. Awaken your sensuality with Your Venus Unleashed. 

Filed under:

About Dana Gerhardt

A popular columnist with The Mountain Astrologer since 1991, Dana Gerhardt is an internationally respected astrologer. She has lectured extensively and written for astrology publications on several continents. Her ongoing passions are the moon and living the intuitive life. Dana worked for many years in the corporate sector, where she observed the undeniable influence of natural cycles. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles and did graduate work in literature at Columbia University and CSULA. Dana can be contacted by email.

Comments

  1. Pat E says

    May 10, 2017 at 4:21 am

    What a beautiful and totally exquisite article, Dana. Thank you!

    Reply
  2. Maria Manuela says

    May 9, 2017 at 7:54 pm

    Sorry, for the wrong box, my coments are above

    Reply
  3. Maria Manuela says

    May 9, 2017 at 7:50 pm

    Beautiful Dana, reading you, I´ve the feeling, so many years agow, to participa in a ritual
    cermony. Was, very far away,,, in a beach, where sunset was red…
    This year, w,as not an option,,was something strong to break my fear, just, because my IV house is in Scorpio, i was very afraid, but I´m alive, and try to understand what is around me.

    Now I´ realize that I had open a path,, to facilitate our financial problems.
    Not .. a big path, but it moove….

    Due to all works, i lost my gaden, ,when, but my room has an incredible terrace,..,when night looks more than a daybreak.

    All the best
    Maria.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe

The Moon is in its
New Phase

in the
Sign of Aries


Today's Lunar Aspects (Greenwich Mean Time)
(subtract: PST -8 hours, PDT -7 hours, EST -5 hours, EDT -4 hours)

  • Moon sextile Mars, 5:13pm  Mar 23 2023
  • Moon square Pluto, 6:42pm  Mar 23 2023
  • Moon sextile Saturn, 9:57pm  Mar 23 2023

Venus is currently
The Evening Star

in the sign of Taurus


Enroll in Dana Gerhardt’s Moon Workshop!
Your Venus Unleashed!
Moonshadow Eclipse Report
Moonprints Lunar Report
Steven Forrest’s Transit/Progression report
Mary Shea’s Solar Return report
John Townley’s Lunar Return report

© 2000 - 2023 Mooncircles.com

Astrologers use a variety of house systems, or methods of dividing up the sky into twelve sections. I use the Porphyry house system; another popular house system is Placidus (this is the default on https://astro.com). If the chart I send you looks different from what you are used to seeing, then likely a system other than Porphyry was used. Whole signs, Equal House, Regiomantus, and Campanus are examples of other systems. If you find all of this confusing, do not worry. It is likely not critical to your report.

m  Conjunction:  Like peas in a pod, planets in conjunction tend to come from the same place. They act together, but it’s also hard to tell them apart. This aspect can increase talent, focus, and intensity (“two are better than one”). Or one planet can disappear as the other dominates. Their connection feels so natural, it’s easy to think everyone blends these planetary energies just as you do—but mostly, they don’t!.

p  Sextile:  Planets in sextile are compatible, though without any fireworks. This aspect doesn’t demand your attention. It quietly presents an opportunity. You can join these archetypal forces. Donna Cunningham has called this the “Oh, that!” aspect, because that’s generally what her clients say when she describes their benefits.  To get the most from sextiles you need to actively work them.

q  Square:  Squares are wild and wonderful—but difficult too. The power struggle between these planets was likely defined in your youth, when they were impossibly challenging. People are usually aware of their squares. They force the issues that make you to grow. And that’s their gift. They ensure you learn your lessons. When you rise to the occasion, they bless you with energy, action, and success.

r  Trine:  Michael Munkasey has dubbed this the “goddess aspect” because it’s so lovely. Identifying talents you may have perfected in a previous life, trines can bring you joy. There’s a nice flow of energy between planets in trine. They support and reinforce each another. But without any struggle, you might take them for granted—neither using nor developing their gifts. An unattended trine can sometimes trick you into negative behaviors.

t  Inconjunct/Quincunx:  Your quincunx planets are innately incompatible. Bringing them into harmonious expression requires constant adjustments. This can be stressful, also motivating. You’ve got to keep changing your process, opinions or attitude—which promotes highly creative solutions.

u  Opposition:  They say opposites attract—and planets in opposition are never far from each other, though they’re constantly bickering. You may be triggered into awareness of this aspect by other people who seem to resist or undermine you.  An opposition can make you feel uncertain, insecure, or discontent, until you can accept and see yourself in both energies. Typically people find it easier to identify with one side and project the other onto unsuspecting others in the outer world.

First House: Personality, physical body, beginnings. Includes the Ascendant and rules physical appearance, the image you project to others, your general outlook on life, how you start things; may describe your role in your family system, often guides your first impression of immediate environment.

Second House: Money and personal finances, sense of self-worth and basic values, personal possessions, talents.

Third House: Communication, thoughts, language skills like writing and speaking, early schooling, siblings and neighbors, short trips, coming and going around town.

Fourth House: Your home, psychological foundations and roots, family, parents, domestic life, instinctive behavior, ancestry, your connection with the past, sense of security, domestic life, real estate. conditions at the end of life.

Fifth House: Children, creativity, romance; pleasure, entertainment, self-expression; all forms of “play”, speculation, gambling, and attitude towards taking risks; hobbies, attitude towards romance, lovers as opposed to partners, attitude towards having fun.

Sixth House: Work and job (as opposed to career), daily life, attitude towards service and coworkers, helpfulness, pets, attitude towards routine and organization, how you refine and perfect your skills.

Seventh House: Partnerships, one-to-one relationships, marriage, the first marriage, the “significant other”, business partnerships, competitors, open enemies, lawyers, mediators, counselors, contracts, negotiations, agreements. clients/the public.

Eighth House: Transformations and crisis, your ability to meet and rebound from crisis and change, sexuality; sex, death and rebirth, rituals and personal growth, your partner’s resources, addictions, psychology, other people’s money, taxes, divorce/alimony, inheritance.

Ninth House: Attitude toward expanding horizons, religious beliefs and personal philosophy, higher education, long-distance travel, morals, foreign languages and cultures, personal truths, publishing, commerce, advertising, your sense of adventure.

Tenth House: Career and profession, your contribution to society, social status, public reputation, material success, how you carve out a public identity for yourself; attitude toward authority figures, parents, caregivers, bosses, governments, attitude towards responsibility, desire for achievement.

Eleventh House: Friends, groups, organizations; hopes, wishes, aspirations, personal goals; your philanthropic attitude, concern for the collective, humanity; like tenth, can bring recognition and honors for fulfilling hopes and dreams.

Twelfth House: What’s hidden beneath the surface, karmic dustbin, limiting childhood/past-life messages, self-undoing, hidden enemies, hidden weaknesses, dreams, secret affairs, lost items, hospitals and prisons, hidden strengths, spiritual studies and soul growth.

A  Sun: Our vitality and magnetism; self-identity, ego.
Roles: The Self, the Hero, the Performer, the King.

B  Moon: Intuition, emotion, nurture.
Roles: The Mother, the High Priestess, the Child.

C  Mercury: Mind; physical dexterity and mental agility.
Roles: The Thinker, the Communicator, the Student, the Trickster, the Merchant, the Thief.

D  Venus: Our capacity for pleasure, receptivity, creativity, and social connection. Also indicates our relationships, self esteem, and financial abundance.
Roles: The Lover, the Seductress, the Artist.

E  Mars: Desire, initiative, anger.
Roles: The Protector, the Athlete, the Warrior.

F  Jupiter: Luck, opportunity, expansion, higher learning, religion.
Roles: The Scholar, the Gypsy, the Traveler, the Monk, the Professor.

G  Saturn: Hard work, commitment, focus, inadequacy, leadership, suffering, loss.
Roles: The Task Master, the Grim Reaper, the Wise Old Man, the Builder, the Cynic, the Boss.

H  Uranus: Change, breakthroughs, upsets, discoveries.
Roles: The Revolutionary, the Humanitarian, the Visionary, the Snob.

I  Neptune: Imagination, spirituality, idealism, addictions, deception, compassion.
Roles: The Artist, the Romantic, the Guru, the Addict, the Martyr, the Victim.

J  Pluto: Transformation, power, psychological dynamics, helplessness.
Roles: The Terrorist, the Detective, the Psychotherapist, the Dictator, shady people.

a  Aries: Pioneering, competitive, selfish, impatient, courageous, reckless, independent, dynamic, domineering, “Me first!”

b  Taurus: Patient, stable, lazy, dependable, practical, sensual, stubborn, artistic, possessive, greedy, gentle, loyal.

c  Gemini: Intelligent, curious, adaptable, quick-witted, restless, clever, scatterbrained, lacking follow-through.

d  Cancer: Nourishing, intuitive, protective, moody, sensitive, maternal, domestic, childish, cautious, creative.

e  Leo: Proud, dignified, vain, expressive, romantic, generous, childish, overbearing, self-assured, creative.

f  Virgo: Perfection-seeking, practical, methodical, petty, critical, studious, discriminating, cautious, never satisfied.

g  Libra: Charming, sociable, peace-loving, refined, diplomatic, artistic, indecisive, apathetic, easily deterred.

h  Scorpio: Passionate, secretive, penetrating, resourceful, suspicious, manipulative, jealous, sarcastic, intolerant, determined, aware.

i  Sagittarius: Freedom-loving, philosophical, optimistic, enthusiastic, careless, impatient, talkative, a know-it-all, broadminded, athletic, honest.

j  Capricorn: Serious, responsible, practical, hardworking, stubborn, brooding, inhibited, status-conscious, domineering, unforgiving.

k  Aquarius: Progressive, individualistic, unpredictable, cold, intellectual, artistic, eccentric, shy, impersonal, scientific.

l  Pisces: Compassionate, intuitive, ungrounded, romantic, impractical, self-sacrificing, seductive, musical, artistic.