All About That Moon Water

Merry Meet witches and friends! I hope you’ve been having a wonderful week and taking good care of yourself since we last talked. This week we’ll be having a chat about moon water; how to make it, when to use it, how the different phases effect the water. We’ll have two herbs of the week and as always, a Famous Witch in History!

Settle in, grab a drink, and let’s talk.

An ancient practice has become mainstream. Every new age person, every Witch, even the magazine Cosmo is talking about and making Moon Water! This water is extremely simple to make; you just put water out in the moonlight. I’ll be the first one to tell you that it’s not an extensive process unless you want it to be. If all you want is moon water to feel a little closer to your practice then set that intention and set water in a container of your choice in the moonlight overnight and grab it in the morning. You’ll get plenty of benefit from this moon water and you’ve added a new practice monthly which is fantastic!

For those of you who are looking for a more in depth moon water practice, that’s where we’re headed now. We all know there’s several moon phases but today I’m going to focus on five and how they can enhance your moon water. Most commonly, people aim for the full moon’s energy when they want moon water and who can blame them? Full moon’s capture the moon’s energy at her greatest birth and bring with it gratitude and celebrations. Full moon water is a good catch all when it comes to uses but sometimes you want a more specific energy for the spells you’re working or what have you.

New moon energy is excellent for clearing and setting intentions. I would use this for your sowing seeds as you speak your intentions to them or after shadow work to clear away what no longer serves you or in a ritual bath. You of course don’t have to fill the whole tub with moon water. A vial should be well sufficient.

The first quarter moon is inspired action. This would be great for seedlings as they get bigger, sigil drawing, fire energy spell workings, job or weight loss spell work, hair rinses if you want your hair to grow. Basically if you want a “carpe diem!” energy, first quarter moon is the phase you want.

We just talked about the full moon energy and how it’s your catch all. It can fill in for any of these phases in that it will bring an energy of abundance and thanksgiving to whatever you’re using it for.

Last quarter moon has a releasing energy. This is post harvest energy. You’ve gleaned all you can and it’s the time when things get ready for hibernation. You start to get picky about what will go forward with you. Boil it for teas or hot chocolate when you’re doing self care or journaling. The last phase we’ll cover is the balsamic moon.

The balsamic moon is the period three and a half days before the new moon. During this time, the moon’s energy can be summed up in shadow work. A time of deep release and reflection. This water would be beneficial in your own shadow work practice as you hydrate with whatever drink you fancy (or in ice cubes!), to water your plants after the last harvest, or banishing spellwork.

As I said previously, there’s no need for a spell when making moon water. It’s about your intention. That being said, some practitioners feel more comfortable with spells in their craft so I have written a spell you are welcome to use. You want to add your water to a container of your choosing( I prefer glass), you may add herbs or crystals just be sure to do your research about which crystals are toxic in water. A good choice is clear quartz. I don’t like to put my crystals in the water so I set it next to the container so they are touching and speak this spell while holding my intent in my mind:

Dearest Moon shining bright,

I pray your blessings on this night.

Fill this vessel with your energy divine,

to aide in health for me and mine.

So mote it be

You could always swap health for a word that is more fitting of your intent. It’s your craft, your moon water, make it personal. Some practitioners will tell you that you will ruin your moon water if any sun meets it. I disagree with this stance. I have never once had a batch whose energy was dulled or tampered with when it met some sunlight. Just go grab it first time you are able to in the morning and you’ll be just fine.

So what all can you use moon water for? As I mentioned, your plants will enjoy it, you could use it in beauty products like hair rinses, rose water toner, or ritual baths. You could use it in sigil drawing, spellwork, room sprays, cleaning supplies, tea, coffee, ice cubes, tinctures, pet’s dishes, gargles, or just drink it plain. Wherever you use water, you can use moon water.

I’d love to see what you do with your moon water or other ideas you may have to enhance the practice! So email me or chat with me on IG.

We’ll move onto our herbs of the week. I intuitively pick these except the Stonehenge episode because I want the information to assist you listening at the time you need it. I’m a firm believer that the Universe has divine timing and apparently someone needs some lovey plants with potent protection! This week’s herbs are coriander and lilac.

Coriander- is the plant of love, health, immortality, and protection. Fiery Male energy, Mars deity. Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. Love drawing spells, healing spells. Seeds are put in satchel and worn on the person to relieve headaches (I need this because holy headaches), in ancient practices coriander was powdered in wine for desire spells, good for rituals of protection, aggression, courage strength, sexual energy. Crystals to use with coriander could include red jasper , hematite and amber.

Lilac-lilac is commonly used as an intoxicating aphrodisiac in perfumes and such so I won't talk about these properties in any great length. Especially when it has far more interesting properties to discuss! Feminine energy. Ruled by Venus and water energy. Been long used to soothe skin ailments, deworming, in gargle recipes, and mental stimulation. White ones are rumored to be unlucky unless you find an ultra lucky five pointed white. Is used in exorcisms. Fresh flowers in a home will banish negative spirits like Constantine in Lindsey Sterling’s body, magickally lilac’s are used for protection, love, psychic ability. Burn its incense if you’re looking for deep life changes. it’s wood is dense and hardy coupled with it’s ability to ward, raise psychic energy and promote wisdom, it’s an excellent choice for wands, staves, a rune set, or instruments. Crystals to use for lilac are rose quartz, copper, buried with a combo of your favorite black stone and quartz to aide it in dispelling negative energies and clearing them. If you have lilacs guarding the front of your house (these things are supposed to be like gargoyles) I would suggest burying a crystal bundles with them and clearing the plant with a selenite wand regularly by passing the wand over the plant’s aura and gentle contact with the plant itself.

To end today’s episode, we will be discussing the mysterious and highly debated, Mother Shipton. This will be a brief overview of the prophetess and I’ll give you book suggestions in case you would like to study more as well as the official website dedicated to her in the show notes.

There is much controversy over Mother Shipton. Who she was, where she lived, her true name and right down to did she even exist? There’s very few details to answer any of these questions. Mother Shipton was the Nostradamus of the 16th century and it was during this period that anti Witch propaganda was starting to surface. It’s possible Mother Shipton was a character made up for this propaganda. The most common name given to her is Ursula Southeil which oddly enough, Ursula was a name meant for a witch or a seer and Southeil meant soothsayer aka fortune teller just like many last names reflected the family business at the time. So you can see how she very well could have been born to a family of fortune tellers and aptly named or she could be the product of propaganda. For our purposes tho, let’s just say she is a real person. Ursula Southeil lived in Great Britain, most like around York in the years 1488-1561. She married a carpenter named Toby Shipton and the couple would’ve moved around a lot to support themselves on Toby’s trade. They possibly even moved to Australia in some versions! Mother Shipton became known for her prophecies. The very first one that was recorded was about Archbishop Thomas Wosley. Wosley had recently been demoted from Cardinal because he failed to get the Pope’s blessing on the divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Tough break dude, Henry VIII was good at causing chaos for all it appears. Anyway, Archbishop was headed back to his new/previous residence in York when Mother Shipton’s prophecy reached him. She predicted the Archbishop would never make it back to York. As you do, Wosley got angry about this and threatened to burn her as a Witch the second he got into town. Not content to wait til he arrived, he sent a party of noblemen to seek her out. The party contained Henry Gray, Thomas Perry, and Thomas D’arcy. The men were accompanied by Master Reynold Besley, the magistrate of the area. Mother Shipton might have known Besley but we’re not sure. The party found her living in Knaresborough where story tells us she was a very well liked woman. Mother Shipton invited the men in by name and fed them cakes and ale while they chatted. When asked if she indeed prophesied about the Archbishop, she said yes and even went on to clarify saying “ I said he might see York but never come at it”. When they warned her of his threat to burn her, she ripped the kerchief from her head and tossed it in the fire. When she retrieved it, never the kerchief or staff were harmed at all and she said “ I might’ve burned if my kerchief was burned.” It just so happens that the Archbishop was called back to London on high treason charges before he reached York and died on his way back to London likely due to dysentery. How very Oregon Trail.

Mother Shipton made numerous prophecies which I urge you to go read about. Most of them center around the year 1881 and all the natural disasters that occurred including a meteorite.

If you’d like to read more about Mother Shipton, you can google. http://www.mothershipton.com or check out Mother Shipton: Witch and Prophetess by Dr. Kellett

or The Strange and Wonderful History of Mother Shipton where Mother Shipton is listed as the author. Look for them in your local library or consider them for purchase at Bookshop.com or your independent bookstore!

I hope you found this episode insightful and have plenty to add to your book of shadows!