It’s time to get witchy. This Friday the 13th brings us a full moon — the first full moon to fall on a Friday the 13th in 13 years. Spooked? Don’t be. According to some witches and astrologers, the number 13 is auspicious — we have 13 full moons and 13 menstrual cycles in a year. And Friday is associated with the goddess Venus. So a full moon that falls on Friday the 13th is a special, powerful time.
This full moon is known as the Harvest Moon, because it occurs during the harvest and near the autumnal equinox (which this year falls on September 23). This year's Harvest Moon is in Pisces, a water sign associated with emotions, intuition, and artistic inclination. It's also a micromoon, meaning it will appear to be slightly smaller than usual because of where it is in its orbit (the opposite of a supermoon).
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"It's such a beautiful sign for us to tap into our own divinity and our heart space,” says Gabriela Herstik, author of Inner Witch: A Modern Guide To The Ancient Craft. “This is a holistically grounded time for us to access our intuition and our feelings.”
With the sun in Virgo grounding us, this full moon “is a time for us to shed fear and release anything keeping us back,” Herstik says. “It’s a time to live authentically in alignment with our heart and our vision.” The full moon always signals the completion of cycles, which is especially powerful this month because we’re so near the equinox and the end of the year.
The full moon “will be an extremely intense time for us all,” adds astrologer Lisa Stardust. “We will feel caught between two worlds — the spiritual and the material realms.” The other planets will influence the effects of the full moon. “With the close opposition between Mars and Neptune, we will have a tough time letting go of old hang-ups and relationships that we’ve outgrown. We may even feel ‘stuck’ in sticky situations and unable to make headway in any direction,” Stardust says. “Chatty Mercury and tender Venus enter Libra the same day as the Harvest Moon, which will mean we will be expressing our dreams and romantic desires. Be careful not to overpromise, as we many not be able to make any movement around our passions.”
Herstik says that this full moon is a good time to practice sex magick, and to connect with ourselves. “This would be a really beautiful time to do some bath magick,” she says. “Take a bath with epsom salt, lavender, rose, and mugwort.”
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She also suggests taking some time to connect with your emotions, such as journaling, meditating, scrying, or simply focusing on feeling your feelings. “Recently, I’ve been inspired by Lana Del Rey and the archetype of the sad girl,” she says. “Allow yourself to feel all your feelings in an environment that feels safe and supportive. You can light candles, you can cast a circle and invite the elements in if you want to.”
Michael Cardenas, witch and owner of the apothecary Olde Ways, suggests meditating on the High Priestess tarot card to strengthen your intuition. “Take in all of the details of the card allowing yourself to get lost in it, see yourself as the priestess on the throne,” he says. “Close your eyes and let the imagery inform and strengthen your intuition. When finished, write down any insights you receive.”
However you celebrate, appreciate this special time. “With the new moon on Friday the 13th, the goddess is really blessing us,” Herstik says. “It’s a time for us to tap into the numinous magick that the full moon highlights. It feels very feminine and soft, and it’s a time for us to realign with our soul.”