September is always a seriously powerful month — a time of thresholds and crossroads, a time that asks us to say goodbye to the bravado and generative activity of summer and usher in the very beginning of a deep reflective period. Especially during a full moon.
So, it’s no surprise that September is full of magic. On the eighth and ninth, for example, Mercury trines Pluto and then Mercury trines Saturn. On these two days, think about going deep and getting to the bottom of what you truly want, taking real action to create the life you want to live.
Then, right at the tail-end of Friday the 13th (for West Coast babes), and at 12:32 a.m. EST on September 14 — we’ll all be faced with a Full Moon in Pisces. Get your heart ready.
Technically, this particular September Full Moon is called a Harvest Moon, as it is the full moon that falls closest to September 23’s autumn equinox. This time is marked by shorter, darker days (#RIP Summer). It’s technically the 14th for some, but it will definitely feel like a Full Moon on Friday the 13th.
According to some modern iterations of the Pagan wheel of the year, the autumnal equinox is referred to as Mabon, a time when we give thanks to the earth for what it has produced — as well as an opportunity to find gratitude and reflect on what we’ve done in addition to what we want to do, create, or become.
But just as we use this Full Moon equinox energy to think on the lives we want, we should also take the time to let go of what we don’t need; to go into this period of harvest without baggage or psychic sludge.
So, with the energy of the Full Harvest Moon and autumn equinox, we can all embrace Full Moon rituals that will help us sow what we want to reap for the year ahead.
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Depending on which Sun sign you are, certain Full Moon rituals may speak to you more than others, so Sun sign recommendations for each ritual are also included below.
That said, feel free to perform any of the rituals that speak to you on a personal level, too.
These rituals are designed to capture the energy and power of the Full Moon — as well as the dreamy, fantastical emotional, inspired (and sometimes deeply complicated) energy of the divine Pisces.
You may even want to perform several rituals with your Rising and Moon signs in mind as well.
These rituals are also all designed to be accessible, totally adaptable, and secular (so no matter what your beliefs are, you can embrace each).
Before you get started, you’ll need a journal, a new candle (it’s always best to use a new candle, even a small votive) with each new ritual, and an amethyst.
If you don’t have any of these supplies that’s okay. You can use another candle or object in its place so long as you program it for the particular ritual.
Remember that rituals are ways for us to focus our energy and intention; they should feel aligned with our emotions and behaviors, so the most important thing in any ritual is you — not the materials!
Still, we totally get if you’re that person that likes to be organized, prepared, and “do things by the book” with the correct supplies.
Do whatever way works best for you.
No matter what you do in your ritual work, make sure you believe in your own intention.
As I write in my book, Light Magic for Dark Times, intention matters most. You can perform a ritual in a beautifully decorated space or a messy bedroom.
The point is to enter into a state where you are able to connect with your true intentions, free from distraction. Your belief in your own feelings is your most potent magic.
This would also be a good time to read your birth chart.
You can check your birth chart here by plugging in your birthday, birth time, and location. It’ll tell you which signs are in which planets.
Do you have any Pisces in your chart? If so, where? Do some research to see if Pisces has any bearing on your personality. With this knowledge, you can tap more deeply into any personal Piscean elements.
Remember to ground yourself before doing a ritual.
Before embarking on any ritual work, ground yourself by doing some deep breathing exercises, taking a bath or shower, or simply drinking a glass of water to ground yourself.
This allows you to separate from the days’ energy and thoughts and connect with a more sacred self.
Let’s dive in…
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Magical letters: A ritual for writing to your future self
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Great for: Virgo, Gemini, Capricorn, Sagittarius
By the light of the Moon, write a letter (by hand if possible, although if you need to use a computer or voice recorder, that’s great, too!) to yourself — in the present tense.
For example, you might write, “you are successful, you have finished a collection of poems, you are becoming more independent, you listen to your intuition more.”
The goal is to really dream and to use the September 13 Full Moon’s energy to power those ideas. Leave the letter on your windowsill under the moon to charge.
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
14-Piece Stardust Galaxy Sakura Gelly Roll Pen Set – to make your prose glittery and beautiful. Try using color theory to match your pen ink to your intention.
Cute Inspirational Stationary – you would send someone you love a beautiful card, so why not one for yourself?
Antique Sealing Wax Sticks – to (carefully!) melt and seal your letter to yourself, solidifying your intentions.
Cleansing: A ritual to let go of what we don’t need
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Great for: Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio
In this ritual, you will play your favorite gauzy music (Water element Queen Lana Del Rey, anyone?) while taking a long bath.
Fill the water with a dreamy bath bomb — perhaps one in blue or green to call on the watery, Pisces energy. Let the water fluidly move around you, teaching you to understand the nature of change — things come and go.
We change and grow.
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Envision all of the stress and tension and pain from the year draining out of you, and as you step out of the bath, focus on going into the end of the year free from heaviness. You are ready to harvest.
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
Refugee Bath Co. Bath Bombs — give back to others as you soak in the tub.
Spa Pillow – to rest your head on while your wash away the stress.
Dare to dream: A ritual to conjure dream messages
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Great for: Pisces, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius
During this Pisces Full Moon, that feeling of connectedness to the great unknown comes up full-force, so tap into it.
In this ritual, you will sleep with an amethyst beneath your pillow. Amethyst is believed to promote message-filled dreams and powers of cosmic wisdom and intuition.
Before bed, meditate while holding the crystal, asking it to reveal a message in your dreams for the evening. With the big, bright Harvest Moon shining above, this message should be clear and powerful.
As soon as you wake up, write down everything you remember from your prophetic dream.
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
A Dream Journal – keeping a notebook specifically for dreams will help with your ability to dream recall and interpret your dreams.
Amethyst – to keep under your pillow.
Lavender Essential Oil Roll On – to put on your temples to help lull you into a restful, dreamy state.
Explore automatic writing: A ritual for listening to your inner self
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Great for: Scorpio, Aquarius, Pisces, Capricorn
Automatic writing is a method of writing that asks us to enter a different sort of mental state, a sort of trance-like state, in order to generate words or channel ideas.
Meditate, breath deeply for several minutes, and get your mind and body loose — ready to connect to your inner self. Once you feel ‘receptive,’ begin to write — close your eyes and let the words fall out of your mind and onto the paper.
Do not censor them or try to make sense of them. Perhaps they are words, images, or something else; just let it go. The intense and dreamy Pisces Full Moon asks us to connect with this deep, shadowy self — to find inner truth and to feel deeply.
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
Sea Witch Composition Notebook – invoke the Full Moon’s Pisces energy with this beautifully illustrated notebook.
Quick-Drying Pens – for when the automatic writing takes over — no smudges for this fast-writing witch.
Fantasy painting: A ritual for self-realization
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Great for: Taurus, Scorpio, Libra, Pisces
In this ritual, you will fully explore your inner fantasy world. You will confront those dreams and feelings of immense desire — and you will honor then.
Pisces teaches us that fantasies are beautiful and powerful (they are, after all, ruled by fantasy planet Neptune) — but not everyone listens to their fantasies or allows themselves a fantasy life.
By the light of the Full Moon, paint (use watercolor!) or draw while meditating on your fantasies. What colors come to life? Which shapes pour out of you? How do you give shape to the feelings, concepts, or ideas in your fantasies?
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
Watercolor Paint Set – this palette boasts 36 colors, so you can really express yourself with a swirl of hues.
Arteza Watercolor Pad – so your fantasy painting doesn’t fade.
Drawing Set With Sketching And Charcoal Pencils – in case watercolors truly aren’t your thing and you prefer to draw or sketch.
Tarot journaling: A ritual for realization
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Great for: Aries, Virgo, Leo
If you have a tarot deck, pull it out! If not, you can use a phone app or this website to generate a random tarot card for you.
Before pulling a card, ask the Full Moon to illuminate a message that you need to hear. What is it that you need to know as you go into the many dark months ahead? What can you focus on harvesting for the year ahead? What should you spend more time dreaming about?
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck And Guidebook – if you want to start dabbling in tarot, consider this beautiful illustrated deck.
A Tarot Journal – to keep track once you start reading your cards on the regular.
Poetry magic: A ritual of expression
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Great for: Pisces, Gemini, Aquarius, Sagittarius
We can’t always say everything we feel to everyone want to say it to — and that’s where poetry comes in.
With poetry, we’re allowed to communicate with metaphors, colors, sounds, moods, and feelings — rather than directly saying something. We don’t have to follow the rules of sentence structure, and we can express those complicated, in-between feelings with beauty and honesty.
Poetic Pisces asks us to get into bed with our deep feelings, so dive in. Light a candle, meditate on its flame, and let the words come out of you.
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
A Watercolor Journal – beautiful pages for beautiful words.
the mermaid’s voice returns in this one by Amanda Lovelace — the third installment in the poet’s “women are some kind of magic” series to get the creative juices flowing.
Pisces Jasmin Incense – jasmine is an ancient plant that inspired poets, according to Grove and Grotto.
Dancing the demons away: A ritual for fluidity
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Great for: Scorpio, Pisces, Cancer, Taurus
Piscean nature can be mistaken for flaky, but Pisces is more about embracing fluidity. They come up for air, dive deep into the depths, then resurface — often for a short period of time before disappearing again.
In this ritual, you’ll put on your favorite music and start to feel your body. Move like a fish — slice through the air, wiggle into your skin, let the air sway around you.
The point is, let go.
Wait for nightfall when the moon’s intense light beams through the window and just let go. What does it feel like to let your body intuit your movements? How does it feel to simply feel the pleasure of fluidity?
If you can’t dance, that’s okay! You can use your hands or arms to sway in place. Let yourself get carried away.
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
Wireless headphones — so you can feel the music without getting tangled.
Color-Changing LED Touchable Light — to make your bedroom feel like its own personal, lowkey dance club.
Akai Mini Keyboard — if you are feeling extra inspired and want to create the music you dance to.
Candle magic: Ritual for manifestation
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Great for: Capricorn, Leo, Virgo, Aries
Now’s the time for real manifestation. Take your career and personal development dreams to the next level with the September 13th Full Moon’s super-charged energy.
Take a candle and carve a word (example: “Abundance,” “confidence,” or “5k,” if you wanted to start running) into the wax.
Next, light the candle and visualize, within the dancing flame, you doing what it is you’re dreaming of. See yourself running, creating, living a life untainted by financial worry.
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
Chime Candles — pick a color that resonates with your goal. For example, if you wanted to attract financial abundance, you would choose a green candle. Stock up on various colors for your future rituals.
Rainbow Wax Carving Tools — for writing out your intentions on your candles.
Rose Gold Candle Snuffer — many witches opt to snuff their candles instead of blowing them out; this is a way of making sure the intention isn’t “blown out” as well.
Letting go: A ritual for cleansing our psyches
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Great for: Aries, Scorpio, Libra,
According to Lunar Abundance by Ezzie Spencer, the full moon isn’t just about calling our dreams in. It’s about letting go.
“Letting go at this phase could be anything from clearing out your cupboards, deleting old files from the computer, letting go of old systems in our businesses, and clearing out old beliefs.”
And because of Pisces’ tendency toward self-destruction when they’re hooked on something not so good for them, you should focus on letting go of what doesn’t serve you.
By the light of the September 13th Full Moon, write out a list of things (ideas, feelings) that no longer serve you, and then burn the list in a safe place, like your sink.
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
Soapstone Bowl –to burn your list in.
Wooden Mermaid Matches — to really lean into the Pisces vibes.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo — in case you need some decluttering inspiration.
Tarot ritual: Exploring the moon’s duality
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Great for: Gemini, Scorpio, Cancer, Virgo
Each sign is generally associated with a specific tarot card, although of course, this association may change according to who you’re asking. Pisces is associated with The Moon tarot card (which is interesting, considering Cancer is ruled by the Moon).
In this ritual, you will take some time to explore The Moon card and journal about its lessons. The Moon card offers imagination, illumination, and duality.
What do these themes mean in your life? Do you have two sides? What are you illuminated by? What part of you is the shadow part?
Ritual Supply Suggestions:
The Moon Tarot Print — so you can really focus on the image as you ponder.
Shadow Work Journal by Jessica Cross — in case you aren’t sure of where to start.
Giving back: A ritual for nurturing compassion
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Great for: Every sign
Pisces is a compassionate sign; the Pisces feels strongly for others, and during this time it feels natural to send that compassion outward.
You’ll do this by writing the names of people or places or communities you want to send love and strength and compassion to on small pieces of paper. Place these pieces of paper in a jar or large shell and set it under the moon’s light to charge.
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Which Full Moon rituals do you plan to try out on Friday the 13th?
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