Under the full moon, set water out to gather the light, then steep in it the herbs that teach the body to let go. What you drink at the height of the moon carries its brightness into you.
This is a working taken inward, where the release happens in the quiet of the blood rather than in fire or water outside you. To empty the cup with intention is to rehearse the emptying of the hand and the heart. The moon is full because it is about to begin its long letting-go, and you drink to learn the same.
The Working
- On the afternoon before the full moon, set a bowl of clean water where the moon will find it after dark, and lay a pale stone beside it to draw the light.
- When the moon is high, steep in the water a small measure of soft, calming herbs such as chamomile, linden, and a leaf of lemon balm.
- Warm the draught gently, never to boiling, and pour it into a single plain cup.
- Hold the cup in both hands and name, once, the thing you wish to loosen your hold upon.
- Drink slowly, in unbroken sips, picturing your grip opening finger by finger with each swallow.
- When the cup is empty, turn it upside down upon its saucer and leave it so until morning.
- At dawn, rinse the cup in cold water and let the last of the working run away.
The Incantation
Moon at the full, and the tide of me turning,
pour your bright water down into the dark of me.
Cup in my hands, I drink you empty;
hand of me, learn to open.
What I held, I hold no longer;
the moon and I let go together.
The empty cup sits mouth-down through the night, and by morning the wanting has gone out of you like a tide. You keep the cup; you do not keep the ache.