New moon ceremonies have to do with creation, manifestation, birth, and rebirth. The full moon completes the cycle, representing death, change, or tying up loose ends. The full moon symbolizes the end chapter, shedding light on the things that we no longer need to hold on to.

Full Moon is an opportune time of the month for purging rituals to take place. The light the full moon offers illuminates those things that are interfering with our spiritual advancements. Once we have become enlightened to ways that are blocking us, the easier to let go. The full moon ritual is for releasing or purging the things in our lives that no longer serve us such as addictions to food, drugs, or sex, relinquishing suffering involved in hurtful relationships, discharging physical and emotional pains, etc.

Several years ago on an episode of the television show "Party of Five" the character Charlie was throwing personal items that were connected to his cancer into a bonfire. His actions were in celebration of his cancer going into remission. He even tossed the shirt he was wearing into the fire because it was the shirt he wore when he was first diagnosed with cancer, or was it his pants? Anyway, this televised scene could have easily been portrayed as a full moon ceremony.

Full moon ceremonies I have participated in have been pretty simple, with perhaps a pinch or two of pagan tradition thrown in. Each person in the circle takes his turn throwing in scraps of paper into a fire that is then watched turn into ashes. The scraps of paper have words written down on them of those things we were releasing or vowing to change in our lives. Yes, a full moon ceremony can be as simple as that.