December Full Moon: The Cold Moon Ritual
Alchemy, Rest, and Preparing the Spirit for Renewal
The December Full Moon, often called the Cold Moon or The Long Night Moon, rises as the northern hemisphere settles into quiet earth, long nights, and the deep inward pull of winter. This moon invites us to slow down, release tension from the year, and prepare our field for the rebirth that comes with the returning light after solstice.
Winter’s energy is reflective rather than productive. It draws the body inward, asks the mind to rest, and reminds the spirit that stillness is not stagnation. It’s the sacred pause, the space between the exhale and the inhale, where alchemy happens in the unseen.
This full moon supports rest, release, clarity, intuition, divination, and inner warmth.
It’s a moon of staying close to what matters, strengthening inner foundations, and letting the cold sharpen your awareness instead of your fears.
What This Moon Represents
In Nature
• Earth is quiet, animals conserve energy, and sap moves slowly
• Nights are long so intuitive sight is stronger
• Cold clears, purifies, and awakens hidden wisdom
Spiritually
This moon helps with
• Clearing mental clutter
• Stabilizing your energy field
• Strengthening intuition
• Releasing stress or “holiday chaos”
• Deepening connection to your inner knowing
• Resetting your frequency before the new year
It’s a moon of inner alchemy, where shift happens from within, quietly and powerfully.
Cold Moon Ritual
Below is a full ritual flow that you can use or adapt.
Remember: do what feels right for you. Even the simplest ritual done with intention is enough.
Prepare Your Sacred Space
Before beginning, dim the lights and allow the energy of the room to soften.
You may choose to open a window briefly to invite fresh air in or lightly cleanse the space with incense, a bell, or sound.
This is simply an invitation for your energy to settle and shift.
Sit or stand for a moment and whisper:
“I welcome stillness. I welcome clarity. I welcome my own inner light.”
Anoint Yourself
Use a ritual oil.
Apply a small amount to your wrists, heart center, and the back of your neck.
As you do, affirm:
“I return to myself. I return to center.”
This signals to your energy body that you are entering a sacred time.
Create a Cold Moon Altar
Choose a small surface, a shelf, bedside table, or windowsill, to serve as your temporary or ongoing altar.
Include:
A central candle
White, silver, deep green, or midnight blue.
This represents illumination, inner fire, and moonlight guiding you through the longest nights.
Water or moon water
Place a small bowl or jar of water for emotional clarity and flow.
Earth elements
Crystals such as clear quartz, moonstone, selenite, jade, pyrite, or any stones that resonate with you.
Add winter herbs like cedar, pine, rosemary, or a pinecone.
Air element
A feather, incense, or a bell/chime for gentle energetic clearing.
Your intention
Write one clear intention for the winter season and place it beneath or beside the candle.
Your altar doesn’t need to be elaborate.
It simply needs to feel intentional.
Candle Magic for Clarity and Renewal
Light your candle and take a slow breath.
Carve or write the words:
clarity, insight, rest, renewal
Anoint the candle from base to wick.
As it burns, affirm:
“In the longest night, I return to my light.
In stillness, I find my truth.”
Let the candle burn safely or in stages over the next few days.
Charging Moon Water + Charging Items Under the Moon
How to Make Moon Water
Fill a clean glass jar with filtered or spring water.
Hold it in your hands and set your intention: clarity, renewal, healing, release. Whatever you wish this water to carry.
Place it outdoors under the moon or on a windowsill where moonlight touches it.
If temperatures are freezing, leave space at the top of the jar for expansion or keep it indoors on a moonlit windowsill to avoid glass cracking.
Moon water charged under the Cold Moon carries powerful intuitive and restorative qualities.
Charging Other Items
Place crystals, jewelry, divination tools, or meaningful objects on or near your altar or windowsill overnight.
The moonlight cleanses stagnant energy and amplifies clarity and intuition.
Deepening the Ritual
If you wish to go deeper, here is a full winter-moon ceremony to accompany the candle and moon water:
Release Ritual
Write what you are ready to release. Fear, overthinking, old patterns, emotional heaviness.
Read it aloud and allow the words to leave your body.
Burn the paper safely or bury it in the earth to symbolize return and renewal.
Meditation + Inner Light Activation
Sit by your candle and imagine the Cold Moon illuminating your energy field.
Feel it dissolving what isn’t aligned and strengthening what is.
Affirmation:
“What no longer serves me dissolves back into the earth to be transformed.”
Cold Moon Bath Soak
Add to warm water:
• chamomile
• rosemary
• pine or cedar
• a cinnamon stick
• orange peel
• sea salt or Epsom salt
This blend warms the body, clears the mind, and aligns you with winter’s inward pull.
As you soak, imagine the year’s heaviness melting away.
If You Only Do One Thing…
If life is busy or you feel tired, here is the simplest ritual, and it is more than enough:
Stand or sit with your hands over your heart.
Breathe in for four counts, hold for two, exhale for six.
Affirmation:
“Anything that does not serve me dissolves back into the earth to be transmuted.
I return to myself. I return to center.”
Feel your energy settle.
The moon meets you where you are, always.