october dark moon
The Dark Moon arrives like a still pond at night, black and mirror-smooth. Nothing stirs on its surface, yet beneath, the waters move. This is the current of Laguz, the rune of flow, emotion, and unseen renewal. It teaches us to trust what moves beneath the silence, to surrender to cycles larger than our control.
In Braucherei practice, the Dark Moon is the breath held between endings and beginnings. It is the unseen work of transformation, when roots draw nourishment from decay and intuition ripens in the quiet places of the mind. When autumn fades, the land pulls its strength inward. Sap sinks, light softens, and Laguz whispers that stillness is not emptiness but movement in another form.
This is the season to tend the inner waters. The same way rivers carve stone through time, gentle persistence and deep reflection change us. To resist this current is to grow brittle. To flow with it is to be renewed.
Herbs aligned with this moon and the rune Laguz are those that cleanse, protect, and guide. Mugwort helps dreams rise to the surface. Angelica steadies the spirit as emotions shift. Burdock and Dandelion Root clear away what clogs the current. Wormwood brings truth to light. Black Walnut Hull seals the vessel, keeping your waters sacred.
In the runes, Hagalaz, Isa, and Laguz form a triad for this turning. Hagalaz brings the necessary breaking apart. Isa offers stillness, freezing what must pause. Laguz follows, thawing the ice and teaching flow again. Together they speak of transformation that comes through surrender.
A simple ritual for the Dark Moon can be as fluid as its meaning. Brew a tea of Mugwort, Burdock, and Angelica. Add a touch of honey and sip it slowly, letting the warmth ripple through you. Whisper a prayer or charm such as, “I flow with endings that become beginnings.”
If you wish to cleanse your space, burn a small bowl of these same herbs on charcoal. Let the smoke drift through the stillroom and around the hearth. Feel it clearing heaviness like a tide pulling away silt. You can cleanse jars, tools, and the heart of your home in the same way.
For household work, this moon calls for wrapping up what’s lingering.
The Dark Moon is not absence. It is the womb of becoming, the deep water beneath the frost where life sleeps and gathers strength. Trust in its quiet current. Rest. Dream. Let the waters move through you without struggle. When the light returns, you will rise with it. Renewed, cleansed, and ready to flow onward.
Blessed Dark Moon, friends. May Laguz guide your inner waters, Isa keep your peace, and Fehu awaken abundance when the tide turns again.
Flow of the hidden tide,
Wash me clean where fears abide.
Roots below and sky above,
Carry my will through waves of love.
Laguz, keeper of secret streams,
Guard my rest and guide my dreams.
From what has ended, life renews,
As I release, so I am used.
In stillness I find my song,
The current takes what does not belong.
When dawn returns and waters gleam,
May I rise within the dream.
