My Latina Mom’s Full Moon Rituals for May

According to NASA.gov, the full moon this Saturday, May 18th is a Blue Moon, the Flower Moon, the Corn Planting Moon, the Milk Moon, and Buddha Purnima. Plus, it will last until about Monday, making for a Full Moon weekend. This so-called “Blue Moon” won’t actually appear blue in color and it’s not common, which is where the phrase “once in a blue moon” comes from.

However, according to my Peruvian mother Yolanda, “Ya viene la luna llena, limpia tu casa y después limpia tu casa.” Wink, wink.

Since Mother’s Day was earlier this month, I interviewed my mother on her full moon rituals after she nonchalantly shared a spiritual baño with a friend of mine that I’d never heard of until then. It just revealed that I don’t know half of what I think my mother knows or what she can pass down to me.

My dope Latina mother, while pretty open about her spirituality, can be very private at times about rituales, limpiezas, y pasándose un huevo. Her generation, by no fault of their own, has suffered what I call “Catholics by day, brujas by night” syndrome, so what a privilege that I not only get to share her rituales with you but also be able to write this piece out in the open and still feel safe. Because that wasn’t always the case. Spirituality has given me a sense of inner power and I’m grateful she didn’t let up even though I was super hesitant at first to embrace my spirituality.

Coincidently, the Full Moon this month is in Scorpio, and guess what sign Yolanda is in? Oh yes, you guessed it. Big time Scorpio, a water sign, which might have you tempted to open old wounds and most definitely have you in your feelings.

Do your best to clear space and time on your calendar because your blessings are about to come through hard after you put in the work. Whatever it is you are holding onto, let it go. Let it go so you can make room for those blessings.

First, try to get these goodies from your local botanica (support small businesses!) or check out how the younger bruja generation has been selling their spiritual tools online. Yolanda says to think of this as a template that you can add or take out, depending on what you need at the time.

Luna Llena Ritual

• Clean your house from top to bottom (Add drops of Agua de Florida to your floor cleaner).
• Light a candle for a loved one, preferably someone in your family with good intentions who you visualize guiding you.
• Pray to your angel de la guarda, a.k.a your guardian angel (Prayer: Angel de mi guarda, dulce compania, no me desampares ni de noche ni de dia).
• Write down the one thing you need to let go of to feel at peace.
• Fold the paper and put it under the candle until it goes out on its own or you go to bed.
• Ask whoever your guide is in the spirit world to help you with what you want to let go of.
• Take a salt bath to cleanse, add ruda for protection, add a few drops of Agua de Florida, and drops of your favorite perfume.
• Burn palo santo and/or incense, hold your arm up high as you cover every corner of your home, and then clear the energy around you.
• Put a glass of water under your bed with alcanfor in it, ask for messages from your intuition in your dreams.
• The next morning, thank your spirit guides, and rip the paper up and throw it away.
• Say “I am letting go as graciously as I can to move forward with my life” or in Spanish as Yolanda says it, “Te dejo en paz para seguir adelante!”

“Parece mucho pero es solo una vez al mes, tu lo puedes hacer,” Yolanda says. For a special touch, she says to buy yourself flowers to set out the day after the full moon to help bring in good vibes.

For as long as I can remember, the smell of incense, candles, and talk of overdue limpiezas flowed through my home. If I ever called my mom with a physical or emotional ailment, she would only ever have a spiritual remedy. Others, especially recently, would feel so grateful for having a mother who is spiritually open and willing to share spiritual recipes. But it’s only been in the last 5 years or so that I’ve come to see how lucky I am.

I urge you all, if you are lucky enough to have a bruja mother in your life, write down one spiritual recipe or word of wisdom so that you can document it and pass it down. Don’t forget to declutter your home because as my mother says, “Nada bueno entra, si tu le das un camino.”