This solitary ritual is performed at night, in an open meadow, far from human habitation, under a full or gibbous moon. The place should be somewhat secluded or private so that you will be free from both distractions or possible dangers. Therefore, if an outdoor ritual is not practical, this ritual may be conducted looking out a window through which you can clearly see the moon in her beauty.
There is an odd superstition that forbids one to gaze upon the moon through a pane of glass. Perhaps this prohibition was to prevent this sort of meditation from happening inadvertently, spontaneously, causing someone to become a vessel for lunar energy and perhaps "moonsik."
Sit comfortably, spine erect, gazing at the moon, with the moon's rays shining on you for about five to ten minutes.
Place your hands, with palms facing the moon. Index and thumbs are touching, forming a triangle [symbol of Manifestation]. The triangle is sacred, because it is the symbol of the yoni, through which all things manifest. View the moon through the triangle formed by your hands.
Chant Luna as "Looo-naaa."
After a few minutes, your hands will tingle. This sensation indicates the inception of making contact with the moon's power.
Mentally bring the moon down into each of your body's centers. Moon-energy-light pours through your arms, neck, head, and simultaneously down through your chest, heart, to be base of your spine, legs, and feet.
When desired, move your hands from the outstretched position and fold over your heart. Concentrate on each body center for about a minute. Visualize each one glowing with the moon's light.
In this way, you fill yourself as a lunar vessel. Use the energy in a positive purpose.
At this point, you can meditate to contemplate the powers of the moon. Meditate upon the pure consciousness residing in the brilliant glow of light. The moonlight moves through you. It is you. You are moonlight.
If you have images you wish to explore from dreamwork, this would be an auspicious time, for the moon rules dreams.
You could also use the energies to balance your chakras or stabilize menstrual cycles. Lunar energy may be directed toward internal healing.
Upon completing meditation, it will be necessary to drain off the excess moon energy. This energy is not returned to the moon, but is poured into the earth.
Either sit directly upon the bare earth or have the soles of your feet pressed down upon the ground. Imagine your arms, hands, spine, and feet to be conduits and pour the excess energy into the soil.
Once the energy has fully drained off, you should rise, stretch, and depart from your meditation area.
Remember to speak words of thanks to the moon. It may be desireable to eat something.
Myth's Notes
Versions of this solitary ritual can be found in a number of books on goddess worship and Wicca. I gleaned this solitary ritual from several different sources. The ritual, as described here, is for solitary contemplation by a woman. It was a commonly repeated concept that women are more suited to be lunar vessels than men. Allegedly, women more easily retain lunar energy longer than men.
The rationale behind this belief is that lunar energy is solely goddess energy. Although this site is dedicated to the lunar goddess Aradia and focuses on female divinities connected with the moon, there are a number of male moon gods. It seems quite conceivable to me that a human male might be able to use this meditation method to work with lunar energy.
In this particular ritual, I suggested chanting Luna to have contact with the power of the moon. Naturally, other names may be invoked. Some of the others that I've head of connected with this type of meditation include Diana, Losna, Lucina, Memaya, Nammuh, or simply Ma. Raven Grimassi, in Hereditary Witchcraft, 2003, claimed that the Italian society of Diana, which survived into the middle ages, chanted Diana's name three different ways in order to evoke a separate aspect: "Die-anna" (maiden), "Dee-ah-nah" (mother), "Dea-nah" (crone). Hence, repeatedly chanting Diana's name with one of these pronunciations may be useful in this meditation method.
Ffiona Morgan, in Wild Witches Don't Get the Blues, 1991 (p. 252), gave two chants which can be used in this method of meditation:
Yemaya, O Lo Do, Agua, Lo Do MiI originally learned to draw energy up from the earth and return it to the earth--so I had to experiment with this technique a bit. I continue to do so.Moon, Moon, Moon on my mind,
Think I'll fly.