Full Moon Dinner for Children

Special Notes: The Full Moon represents the Goddess in her aspect as Mother, full and ripe and bright. The Full Moon is the moon at its greatest power and most energy.

What You'll Need: The Moon Candle, a bell, quarter candles, safe lighter. Select a child to fill in the Moon Journal before dinner. The same child gets to be the Journal Reader. Have crescent cookies ready for the blessing.

Begin by ringing the bell to establish Sacred Space.

The child chosen to be Bell Ringer rings the bell three times and says:
I ring the bell
To cast the spell
Let sacred time begin
1 - 2 - 3
So mote it be
Let sacred time begin.

Then an Adult casts the Circle by saying:
Great Mother,
Weave around us
A circle of radiant light
Where we can honor
Our Lord and Lady.
Protect us, guide us and love us.

Tell the kids to imagine a silvery-blue light surrounding the table to create a Circle. Explain that this "Circle of Light" means we want to make this a sacred place to honor the Goddess and God.

Explain that a Sacred Place doesn't have to be a church. It can be in your dining room, a special spot in the forest, or even at school, as long as you show the respect and honor the Goddess and God deserve by creating your Sacred Space first.

Next we "Call the Quarters." Explain that this is asking the Ancient Ones to add their powers to ours to make our Circle stronger.

The child chosen to be Candle Lighter lights the yellow candle and says:
I call to you
Ancient Ones of the East
Guardian Spirits of Air
To witness this ritual and guard this Circle

The child chosen to be Candle Lighter lights the red candle and says:
I call to you
Ancient Ones of the South
Guardian Sprits of Fire
To witness this ritual and guard this Circle.

The child chosen to be Candle Lighter lights the blue candle and says:
I call to you
Ancient Ones of the West
Guardian Spirits of Water
To Witness this ritual and guard this Circle.

The child chosen to be Candle Lighter lights the green candle and says:
I call to you
Ancient Ones of the North
Guardian Spirits of Earth
To witness this ritual and guard this Circle.



Next the Adult says:
The Circle has been cast
The Ancient Ones have been called
Now it is time to welcome
The Goddess and the God.

Great Mother,
Whose symbol is the bright night moon,
Heavenly father,
Whose symbol is the fiery sun,

We ask you to join our family
For this Full Moon Celebration.
The Adult lights the Moon candle and says:
We light this candle in honor of Our Lady

On this night when the
Full Moon Rides high in the sky,
As a symbol of our love and respect
For the Goddess.

The Adult spreads his/her arms to the moon and says:
Once more we come together
Beneath the Full Moon
To share our joy of life.
To thank the Lord and Lady
For all they have given us
And for all that we have.

The child who wrote the Moon Journal now gets to read it.

Now serve dinner.

This is a good time to talk about Wicca with your children. Some topics you might want to discuss:
- The historical aspect. How it was our ancestors came to worship around the cycles of the moon?
- The scientific aspect. What is it, astronomically, that makes the moon look like it's changing shape?
- The myth aspect. Share stories of Moon Goddesses from different cultures.
Whatever you decide to talk about, keep it light and flowing. You want these "lessons" to be fun for your children. Let them get off the subject and take you wherever their imaginations want to go. It's their ritual too.

After dinner, clear the table except for the ritual tools and drink glasses. Bring in the crescent cookies and hand them to the child who will be doing the blessing. The child holds the plate and says:
We thank the animals and plants
Who gave us this food.
We thank the people
Who worked hard to grow and prepare it.
And we thank our Lady and Lord
And bless this food in their names.

Pass the cookies around the table, everybody gets one. When you're done eating, the Adult reclaims everyone's attention for the final blessing:
Mother of All,
Queen of the Night
Father of All,
Lord of the Sky

Watch over those gathered here
And keep us safe in your loving arms
Until the Moon is Full again.

The Adult then extinguishes the Moon candle saying:
Blessed Be.


Now it is time to close the ritual.

Explain to the children that the ritual is over and we need to thank The Ancient Ones for their help and guidance, and thank the Goddess and God for joining us. Then we will release the Circle, thus releasing our Sacred Space as well.

The Candle Snuffer says:
Thank you and farewell
Ancient Ones of the East
Guardian Spirits of Air
Go in Peace.

( Extinguish the yellow candle.)

The Candle Snuffer says:
Thank you and farewell
Ancient Ones of the South
Guardian Spirits of Fire
Go in Peace.

(Extinguish the red candle.)

The Candle Snuffer says:
Thank you and farewell
Ancient Ones of the West
Guardian Spirits of Water
Go in Peace.

(Extinguish the blue candle.)

The Candle Snuffer says:
Thank you and farewell
Ancient Ones of the North
Guardian Spirits of Earth
Go in Peace.

(Extinguish the green candle.)

Then the Adult says farewell to the Goddess and the God:
We thank you God and Goddess
For sharing this special time
With our family.
May we keep you in our hearts,
And follow your path of love
Every day.
Blessed be!


Now the Bell Ringer rings the bell three times to release the Sacred Space and says:
I ring the bell,
Release the spell
And Sacred Time will end.
1 - 2 - 3
So mote it be,
Until we meet again.

Explain that this is the signal that Scared Time is over. The Circle has been released and the Sacred Space is no more. That means the dining room goes back to being just a normal dining room.

Now the Adult says:
The Circle is open
And yet it remains a Circle.
Around and through us
Always flow its magical powers.
This ritual is over.

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