The first time Denise Drew Down the Moon she had no idea what it was going to be like. She felt a strong tingling in her hands and feet and around her mouth. The sensation spread up her limbs, as if she had millions of ants crawling on her, and it intensified to the point where she became frightened. She took a little gasp of air, and in an instant the feeling vanished. For six months after that, every time she tried to Draw Down the Moon she was unsuccessful. She figures she just wasn’t psychologically ready to feel that kind of intense energy. Now she still feels the Moon energy as an intense ant-like tingling, but she doesn’t find it scary any more. Rather she feels intense connection to deity and a great spiritual high.
Other witches, when they have Drawn Down the Moon, feel the Goddess energy differently. Some feel it as an intense heat spreading through their limbs and body. Some get the tingling sensation that Denise experiences with a feeling of a cool breeze blowing over them. Most people get quite emotional, and some cry. Whatever the feelings are that you encounter, stand there with them and let the Goddess fill you up.
After you have Drawn Down the Moon and are filled with the Goddess’s energy, you can do magick, or you can just enjoy the deep connection that you will feel with her. Afterward, you will feel cleansed and replenished. You probably won’t need to Draw Down the Moon every month. But it’s great to do it if you are feeling drained or empty. If you’ve been doing a lot of magick, helping people and healing them, you’ll probably want to Draw Down the Moon to recharge and replenish your energy from the Goddess, the endless source.
In terms of ritual structure, you Draw Down the Moon after you have cleansed and consecrated your space, cast the magick circle, and called the quarters and the God and Goddess. In a coven, the High Priestess Draws Down the Moon. When she has done that, she is seen to have become the Goddess. (When you do this on your own, you, too, will be the Goddess incarnate.) Some High Priestesses will share the Goddess’s energy with the coven members, and others will not. As a solitaire, you get to experience that direct connection with the Goddess that is reserved in many covens for the High Priestess alone. In some traditions, only the High Priestess, as opposed to the High Priest, can Draw Down the Moon. And Drawing Down the Sun is reserved for the High Priest. As a solitaire, there is no reason that you can’t pull down either one. If you are male, you have just as much right to pull down the energy of the Goddess as a woman does. And if you are female, you can pull down the energy of the God as well.
