Waning Moon Love Banishing: Removing Toxic Patterns

The Decreasing Moon's Banishing Power

The waning moon—the two-week period between full and new moon—is nature's banishing phase. As the moon shrinks each night, so can the toxic patterns, limiting beliefs, and unhealthy behaviors that keep you stuck in love.

This is the time for active removal, conscious release, and pattern breaking. While full moon releases emotional attachments, waning moon banishes the actual patterns and behaviors that created those attachments in the first place.

Waning moon love magic is about breaking cycles, removing obstacles, and clearing the path for healthier love.

Why Waning Moon for Banishing?

The waning moon represents decrease, reduction, and elimination—perfect for banishing work.

Waning moon energy supports banishing because:

• Natural decrease: As the moon shrinks, so does what you're banishing
• Active removal: This isn't passive release—it's intentional elimination
• Pattern breaking: The decreasing energy helps break repetitive cycles
• Protection building: As you remove toxicity, you create space for boundaries
• Completion energy: The cycle is ending, taking the old with it

If you keep attracting the same type of toxic partner, repeating the same relationship mistakes, or falling into the same unhealthy patterns, the waning moon is your ally.

The Two Phases of Waning Moon

The waning moon has two distinct sub-phases with different intensities:

Waning Gibbous (Days 1-7 after full moon):

• Strong banishing energy
• Perfect for: Breaking major patterns, ending toxic connections, setting firm boundaries
• Energy: Powerful, decisive, clearing
• Magic focus: Active banishing, pattern interruption

Waning Crescent (Days 8-14, approaching new moon):

• Gentle decreasing energy
• Perfect for: Final releases, subtle pattern shifts, preparation for new beginnings
• Energy: Quiet, introspective, completing
• Magic focus: Final clearing, rest, integration

Both phases decrease toward the dark moon, but the intensity is strongest right after the full moon.

What to Banish During Waning Moon

Waning moon is the time for active removal of toxic love patterns:

Perfect for waning moon banishing:

• Toxic relationship patterns (codependency, people-pleasing, etc.)
• Limiting beliefs about love and worthiness
• Unhealthy behaviors in relationships
• Attraction to unavailable or toxic partners
• Self-sabotage patterns
• Jealousy, possessiveness, or control issues
• Fear-based relationship choices
• Negative self-talk about love and relationships

Not ideal for waning moon:

• Calling in new love (use new moon)
• Building attraction (use waxing moon)
• Emotional release of specific people (use full moon)

Common Toxic Love Patterns to Banish

Recognize yourself in any of these?

The Fixer Pattern:
You're attracted to broken people you think you can heal or save. You lose yourself trying to fix them.

The Unavailable Attractor:
You consistently choose emotionally unavailable partners, then wonder why you feel lonely in relationships.

The People-Pleaser:
You abandon your own needs and boundaries to keep your partner happy, leading to resentment and burnout.

The Self-Saboteur:
When relationships get good, you unconsciously destroy them through jealousy, picking fights, or pulling away.

The Anxious Attacher:
You become obsessive, clingy, and anxious in relationships, pushing partners away with your intensity.

The Love Addict:
You can't be alone. You jump from relationship to relationship, never healing between partners.

The Boundary-less:
You have no clear boundaries, allowing partners to treat you poorly because you're afraid of being alone.

Waning moon magic helps you break these cycles.

Waning Moon Banishing Ritual

This powerful ritual actively banishes toxic love patterns:

You'll need:

• Black candle (banishing)
• White candle (protection/purification)
• Black tourmaline or obsidian
• Salt (protection)
• Paper and black pen
• Fireproof bowl
• Scissors or knife (for cutting)
• Banishing herbs (rosemary, rue, or black pepper)

The ritual (perform during waning moon, ideally waning gibbous):

1. Create a banishing circle (5 minutes)
Cast a circle of salt around your workspace. Place the black tourmaline at the north point. This creates a container for the toxic energy you're removing.

2. Light the black candle (2 minutes)
As you light it, say: "By this flame, I banish what no longer serves me. As the moon decreases, so do these patterns. They have no power over me."

3. Name what you're banishing (10 minutes)
On the paper, write in detail the pattern you're banishing. Be specific. Include how it shows up, why it's toxic, and how it's hurt you.

Example:
"I banish the pattern of choosing emotionally unavailable partners. I banish my belief that I have to earn love through perfection. I banish my fear of being alone that makes me settle for less than I deserve. I banish my tendency to ignore red flags. I banish this pattern completely and permanently."

4. Speak it aloud with power (5 minutes)
Read your list aloud with conviction. Don't whisper—declare it. Feel the anger at how this pattern has hurt you. Use that anger as fuel for the banishing.

5. Cut the pattern (3 minutes)
Take your scissors or knife and physically cut the paper into pieces. With each cut, say: "I cut this pattern from my life. It is banished. It is gone. I am free."

6. Burn it to ash (5 minutes)
Burn the pieces in the fireproof bowl. As they burn, visualize the pattern dissolving completely. Say: "As this paper turns to ash, so does this pattern dissolve from my life. It is banished by fire, by will, by the waning moon's power."

7. Add banishing herbs (2 minutes)
Sprinkle the herbs on the ashes. Say: "These herbs seal the banishing. This pattern cannot return. I am protected and free."

8. Light the white candle (3 minutes)
Light the white candle from the black candle's flame. Say: "In the space where toxicity lived, I now invite purity, health, and protection. I am surrounded by white light. Only healthy love may enter."

9. Ground the energy (5 minutes)
Hold the black tourmaline. Visualize any remaining toxic energy draining from your body into the stone, then into the earth where it's neutralized.

10. Dispose and cleanse (variable)
Bury the ashes away from your home or flush them. Cleanse yourself with salt water or smoke. The pattern is banished.

Daily Waning Moon Banishing Practice

Support your ritual with daily practices throughout the waning phase:

Morning banishing affirmation:
"The pattern of [specific pattern] is leaving my life. As the moon decreases, so does this pattern's power over me. I am free."

Pattern interruption:
When you notice yourself falling into the old pattern, stop immediately. Say aloud: "No. This pattern is banished. I choose differently." Then make a different choice.

Nightly moon watching:
Each night, look at the waning moon. Notice how it's smaller than the night before. Affirm that your pattern is shrinking just as visibly.

Boundary practice:
Each day, practice one boundary that protects you from the pattern. Say no to something that would feed the old cycle.

Journal tracking:
Note each time you successfully interrupt the pattern. Celebrate these victories.

Advanced Banishing Techniques

Intensify your waning moon work with these additions:

Freezer spell:
Write the pattern on paper, put it in water in a container, and freeze it. As it freezes, the pattern is immobilized and can't affect you.

Banishing bath:
Take a bath with salt, rosemary, and black tourmaline during waning moon. Visualize the pattern washing off your body and going down the drain.

Mirror banishing:
Write the pattern on a mirror with washable marker. Look at it and say: "I see you. I banish you." Then wash it away, watching it disappear.

Knot banishing:
Tie knots in a black cord, each representing an aspect of the pattern. During waning moon, cut each knot while declaring that aspect banished.

Petition burning:
Write a banishing petition each day of the waning moon and burn it, building the banishing energy cumulatively.

What Happens After Banishing

After your waning moon banishing ritual, expect:

Immediate effects (1-3 days):

• Testing: The universe will test if you really banished it by presenting opportunities to fall back into the pattern
• Temptation: You might feel pulled toward the old pattern (it's familiar, even if toxic)
• Discomfort: Breaking patterns feels awkward at first
• Relief: A sense of lightness and freedom

Integration period (1-2 weeks):

• New choices: You'll notice yourself making different, healthier choices
• Pattern recognition: You'll spot the pattern trying to return and can stop it
• Increased boundaries: You'll naturally have stronger boundaries
• Different attractions: You'll notice you're attracted to different types of people

Long-term shifts (1-3 months):

• Pattern extinction: The old pattern no longer has power over you
• Healthier relationships: You attract and maintain healthier connections
• Self-trust: You trust yourself to make better choices
• Freedom: You feel genuinely free from the old cycle

When the Pattern Tries to Return

Banished patterns often try to sneak back in. Be vigilant:

Signs the pattern is attempting to return:

• You meet someone who triggers the old pattern
• You feel tempted to make the same old choices
• You rationalize why "this time is different"
• You feel the familiar pull of the toxic dynamic

How to maintain the banishing:

1. Recognize it immediately
Name it: "This is the pattern I banished trying to return."

2. Reaffirm the banishing
Say: "No. This pattern is banished. It has no power here."

3. Make a different choice
Consciously choose the opposite of what the pattern would have you do.

4. Repeat the ritual if needed
If the pattern is persistent, do another waning moon banishing ritual.

5. Seek support
Therapy, coaching, or trusted friends can help you stay accountable.

Banishing vs. Shadow Work

Important distinction:

Banishing (waning moon): Actively removing the pattern from your life. "This behavior/belief is toxic and I'm eliminating it."

Shadow work (dark moon): Understanding why the pattern exists. "What wound created this pattern? What need was it trying to meet?"

Both are necessary. Banish the pattern during waning moon, then do shadow work during dark moon to understand and heal the root cause.

Protecting Against Pattern Return

After banishing, create protection:

Boundary spell:
During the last days of waning moon, create a protection spell: "I am protected from this pattern. It cannot re-enter my life. My boundaries are strong and clear."

Crystal protection:
Carry black tourmaline or obsidian as a shield against the pattern's return.

Affirmation shield:
Daily affirmation: "I am free from [pattern]. I choose healthy love. I am protected."

Accountability:
Tell a trusted friend what you banished. Ask them to call you out if they see you falling back into it.

Combining with New Moon Intention

For complete transformation, pair waning moon banishing with new moon intention:

Waning Moon: Banish the toxic pattern (e.g., "I banish choosing emotionally unavailable partners")

New Moon (two weeks later): Set intention for the healthy opposite (e.g., "I attract emotionally available, communicative partners")

This creates a complete cycle of removal and replacement.

Multiple Pattern Banishing

If you have multiple patterns to banish:

Option 1: One per waning moon
Focus on one pattern each lunar cycle for deep, thorough banishing.

Option 2: Layered banishing
Banish the most urgent pattern during waning gibbous, a secondary pattern during waning crescent.

Option 3: Root pattern focus
Identify the root pattern that feeds all the others and banish that. The others may dissolve automatically.

Your Pattern-Breaking Journey

Banishing toxic love patterns is one of the most powerful acts of self-love you can perform. You're declaring: "I deserve better than this cycle. I am breaking free."

The waning moon supports you in this work. As it decreases each night, so does the pattern's grip on your life.

Watch the moon shrink. Know that your toxic patterns are shrinking just as surely.

You are breaking the cycle. You are choosing differently. You are free.