A guided ritual for transformation, healing, and release—use this every full moon
It’s December. The year is ending. The holidays are here. And you’re supposed to feel grateful, joyful, festive. But instead? You’re exhausted.
You’re overwhelmed by family expectations. Old dynamics trigger you. You’re comparing yourself to everyone else’s “perfect” year. You’re carrying the weight of everything you didn’t accomplish. You’re dreading the holiday gatherings that bring up childhood wounds you thought you’d healed.
Sound familiar?
December isn’t just about holiday stress. It’s about everything that gets amplified at the end of the year. These include the unresolved patterns and the childhood conditioning. It also includes people-pleasing, perfectionism, and emotional exhaustion.
This week, a Full Cold Supermoon occurred on December 4th. The energy from it is still here. It is inviting you to finally release it.
This full moon ritual is specifically designed for inner child healing. The patterns you’re releasing in December didn’t start in December. They started in childhood.
The people-pleasing. The perfectionism. The belief that you have to earn love. The fear of being “too much” or “not enough.”
These patterns increase during the holidays. You are often surrounded by the very people and dynamics that activate the childhood wounds these patterns were built to protect.
So this isn’t just a full moon ritual. It’s an inner child release practice.
Why December Feels So Hard
Let’s be honest about what’s really happening right now.
Family Dynamics Reactivate Childhood Wounds
Going “home” for the holidays often means regressing into old roles. The one who keeps the peace. The one who takes care of everyone. The one who stays quiet to avoid conflict.
Suddenly, you’re not the regulated adult you’ve worked so hard to become. You’re the child again—seeking approval, walking on eggshells, or performing a version of yourself that makes everyone else comfortable.
Your inner child is activated. And it’s exhausting.
Year-End Pressure Compounds the Stress
There’s an unspoken pressure at the end of the year to have it all figured out. To feel accomplished. To have made progress. To be “better” than you were last December.
But what if you’re just… tired?
What if this year was hard? What if you’re still healing, still learning, still figuring it out?
The comparison trap intensifies in December. Everyone else seems to be celebrating their wins while you’re just trying to survive until January.
Holiday Expectations Override Your Actual Needs
You’re expected to show up. To be joyful. To give gifts, attend gatherings, and radiate holiday cheer—even when you’re running on empty.
The season’s performative nature can feel suffocating. This is especially true when what you actually need is rest. You also need boundaries and permission to feel whatever you’re feeling.
Your nervous system is maxed out. Your inner child is activated. And you’re supposed to just… smile through it?
The Full Cold Moon: An Invitation to Release
What if, instead of pushing through December, you used this Full Cold Moon as an invitation?
On December 4th, 2025, we experienced a rare Full Cold Supermoon—the third in a consecutive series of four Supermoons spanning from October through January 2026.
And here’s the beautiful thing: full moon energy extends for several days before and after the peak. If you’re reading this on December 6th (or anytime this week), you’re still in the window. The invitation to release is still active.
Even if you’re reading this months from now, this ritual works for every full moon throughout the year. Bookmark this page and return to it monthly.
This December’s full moon invites transformation, reflection, and release. It’s connected to the Winter Solstice energy, asking us to shed what no longer serves so we can step into 2026 with clarity and intention.
This isn’t just cosmic poetry. It’s an energetic reset.
And your body—your nervous system, your inner child—is already feeling it.
Why Full Moon Work Matters
You might be thinking: Is this just spiritual fluff, or does this actually do something?
Here’s the thing: Full moons affect water. They create tides in the ocean.
Science hasn’t definitively proven that lunar cycles directly influence human emotions. However, many cultures across time have honored the full moon. They see it as a time of heightened energy, illumination, and release.
From a nervous system perspective, rituals matter because they create intentional pauses. They give you permission to stop, reflect, and regulate. They mark time and transitions in ways that help your body process what your mind has been holding.
The full moon doesn’t create your emotions. But it can illuminate what’s already there—waiting to be seen, felt, and released.
The Full Moon + Inner Child Healing Connection
Here’s where this gets powerful: A full moon ritual illuminates what’s hidden.
Just like it lights up the night sky, it can light up the parts of you that you’ve been avoiding—the unhealed wounds, the patterns you keep repeating, the childhood beliefs that still run the show.
Inner child work is about releasing what no longer serves.
It’s about recognizing that the coping mechanisms that kept you safe as a child—people-pleasing, perfectionism, numbing, staying small—aren’t serving you anymore.
And release isn’t just cognitive. It’s somatic.
You can’t think your way out of patterns that are stored in your body. You have to feel them, move them, and let them go through your nervous system—not just your mind.
This full moon ritual combines both:
- The illumination of what’s ready to be released
- The somatic practices that actually help you let it go
Your Full Moon Release Ritual
Here’s how to work with this full moon energy to release what’s weighing on you. You don’t need fancy tools. You don’t need to do this perfectly. You just need to show up for yourself—even for 20 minutes.
What You’ll Need:
- A quiet space where you won’t be interrupted
- A journal and pen
- A candle (optional but centering)
- Your body and your breath
Step 1: Create Sacred Space
Light a candle. Turn off your phone. Close the door. This doesn’t have to be elaborate. Sacred space just means: a container where you can be fully present with yourself.
Take a moment to acknowledge that you’re doing something intentional. You’re not just “journaling” or “sitting quietly.” You’re marking this moment as meaningful.
Why this matters: Your nervous system responds to rituals. Creating a clear beginning helps your body know: We’re shifting into something different now.
Step 2: Ground Yourself
Before you do anything else, come into your body.
- Place one hand on your heart, one hand on your belly.
- Close your eyes.
- Take three slow, deep breaths—in through your nose, out through your mouth.
- Feel your feet on the ground. Notice the weight of your body.
- Say to yourself (out loud or silently): “I am here. I am safe. I am ready.”
Why this matters: You can’t release from a dysregulated state. Grounding first helps your nervous system feel safe enough to let go.
Step 3: Reflect – What’s Ready to Be Released?
Now, with your journal, ask yourself: What am I ready to release?
Don’t overthink it. Let whatever comes up, come up. Some examples:
- A belief about yourself (“I’m not good enough,” “I have to do everything myself,” “I can’t ask for help”)
- A pattern you keep repeating (perfectionism, people-pleasing, over-giving, numbing)
- A relationship dynamic that drains you
- Expectations that aren’t yours (but you’ve been carrying them anyway)
- Resentment, guilt, or shame you’ve been holding
- The need to “have it all figured out” before you can rest
Write it all down. Don’t edit. Don’t judge. Just let it flow.
Prompt to go deeper: “What would I have to let go of in order to feel free?”
Step 4: Write a Release Letter
Now, write a letter to whatever you’re releasing. This might be:
- A letter to your inner child (“I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you. I’m ready to listen now.”)
- A letter to an old belief (“Thank you for trying to protect me, but I don’t need you anymore.”)
- A letter to a pattern (“You helped me survive. But I’m ready to thrive now.”)
Be honest. Be kind. Be complete.
Let yourself say everything you’ve been holding back. When you’re done, read it out loud. Let your body hear it.
Why this matters: Speaking and hearing your own words activates different parts of your nervous system than just thinking them. This is somatic release.
Step 5: Somatic Release – Move It Through Your Body
Releasing isn’t just intellectual. Your body has been holding this too.
Try one (or all) of these:
Breath Release:
- Inhale deeply through your nose.
- Hold for a count of four.
- Exhale forcefully through your mouth with sound (a sigh, a hum, whatever feels right).
- Repeat 5-10 times.
Shaking:
- Stand up. Shake your hands, arms, shoulders, legs—your whole body.
- Let it be messy. Let it be weird.
- Shake for 1-2 minutes. (Animals do this instinctively after stress. You’re designed for this.)
Gentle Movement:
- Sway side to side.
- Roll your shoulders.
- Stretch your arms overhead and release them down with an exhale.
Why this matters: Trauma and stress are stored in the body. Movement and breath help complete the stress cycle your nervous system has been holding.
Step 6: Set an Intention – What Are You Welcoming?
Release creates space. Now, what do you want to invite in?
Journal prompt: “As I release what no longer serves me, I am making space for…”
Maybe it’s:
- Rest without guilt
- Boundaries without apology
- Joy without performing
- Presence without pressure
- Trust in yourself
- Compassion for your inner child
Write down what you’re calling in for 2026. Make it feel true. Make it feel possible. Make it feel like you.
Step 7: Close with Gratitude
Before you finish, take a moment to thank yourself.
You showed up. You felt. You released. That’s not small.
Place your hands on your heart and say (out loud or silently):
“Thank you for honoring what I’m feeling. Thank you for choosing to release. Thank you for making space for what’s next.”
Blow out your candle (if you used one). Take one final deep breath.
You’re done.
What Happens After the Ritual?
Here’s what I want you to know:
One full moon ritual is powerful. It creates a moment of intentional release that your nervous system will remember.
But sustainable healing? That requires ongoing inner child work.
The patterns that get activated in December didn’t start in December. They began in childhood. The people-pleasing. The perfectionism. The belief that you have to earn rest. The fear that if you’re not “doing enough,” you’re not enough.
These patterns are deeply rooted. And until you address them at the source—somatically, not just cognitively—they’ll keep showing up. This is where my book, Inner Child Freedom, comes in.
Going Deeper: Inner Child Freedom
The full moon ritual is a doorway. And if you’re ready to release self-sabotage, reset old patterns, and rise into authentic self-worth, you need more than one night of release.
You need:
- Somatic practices that work with your body, not just your mind
- Journaling prompts that help you feel, not just think
- Nervous system regulation tools for when you’re triggered
- Self-compassion practices that meet you where you are
- A roadmap for ongoing inner child healing
That’s what Inner Child Freedom offers.
It’s not just theory. It’s not just affirmations. It’s body-based, nervous system-informed practices that help you:
- Identify and reparent the wounded parts of yourself
- Release childhood conditioning that’s keeping you stuck
- Regulate your nervous system when old patterns get triggered
- Build self-compassion (not as a concept, but as a felt experience)
- Create safety in your own body
And Here’s the Best Part:
Inner Child Freedom will be FREE on Amazon December 17-19. Right in the middle of the holiday chaos, when you need it most. Mark your calendar. Download it. Keep it. Use this full moon to start the release, and use the book to continue the healing.
Your December Doesn’t Have to Be Survival Mode
You don’t have to push through. You don’t have to perform joy you don’t feel. You don’t have to ignore your body’s signals because it’s “not convenient” right now.
You can:
- Release what no longer serves you (Full Moon Ritual)
- Heal the patterns at their root (Inner Child Freedom)
- Enter 2026 feeling grounded, not depleted
- Stop performing and start being real
This full moon is your invitation. Will you take it?
Remember:
The full moon doesn’t create your transformation. You do. The moon just reminds you that cycles are natural. That release is necessary. That you’re allowed to let go. So tonight, or whenever you read this—pause.
Light a candle. Write your release letter. Shake it out. Breathe it through.
Your inner child is waiting. And this full moon is lighting the way. 💙🌊🌕
P.S. Mark your calendar: Inner Child Freedom is FREE December 17-19 on Amazon. This is your chance to go deeper into the work at no cost. Don’t miss it.
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