Wiccan new moon ceremonies and rituals are an important tradition in the Wiccan religion. The new moon represents a time of new beginnings, fresh starts, and setting intentions for the coming month. During this time, Wiccans gather together to honor the moon and perform various rituals and ceremonies. One common ritual performed during a new moon ceremony is the casting of a circle. This involves creating a sacred space where the ceremony will take place. The circle is typically marked with candles, crystals, or other ritual tools, and is meant to represent a boundary between the physical world and the spiritual realm.
The circle is typically marked with candles, crystals, or other ritual tools, and is meant to represent a boundary between the physical world and the spiritual realm. Once the circle is cast, participants may engage in meditation or guided visualization to connect with the energy of the new moon. This allows them to tap into their intuition and set clear intentions for the month ahead.
Anti-Magic Academy
Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon spends its first moments fooling you into thinking that it’ll be a gritty military drama. There’s a flashforward to a terrible battle. There are ruined city buildings, a wounded youth in a school uniform facing death, and a little witch-girl intoning “Congratulations” with flat menace.
And then we’re in the story proper, and the youth, Takeru, is walking into a classroom in time to see… a buxom girl classmate in a bunny suit, who’s being forced to pose sexily for her malicious woman senior. Yes, we’ve found the show’s goofball side already, with lashings of fanservice. Anti-Magic Academy slides between the action/goofball poles for pretty much the whole series.
I should say there’s lots of fanservice, but it never gets as all-enveloping as, say, High School DxD, so don’t expect that kind of anime. I’ll also say Anti-Magic operates pretty much on harem principles, with Takeru as the only boy in a battle team full of girls. But he’s much cooler than many harem protagonists. Takeru’s already a strong warrior when we meet him, and he’s voiced in Japanese by Yoshimasa Hosoya, who enjoyed a fascinating character journey as another soldier, Reiner, in Attack on Titan.
Takeru is also a very upstanding guy – he’s very protective of girls, for deep personal reasons. But misunderstandings will happen, and his female colleagues have a tendency to let their hair down in front of him. That, or take their clothes off.
Based on a “light novel” series, Anti-Magic Academy throws viewers into a soup of familiar anime staples, making it instant light viewing. The set-up is that this is a modern world where magic powers are real and the forces of order – including Takeru and his girl allies in their title Test Platoon – must fight them continually. The baddies use forbidden spells and artefacts, sometimes using warriors from legend to fight their battles (shades of the Fate franchise). Later stories have more of an SF flavour, with cruel experiments in genetic engineering and a young child cursed with Akira powers.
Naturally there’s a lot of fighting, and this fighting is a real mishmash. Takeru himself prefers to use swords – the clue’s in his family name, Kusanagi. In mythology, Kusanagi is Japan’s answer to Excalibur, which is presumably why Motoko in Ghost in the Shell chose that name too. But as well as swords, there’s heavy artillery and robot mecha, and heroic transformations linked to the little witch-girl in the opening scene.
Each of the main storylines centres on a different character in Takeru’s team, and it turns out they all have extremely dark and tragic backstories, often involving family members, in whiplash contrast to the frequent goofing. But of course the characters have the collective strength of their team family; they can bicker about boob sizes and fight for each other’s lives at the same time.
The show’s animated by the Silver Link studio, who you may know for such series as Baka & Test: Summon the Beasts and Fate/kaelid liner Prisma Ilya (a magical-girl take on the Fate franchise). Anti-Magic Academy also has broad parallels with a series that Silver Link made around the same time, called Armed Girl’s Machiavellism, which had a similar mix of frequent fights and harem comedy with a cool hero.
Andrew Osmond is the author of 100 Animated Feature Films. Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon is released in the UK by Anime Limited.
Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon spends its first moments fooling you into thinking that it’ll be a gritty military drama. There’s a flashforward to a terrible battle. There are ruined city buildings, a wounded youth in a school uniform facing death, and a little witch-girl intoning “Congratulations” with flat menace.
Some Wiccans may choose to write down their intentions on a piece of paper, which can then be burned in a fire or buried in the earth as a way of releasing the intention to the universe. In addition to setting intentions, new moon ceremonies often involve rituals and spells for manifestation. Wiccans may work with specific herbs, crystals, and other tools associated with abundance, love, or other desired outcomes. These rituals can include chanting, dancing, or the use of specific gestures or symbols to amplify the energy and focus the intention. Overall, Wiccan new moon ceremonies and rituals are a sacred and meaningful experience for practitioners. They offer a time for reflection, intention setting, and connecting with the energy of the moon. These ceremonies allow Wiccans to tap into their personal power, work with the cycles of nature, and manifest their desires in their lives..
Reviews for "Exploring the Elements in Wiccan New Moon Ceremonies"
- John Smith - 1 star
I attended a Wiccan new moon ceremony and was extremely disappointed. The whole experience felt incredibly gimmicky and insincere. The rituals and ceremonies were so contrived and lacked any depth or meaning. It seemed more like a show than a spiritual gathering. Additionally, the people running the event were not welcoming or inclusive. They seemed exclusive and unwelcoming to newcomers like myself. Overall, it was a waste of time and I would not recommend it to anyone seeking a genuine spiritual experience.
- Sarah Johnson - 2 stars
I recently attended a Wiccan new moon ceremony and it was not what I expected at all. The entire event felt disorganized and chaotic. The leaders were unclear in their instructions and the rituals were hard to follow. It felt like they were making things up as they went along. The energy in the room was also off-putting, with some participants being overly intense and others completely disinterested. I left feeling confused and disconnected, without any sense of fulfillment. I would not attend another ceremony like this.
- Michael Thompson - 1 star
I found the Wiccan new moon ceremony to be incredibly underwhelming. The rituals and ceremonies were overly simplistic and lacked depth. It felt more like a beginner's guide to Wicca rather than an authentic spiritual experience. The leaders were not knowledgeable or experienced enough to guide us through the rituals effectively. Additionally, the atmosphere was uncomfortable and unwelcoming. I left feeling unsatisfied and unimpressed. I would not recommend this ceremony to anyone looking for a genuine spiritual connection.