Pleasure as a Path to Wildness: A Full Moon Ritual
This month’s full moon invites us to return to our aliveness. Not productivity. Not perfection. Not performance. But the raw, real, body-based truth of what makes us feel awake and connected.
And for many of us, that path begins with pleasure.
In a world that rewards overwork, emotional suppression, and disconnection from the body, pleasure becomes a radical act. Many of us have internalized the idea that pleasure is selfish, indulgent, or shameful. We associate it with escapism, not embodiment.
But true pleasure—the kind that grounds, expands, and nourishes—is a powerful tool for healing, authenticity, and personal liberation.
It brings us back to our bodies.
It helps us tune into our needs and desires.
It reconnects us with our intuitive “yes” and “no.”
And it helps us build a life that actually feels good to live.
This is not about chasing surface-level gratification.
It’s about reclaiming Eros—the deep creative life force that moves through all living things.
When we cultivate a relationship with pleasure, we reconnect with that life force. We start to live from a place of wholeness rather than obligation.
Eros is often misunderstood as purely sexual or pornographic, but as detailed by Audre Lorde in her essay Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power, the erotic is actually the opposite of the pornographic. It is relational. It is an assertion of life force. It is vitality. It’s the energy of desire, creation, passion, and connection. It lives in your senses, your breath, your longing for beauty, and your creative expression.
Working with Eros means tuning into your sensual self—not just in sexual moments, but in everyday life. The warmth of sunlight on your skin, the tase of food, music that moves through your whole body, the satisfaction of creating something with your hands, and deep laughter with someone who really sees you.
This is the realm of Eros. This is the realm of pleasure. This is your path back to wildness.
*Interested in going deeper with Pleasure & the Erotic? Join our day-long Beltane Celebration on May 4th or our upcoming online course, Primal Eros.
Ways to Work With Pleasure This Full Moon
Notice the pleasure that is already there.
White-washed new-age “wellness” culture has a tendency to make us believe there is always something to “work on” of heal or fix. This mindset can actually be incredibly damaging to the journey to wholeness and pleasure liberation. There are already countless moments of pleasure that we experience throughout each day; the key is to slow down with enough presence to notice them. Where we direct our awareness and attention, we direct our energy. The more you notice pleasure that is present in your life, the more pleasure you will experience.
Journaling
Where is pleasure already showing up in my life? Make a list.
Zero in on one item on your list. What do you love about this one pleasure item? What does it feel like in your body? How do you feel emotionally when you connect to it?
What brings you into my body? What pulls you out?
How do you currently relate to pleasure? Where does guilt or resistance show up?
What would your life look like if you trusted your pleasure as a road map?
What are three pleasurable activities you can set the intention to bring into your life this week?
At-Home Full Moon Ritual: Embodied Pleasure Practice
You’ll Need:
A candle
A journal
Your favorite music
Body oil or lotion
Steps:
1. Create the container. Clean and adorn your space. Light a candle. Play music that makes you feel good.
2. Touch & attune. Gently anoint your body with oil. As you touch each part of yourself, slow down and allow yourself to feel each sensation.
3. Move. Let your body move without choreography. dance under the full moon. Let it be messy, silly, sensual, slow. Follow what feels good.
5. Close with stillness.Sit with your hands over your heart. Breathe.