Clay and the Moon: Lunar Rhythms in Pottery and Studio Practice

Clay listens to the moon. So do we. From tides to textures, pottery and ritual move in harmony with the lunar rhythm — echoing through kilns, classes, and studio practice.

“The moon makes poets of potters”. This week, the moon is pulling Mayfield back into orbit. Today, in our ceramic studio in Abbotsford, we have noticed it. It feels as if the full moon has brought back our happy energy, and our tables are now messier, surrounded by new people who are arriving and staying, drawn to the open and welcoming space that we have always offered, but that we lost for a little while without the moon’s positive light.

Throughout history, ceramicists and potters have observed the phases of the moon. In early Japan and coastal Africa, kiln cycles were timed with the full moon, and clay drying was said to slow during waxing phases. Some traditions believed moon-aligned firings brought better glaze results.

Creativity and nature are deeply connected—water, tide, mud, heat. Clay dries with the air and cracks if rushed. In life we need to follow a rhythm bigger than ourselves.

Maybe that’s not science. But in creative practice, we know what feels real.

We fire. We rest. We wait. We gather. And the clay — it responds.