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 with lunar rhythm — echoing through kilns, classes, and studio practice.

The moon doesn’t just watch. It pulls.

In the studio, we feel it in quiet, tactile ways. The slip dries too fast. The glazes react unexpectedly. Our hands behave differently. There’s a lunar rhythm in pottery — felt, not measured.

The moon makes poets of potters. This week, the moon is pulling Mayfield back into orbit. Today, in our ceramic studio in Abbotsford, we don’t officially chart by moonlight — but we notice it. The full moon has brought back our creative energy and messier tables surrounded by new people who are arriving and staying, drawn to the open and welcoming space that we are.

Throughout history, ceramicists and potters have observed moon phases. 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.

Pottery and nature are deeply connected. Water, tide, mud, heat. Clay dries with the air and cracks if rushed. It asks us to follow a rhythm bigger than ourselves.

In class this week, students asked why one bowl warped and another didn’t. There was no precise answer. But we smiled, noticing — it was a full moon the night they dried.

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

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