Moon Bath

I was very excited to read and review Moon Bath by Dakota Hills and Sierra Brashear. I was able to down load a PDF to read on my computer over the weekend and just looking through this book I knew it was one I wanted to have. I pre ordered mine on Amazon. I am intrigued by the cycles of the moon and liked the way this book is laid out, I loved the journal-ling suggestions and the self care suggestions based on what the moon is doing. I think this is a book you are going to want to get for the circle of friends in your life who may also follow the moon and its cycles. This book is out in September so I have lots of time to wait and I am looking forward to enjoying it year round.

Thanks to Netgalley I was able to read this book early, but I'll definitely need to order a physical copy of my own! I'm a huge bath lover already, so all Hills and Brashear had to do was tie in the lunar cycle, meditation, and herbal concoctions so I could pretend I'm a witch and I'm SOLD.

So luxurious! I am really getting into self care and connecting with my femininity and so this book of bath recipes is perfect for me! Each bath sets out the recipe ingredients along with a self care practice (yoga pose, breathing exercise, or meditation) and then reflective questions for journaling. After looking through, I prepared myself a bath with jasmine, coconut milk (never thought of this as a bath ingredient before) and ylang ylang oil. I do love the seasonal aspect of this book and I did not follow the sequence this time, but I did happen to have these ingredients on hand already and am so glad I did. I also can't wait to try the idea of adding some colourful flower petals to my bath although I'm really loving candlelight right now; it transforms my bathroom into a spa!

I loved Moon Bath by Dakota Hills and Sierra Brashear. I was able to download a free ARC of this and I am so excited for its release in September! This is a copy that I will be proud to add to my collection. It is filled with beautiful art and positive affirmations that are sure to lift anyone’s spirits! Not only that, but the advice is practical and helpful. I like that bathing is ritualized in this book and I am so excited to put this book to practice! As a Cancer I feel really connected to the moon, and this book makes it really easy to connect to the moon while at the same time practicing self-care. I really love that the mind-body connection is being focused on in this book, connecting nature to the self in one swoop. It covers everything from the moon phase and season to the importance of the water and oils you use, breaking it down and making it really easy and fun to understand and personalize your moon bathing experience!

This book is LUSH. From the very first page, we are welcomed as "wild moon children." I realized that that is exactly what I'd like to be, and also that it feels very far off. All the more reason to dive right in, right? I have long loved the ritual of bathing but have never given it full effort or respect. This book solves that problem beautifully by walking you through the four seasons and phases of the moon (which I know absolutely nothing about - but hey! who doesn't love the moon?), bath by bath. By recommending the perfect blend of botanicals, a mantra, add-ons, journaling prompts and more, this lovely little (but jam-packed) book surpassed my expectations and I can't wait to experience that baths. Also, thank you to the author and team for including workarounds for those without bathtubs!

The book divides the moon cycles into each season. There are rituals that are presented for each phases of the moon during each season. There are also meditations that are associated with each of the herbal bath recipes included in the book. I think that this could be incorporated into a yoga class and have students use the book to practice the rituals at home.

This book absolutely deserves five stars because it was exactly what I expected and wanted it to be. The beautiful pictures and the short, easy to read descriptions make it a perfect gift for friends or yourself (treat yourself).

It is best described as a guide that is easy to follow and leaves room for individual interpretation. I could see myself displaying it on a nicely curated bookshelf in the living room and coming back to it to find inspiration for my own rituals.

The book's tone and visual elements are so soothing that going through its pages makes me feel more relaxed and connected with myself. Sometimes we don't have much time but picking up a book about beautiful things can help us calm down for a few moments.

I am happy to have had the chance to read this book. My overall impression is that it was pretty much exactly what I expected, 16 guides for baths throughout the year according to the phases of the moon and the seasons. But of course, opinions are more complicated than that.

What I liked:

First and foremost, this book is *gorgeous*. I read this as an ARC but I think anyone would be happy to have this as a physical book in their home, either somewhere in the bathroom if humidity isn't too much of an issue, or on display somewhere else. The photography is just really really nice.

Secondly, while I was expecting the recipes and the journal prompts, and even the self-care exercises, what I did like was the attention surrounding both *before* and *after* the bath as well as the bath itself. They really want you to basically be able to make an event out of any one of these baths, and basically give you an entire how-to of how to do it.

Thirdly, I like how the authors made sure to talk about ethics. For example crystals are used in certain baths in the book, but sourcing crystals isn't always as ethical as we'd hope. So, they suggest using an image instead, and there are a couple examples of substitutions like that. They are also good about providing helpful suggestions for how to use the book if you find yourself in a living space with no bathtub at all. So in that way, this book could theoretically be used by anybody.

What I didn't like:

There was only one big thing that stuck out to me as not liking it, but unfortunately for me it was a big one. So, as I went over earlier in this review, the authors took a lot of care to ensure that nearly anyone can use this book regardless of space or access to extra materials. But then, you get to the recipes and a lot of the ingredients for these bath teas are nothing you could find in an average store and in more than one case were things I'd never even heard of! On the surface that doesn't seem bad, but nearly every single bath was like this, and having to go online to source ingredients for sixteen different teas honestly just seems like it would be extremely expensive.

I think the reason there weren't alternative ingredients suggested is because of the care the authors took to make sure that everything in the baths went in with purpose and reason, but while this was really cool, it's also a bit of a point off because I feel that recreating these baths exactly would be very cost-prohibitive to the average person, which makes this book a lot harder to use. To me that's a shame because the amount of care taken in all other aspects to make this book accessible is very clear.

Final thoughts:

I think in the end if you're interested in this book it's definitely worth getting. The intentions behind the rituals, the practices, and the journaling prompts are worth the price of admission, and if they're not, then the photography and layout certainly is. Will you use every recipe in this book? Honestly probably not, unless you've got a pretty witchy supply of herbal ingredients already. Is it worth reading and implementing anyway? I'd say so, especially because the intention behind each ingredient is explained so if someone put their mind to it, they could find substitutes if need be, I am sure.

This book has inspired me to be a little more thoughtful of bath time. I had never thought about using a french press or tea kettle to brew herbs to pour into bath water before, and that is a revelation in itself. The pictures are lovely and it's fun to flip through this book. I probably won't make the bath blends in this book because the ingredients aren't something I would keep on hand - I do wish there were at least a few blends with recipes that used common herbs or things that I would normally have on hand. For those that are willing to invest in the essential oils and herbs and flowers listed I'm sure these would be a stunning addition to their self-care routine.

I didn’t hate it but I also didn’t particularly like it.

I thought it was going to be one of those really cute and simple self-help/diy books that didn’t take itself so seriously. I was very wrong. This book takes itself very seriously and it’s not really my style.

“We are dynamic and magical creatures, connected to each other and the Earth in profound ways, and it is when we quiet the mind and drop into our heart space that we become receptive to nature’s guidance."

A gorgeous, relaxing, self-help book. It's like walking into a day spa. This book gives a variety of ideas for self-care, self-love, relaxation and reconnecting with nature; of course, specifically with the focus on baths. These bath ideas are designed to connect with the moon cycle and seasonality with the goal to sync your intentions with Earth's seasonality and to reconnect with yourself. If you're looking for ways to kick up your self care, gratitude and grounding abilities this will be the guide for you. I loved how the crystals, oils, scents and so breathing coincided with the natural cycle of the Earth. It's great, it's beautiful and it is very creative.

Thank you to Netgallery for the information on this book, as other reviewers mentioned, when I tried to download my review copy it wouldn't work. However the blurb sounded fantastic to me, I was convinced after reading it that 'this is one for the bookshelf.'  I pre-ordered a copy and waited patiently. It arrived, I read, had a lovely bath last Sunday during this month's new Moon in Virgo! But... and there is a but, I found that this book could be improved slightly in my honest opinion, but I do like it. And would still recommend it.

First thing to say is, this is a visually stunning book, it screams luxury the pages, hardback, colours, everything about it. I really love all of this. I also love how the book is organised into seasons. So each month we have a new, waxing, full, and then waning moon-- the moon's natural cycle. Within the book there is a special bath tea ( tea to add to your bath water), with herbs and lovely essential oils for each moon during the spring, summer, winter and autumn months-- love this! I also really love the pictures the authors used, and the writing prompts for each moon/season and bath. 

On the other hand, while I expected all of this wonderful stuff to read, and loved all the information what I found was that:

A lot of the herbs used to make your 'tea' to add for your bath can't be sourced very easily at the local supermarket, or herb store. Just by reading them I could see that, without even heading out.  Now if you are someone that knows or has an interest in herbs ( like me) you can reach for other resources, and use alternatives. But, really this should not be the case. This is where I feel the book has room for improvement, it's not very suitable for everyone in that respect. And some may even feel they need to search the internet, import these herbs/flowers etc and go through a lot of expense. I feel that overall the herbs should be easily accessible-- all of them. In each of the sixteen rituals I could pick out herbs that would not be in the food aisle, sadly.

The authors really do explain well how the different moon phases can cause us to feel, as people Eg reflective, creative, etc. However, here is room for improvement too. How about explain the moon's phases in more detail, for those who don't know the difference between a waxing and waning moon for example. Some readers ( myself included) do, but  some or even many may not. There's major room for improvement here to educate readers further.
The herbs themselves-- why are we using them? Again if you're not someone who is familiar with all of them that the authors recommend to use in your bath, where is the extra education for readers? I would have love to know WHY the authors settled on the herbs they recommended for a waxing moon in the summer for example, compared to a waxing moon in the winter? Clearly there's a difference what is it? As I don't know and would love to!


As mentioned, last weekend I did look at the bath tea recommended for an autumn new Moon, and take a lovely bath. However, I did replace the raspberry leaves for raspberry herbal tea  I had at home LOL. So, you can see that in some months you may need to use alternatives. It  would have been lovely if the authors recommended herbs that allow ease of use, for more people. Generally, this is a beautiful book, and a stunning concept simply boiling herbs, water, flowers and in some cases fruit with hot water on a stove, tip it into your bath water, have a nice relaxing bath with it with candles and music etc, then reflect in your journal at key points in the month, based on the moon's phase. However, there is a lot of room for improvement to enhance the average reader's experience, learning, and connection with WHY they are using what they are using, and WHAT the moon's actual energy is! I realise the latter is moving into the astrology realm, but it's not hard to explain the differences between the moon's phases for those who may not know. For me, it was worth the buy straight away without the free review copy, as I do like the book and can fill in the gaps. Readers who can't may not get as much out of the book as they hoped, especially if the herbs for the bath teas are hard to find, which is the main concept of the box 'tea baths'. Three stars from me, but I do love it and recommend it even to have on the shelf and look at it's stunning. I will take more baths using the recipes  as in all honesty my house smelt amazing!  I felt like some kind of Goddess when I got out the bath, so thanks! Give it a try if you like the concept of a relaxing bath, some you time and relaxation.

Moon Bath is a comforting read. As they say in the intro, it's like a self-care cookbook. They break up the ritual baths into moon phases and then into seasons. It's so perfectly organized and easy to flip straight to what you need. I also love the photos in the book, it adds to the ambiance. It's perfect for people who need to put more effort into their self-care routine or who want to connect to celestial forces.

Beautiful book honoring a lovely idea/practice with useful and creative content. Overall it’s pretty niche.

Moon Bath is an indie-style, spiritually inspired guide to self-care. Bathing is a ritual and has been for centuries. It was often seen as not just a cleansing of the body, but of the mind and soul. A refreshing, stimulating and ethereal experience. This book explores the more pagan ritualistic practice of tracking the moon and its phases throughout the year, and using it to inspire instructions for bathing. The book details not only when to bathe but how and why it is critical to ones spiritual health.

The book takes various characteristics of religious practices and alternative medicines to create a holistic, natural and transcendent experience. The entire process from gathering the ingredients, to planning when to bathe, the actual bath and even the mindset to be in whilst bathing is outlined in Moon Bath.

This book will market best with those who appreciate astrology, crystal healing, alternative and holistic practices, and non-religious spiritual journeys. However, it can also be enjoyable for those individuals who want to create an entire mood out of their bath and go the extra mile for their self-care spa day. With gorgeous mood setting photos, carefully laid out and outlined guides, and easy-to-follow planning this book is soothing from cover to cover.

Gorgeous book! I really enjoyed the idea of baths being correlated to the cycle of the moon & the premise of intentional bathing.

I got moonbath from NetGalley and it was a very different kind of book, not the book I expected. It took me a lot of time to finish it but I am glad I was able to finish it.
🦋let me tell you that this is the book not meant for reading only. This book is entirely based on rituals and exercises that need to be practically implied while taking bath. It explains different rituals for each phase of moon and trust me; there a lot.
💐Also you will need a lot of herbs, teas and gem stones. Cozy setup is compulsory according to the book.
📖 You will need a journal as well for reflecting on different aspects.
🧚🏻‍♀️ It instructs you from the beginning to check the lunar calender as to find the phase of the moon and then skip to that part of the moon, following the rituals explained in that part.
📘There are a lot of poses explained for each bath either before or after taking the bath.
📝There were several things that seemed quite funny but offcourse, without practicing, it would sound funny.
📓as for me, we tale showers so I don't think I can apply this to my routine. Also the herbs they have used are not available in my region (as far as I know), the cozy setup they require is also beyond my reach although I would like to try it once atleast.
📋on the positive side, I learned the positive things like letting go of expectations, negativity, gratitude, self-care and love, asking for abundance etc. from this book. It vaguely reminded me Rhonda Byrne's books as in those books there is aslo a lot about gratitude, hope etc.
It would be nice if people tried these rituals.

Moon Bath earns 5+/5 Botanical Bath Teas...Aaaaaah!

I have been a “shower child” for most of my life, but this book, or guide, from Dakota Hills and Sierra Brashear provides a new perspective beyond just soaking in the tub: Bathing Rituals & Recipes for Relaxation & Vitality. This modern bathing renaissance is a journey I thought fascinating to experience uses the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, Sanskrit for “the sacred knowledge of life,” with modern healing benefits of the cycles of the moon and earthly plants. The journey’s sixteen affirmations are divided into four sections connected to the phases of the moon: New Moon, Waxing Moon, Full Moon, and Waning Moon. Each ritual has an affirmation, bath recipe using a variety of natural ingredients, journal prompts, ritual supplies, and breathing exercises, movements, and meditations to develop clarity, vitality, and balance.

So, I evicted my husband from the hall bathroom and used the information from “Preparing for Your Moon Bath” to gather supplies (botanicals, essential oils, milk products, etc), create a space (clean tub, have a robe, towel, and slippers available), brew a botanical bath tea (French press is a perfect receptacle), set the mood (candles, music, no phone), check water temperature (comfort...not too hot, not too cold, just right), and then for 20-30 minutes i-m-m-e-r-s-e! No bath tub? There are suggestions for that situation, but I didn’t tell my husband...

It’s always best to start one’s spiritual journey at the beginning...New Moon. Each phase of the moon is divided into Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, so start in whatever season you’re in. I found a journal book to chronicle my experience in which I wrote the date, moon phase and season, affirmation statement, alternative ingredients, if needed, and key thoughts before and after. I started with the ritual for Summer New Moon.

Each moon phase within its season is organized well with an introduction to the “Intention” and “Benefits,” then a list of what items to gather, a bath recipe to brew with easy-to-follow directions. There is a “Self-Care Practice” describing stretches and poses (I started with this although in some rituals they suggest after the soak.) and suggestions to “Enhance Your Experience” like plants to remind one of nature. Last, to “Reflect” select one of the four writing prompts to include in your journal. Aaah!

The hardbound book is beautiful with photos of luscious landscapes, creative tubs and bathing spaces, and several photos of the botanicals illustrating the bath recipe. The new moon was two weeks from when I started which gave me plenty of time to read the book’s introduction and the bath rituals I planned to experience. That prep made sure my ritual was a positive experience. I had a difficult time finding all the different flowers and essential oils; that could be a problem. I might have to find alternative ingredients to use for their fragrance, highlighting the season, and focusing more on the relaxation and inner meditation. The new and full moons occur on a particular day, easily managed, but the waxing and waning moon are several days. I chose the quarter waxing and quarter waning moon as my bath ritual. This gave me four bath rituals ever 28 days, then repeating each month or so. I didn’t complete the first four rituals in one moon cycle. It took two months to do them, but it was enjoyable, and I plan to continue.

This is a beautiful, soothing book with some wonderful ideas for baths related not only to the phase of the moon, but also the season. It’s concise and gives some wonderful ideas to make bathtime a special ritual. I docked one star because many of the herbs that each bath calls for are not easily sourced and would need to be specially ordered ahead of time unless you have a well-stocked apothecary at home.

I absolutely loved this book. I will definitely be buying a copy for myself to use.
The book begins with an introduction to ritual baths such as the history and the uses. It then gives 12 recipes for your bath based on the season and what position the moon is. The book is very adaptable for different situations and I can't wait to use it!

This was a great self care book full of lovely recipes for baths based on each phase of the moon. It encourages you to connect to nature by using ingredients straight from the earth. I found it entirely fascinating and took notes to try them out later on. 3.5⭐️

Moon Bath is gorgeous, well-balanced, and easy to digest in pieces or out of order. The book is anchored by a number of bath 'teas' (recipes), which are relatively doable with a basic essential oils kit, but may require beginners to splurge on or forego more specific ingredients like dried herbs and flowers.

Moon Bath's main draw seems to be its welcoming, accessible vibe - the recipes and concepts are simply explained. This is especially useful for folks like me, who are new to spiritual practices and may not identify as a 'wild moon child,' as the dedication reads.

However, this accessibility comes at the cost of more specific context for the eastern and Native origins of these practices. While the introduction and acknowledgement of Moon Bath both provide some credit and context, incorporating this more deeply into each section of the book would have both enriched the concepts and avoided the soft haze of a western 'self care' filter. 3/5 Stars.

Thank you to netgalley and Chronicle Books for giving me this ARC.

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect. Let me tell you I learned a lot about botanicals, yoga and ways to take care of your body.

Moon Bath is a book all about baths. It has 16 baths total. Four for each of the seasons that coincide with the new moon, waning moon, waxing moon and the full moon. I learned so much about herbs and flowers throughout reading this book, as well as, yoga poses that help loosen your muscles and body.

Overall I loved this book and I definitely suggest it to anyone who likes taking baths or just want to be more in tuned with your body.

Beautiful illustration of this book. It seemed very soothing but totally impractical for me as I have no time or patience to prepare such rituals.
Very well written and probably suitable for a person with some time on their hands!

This book is beautiful. I have pre-ordered to have a copy to keep in my bathroom. I'm a bath aficionado and plan to try all 16 bath ritual recipes that align with the moon phases described in this book. Books and baths are my happy place so this is the perfect combo. It's a great way to be more present and self-aware. I will recommend this book to my yogi friends. It would also make a lovely gift during the pandemic to those you know who are suffering from stress and anxiety.

Very informative for anyone looking to explore their spirituality! This book included a plethora of knowledge on the moon cycle, five elements, seasons, and their corresponding meanings to one another. This amount of information could've easily become overwhelming but the authors organized it wonderfully so that readers could really absorb it. My only complaints are that it often became repetitive and I wish the bath ritual recipes were formatted more concisely so that I didn't have to turn so many pages for the entire experience.

This book is a wonderful guide for anyone looking to practise rituals and time for yourself based around the lunar cycle and the seasons. This includes bath time rituals, yoga, journaling, breathing exercises and meditation.

The photography in this book is amazing and really sets the tone for the book, it's almost a form of self-care (for me at least!).

I love how the authors emphasise the importance of self-care and making time for yourself and I appreciate that they make each ritual almost like a full event to look forward to, but also giving journal prompts if you don't necessarily have time for the full experience, or if you don't have a bathtub.

Overall, this is a really lush book, especially if you're interested in becoming more mindful.

Moon Bath oulines a number of different 'Bathing Rituals and Recipes for Relaxation and Vitality' in this awesome new guide from Dakota Hills and Sierra Brashear.
The book has a different affirmation and ritual for each moon phase and season and is laid out in a fantastic way, with lots of beautiful illustrations and journal prompts. Using this as a guide is a great way to get more in tune with the natural world and yourself.
Many thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Moon Bath is nice and soothing read. I really appreciated the opening passage about making bath rituals more accessible with foot/hand baths. Then add to that the beautiful photography/art and dreamy sounding baths and I'm sold. Some of the wording in the intentions didn't quite land for me, but that isn't anything that can't be modified to fit my personal tastes.