13 Things I've Learned by Tracking with the Moon
There is so much wisdom the moon can offer that we need on this planet right now. What have you learned from tracking with the moon?
1. IT'S TOTALLY A PHASE
Everything passes, even the biggest crisis and the most brilliant inspiration. It all arises and abides. I've learned to appreciate the highs and lows and not get stuck in either place - but experience them both as fully as I can. The end is also the beginning.
2. THE MOON AND MEDITATION ARE BEAUTIFUL COMPANIONS
They both help me come back to myself and to something larger than just me. By tracking with the moon (a practice that takes less than 5 minutes a day) I found my inner strength to change my patterns of burnout and begin a morning meditation practice. The moon and meditation help me connect with my radiance.
3. ROUTINE IS ANOTHER WORD FOR RHYTHM
For most of my life I never established a consistent morning ritual. If you are like me, then you may resist or dismiss the importance of routine. It sounds suffocating and tight. Yet the body and mind need routine to relax and be in an optimal state. Constant change and chaos can wear down the nervous system. Reframing 'routine' as rhythm was a game changer - it sounds more creative, poetic and flowing - like the moon.
4. I DON'T HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER I AM AN EXTROVERT OR AN INTROVERT
Before tracking with the moon I thought I had to decide if I was one or the other. The moon doesn't have to pick whether she is New or Full, Light or Dark. She is both at different times in her cycle. I have days with more outward, extroverted expression and more inward, introverted energy. At the core, I know I need alone time to collect myself and recharge, but that doesn't limit my range of how I express myself or think I should act at different times in the cycle.
5. THERE ARE TIMES TO GO AND TIMES TO SLOW
Often there is internal or external pressure to always be productive and taking care of business. This is a sickness that the US mainstream society perpetuates. There is very little room for downtime - unless it is an official 'vacation' but even then many people struggle to relax. The moon is an amazing guide for how to value rest as integral to the experience of life. She is not always full and visible, but practices regular retreat. You don't have to wait to get sick to slow down.
6. I've LEARNED TO TRUST MORE DEEPLY:
Any time I get stuck, fearful or anxious I have trained myself to think of the moon. Take a breath, look for her in the sky, and connect with the deeper wisdom in myself and in nature. Watching the moon go through her phases month after month, I can better understand how life is an unfolding process of constant change and transformation. It's not always comfortable, but it is worse when resisted.
7. THERE IS NO CORRECT TIME TO BLEED
There's this idea out there that bleeding on the New Moon is somehow superior to bleeding during other phases. Why? because energetically it is aligned with release. Seriously - this is just another way to pressure people who menstruate to think that there is a 'perfect' way their body should be. We do not need to fix ourselves to meet an ideal. Over the last six years I have tracked my cycle to see that I shift between the full moon and the new moon every six months. Every cycle is slightly different, and just because it shifts around does not mean it's wrong or bad. Each time I learn how to better to take care of myself and greet my blood when it arrives. Clearly, if you are experiencing symptoms outside of the range of normal, then seek help. You may find that the moon becomes part of your healing process.
8. CREATIVITY AND THE MOON ARE INTERCONNECTED
An idea or inspiration is like the new moon, it comes out of the darkness and unknown. It waits silently for someone to listen and tend to the spark. The waxing moon brings the initiation, growth and determination, and can test your commitment. The energy of the full moon can inspire action and manifestation. Once the peak of creation begins to fade, the waning moon brings support for dissemination, release, cross-pollination, and reflection. It mirrors the life cycle and the transitions of the seasons. Tracking with the moon and tuning in to this energetic wave has supported my creative expression.
9. IT HELPED ME REPAIR MY RELATIONSHIP WITH LIFE
Healing and grief are said to be like a spiral, each moment getting closer or farther away from the source. Whether it is the source of pain or the source of freedom, each ring of the journey often has a single point of reference: an event that defines our lives. A moment that hits so heavy it’s like the light in our eyes becomes totally eclipsed. For me, that event was my sixteenth birthday. From that day I carried an invisible scar left by the death of my best friend, it was sudden and such a shock! I lost my trust in the spirit of life. How could there be a divine source that would allow this? On the anniversary of her death a number of years ago I watched a lunar eclipse and realized it was me getting in the way of my connection to source. The moon helped me see this.
10. I've BECoME MORE accepting of DEATH (aka impermanence)
The moon’s disappearance is only an illusion of loss. The end of one lunar cycles leads into the beginning of the next cycle. Death is a part of the cycle, not outside of it. There is mourning, there is grief, there are lessons to learn. I can accept this rather than resist, avoid or be fearful. Many times a family will experience a death right before a new baby is born. I came into the world less than a month after my great-grandfather passed. It's curious. I have no idea how it works, but I am more at peace with the impermanence of life knowing that it is part of a cycle.
11. IT'S OKAY TO NOT BE AVAILABLE
In fact it is necessary. I used to withdraw because I didn't know how to not be available in a healthy way. I did this as a reaction rather than part of self-care. There are times when the moon is not visible, I take this as a cue to go inward and be more available to myself.
12. THERE IS NO FAILURE, JUST experiences THAT INFORM THE NEXT step
Each lunar cycle offers a new beginning. Some intentions I set are ripe and ready, others need more seasons to mature. Even if I had set an intention to do something that I didn't complete, it gives me information about whether I need more courage and discipline, or more rest and reassessment. When I go too far in one direction, I have tools to return to center. I also discovered that I cycle through similar themes every six months. Identifying and learning from those themes are a core part of my life's work. I might think I've learned a lesson, but it comes back around to remind me to keep refining.
13. LOOKING UP IS A WAY TO LOOK WITHIN
Developing a personal relationship to the moon has supported my personal growth and wellbeing. I make a point to see the moon in the sky, to say hello, and to greet the parts of myself that are ebbing or flowing. Tuning in and tracking with the moon has helped me tune into myself and notice my own personal cycles. Awareness is the first step to change. Becoming aware of the body, of intuition, and of the cycles in nature is essential. When I anchor into my experience, I can look up to the moon for guidance and companionship on this journey. We are connected by the inner and outer tides.
The 2022 edition of the New Moon Calendar Journal is available in thee shop! Order your copy today.
This simple and beautiful circular calendar and journal establishes the new moon as the starting point for each monthly cycle. By using a circular calendar you perceive time in relation to nature more clearly, and patterns in your own experience become more apparent. It provides a structure for connecting to your inner wisdom and natural rhythms.