The universe felt like it was bursting with energy last Tuesday with a new moon and an eclipse on the same day. We felt an earthquake around lunchtime and the Wifi in our area was out for over 12 hours. There was a lot going on! While all of this has a scientific explanation, I do think that there is something to be said for the connections between celestial beings and things that affect humans on earth. Emotions were running high that day. Anxiety, sadness, worry, loneliness, and uneasiness were emotions that came up from our students during our check in. I was feeling the universal energy and my students were feeling it, so we took the opportunity to learn about the moon cycle to try to make some sense out of what we were feeling.
The moon goes through eight phases throughout the 28 day moon cycle and I asked my students to start noticing how they were feeling on the new moon. For simplicity, I broke the cycle into four quarters.
New Moon– During the new moon, big emotions and self realizations often come up. The new moon can feel dark and scary. It is a time to notice if you are being presented with opportunities for growth or things about your habits that you may want to change. When there is a lunar eclipse on a new moon, these feelings can feel magnified because of the eclipse energy. I have heard it described as having your consciousness (the sun) blocked by your subconsciousness (the moon), and when your vision is blocked it can cause discomfort. The new moon is an ideal time to set intentions for yourself because it is the beginning of a cycle. This first phase of the moon cycle is the start of moving towards healing and the intentions you set.
Quarter Moon– The quarter moon is decision making time. Your vision becomes clearer, the light is starting to peek through, and you begin to develop ideas of how to change or do something different in your life. It can still feel a little scary, but things are set in motion.
Full Moon– At the full moon, you have made a plan and the action has started. You are seeing the full light of the moon and this is also an energetic period. You are moving forward toward your intention and healing. When a full moon is paired with a lunar eclipse emotions can feel intensified the way they did during the eclipse in the new moon.
Last Quarter– During the last quarter, you are in full action towards your intention. There could be a set back or two as you shed the last few layers of your old self. This can feel difficult. The last quarter is your final push toward the new you before the moon cycle starts again.
The plan with my students is to check in to see how our emotions wax and wane during the 28 days of the moon cycle and make connections. We are going to be curious and non-judgemental of ourselves. When we understand how our body and emotions are connected to nature’s cycles, we become more self-aware and hopefully more self compassionate. Similarly, if we know what stage the moon is in we can prevent ourselves from getting surprised by how we are feeling. Some days, like last Tuesday, have energy that is beyond our control when four different natural phenomena happen at once. When we realize this, we can tap into the magic of this energy. All we have to do is feel through our emotions, trust the process, and support others doing the same. It is powerful to know that you can set intentions and change your life when you work with the energy of the moon cycle.
Claire Rietmann-Grout 