By Kirsty Gallagher

Have you ever woken up one morning feeling overly emotional or questioning certain areas of your life? Are there days when you feel like your intuition is so strong, it seems like you have all the answers and everything falls into place almost effortlessly? Or how about the nights you lie awake staring at the ceiling or sudden cravings for solitude and alone time?

What if I told you that all of these things, and so much more could be explained by working with the ever-changing cycles of the moon? And, even more so that by coming back into alignment with this ancient wisdom and ebb and flow you could make huge positive changes in your life.

One of the most profound and most needed benefits that working with the moon brings is self-care for the soul. Month on month the moon disappears from the sky for a few nights during the dark/new moon, showing us that in order to be able to shine your light into the world there needs to be times of rest, retreat, pause and time to simply take care of you. We live in a busy epidemic where we are always doing, always contactable and always pushing for more. Living a lunar life teaches us that we need to balance out the ‘doing’ with ‘being’ and gives us permission at least once a month around the dark moon to simply slow down and tune back into ourselves and our own needs.

As such working with the moon and her phases helps you to get to know yourself like never before. Just as the moon turns the tides of the oceans and seas on the earth (and with us humans being approx. 60% water) she exerts the same gravitational pull on the watery inner world of our emotions, subconscious and dreams. This is why around certain times of the lunar cycle, usually the dark and full moon, you will feel much more emotional. It’s really important to take time to notice to what and whom in your life these emotions are directed to, as our emotions are important signposts as to what is/isn’t working in our lives.

In this same way working with the moon means that rather than being thrown around by emotions and life, you get to take back control and make relevant changes in your life, working with the ancient wisdom and magic of the moons cycles to do this.

Working with the moon and her phases helps to keep you accountable. It means that you take conscious control over your life and the direction you want to go in. Month by month you take time to check in with where you are in life, what is and isn’t working, what needs to change and the direction you want to go.

The New Moon is when the sun, moon and earth line up in the sky and is the beginning of your lunar journey. Get clear on what you want to create, manifest, and put into motion in the coming lunar cycle. Set your dreams, goals and intentions for the lunar month ahead.

The waxing part of the lunar cycle is when the moon grows bigger, brighter and bolder in the sky every night. Work with the growing light and energy of the waxing moon to help your new moon dreams and intentions come to life. As the moons energy grows so will yours encouraging you to take action, go out into the world, be seen and heard and take brave bold steps towards achieving your dreams.

The Full Moon brings a moment of completion and also an honest check in. Take the time at the full moon to look back over the first half of the lunar cycle at what worked and what you achieved, and what didn’t and what you allowed to get in the way.

The waning part of the lunar cycle is when the moon grows smaller and smaller in the sky every night. This is the part of the lunar cycle that we use to let go of all that stood in the way of achieving your dreams and intentions. Use the moons waning energy to let go of doubts, fears, people, situations, beliefs and anything that stood in your way.

The moon wanes all the way down to the dark moon, which needs a mention, as this is the lowest energy point and most emotional part of the lunar cycle. This is the end of the waning moon when the moon is barely visible in the sky but hasn’t yet become new. This is the time of the lunar cycle to rest, pause, and take your awareness inwards. It’s really important at this part of the cycle that you take note of your emotions and what they are trying to show and signpost you to, as this will help set your intentions for the next lunar month.

 Lunar Living by Kirsty Gallagher (Yellow Kite) is available now.