I have been working with the lunar cycles for several years, and I’ve begun to find that it’s easier for me to look at the lunar cycle in just two parts: the new moon and the full moon. For me, the New Moon is a time for new beginnings, intention setting, and active work. The Full Moon, is a time for finding truth, completion, and LOTS of self care.
Self care is a term that’s thrown around so casually these days, and it’s been coined as anything that feels good. But I don’t think of self care along those lines. I think of self care as actions that support your well-being. Sometimes that includes luxurious baths, yoga sessions, and nights with pints of ice cream. More often though, it looks like giving a firm no, 10 minutes of exercise to get anxiety out of your body, and cleaning up your closet (i.e. the things you don’t really want to do but that you know you’ll be better for).
Once the Full Moon is illuminating the sky, so begins the 2nd half of the lunar cycle. It’s a beautiful time of release and letting go as the moon wanes back into her darkness. Sometimes this release is an active fulfilling process that feels like celebration or revelation- and sometimes it feels like inaction, like surrender.
The terms “Let Go” and “Release” are commonly associated with the full moon, and it’s because the this is the point in the lunar cycle from which she begins to wane and move into darkness. She’s evolving, letting go of her light, moving into the darkness, and allowing the cycle to come to completion.
To know what kind of self care YOU need right now, you have to look at what activities help you let go? Let go of stress, let go of control, let go of expectations. Sometimes this could be dancing your socks off, or a sweaty vinyasa class. It could also look like journalling about what’s been going on in your life, meditating, or taking that luxurious bath with epsom salts.
It doesn’t have to be extreme, as long as the efforts are intentional.
In my Full Moon guide I discuss in more detail the different ways you can cultivate both yin and yang energy during the Full Moon and the waning cycle that follows. I like this approach because you’ll never be able to guarantee what you’ll be juggling in life from moment to moment.
If you want to know what will serve you best, look towards the activities that will enhance your state of being. If you’re exhausted, steer away from those yang activities that require mental and physical exertion. Instead allow yourself to rest. Similarly, if you’ve got anxious or pent up energy running through you, and you’d benefit from moving and finding a physical release- give yourself that.
There are so many beautiful ways to allow yourself to lean into the full moon to support your wellbeing. If this resonates with you, you will love my full moon guide, a 10-page pdf that will give you invaluable insight into moving through the full moon side of the lunar cycle.
I’m Felicia, and I’m a self care mentor, here to be your cheerleader in being gentle and kind to yourself. I’m here to give you tools to deepen your self growth and the ways you show up for your self each day- and I love to do that through out of the box thinking like weaving in astrological themes and inspiration! Listen to The A Bit From Within Podcast each week for more encouragement and to remember you’re never alone.
Leave A Comment