Ever have one of those days where you’re inexplicably emotional? No reason for it, no justification – your emotions are going, and you just don’t understand what prompted them. If you’re female, you could check where you’re at in your menstrual cycle, but that may not offer any further clarification.
So, when you’re confused, here’s my suggestion: look up at the nighttime sky.
Male or female, we are all affected by the Moon’s phases in the sky. In Astrology and in Wiccan teachings, the Moon is the mother hovering over the cradle of the Earth and watching over her children. The Moon symbolizes the reflective, emotive qualities that are part of the human psyche and so it’s no surprise her changeability and cycles are reflected in your own moods at times too!
At times that effect can be subtle, at other times that effect can not only be obvious, but even detrimental. The good news is that you can not only overcome the negative effects, but you can attune yourself to the Moon’s flow so that you have greater stability of your emotions and energy levels!
Let’s look at the Lunar energies, so that you can understand their influence better. Here’s what we’re going to cover:
1. The Lunar Phases and their emotional influences
2. Factors that create sensitivity to the Moon
3. Tools and tips to create a positive relationship to the Moon’s energy
No matter whether your sensitivity is persistent or intermittent, you want to understand your connection to the Moon so that it can become supportive to your well-being.
The Lunar Phases and their Emotional Influences
Each phase of the Moon has its own energetic and emotional tones. If you’re sensitive, you’ll start to notice that your emotional state coincides with the themes that are listed below. These are the general themes of the Lunar cycles and combined with deeper astrological insight, you can often pinpoint the exact emotions and themes that you are feeling.
New Moon: The New Moon is the conjunction (union) of the Sun and Moon in the skies. Signifying the beginning of a new cycle, there overall theme is one of hope. During the New Moon, it’s not uncommon to feel:
· Excited and hopeful
· Energetic and creative
· Optimistic and loving
Since it’s the beginning of a new cycle, these are all positive, emotional states that can help you be successful and productive. The mellow, peaceful, but energetic state is a welcome change as the New Moon follows the Dark Moon, the lowest point of the cycle. As the Moon continues to wax and gain in light, you’ll start to notice a change in your emotions once again. Here’s the next phase.
Waxing Moon: As mentioned above, the light of the Moon is continuing to grow. It evolves from a sliver to a half moon before it comes close to becoming a full, glowing orb in the sky. As the Moon comes nearer to the full, you’ll notice an increase in:
· Physical energy and vitality
· The desire to manifest
· Confidence, strength, and positivity
The New Moon and the Waning Moon are the life or growth-oriented parts of the Moon cycle and you may not notice your sensitivity to these times because these are the emotions that you want to feel. In fact, this is probably how you want to feel all the time. But if you’re noticing the that your emotions are in tune with these parts of the lunar phase, then you’re also likely to notice that your emotional tenor also follows the next two phases as well.
Full Moon: We all know that things get a little crazy during the Full Moon! Two friends of mine used to work as bouncers in nightclubs and told me that they never needed to look in the sky – the crowds behaved badly during the Full Moon. The Full Moon isn’t always negative, it can be a time of heightened emotion and manifestation power. (Why do you think people work magick during the Full Moon – the light of that powerful orb empowers your intentions).
The Full Moon heightens your emotions, both positively and negatively. Here are some of the ways you may feel when the full orb brightens the sky:
· Sensitive to the words and actions of others
· Heightened sense of the past and nostalgia
· Increased visibility of emotions, wounds, and internal conflicts
· Higher passion and desire for sensuality
· Expanded intuition and perceptivity
· Excitement and energetic levels reach a peak
These are general emotional tones and as I mentioned above, the specific astrological energy of each Full Moon can exaggerate certain aspects over others. (If you want to stay on top of astrological news including Full Moons, sign up to receive our newsletter! We’ll share the latest updates and tip to help you attune to the stars and planets for greater strength and success!)
Waning Moon: The Moon is now starting to retreat. The heightened energy and optimism are starting to recede with the Moon’s light. You’re tired, stressed, and would love nothing more than to curl up under the blankets and retreat from the world.
As the Moon’s light continues to wane, you may notice a growing sense of:
· Fatigue and a generalized sense of stress
· Feeling triggered and having uncontrolled emotional outbursts
· Sadness, depression, apathy and other negative emotions
These emotions tend to culminate at the Dark Moon, the day before the New Moon. So, if you find those negative emotions a bit intense, you can take heart that the New Moon brings the return of more positive emotions.
Factors that influence sensitivity to the Moon
There are 2 primary factors that influence your sensitivity to the Moon’s energies if you aren’t engaged in practice of consciously connecting to the Moon throughout its cycles. Either of these factors can influence your sensitivity and make for good themes for self-study and to delve deeper into.
Energetic Sensitivity: We know that the Moon exerts its influence over the world through gravity. It has the power to create tides and even pulls up the atmosphere, drawing oxygen higher into the skies. For those who are more in tune with the natural energies of the earth and sky, it’s only natural to pick up on the cyclical nature of the Moon as well.
Energetic sensitivity can happen for several reasons:
· Spiritual Development – if you’ve been taking time to cleanse and build your energy field, sensitivity to outside energies can result, but this doesn’t have to be a negative thing – see the last section below on how to transmute your relationship with the lunar forces.
· Empathy – if you have heightened spiritual senses that you haven’t learned how to manage, you can be influenced by energies without realizing it. The Moon’s effect can be apparent and experiencing the highs and lows of the lunar cycle might make you think that you’re emotionally unstable or even bipolar. You may not be and paying attention to the Moon’s influence can help you stabilize your emotional energy.
· Health Issues – the energy body influences your physical health, but it also works in reverse. If you have health issues, your aura will also be affected becoming thinner or having holes. Thinner auras or those with holes are more susceptible to outside energies. The greater the damage, the more intense you will find the Moon’s influence to be as a general rule.
You may also wish to look at your astrological chart and look at the Moon in your own chart. As the Moon influences your emotional tendencies, there are certain astrological conditions that can create greater emotional receptivity and sensitivity. If you already know your own chart, you can look for:
· The Moon in water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces)
· The Moon in its detriment or fall (Capricorn or Scorpio respectively)
· The Moon out of bounds (determined by declination)
· The Moon in the 1st, 8th, and 12th houses
There are other aspects such as conjunctions with planets that either heighten sensitivity or increase volatility. If you’re curious to look into the conditions of the Moon in your own chart, you should consider having your Natal Chart read.
Tools and Tips to Create a Positive Relationship with the Moon:
Awareness is always the best tool to have whenever you’re looking into working with any form of healing or energetic process. So, how do you cultivate awareness?
Keep records: Journaling is a great way to help cultivate awareness! However you want to do it, keep track of these 2 essential things – the current Moon phase, and your emotions. Even tracking these 2 simple things consistently can provide you with insight that is valuable. Other things you may want to keep track of are energy levels, sleep patterns, dreams, intuitive flashes, and your menstrual cycle (if applicable).
Once you understand the Moon’s personal influence, you can then start working with other energetic tools to help reorient your alignment with the Moon and create a more positive bond.
Wicca: Whether it’s Full Moon Meditations, or ceremonies honouring the Esbats (Full Moons), Wicca is all about honouring the God and Goddess and working with the solar and lunar energies to fill your cup and create abundance. In the Wiccan tradition, the Moon reflects the light of the Sun and is the source of our vitality in the night sky and in the darker times of year. Through tuning in to the energy of each Full Moon, ceremonies and meditations can help you recharge, achieve balance, and find healing with the purest aspects of the lunar energy.
Even better, Esbats are a great time to manifest and create the very things you desire using the potency of the Full Moon’s energy. If you’re from the Toronto-area, you can find the latest Wiccan ceremonies and meditations on our calendar.
Energy Healing: If you feel that you may have energetic sensitivities or damage to your energy field, healing can help mitigate the symptoms of emotional instability that you feel. Different modalities have varying functions, but if you’re looking to clear out old wounds, negative energies and mend holes in the aura, Ensofic Reiki, crystal healings and the Life Activation are great methods to restore health to your energy field, and seal yourself from unwanted influences (lunar or otherwise).
The world of energy healing is quite vast, and if you want to pursue healing but feel a bit lost, contact me for a free consultation! Let’s uncover the best tools to soothe your sensitivities and restore balance and tranquility.
The Rundown on the Moon’s Influence:
This article has been dedicated to helping demystify the emotional effects of the Moon. Our mother in the night sky certainly holds sway over emotions and energy levels, but again, that doesn’t have to be a negative thing. If you’re experiencing the dark side of the Moon so to speak, there are steps that you can take to turn things around so that you don’t ride on the highs and lows of the tides.
Journal and develop your awareness of your relationship, and from there, seek meditations, spiritual practices and healings that can start the process of restoring a positive relationship with the lunar energies. It takes patience and diligence, but with continued effort, you can resolve those emotional highs and lows!
Wishing you the Moon’s blessings of purity, fertility and divinity!
Aleks