The moon has been part of our life throughout our existence. In ancient cultures, the night was associated with darkness, danger, and uncertainty. To this day, the moon, the sun, and the sky influence our behavior and thoughts. In general terms, the night is when we go to sleep when we are less active because the sky is dark and our body is sleepy and tired.
But in more specific terms, each phase of the moon may influence how we process thoughts and react to the environment around us. Before we get started, it is important to understand that the moon may influence our behavior, our energy, and our emotions, but we are still in control of ourselves. In other words, we cannot blame the moon for our mistakes but we must take advantage of its energy to achieve our goals and live a peaceful stimulating life that aligns with its movement around the Earth.
The moon revolves around the Earth in a fixed orbit, it takes about 29 days to revolve around it, so there will be a new moon every 29 days.
The moon doesn't have its own light, it is the sun that reflects its light into the moon. When the moon is between the Earth and the sun, the side of the moon facing the Earth doesn't get sunlight, so the illuminated side shines away from us. This is what we call the New Moon.
For centuries, the new moon has had different connotations, as it is the darkest night of the month. The ancient Greeks believed that Hekate, the goddess of the moon, would appear every New Moon to reinforce her connection with the moon.
The new moon is a fresh beginning. It is the start of something new. The previous cycle of the moon is over, so it is a great moment to acknowledge the aspects of our life that are not working so that we can let them go. A new cycle begins, and as the new moon, your soul is ready to start a new cycle with values and ideas that you let in your life.
The new moon is the perfect moment to initiate new projects both in your personal or professional life. Whatever project you are thinking of, starting it with a new moon will put all the energy in your favor. If you want to change a habit, start hiking, learn a new language, or launch a new product to the market, try to do it within this phase of the moon. You are going to feel how everything starts to develop smoothly. If you're in the process of planning a baby, the new moon is a great time to preconceive a child.
For gardeners and plant lovers. Growing your seeds, sowing, or harvesting during the new moon is a good idea; plants will absorb more water than usual and will have positive results when the plants grow. The new moon's fresh energy, aligned with your excitement to be a better version of yourself, will encourage a new and abundant cycle for you.
Waxing means that the illumination is growing. After a few days, we can see some part of the moon, the lightness is a little bigger every night. The transition from new moon to waxing crescent is very notable as the new moon is overall invisible, and the waxing crescent projects a subtle but notable piece of light. The waxing crescent happens when the moon is 10% to 23% full. This is the phase where our strength starts to grow slowly. We find a sense of purpose, hope, and inspiration. During these days, even the more pessimistic people will feel slightly happier than usual. The Waxing Crescent moon can help you to stimulate everything that you want to improve or develop further.
This is a very significant moment for our creativity to bloom. If they believe in themselves and the timing is right, songwriters will find verses they feel proud of, designers will come up with ideas they will love, and different kinds of creativity will emerge as the light of the moon grows little by little every night. Even if you don't think of yourself as a creative person, this can be a good time for you to find a new hobby or a talent you didn't know you have. Draw whatever you feel like drawing, write whatever is in your head, read about knitting, sculpting, or any artistic expression, and stimulate that side of your brain that we tend to forget about.
One week after the new moon, comes the first quarter. This is a moment that will come with a lot of action, challenges, and important decisions to make. It may feel like everything is going on and a little stressful at times, but this is when your deepest wishes and thoughts of the new moon will start to grow and develop further. We might find challenges, hesitations, or even confrontations with other people or with our own thoughts. It is not easy to make things happen. We will find obstacles that will challenge our resilience and how much we want things to happen. The way we react and deal with this situation depends on everybody's personality and background.
This is a moment to ask for help if needed, take a break, a nap, a full hour of meditation if needed, or anything that would make us feel in control of ourselves again.
The word gibbous comes from the Latin hibbus, which means hump, describing the shape of the moon at that point of the cycle. This moon starts to be visible even before sunset and almost all night long. We begin to see the results of our efforts, decisions, and actions. It is a moment when we are done thinking, and we are taking more actions than reflecting on what we are doing. After all the progress accomplished, we are starting to believe more in ourselves and other people. Depending on each person, we might feel like we are in control again, and we find our purpose. Or we may feel stressed because we want to accomplish more things and develop our projects even further.
Whatever the case is, use this energy for something that will benefit your body and your mind. Don't underestimate the power of exercising and run an extra mile if you feel that your brain needs it. You are not only working out your legs when you go for a run; your brain is focusing on something positive and takes a break from everything you have going on.
The full side of the moon gets sunlight entirely at a very specific location. The full moon is visible all night, and it is the brightest phase of the moon. Moon eclipses only happen during this phase, when the sun and the moon are opposed over lunar nodes. The brightest night of the month has had different interpretations over the years. The nomads in ancient cultures used this night to go hunting more than usual, as many animals were sleeping, but they were easier to find.
This was something positive for humans as they were able to find more food, but it was a dangerous night for animal species, so maybe this is why there are legends about full moons and creepy creatures appearing this night of the month.The full moon is the result of days of little pieces of light that started to cover the moon night after night.
Our emotions, instincts, and logic look at each other to examine the big picture and see who we have become over the last few weeks. Everything that we have been harvesting in ourselves during this cycle comes up. As the moon is full, our full self comes out. Joy, excitement, anger, resentment, fear, shame, and pride. Everything comes out!
The sunlight is lighting up the shadows that were not visible over the last days. The wishes that we desired in the New Moon and that we developed over the Waxing Crescent show the results of days full of emotions, decisions, actions, and desires. These projects can be as big as a new product you are launching, or as personal as a relationship you started to construct at the beginning of the cycle. Our emotions may be all over the place. As the moon influences the ocean's tide, it influences us, who are 60% water. Avoid making important decisions during the full moon because things may seem like a big deal, but they are not. If you feel like breaking up your relationship with someone, wait a few days for your emotions and energy to calm down and take a rationalized decision.
For the phases after the full moon, astrologers use the term "waning," which means decreasing illumination. The moon is losing reflection of the sunlight every day, and slowly, the nights become darker and darker. These days may feel like a hangover after days with a lot of energy and emotions. You may feel more tired than usual, but you will also feel calmer. We will find gratefulness in ourselves and the people around us, as there is not as much energy as there was in the full moon, and we will find logic in what used to be emotional only.
Even though our energy is not as abundant as it used to be, we feel the urge to keep going, to continue our projects, and to assume our responsibilities. This is a moment where we focus only on ourselves and how to keep going. This is why it is not the right moment to ask for help, loans, or other people's assistance. It is an introvert phase where we can focus on individual activities like reading or writing.
This phase happens when the moon looks like a little C or D, depending on where we are. It is barely visible, and the nights are very dark. This is the moment where our energy is at its lowest. It is known as balm moon because we apply balm to our injuries, reflect on our decisions, mistakes, actions, and reactions. We may feel emotional, but it is important to accept those emotions as ours, analyze them, and get ready for the next cycle that will be better because we will be better, smarter, and braver.
Humans have been able to walk on the moon, but for those of us who haven't been able to touch it, we just need to look in the window, see how bright it is, and acknowledge that even though it is far away, it is sending us its beautiful and abundant energy helping us get ready for the next chapter of our lives.
