月亮代表我的心

Exactly one year ago, I came across this post by Carolyn Yoo [^1] about how she aligns her creative energy with the lunar phases and the specific prompts she uses to guide her thinking, which I’ll paraphrase and share below.

My interest in following the lunar cycle was piqued for several reasons. First, Carolyn shared that she had recently discovered through Human Design that she is a Reflector. I don’t know anything about Human Design, except that it is a self-understanding system that draws from several disciplines, including the I-Ching, astrology, physics, and Vedic and Kabbalah philosophies. A dear friend, a meditation coach whose empathic energy I trust wholeheartedly, had once calculated for me that I am also a Reflector, the rarest of the five Human Design energy types. According to Human Design, Reflectors are rare because they don’t have a definitive energetic core and instead, reflect and mirror whatever environment they are a part of and because of that, the best way to find grounding for their fluid nature is to align with the lunar cycle. 

Another reason I was intrigued by the idea of being guided by the dependable rhythms of the moon was because perimenopause had thrown my menstrual cycle into a frenzy, and despite tracking it, I was still unable to discern a pattern. I felt it would be helpful to lean into a larger, more universal energy.

In my role as a creative writing teacher and workshop facilitator, one of my daily tasks is to create writing prompts for my students. For me, writing prompts are invitations (to creativity, contemplation, discovery, and sometimes, collaboration) and I treat every workshop as an occasion. My classes change depending on the participants, the season, the mood, the theme. I enjoy hosting workshops and holding space for creativity, but I loved the idea of being on the receiving end of guided prompts, of being invited, each week, to consider a particular aspect of my life. 

Mostly, I was eager to look to the moon as my guide.

Carolyn generously shared her lunar journal template, which you can download simply by signing up for her newsletter, which I highly recommend. Broadly, the prompts, inspired by the energy of the four lunar phases is as follows:

New moon 🌑: dream, be open to inspiration, set intentions

First quarter moon 🌓: articulate obstacles and figure out a path through

Full moon 🌕: ebullient, social energy, a perfect time to share out

Third quarter moon 🌗: waning energy, contemplate, reflect, let go

I have been using Leuchtturm1917 weekly planners for many years and it was only when I’d decided to follow the lunar phases that I noticed the planner already included a little icon for each lunar phase every week, which became a handy visual reminder. Additionally, I typed up the prompts from Carolyn’s lunar journal into the Reminders app on my phone and set it to the night before each new, waxing, full, or waning moon. I journal each morning, not long after waking and before I turn on my phone, so I wanted to rise into consciousness with a particular prompt already in my mind.

It has been a full year since I’ve started aligning my creative energy with the moon and it has been incredibly… illuminating. The ellipses are there because it took me some time to think of an appropriate description. I remember when I first started meditating, a friend – a busy career woman with little free time – asked me, “But does it work?” It was an odd question that I didn’t know how to answer.  Meditation isn’t a spell or machinery or medication, so the way she formed the question wasn’t commensurate with its nature. It was as if, instead of asking how water flowed, she asked how water crumbled. I feel similarly about turning to the moon as my energetic guide: It’s not a solution and it certainly isn’t a magical fix – I still have the same challenges when I write and struggle to find the right words when I translate. But I am much more aware of what those challenges are and where those blockages exist within my own psyche and I feel supported when I want to let something go, or when I want to let something in, and I feel ready when I want to let something free.

Often, I invite my husband to set intentions with me at the start of each lunar cycle. There are times when we agree to work on the same thing – a project around the house, for instance, or reaching out to family and friends who we haven’t checked in with in a while. But even when we are focusing on our own creative pursuits, the energy we pour into those endeavors are in sync and it’s enormously helpful to articulate to each other where we are – practically and emotionally – during the different phases of the moon. I work best when my creative energy is intimately tied to my family.

What I’ve learned through this practice is that it is not only grounding, but deeply comforting to lean into the natural rhythms and designs of the universe. Time and experience aren’t linear, as most traditional Western philosophy and stories would have us believe; instead, our collective existence is cyclical, like the phases of the moon. Our energies may peak, but they will also fall. How we continue to bob gently on those waves is the meditation that will sustain us.

🌙A lovely side effect of this practice is that my family and I are much more aware of the moon’s presence, reminding each other to stop for a few moments after dinner to gaze at her from our balcony.

 [^1] Carolyn Yoo is an artist who writes earnestly about her creative practice, about reading, about how to see, and how to stay grounded and connected in this world that insists on using our attention as a commodity.