Align with the Moon Cycle

Welcome back to a new installment of the birth chart basics series! As I’ve promised in the past, we’ll be honing in on more specific birth chart + astrological information now that we’ve covered the foundational pieces of the chart—at least covered enough of them to broaden our scope of knowledge moving forward. Luckily, there’s always something new to learn in the cosmos—space is infinite, fam!

This week, we’re talking about something that is as natural as life itself: the Moon Cycle—also referred to as lunation. Yeah, we’ve seen the Moon quite a bit in our lives. She always seems to be hanging out in some new form in the night sky each time we see her. Before I began to personally track her cycle, I would always be surprised by her quick appearance shifts whenever she happened to catch my eye—usually when she was closest to fullness, full, or casting some enchanting color.

But what can we learn from her if we really pay attention to her shifting appearance? Arguably the greatest lessons of not only astrology but of life in general: everything is cyclical, everything we need to know comes with time, and there’s a time + a place for everything we’re longing to create.

Seems simple, right? Well it can metaphorically be a really beautiful tale of darkness giving birth to pure potential, potential gaining momentum over time, a climax of clarity + realizations, a comedown of evaluation + acceptance, and the final slumber before the process inevitably begins again. Isn’t that comforting? To know that it always begins again?

Now imagine that same metaphor above as your own goals + intentions + pursuits

You have a clean slate to project your intentions + dreams onto—New Moon. You begin to pursue said projections—Crescent Moon. You pivot + change course as obstacles arise and more information comes in—First Quarter. You integrate knowledge and push past boundaries in your way—Gibbous Moon.

You hit a eureka! Moment of clarity—good or bad—that provides you with a new perspective on what you’ve been pursuing…or you receive said thing or clues + reinforcement for how to receive said thing—Full Moon. You ruminate in the feeling of loss or of triumph—Disseminating Moon. You debrief the situation, taking note of what went well and what could be better next time—Last Quarter. You package what you’ve learned and what you’d like to do next, resting on the process before beginning it all over again—Balsamic Moon.

See the parallels? And this metaphor is not something that’s only applicable to some major hero’s journey in your life. It’s even more applicable to your daily life than you might think, because that cycle takes the Moon only 28 days to complete.

28 days! Can you believe it? She’s quick to pursue, quick to act, quick to learn, quick to reset. We can follow her guidance, because the truth is, we underestimate how much we can learn in a month. The inner tides of our emotional drives + our intuitive nature are not separate from the 70% of water that makes up our body. Guess what intuitive goddess is pulling those water strings? The Moon. In the same way she pulls the tides, she influences our inner being as well.

When we follow her cycle, we can time our own intentions in alignment with her natural phases. We’re not adjusting to her clock by any means, we’re actually just waking up to an internal clock that’s been operating without our knowing for our entire lives. Ever wonder why you suddenly feel unmotivated, when just a day ago you were on fire? Ever hear the “people be crazy” line around a Full Moon—Lunatic….Luna-tic? There’s deep, natural truth to all of these seemingly exhausted cliches.

There’s definitely a lot of layers to understanding the Moon, and I encourage you to follow the blog links at the end of the post to learn more if you’re new here.

But for this metaphor + practice, you just need to know that the Moon transits the entire zodiac in 28 days, she rules our emotions + intuition + inner being, and her quick pace provides inspiration for + clarity on + lessons surrounding our set intentions + goals + desires.

Technically, the Moon is in a different phase every single day and there are traditions that honor their own systems for tracking + naming her cycles. This interpretation is based on western astrological research, and includes a few extra phases then the more common 4 phase cycle (New, Quarter, Full, Quarter). Those extra 4 phases we’ll be covering are, in my opinion, important windows for integration of knowledge between Lunar Milestones.

Now let’s dig into 8 phases of lunation from New Moon to Full Moon and back to New again!

New Moon

Waxing, 0-45 Degrees

In Conjunction with the Sun—when the Sun’s zodiac sign placement and the Moon’s zodiac sign placement are the same.

In terms of the standard Lunar Cycle, the New Moon marks the beginning of her 28 day journey through the Zodiac. We are unable to see her due to her proximity to the Sun, as they occupy the same sign in the cosmos at this phase. The Sun—the great illuminator—paradoxically swallows + erases the visibility of any cosmic bodies hanging out in the same spacey real estate.

As the name suggests, New Moons are the ideal time for initiations. In this 0-45 degree window, the energy for setting new intentions or goals + dreams is opportune.

We may feel called to make a list of what we are calling in, to begin organizing our calendars for the cycle ahead, and take inspired action toward new creative horizons.

Crescent Moon

Waxing, 45-90 Degrees

Now moving away from the Sun, we can begin to see a sliver of light on her surface. This crescent shape, similar to an agricultural scythe, signifies that we are in the process of tending to information as it comes in. The seeds that were planted under the New Moon are able to begin sprouting, but our information on their current status is limited to the size of that lunar sliver.

We are meant to be fostering the sprouts of our intentions and analyzing + shifting our game plan based on what is revealed with time.

We’re cultivating intentions as well as the patience to receive them.

We need not doubt the progress of our growth because we know the seed was planted and more light is always on the horizon.

First Quarter Moon

Waxing, 90-135 Degrees

Forming a Square aspect to the Sun—a time of friction and energy.

During her growth phase, the First Quarter signifies a milestone of lunation. This can look like an obstacle or a gut check on the intentions + goals set under the New Moon. It’s important to remember that illumination is meant to be interpreted as insight—meant to reveal something to us.

Under this Quarter phase, we may sense a friction or tension as the Moon squares the Sun. This friction works in our favor because we can only solve an issue or act in alignment with energy when we have clarity on what we’re working with.

We have yet to see the bigger picture, but we will consciously be able to pivot + act on our way to the Full Moon. Here we are asked to trust.

Gibbous Moon

Waxing, 135-180 Degrees

This phase is the final adjustment period before we are granted access to the bigger picture—the Full Moon. This final stretch of illumination calls for a heightened focus. What have we learned from the New Moon to now? What may be ready for release in preparation for her fullness? How might we organize or streamline or plans + actions to better serve the intuitive data we’ve received?

The data we’re collecting on our way to the Full Moon is not always the token analytical kind—numbers, graphs, etc. Emotions are data. Gut feelings are data. Instincts and intuitive pings are data.

Here we get organized on the data we’ve been given so far.

Full Moon

Waning, 180-135 Degrees

In Opposition to the Sun—occupying the opposite zodiac sign as the Sun’s zodiac placement.

A refresh on opposite signs in the Zodiac

Aries —Libra

Taurus—Scorpio

Gemini—Sagittarius

Cancer—Capricorn

Leo—Aquarius

Virgo—Pisces

The sign placement of the Full Moon will always be in the opposite zodiac sign of the Sun’s current placement—forming the aspect of opposition. The light of the Full Moon is the knowledge of the Sun filtered through a new perspective—not necessarily opposing view, just different.

The Full Moon serves us the truth hidden within the intentions + goals we set at the New Moon from all angles of awareness—she remains objective, we may not be so diplomatic in receiving. The Full Moon doesn’t show us what we want, she shows us what is present.

If what we want and what is present is in alignment, we’ll be pleased. If the Full Moon’s revelation is not what we had desired or intended, we may not be pleased—and, also—we now know what requires releasing on our way toward the next New Moon.

From this vantage point, we are able to see that bigger picture.

We must allow ourselves to feel however is natural + authentic to that moment and we will use the waning period of Lunation to release, to possibly grieve, and to rest.

The cycle will begin anew, it always does.

Disseminating Moon

Waning, 135-90 Degrees

If the Full Moon is the metaphorical climax of clarity during lunation, then the Disseminating Moon is the time for embodying + transmuting those revelations. Under a Full Moon, our emotional responses—valid and natural—are not objective as we are too close to the information in that phase—squinting into a bright spotlight of lunar energy.

During the energetic hangover of lunation, our main priority is to allow what we’ve received from the Full Moon time to really sink in. This is not a call to action or a cue to solve any problems or progress further on tending to the harvest. This is the time to sit with, to feel, and to tune in to our intuition + our body.

The Disseminating Moon is a phase meant for patience and practicing true compassion for our inner knowing + our triggered emotions.

Meet yourself exactly where you are in this come down and remain present in that space—even if there’s discomfort or grievances present.

Last Quarter Moon

Waning, 90-45 Degrees

Forming a Square aspect to the Sun—a time of friction and energy.

Now that she has reached her fullness and we’ve passed through our integration threshold of her gifted clarity, the Last Quarter phase is a time for evaluation. Think of this period as a debrief, an honest reflection on what this lunation has illuminated—what came of the harvest, which cannot be undone but can be accepted gracefully.

Under the Last Quarter Moon, we assess what we’ve yielded or lost in our harvest. We take note of what we plan on replenishing or weeding out in the next lunar cycle. In this period, we are not called to begin anything new just yet. Rather, we are called to clear and prep the fields for our next lunation.

Reflect, reevaluate, and prepare.

Balsamic Moon

Waning, 45-0 Degrees

The Balsamic phase of the Moon is her final rest before she is called to her lunation once again—the same can be said for us. In this phase, we are called to rest on the uncomfortable and uncertain bridge between our past experience and our future potential.

We are not often aware when we are on the precipice of a new beginning. This final dimming of the moonlight initiates our new dreams, as if we are slipping peacefully to sleep as the night sky envelops us. In that dark sky lies pure potential.

The mind will be called to wander and to visualize what may come in our next cycle. We allow ourselves to sink into that dreamy veil of darkness, with the comfort of knowing that our cycle will begin again soon.

And there we have it! We’ve officially walked through the 28-day cycle of our Moon.

In just a quick google search, or by downloading a lunar tracking app, you can align with the phases of our Moon! There are also a lot of lunar calendars available (hey, maybe I’ll have one for you all soon too).

I encourage you to ground your personal development + career + relationship goals and practices within the Moon’s cycle. As I’ve been tracking her, I find it easier to be compassionate with myself when my mood naturally ebbs and flows under her light. It’s easier to stop telling myself that I “should” feel a specific way each day.

We are not machines. We are not emotionally consistent and that isn’t a flaw—it’s what makes us. We can use the Moon as a mirror for how we’re able to show up emotionally, and she can provide us with milestone rituals to uphold on our own cyclical journey. There is no failure here, because the cycle always begins again.

Next week, we’ll be talking about how the Moon’s phase at the time of your birth influences your natal chart. Were you born under a Full Moon? A New Moon? Not sure? Each Moon phase provides us with unique + natural gifts. Until then, explore the list of links below to familiarize yourself with the foundational pieces of the birth chart and the other planets + asteroids transiting our cosmos.

Be safe, be present, and stay in your magic!