3 Ways To Tune Into Your Emotions During The Full Moon
The full moon has captured our imagination through the ages. Poets wax lyrical, tides swell, cults are dedicated to luscious lunar goddesses, and social media newsfeeds increasingly run hot with beautiful moon shots each month.
But if you feel out of control of your mood—or even a little crazy—right around the full moon, you’re not alone.
Research suggests that this lunar culmination can have noticeable effect on sleep patterns1. Anecdotally speaking, as a spiritual coach I have found that hundreds more women seek my guidance at the full moon phase than at other times of the month.
If you're hyper-sensitive at the full moon, you can make some easy mindset adjustments to get off the lunar roller coaster and steady out your emotions during this time.
Don’t give your power away to the moon.
First, adjust your mindset. Yes, the energy is more intense at the full moon. But it's much more likely to throw us out of whack when we’re disconnected from our feelings—or pretending that we don’t have the feelings to begin with.
Because we are often so good at suppressing how we really feel, when the full moon lights up our hidden emotional world, those who are hyper-sensitive can have a tendency to get taken for a wild lunar ride. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the intensity of the full moon, notice whether you are blaming something external rather than owning your natural emotional intensity (this may be a pattern for you).
The way to understand your own your feelings is, first, to notice them.
Become aware of the entire lunar cycle—not just the full moon.
The lunar cycle lasts about a month, and in this time, the moon goes through several lunar phases. Start by tracking just the two major lunar phases: the new moon and the full moon. Write down how you feel at the new moon, and then again at the full moon. Keep notes. Repeat during the next lunar cycle.
Before long, if you’re sensitive to the moon, you’ll start to see your own patterns. You’ll start to understand how you feel each full moon, you’ll be able to predict how you’ll be at the next one, and you’ll be able to plan your life and work accordingly.
And after awhile, you will start to feel how the full moon just reflects and heightens your own emotional world (as above, so below).
When you understand your feelings, work with your natural rhythm.
Each month, there will be a full moon. You can’t control that. But once you understand and predict your feelings, you can avoid reacting to the intensity of the full moon.
Lunar tracking means you’ll learn your own rhythm and know whether you want to crawl under the restorative blankets at the full moon, schedule a wild night on the dance floor, or stay up all night allowing your creative juices to flow.
My experience in teaching lunar tracking has taught me that there's no one recipe for how we react to the moon. We’re all different. But once you claim this knowledge, nobody can take it away from you.
Ezzie Spencer has a Ph.D. in women's well-being and is the leader of her own spiritual practice, "Lunar Abundance," teaching women to practice holistic living by connecting with the rhythms of the moon. She is the author of "Lunar Abundance: Cultivating Joy, Peace, and Purpose Using the Phases of the Moon."