11. Using Moon Cycles for Personal Growth

Let's explore how moon cycles, astrological signs, and personal growth interconnect. 

Astrology isn't just about horoscopes, it's a guide to self-awareness, evolution, and can even aid in personal accountability. Imagine utilizing the energy of full moons, a symbol of culmination, or new moons, marking a fresh start, to trigger changes in your life.

This episode unravels how to align our goals with the twelve astrological signs as we navigate through the moon's cyclical patterns. We'll also touch upon how these signs can be leveraged to focus on diverse aspects of our existence, enabling us to discard what doesn't serve us anymore and embrace new practices.

Let's tap into the power of the moon for our personal evolution.

Transcript

Speaker 0: 0:23

Hey, welcome back to another episode of Whatever with Heather. If you're joining on YouTube, you can see that I'm filming in a different location. I'm in my office. I filmed everywhere, from upstairs in our media room to my bedroom and now bringing it to the office we just reorganized in here and it feels really good to be in here. Part of the reason I named this podcast Whatever with Heather is so that I could talk about any topic and discuss whatever we want to discuss without feeling so pinned down in one area of discussion.

Speaker 0: 0:59

So far on the podcast, the main focus has been personal development, personal growth as well as parenting. Today falls kind of in the personal growth realm, but it's also a little woo. Now what do I mean by woo? Many people categorize woo as like the mystical, the magical, the hippie dippy type belief systems. I find that there's a lot of fun in the woo and also a lot of personal growth. That can happen, and it's not really relevant whether or not you believe or don't believe. A huge part of what I've learned in my life is that there are lots of really beautiful belief systems in the world and many of them, if not most of them, have some really helpful frameworks to become a better person, a more loving person, a person who's growing and developing and a person who is leading a full life, and by being open to learning different things, we can expand ourselves and our understanding of life and the world. That doesn't mean necessarily our beliefs change, but it often means that we now have an expanded way of viewing things that allows us to understand people better, as well as understand ourselves better. Today, I'm going to share with you how to use the moon cycles for personal growth and development.

Speaker 0: 2:28

One really cool thing about astrology is that it's kind of one of the woo topics that everyone knows a little bit about. Most people you're going to meet know their sun sign, so they're going to know I'm a Capricorn or I'm a Cancer, and if you're looking at a magazine or a newspaper, you're gonna go read your horoscope because why not? Most people seem to find a little bit of fun and intrigue in the framework of astrology, and it's something we're all a little familiar with. Now, if we can take astrology and mix it with the moon cycles, it can also be really fun. One of the things we learn in school is the cycle of the moon, the cycle of full moons and new moons, and how the light on the moon expands and how it contracts. The moon is another symbol and proof that life is cyclical, just like the seasons, or, as a woman, we have cycles as well, and one of the really cool things about the moon is that the moon cycle is about the same length as a typical feminine cycle, which I just think is a cool, fun fact. Does it mean something, does it not? For some people, it does mean something, and for other people, it's just a cool thing to know.

Speaker 0: 3:41

There's nothing I'm going to teach you today or share with you today that you have to believe in order for it to be helpful and useful. And I am a Capricorn, and so what is really important to me is the usefulness of things in my life. What is the use of this? How does this serve me? That's one of the desires of a Capricorn, and I find astrology very useful and very good at helping me stay accountable in moving myself forward. Let me explain.

Speaker 0: 4:11

We are all familiar with what a full moon is, where the moon is completely full, all the way bright, and we all typically enjoy looking at a full moon. And then there's times where the moon is dark. A new moon where there's no light reflecting off the moon. We may not even realize it's a new moon because there's no moon in the sky and then, as a kid, we're out pointing out oh, it's a crescent and the moon is something we notice and it is something that is constant in our sky and constantly changing. It's a really good mirror for our lives, where we are here, but we are constantly evolving. Now, for the sake of today, I'm only going to talk about full moons and new moons and how to use them in your life to really move yourself forward.

Speaker 0: 4:58

So, while you may know that there are full moons and new moons, what you may not know is that the full moons and new moons happen in astrological signs, and traditionally we have 12 astrological signs. The reason you are the sign you are like, the reason I'm a Capricorn, is because the sun was in the sky in the sign of Capricorn when I was born and the moon rotates through all of the signs within a month. So the cycle of the moon is in that range of like 27 to 29 days, which would be the moon going from new moon to new moon and in the new moon to new moon phase we have a new moon. It grows to a full moon and then it shrinks to a new moon and then it grows to a full moon and then it shrinks to a new moon. And while the moon is changing its size, it's also changing what sign it is in in the sky. So the sun currently is in Virgo. So if you were to be born right now, you would be a Virgo. And then the moon is moving through signs and currently the moon actually also happens to be in Virgo, which means it is a new moon. It is dark, the sun is not shining on it because it's in the same sign. Now if it were in the opposite sign, which is Pisces, the moon would be a full moon. So when the moon is in the astrological sign that is opposite of where the sun is, it's a full moon, and when it's in the same sign where the sun is, it's a new moon. It's dark and today is a new moon in Virgo. So now that we kind of have an understanding of the moon and that it cycles every month and that we have new moons and full moons and kind of what those represent in relationship to the moon and the sun, how does astrology play into this.

Speaker 0: 6:40

Traditionally, there are 12 astrological signs. In astrology, the signs are what we are familiar with Capricorn, aquarius, virgo, sagittarius, cancer, scorpio. There's 12 of them. Those are the signs. Each sign represents different strengths and weaknesses and character traits, even areas of our life. That's why people will be like, oh, you're definitely a Capricorn, or you're definitely a Libra, or you're definitely a Taurus, or you don't seem like. You don't seem like a Taurus at all. Because there are character traits that kind of match quote unquote, match the sign.

Speaker 0: 7:17

And with these 12 signs, the moon goes through each of these signs every month, but throughout the year there is a full moon in every sign and also a new moon in every sign. If we use the moon for personal growth and we use the new moons and the full moons for personal growth throughout the course of a year, we will end up focusing on all 12 areas of our lives, all 12. Archetypes, these strengths and weaknesses that may show up in our lives. Because although you may be born with a sun sign of whatever you are, you also have a moon sign. You also had every sign was in the sky when you were born and you may have planets in those signs and whether or not that's relevant to you doesn't really matter, but what matters here is that each of these traits, each of the astrological signs, have something to teach us and give us somewhere to focus on in our life. And so if we're using the moon to help us know where to focus and we're focusing during new moons and full moons we also continue a cycle of growth throughout the year, and you can believe that the moon is guiding your whole life, or you could not believe that the moon is guiding your whole life. That's not really relevant to me, but what is relevant to me is what is helpful. And is it helpful? Would it serve you to have a framework to move through your life and focus on different areas of your life and keep you accountable to you? For me, the answer is yes, and the moon is going to keep doing what it's doing, and that helps me keep doing what I need to do. Using the moon for personal growth is amazing, because it keeps you moving forward. It keeps you in the cycle. Now, how would we use it for growth?

Speaker 0: 9:07

Well, we have full moons and we have new moons, and they both represent different things. A lot of us are really in this hustle culture of adding in new habits, new goals, new things to aspire to, which is great, and, at the same time, something very few of us do is know how to release and let go and create space so that, when we add in things, we're not drowning or overwhelmed. The moon cycles allow us and get us to do both things to add in things and to let go things. Let's start with a full moon. A full moon represents the culmination. It may represent the achievement of a goal, it may just represent a time to pause. That is, when the moon is full. It is bright.

Speaker 0: 9:49

When the moon is full, or we are full, we have no more space to add more, and so during full moons, we use this time to release things that are no longer serving us. This may be beliefs, relationships, expectations we have of ourselves or maybe even others, mindsets, the way we talk to ourselves, things on our calendar. During the full moon, we look at it as a time of acknowledging all that we've done during the past month, and we use it as a time to kind of clear the plate, to really release, so that we can recenter on what is important to us, and since the full moon is in a specific sign, we can take the quality traits of that sign or even the areas of our life that sign represents and use that as our focus of what to release. We could take Virgo, for example, during a Virgo full moon. Virgos are very organized and structured. They can be perfectionists. They are focused on health and they like to have like a plan. They are also service oriented, sometimes to a fault where they will put other people's needs ahead of their own. So if I look at the traits of Virgo and I think about all those things during a full moon, I think what can I release? Maybe when I'm looking at Virgo during a full moon, I realize that I'm having some perfectionist tendencies that are really heavy for me and therefore I use the full moon to work on releasing my perfectionism. Now, how long does this go on? It can go on as long as you'd like, but the cool thing is with the moon is that we all hit, in about two weeks, a new moon, and so I can use my release of whatever it is during the full moon, focus on that for two weeks and then I know that I will have a new moon to begin to focus on something else.

Speaker 0: 11:36

For the full moon, we acknowledge what we've accomplished. It represents the, the completion of something, and also a time to release. We use the full moon to release and then we hit a new moon, and a new moon is when there appears to be no moon in the sky. The moon is dark. This is our clean slate. This is our time to build. Today is a new moon in Virgo and if I decide I want to build and add in and set intentions for my life, which is all we do in the new moon with the intention of Virgo, I might look at how can I get more tangible on my goals? What health things do I need to focus on? And therefore we use the sign which is Virgo during a new moon to add in things, not in overwhelming way. We add in things in a very intentional way.

Speaker 0: 12:29

Now, to be clear, the new moon in Virgo and the full moon in Virgo do not happen back to back. If we're looking at the new moon in Virgo and the full moon in Virgo, there's about a six month span and it gets really cool because I'm not focusing on Virgo all in for a whole month. I'm only focusing on what sign the moon is in for a full moon and a new moon and they will be different things because it's a cycle. Now let's just lay it out really plainly. We have a full moon and it's in a specific sign. If you need to know what sign it's in, google it. That will be your best friend.

Speaker 0: 13:04

We have a full moon in a specific sign. I'm gonna look up that sign, look up what strengths and weaknesses that sign has, look up what area of life that sign represents. And during the full moon, all I'm going to do is figure out what I need to release in my life that corresponds to those traits, qualities or areas of my life. It could also be what traits or qualities of that sign are keeping me stuck that I need to release from my life. Then we take the new moon and we look at what sign that's in and we do the same thing. What traits, qualities, area of life does this sign represent and where can I add in these to my life or where can I add these in in a way that serves me in my life? And then that becomes our cycle. And then we have another full moon and it's in a different sign and we can focus on what in that area of life and those qualities and traits do we need to release. Then, two weeks later, it's a new moon and I focus on what do I wanna add in? What goals do I have that are in the sign of that new moon?

Speaker 0: 14:09

This sets up a cyclical pattern of every month adding in and every month letting go, but not all at the same time. We don't have to do it all to have personal growth. We only need to have consistent forward progress. And if, at the end of the year, you focused on all 12 areas of your life and you let go things and you added in things, if you do this for a full year in this really cadenced way, the cyclical way of adding in and letting go, but in a way that's not overwhelming, in a way that just keeps you moving forward, how would your life be different a year from now If you held yourself accountable to this adding in and letting go every single month? I imagine that your life would be and feel and look very different at the end of a year.

Speaker 0: 14:56

For me it has been that way and if sometimes I miss a moon, no big deal, I just catch the next one. There's no need to be perfect when it comes to using the moon cycles for personal growth. When it comes to our growth and development, it can be really important for us to get creative in ways to keep us moving forward, to hold ourselves accountable and to not think about what area you need to grow in next. And the moon cycles are helpful because I don't always have to think of where I need to grow next. The moon cycle helps me know where to focus. There are so many areas of our life and oftentimes we're very overwhelmed by all the things we have on our plate and we don't stop and freeze and think about what needs removed, what can I add in? Where do I need to let go? Where would I like to grow? The moon cycles put us on a path where we can feel clear about what to focus on and we can use the moon cycles to coach ourselves through life and touch on all areas and all aspects of our life over the course of a year.

Speaker 0: 15:56

I hope this episode serves you. It's a little different from what I've done in the past, but it's a huge part of what has helped me hold myself accountable. It's what has helped me be able to take personal growth in bite-sized chunks and not be overwhelmed by all areas of life At the same time. It's really fun, it's really interesting and it also keeps you really present because it keeps you paying attention to the sky. It keeps you connected to the moment that you're in, and there is something so powerful about looking at the moon or looking at the stars. It helps us realize how small we are and it also can help us feel very expansive. If you enjoyed the topic of this week's podcast, let me know, send me a DM on Instagram or comment on YouTube, because I'd be happy to do more videos like this how to use some really fun tools for your own personal growth and development. I'll see y'all next week. Talk to you next week. Bye, y'all.