Moon Phases: using the same pattern for different focus'

I have been paying particular attention to the moon for the past three moon cycles, and plan to continue throughout the coming year.  It is something that has been on my spiritual to-do list for a while, but I kept putting it off or thinking that I'd start 'next year' (so that I could follow the whole set of moons throughout a year).  This year I finally set it as my goal for the year, and I am really enjoying it so far.

I did some preparation for this project, mainly by going over the moon phases and really buckling down on what it all meant.  Moon phases are something that have been a minor part of my practice pretty much since the beginning.  I definitely knew the basic ideas of what the phases meant, and I had written notes on the particular full moons throughout a year several times (from different perspectives).  But I had never really gone into a lot of depth with it.

Before the year started, around November of last year, I started reading what I had written down as well as a series of articles on the moon phases.  I was very interested not only in how these phases might effect me, but also how to harness this energy into my magical path.  I had this grand idea of working through each phases of each moon in a way that not only honored the energy of the phase, but also of that particular full moon too.

And then in December, I sort of gave it a trial run, and went through the moon phases in a general way, not focusing on what that full moon was, just on getting into the rhythm of tuning my work to the phases of the moon.

And I am really enjoying it.  One thing I am finding is that I am definitely seeing a difference in how the phase energy manifests differently depending on the overall focus of the moon.  For those of you that know me from WyldGarden you have probably seen my many posts so far this year on the phases.  I was sort of worried at first that I'd feel like I was just rehashing the same stuff, but (to me at least) it doesn't feel that way.  Each moon shines it's light into a different area of my life, and calls me to work with the energy in different ways.  I find that I am learning more about the phases as I work through them, because I am approaching them from a different angle.

I was also a little worried that the pace and schedule might wear me out.  Especially after January where I jumped head first in with a concentrated 28 days of magic.  That was eye opening in it's own way, and I'll probably write about that at a later date.  But I never want my path to feel like work.  I don't want to do things because I feel like I am required to.  My path is a joy to me and I want to do things because I need them in my life or because they make me happy.

Also in January, I joined a lovely moon group on Facebook, which has been really great to share experiences with other people throughout each moon cycle.  I find this kind of shared connection to be really powerful, and it definitely helps keep me thinking and on track.

And while thinking, journaling, working and writing about each moon phase means doing something every 3-5 days, it hasn't become tedious yet.  I think the main reason is because it reminds me of a spiral.  Every moon I am cycling through the same phases, but not in the same way.

Much like a cycle of learning, each time I come back to a phase, I have all my previous experience with me.  And I am looking forward to how the moons will address different areas of my life throughout the year.  I have already been a lot more thoughtful in my daily life, about the world outside my apartment.  One of the drawbacks I find to modern life, especially my life, where I stay at home most days, is that I often have a sort of disconnect with the world outside.

But looking to the moons has kept me more in tune, and got me more attentive to what is going on outside.  Thinking about the quite rapidly changing phases has created changes in my daily life that otherwise might sort of bleed together.  Working with the energy of each phase has me working through a complete process over a longer period.  Most of the time, I tend to get an idea and either work it through to the end quite quickly or work on it for a while and then set it aside for long periods of time.  I find the moon phases (and the calendars I am using to track my progress) help keep me on track.

I also find that having set time every moon for all the different aspects of the cycle encourages me to spend time on things that I don't normally focus on.  I tend to be pretty action oriented.  I do enjoy planing/visualization and some amount of reflection, but I definitely don't think I spend enough time celebrating my successes and really giving myself love and forgiveness when I stumble.  I also find that setting aside time to just sit with things, without any kind of action at all, is very profound, and not something that I always remember to do.  The moon phases help me to honor all stages of a working instead of forgetting the ones that are more subtle.

I know, that going forward throughout the rest of the year, that my moon practice will continue to change and grow.  Already, I have refined my understanding of some of the phases, and I expect that by the end of the year, the way I think about each phase will have transformed dramatically.  I also feel like I will be able to add to my moon practice a little bit each moon.  I know that I internalize things through practice, and that adding too much all at once can overwhelm me and make me turn away from things.  By holding onto the knowledge that I will be working the moons throughout the year, I don't have that same pressure to do it all right now.  I can add one thing here or there as I feel moved and have time to really absorb it and integrate it into the rest of my practice without undue stress.