Listening to the Moon

If you're anything like me, you've always felt a special sense of magic that comes from looking at the moon. Whether big and bulbous or thin and crescent shaped, whether bright or dim or even orange, whether high in the sky or low, the moon seems to carry a special kind of enchantment as it illuminates the night sky.

But why should we listen to it? Why should we pay any more attention to the moon than occasionally acknowledging its presence overhead?

As we see it overhead in the sky, week after week changing from dark to full then to dark again, the moon teaches us about the cyclical nature of life. In our culture, time is viewed as linear - preceding from the past to the present and on into the future. What is past is past and will never come again, and what is future has never come and is unknowable. But it does not have to be like this. Many cultures view time as cyclical - with the events of life rising, falling, and coming around again. If one doesn't deal with the problem the first time around, surely it will come back again for another opportunity.

This is the wisdom of the moon – that life occurs in cycles. Every project, every idea, every relationship, every life – they all have cycles. There is the beginning phase, where the moon is new and dark. This is the beginning of every cycle - where something comes from nothing, emerging out of the darkness. But before it emerges we wait, in darkness, unsure of what’s to be born.

The waxing moon teaches us about the growth part of the cycle. This is the archetype of the Maiden, who is innocent and possible naïve. She is learning, challenging herself, exploring her limits, who she is and what she can do. She has no concern other than her own innocent growth.

The full moon, round as a pregnant woman, teaches us about the archetype of the Mother. In this stage we are no longer as concerned with our own growth, but of what we can create and give to others. How can we nurture others? This is the abundant woman who carries the Cornucopia – she is so whole and has so many gifts that she is spilling over to nurture everyone around her. This is the point in the cycle where success is reached, and the challenge is mastered.

The waning moon teaches us that everything eventually passes away. She is the archetype of the Crone, the Wise Old Woman, who has been through life and experienced all – both happiness and sadness, love and despair, pain and joy – and now bears the wisdom from these experiences. She teaches us the wisdom of endings, and how to let things pass away gracefully, knowing that the cycle will continue, that death is only a momentary transition before rebirth.

This knowledge of cycles is much the same knowledge as menstrual cycle can give. It is a shame that women, who carry this knowledge so deeply in their own bodies, often are taught to ignore these cycles – to use a tampon and take ibuprofen and push on as if nothing were unusual (tampon commercials always seem to show girls doing extreme sports during their periods). But if we take it for what it is, which is really a period to rest and release, like the waning moon, and prepare for what’s next, like the new moon, we may find ourselves feeling lighter and more energized and more productive in the next cycle. We might find that by honoring each part of the cycle, we are better equipped to handle the vicissitudes of life – better able to begin, to find joy in fullness, and better able to let go.

Unlike the moon or the menstrual cycle, the stages of our lives might not come and go so regularly as each month. But they do come in cycles. And looking to the moon can teach us that, no matter where we are in the stages of life, whether blossoming, ripening, or falling away, all things will change. All things will grow. All things will diminish. We need not hold so tightly to anything that comes our way – but simply enjoy it and honor it for what it is, right now.

PS: If you want to learn more about listening to and learning from the moon, sign up for my new astrology class Astro*Class, launching August 1. :)