5 Ways to Connect with your Lunar Blueprint
My name is Merilyn Keskula. I’m the founder of Mylky Moon Lab - laboratory for researching and embodying cyclical living - and author of Moon Power. My exploration into inner and outer cycles, and the dance between them, began a few years ago after being burnt out by corporate culture and my own exhausting trajectory towards (so called) success. I started Moon Circles at my apartment in Zurich, and was soon invited to teach workshops in London, Milan, Stockholm, Copenhagen and elsewhere. I also host online journeys like 28 Moon Mornings, which is one of my favourite ways to share moon work with a global community.
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Most of us know about our Sun sign and have perhaps followed some horoscopes or writings that explain our personality and characteristics through the solar lens.
However, for a very long time we have forgotten our other powerful and profound ally, circling the Earth day after day and impacting our individual and collective lives in more ways than one.
Meet the Moon: the representation of the feminine part in each of us, the symbol and teacher of ancient wisdom, cyclical living, rebirth and release. It’s not surprising that for centuries our focus has been very much on the light - solar - masculine part of the Universal life. Together with the fall of matriarchy and Goddess-worshipping cultures, and with the rise of patriarchy, the Sun and masculine took the central seat in our lives, and stayed.
However, this is the time when we are called to bring back the ancient balance and feminine bravery, to balance the fear and desperate grasping of new technologies that “might” save us. We need to understand that life is not linear and supporting constant growth.There are periods of release and metaphorical or physical death that will make way to the new ways. And sometimes we are called to pause in order to allow it all unfold, rather than jump into more doing and action.
Observing the lunar energy helps us to connect with the yin side of life, the essential counterpart to the yang. Here are 5 ways how you could connect with the lunar influence in your life:
1. Lunar breath: expand and release with the lunar phases
The Moon goes through a waxing and waning phase each month. Two weeks of creative growth, followed by two weeks of letting go and release. Dissolving and simplification starts after the full moon, making space for the new cycle to begin with the new moon. You can look at it as lunar inhale and exhale. Aligning with this lunar breath means slowing down and becoming more conscious about the natural timing and unfolding of events. During the waxing phase, we could focus on tasks and activities that invite growth and building of something new. Reach out and connect once she reaches full illumination. And exhale with the waning phase - discerning and listening what works and what wants to be released in your life.
2. Celebrate your lunar birthday
In addition to the (Solar) birthday, we also have a Lunar birthday. And not just once a year, but every month! It’s easy to calculate the sign (and perhaps you get even more specific with the exact degree) when you were born. Your lunar sign is as important as your sun sign. The sign the moon was in can manifest especially strongly when we are children, and characterises our emotional being throughout life. The moon sign shows who you are inside, when you’re on your own, intimate with your Soul. Once you find out your lunar birthday, why not do a little celebration for yourself each month when the moon goes through the same sign (or even when specific degree comes round) to honour your own connection to ancient wisdom.
Calculate your moon sign.
3. Honour the dark moon
Dark Moon is often overlooked as the least exciting part of the moon cycle. Also, historically, night and darkness have been feared rather than celebrated - going hand in hand with the Solar-focus. The dark moon is the period that comes just before the new moon. Generally I count it 72 hours back from the time we are noticing the silver sliver rebirthing in the sky. In many ways the Dark Moon marks the moment for a longer pause, being comfortable with the void. The time we are spending in the Cosmic Womb, waiting to start the new cycle. If we sweep through this phase, we might miss the beauty of this precious gift: the call to slow down and be in silence. We can release and dissolve the stories we have been gripping onto.
Dark Moon is the time when in quiet solitude we can truly connect with the whispers of our own Soul and the messages of the ancients.
Next time, observe how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally during this time. Is it different from the full moon-activation? What is your body and soul needing in order to feel relaxed and calm, to let go? Once you start honouring the dark moon with a moment of pause in your busy schedule, things start flowing much better in the other parts of the cycle too.
4. Start tracking your unique lunar pattern
My favourite way to observe and learn about the moon or any cycles within and around us is journaling. It might seem like another task to add into the ever-growing list of rituals, but I’m all for simplicity here. If you are a natural writer, you are welcome to free-write as many pages as you like, but also starting with a few keywords, or one sentence is potent.
You can also choose the depth you want to dive into. You can start with observing the four phases of the moon’s monthly cycle: the week from the new to first quarter moon; first quarter to full moon; full moon to last quarter moon; and returning to the new moon after moving through the dark moon.
But if you feel ready, you can also dive deeper and see which sign the moon is in - she will stay in one sign or energy for 2.5 days before moving on to the next.
There are many apps and websites that give us the exact location of the moon at any moment of time. Here are some:
Some questions to get you started on your journey:
- How do I feel today: physically - mentally - emotionally?
- What has come up that seems significant in some way (insights, conversations, tension, specific emotions)?
- How do feel about relating with the world around me today?
5. Dance with cycles
This is an important one: we are not robots, waking up exactly the same every day. Our natural humanness means that we are constantly shifting and evolving, moving and dancing with the energy of the Universe and each other. It took me a long time to admit and accept that I have many faces that can be wildly different in different days. Somehow there’s an expectation of a solid identity that is not really encouraging us to step into our real and untamed truth on a daily basis.
Working with the moon and the cycles, observing and learning about the constant changes within and around us, helps us to soften and return into alignment with our natural being. This is the call and the teaching of the moon.
Written by Merilyn Keskula, Founder of Mylky Moon Lab - laboratory for researching and embodying cyclical living - and author of Moon Power. Visit her website for more information or follow on Instagram.
