Manifesting with the Moon
Happy (almost) New Moon! Here in the Eastern Time Zone we have a New Moon in Virgo on September 14th and I thought, what a fun time to share my practice of manifesting with the moon. If you don’t believe in this kind of stuff, that’s okay, it still works, and if you read on, I bet you might just find out that you’ve subconsciously been feeling the pull of each moon cycle without even knowing it. Also, if you aren’t into at least a little bit of the witchy woo woo stuff, how in the heck did you find me?! However you landed here, I’m glad you did, and this post is for you (because you’re looking at it). So, here we go!
Moon energy is strong and can be felt by all living things. It pulls the tides of the ocean, and let’s be honest, we’re basically just walking oceans in a drop. I heard something similar to that once and it stuck. Makes sense, right? So then, if the changing phases of the moon can influence something as vast and powerful as the ocean, it makes complete sense that it could also contribute to the rise and fall in our energy, mood, and overall state of being, especially since our makeup is mostly ocean water.
The moon is also a mirror of a woman’s infradian rhythm, or perhaps it’s the other way around. This rhythm is, how a menstruating woman’s hormones ebb and flow over her moon cycle. So, learning to manifest with the moon also has the potential to give both men and women a newfound appreciation for a woman’s unique life force, and we all know that women have the potential to grow and birth life because of this magic, which can metaphorically be seen through giving life to all our deepest desires birthed from the same darkness that is the womb. For it is in the darkness of the new moon where a seed can take hold and then has the possibility to grow to fruition when properly cared for.
So, what exactly does this look like in the real world and can men harness this energy too? Let’s start with the latter. The magic of manifesting with the moon is available to every one of us, no physical womb necessary. I have even found that the framework of these practices often supports men in growing their sacred masculine energy even bigger, as it challenges them to grow their internal feminine, which in turn requires more masculine containment. One way we see this mirrored in male/female dynamics is the excitement men feel when they have a desire to expand their sacred masculine and partner in one way or another with a woman committed to her divine feminine. The masculine is challenged to grow even bigger in order to hold the wild, creative, fluid nature of the feminine. How’s that for moon magic? As for what this process looks like, let’s dive in!
On every New Moon the moon is in direct alignment with the sun. Because of this, we only see the tiniest sliver of light. As I mentioned earlier, this is in many ways, mimicking the darkness of the womb. As a matter of fact, years ago, this was when women would most often have their period or discover they were pregnant. The darkness of the moon is a reminder to go into that dark place that exists within each of us (we all have access to the void whether or not we have a womb), and to use the time to intentionally rest and reflect. This used to be supported by culture as the tribe would take care of one another during this time of the month and if you were a bleeding woman you were encouraged to enter the cave and rest. So, our job now is to use this time of the month to make time for ourselves to reflect back on what has and hasn’t been working for us, any patterns we are noticing, what comes up for us around all these noticings, and then, to consider what shifts we might want to make to better support how we’d rather feel.
Once we are aware of the shifts we’d like to make we can write them down on a piece of paper and keep them somewhere we will see them often. Then, mindfully use the moon’s expanding energy over the couple of weeks following the New Moon to remind ourselves to let our intentions grow too. Just as the moon is getting larger in the sky, so are our intentions within. Purposely focusing on what we really want during this time makes us more aware of how our daily choices are impacting our intentions. Are we making decisions that support or sabotage our desires? Continuously coming back to our intentions allows our desires to get bigger and keeps them at the forefront of our mind, making it more likely that we will gain momentum in taking aligned action.
Then, as the Full Moon approaches it is time to revisit our intentions and consider what we may need to release in order to bring them to fruition. Taking a few minutes to sit quietly as we reflect back on our actions, beliefs, and behaviors over the past couple of weeks allows space for our truth to emerge. What do we need to release to get what we really want? Once we are clear on the specific things we need to release (this can literally be anything - behaviors, thoughts, even belongings) in order to support our desires it is time to write it down and once again put the paper somewhere we will revisit it regularly over the next couple of weeks. Now, much like during the waxing moon phase, we will once again harness the energy of the moon to help us manifest our desire. Only this time, we will tune into the waning energy of the moon and use it as a reminder to let go of that which is no longer serving us. This is the time of the month when I also like to perform a ritual to symbolically let what I am releasing go from my body and soul. One of my favorites is a candlelit bath where I visualize myself soaking off whatever I want to let go of and then watch it wash down the drain as I let the water out of the tub.
Finally, just before the next New Moon, as we are beginning to reflect on what we’d like to shift over the next moon cycle, we can take the time to look back at how this practice influenced our lives over the last.
I hope you have enjoyed this point of connection and I’d love to see how you implement these practices in your own life. Tag me in your Instagram photos (@amandarbryant) or send me an email to share!
