How to Transform Your Life by Using the Power of the Moon

I started my personal development journey around three years ago and consumed lots of content from various disciplines to improve myself over the past years.

And while I mostly dived into topics such as productivity, the habits of successful people, and high performance, I recently realized there’s a powerful side of personal development I was missing out all the time: Spirituality.

Just like the majority of humanity, I was confusing spirituality with religion, and as my family isn’t particularly religious, I didn’t have any reference to spirituality at all.

However, during the past months, I learned that being spiritual can be totally different than being religious and that one can indeed exist without the other.

And I also realized that spirituality isn’t a woo-woo topic as many people believe, but instead can be an incredibly powerful tool to achieve all your goals and dreams with ease instead of hustling like crazy.

Being spiritual and living life with ease doesn’t mean that you can’t aim for big goals. On the contrary, spirituality can assist you in making your wildest dreams come true while having fun, instead of burning out and going crazy.

For the past months, I have tried different spiritual habits such as moon rituals or meditation. And even though most of my work as a writer and coach is dedicated to advice about being more productive, building habits, and getting shit done, I decided to share more of my spiritual practices as I’m convinced that these routines can have a significant impact on anyone’s life.

The power of the moon

The moon is one of the most beautiful and most gratifying objects in the sky and incredibly exciting to watch as it looks different every day. Even if you’ve never paid close attention to the moon before, you’ll at least know that its shape changes over time.

Learning to live with the power of the moon will teach you so much about yourself as a human being and help you to make self-reflection a regular part of your life.

“The moon is a loyal companion. It never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it’s a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human. Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections.”

― Tahereh Mafi

Depending on the state of the moon, there are two different ways on how to use its power to transform your life: New moon and full moon.

The cycle of the moon is also called the lunar period, and the moon orbits the earth roughly once per month. That’s, by the way, no coincidence: The word month derives from moon. And across various languages all over the globe, the two words are pretty similar to each other. In Turkish, for example, it’s even the exact same word we use for moon and month: Ay.

The truth, however, is that the shape of the moon as we see it only changes because of the sun. The phase of the moon we see depends on from what direction the sunlight’s hitting at it, and the angle we see that from the earth. So it’s not the shape of the moon that changes but only our perspective.

New moon

Roughly every 30 days, we experience the new moon. That’s basically the beginning of a lunar cycle and takes place when the sun, moon, and earth are more or less in a line so that the sun almost completely covers the moon. That’s why we can barely see the moon during this time. Throughout the next days, however, it becomes more and more visible. During these days, we feel as if the moon is growing because the part that we see becomes thicker over time.

In short, the new moon is dedicated to new, fresh beginnings. It’s the perfect time to reflect on the previous 30 days (the previous moon circle and month) and set new goals and intentions for the next weeks or even months. This phase of the moon is particularly suitable to set new goals, take broad action, come up with fresh ideas, and start new projects. It’s basically dedicated to growth.

How to use the power of the new moon:

During the new moon, it’s particularly powerful to reflect on your previously set goals and see if they still feel good and aligned. If not, now is the perfect time to make new plans and start anew.

The new moon is particularly powerful for new beginnings, and tapping into its energy can help you achieve your wildest dreams and desires with more ease. That’s why a new moon ritual is fully dedicated to making your dreams come true by focusing your mind on it and taking dedicated action.

Your new moon ritual should be about relaxing, listening to your intuition, and finding out what you truly want in life.

Even though there’s no right or wrong when it comes to spiritual practices, here are a few things you can do to tune in and get into a powerful mood to practice your moon ritual (no matter if new, or full moon):

• You can start with stretching exercises or some yoga to release all the tension you’re carrying in your body.
• Light up some candles, or use a diffuser with your favorite essential oils.
• If you enjoy the smell, you can even burn some sage or light an incense stick.
• Put on some relaxing music you enjoy.
• Clear your space and make sure you feel comfortable.
• Grab your favorite journal and a nice pen.

Once the tone for your ritual is set and you feel comfortable, start writing down your intentions for the next month (or whatever period you prefer).

While doing so, be as specific as you can. Write in the present tense, as if you’re already living the life of your dreams and think of as many details as possible.

How does your perfect day look? Who’s beside you? How do you feel? What do you eat? Where do you spend your time?

The specific words you use make a significant impact on your emotions, and the more you feel attached to your intentions, the better. By writing down your goals and aspirations, you are creating a contract with yourself.

While setting new intentions for the upcoming month, don’t forget to show gratitude for everything that you already do have and appreciate yourself for all the things you already achieved during the past months.

Once you’re done writing down your intentions, you can do a short meditation to visualize all the things you’ve just written down.

You can even create a vision board by collecting images that fit your aspirations. For example, by cutting pictures from magazines, printing them out, or using a digital tool such as Pinterest or Canva.

Full moon

Two weeks after the new moon, we experience full moon, which we’ve all seen at some point in our lives when the moon looks like a fascinating, giant ball.

During the full moon, the earth is between the sun and the moon. Thus, we see the fully illuminated part of the moon as a giant circle.

While the new moon is dedicated to setting new intentions, showing gratitude, brainstorming ideas, and starting new projects, the full moon is particularly powerful for letting go of negative, old energy. It’s the right time to say goodbye to the things that no longer serve, or even harm you and let go of toxic patterns and relationships.

How to use the power of the full moon

The full moon is also considered the dark side of the moon and consequently is dedicated to our dark side. Thus, it’s used slightly differently in spiritual practices than the new moon. During the time of the full moon, you can give yourself some time to unwind, relax, and reconnect with your intuition.

Just like with the new moon ritual, make anything that makes you feel comfortable and confident before starting your full moon ritual: yoga, candles, music…

For a full moon ritual, you could also take a bath and imagine washing all negativity off your body.

And while the new moon is all about setting new intentions, the full moon can be used to write down everything you want to get rid of on a piece of paper and then burn it down. Most people find the ritual of writing down something they want to let go and then burning it down, particularly refreshing and energizing as a full moon ritual.

A moon ritual can be as simple or as complicated as you want, and once again: There is no right or wrong, just do whatever feels right to you.

Remember: A moon ritual is not about achieving something but rather about taking time to unwind and fully focus on yourself once in a while.

The moon won’t solve your problems, but…

you can use its circles and energy to create a life you truly enjoy.

Too often, we forget to unwind from our busy, fast-paced lives and live as if we were machines designed to work instead of enjoying life and asking ourselves what we really want and need.

You may or may not be fascinated by the moon, and apparently, women are usually much more willing to try moon rituals than men, but here’s what really matters:

All these rituals are not about the moon, the universe, or magic.

It’s all about you taking time to unwind, relax, and invest in your personal growth.

Most of us prioritize to-do’s and all types of appointments over self-care pretty much all the time. That’s why paying attention to the phases of the moon, and using its beauty is a great reminder to do something for you.

You won’t achieve your goals just because you write them down during the new moon. But by taking time to write them down at all, you’ll be much more dedicated to actually take action towards them because you know you’ll reflect on everything you’ve written down after a few weeks and as mentioned above: Your written goals and intentions are a contract with yourself. And you don’t want to disappoint yourself, right?

Once you start wishing for things to change, you’ll also start behaving in a way that benefits your aspirations, and the more you focus on your goals and the more self-reflection you practice, the more of your dreams will actually come true.

While most people claim not believing in the law of attraction, there’s no way of not using the power of the universe. It’s here, it’s free to use, and it works, no matter if you believe in it or not.

And if you chose to give moon rituals a try, you can have a look at a moon calendar, see when the next full or new moon is and get ready for your first moon circle. If you don’t want to do it alone, you can also look for some circles in your city, or even join digital events to practice that beautiful ritual together with people from all over the world.