Journaling for the Full Moon
The Full Moon is a both a powerful time and a handy once-a-month reminder to ease back a little and take stock of your situation. It lasts for three days, and on each day you can utilize it’s light draw intentions toward you, to illuminate areas of improvement and to clarify your goals. If you have trouble making plans, procrastinating or want to map out a gameplan, the exercises below can help. While you can of course do them any day of the year, combining them with the three days of the Full Moon can’t hurt. So grab your journal, soften the lights and turn on your favorite music.
Celebrate
A time of reflection includes the positive. Most of us are trained to ignore the good and look only at the bad, but that causes lack of motivation, depression and negativity. It is not boastful or hubris to objectively note what worked and give yourself a hug, preferably with a bottle of champagne and a few friends involved. Celebrate those achievements!
Write it down in your journal, high-five yourself in the mirror, go out to dinner with a loved one, have a full-blown mimosa brunch with the Coven ladies. To really get in the spirit of it, “call down the moon” into the champagne by inviting the Moon to fill it with her wisdom and energy. This is a very watered-down version of a Wiccan ceremony called the Cakes and Ale ritual, and equally as effective if you’re intentions are true.
Evaluate
A natural second step after celebrating your achievements and a key part of the Full Moon. Sit down and objectively go through what did not work when it comes to your goals and intentions, or areas in which you could improve over the past 30 days. This may mean uncovering hidden thoughts or emotions that are under the surface. That’s normal and to be expected. Feel and experience them without judgement, and then let them go. Decide to consciously change what wasn’t working or try something new in its place, and to keep what did work and practice it more often.
As always, journaling helps with this step, especially when it comes to the subconscious. You don’t want to forget what you revealed, or what came to the surface. Now is a good time to have a citrine crystal on hand, as it is the crystal of transformation and transmuting negative to positive.
Set Intentions
After celebrating and evaluating, you’ve made space for new intentions. An intention is a determination to act in a certain way – it is not an action or goal, but the thought, “I want to do this”. From this thought stem the actions that lead to the result.
Pro Tip – an action that can lead to your desired result doesn’t have to be exterior action – it can be inner action, like thinking a specific thought.
Negative thought patterns you want to shift, a relationship you want to cultivate, motivation for a work project, abundance in general, healthier eating habits – the choice is yours. The Full Moon will help draw those energies towards you. Make a list of each thought you want to consciously work on for the next 30 days (stick to two or three to avoid overwhelm). Then, next to each one, write down one action you can take right now to start achieving that goal. It can be something physical, or a thought you can think that will help you believe you can achieve it. Now do it.
At least once a week check in and see if you did your one thing, and if you did write down another for the next week. If you didn’t do it, ask yourself why (without judgement) and try again this week. If you're flying through your actions, check in a few times a week.
