Understanding Waxing VS Waning Lunar Energy + How They Relate to Full Moons

The moon’s influence over the tides serves as a constant reminder of its continuous push and pull of energy. Each phase of the moon imparts a specific kind of energy onto you and any magickal workings you perform. When we zoom out and take a more straightforward look at lunar energy, we can understand it as expansive vs. contracting energy.

I’ve been sharing an annual moon phase calendar with my newsletter subscribers for the past five years. One of the most common questions I receive is how to use the moon phase calendar. This simplest and most effective way, in my belief, is to weave the waxing and waning energy of the phases into your life. 

It can feel overwhelming to keep track of every single moon phase and its ever-changing astrological sign. Working with each phase (new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, etc.) is more nuanced but isn’t necessary to fully benefit from the effects of lunar energy. 

In a busy world where self-care is shouted from the rooftops, shouldn’t we be finding ways to connect with ourselves and nature in easier ways? Rather than skipping the ritual or the meditation because it seems like "too much"” I want to offer you easy methods to honor lunar energy. 

Cards featured from The Ritual Deck.

Waxing Energy Vs. Waning Energy

When we break down lunar energy into its purest forms, we have waxing energy and waning energy. Waxing energy is in alignment with growth, expansion, and abundance. Waning energy is in alignment with releasing, surrendering, and resting. 

When does the waxing phase happen?

The waxing phase of the moon cycle begins at the new moon and ends at the peak of the moon’s fullness. 

When does the waning phase happen?

The waning phase begins the moment the moon starts decreasing in light and ends at the dark moon. If you’d like some clarity about the dark moon vs. the new moon, check out this previous blog post I shared. 

Waxing Moon Energy Correspondences

• Elements: Fire and Air

• Yang 

• Action

• Growth

• Abundance 

• Celebration

• Accumulation

• Seeking

• Motivation

WaningMoon Energy Correspondences

• Elements: Water and Earth

• Yin

• Passive

• Releasing

• Letting go

• Surrender

• Acceptance

• Peace

• Review

• Integration

• Reflection

• Rest

Working With Waxing & Waning Energy Daily

Once you begin working with the phases of the moon in this way, you’ll likely feel more in tune with her energy. Rather than looking up the specific dates for each new moon and full moon, you’ll be in flow with the entire cycle of mama moon. You may begin to feel so in sync with her energy that you instinctively recognize waxing vs. waning energy on a soul level. 

In my practice, I rely on the energy of the waxing or waning moon for basic decisions throughout my day. Throughout my day, I may decide to do or not do certain things based on the moon being in a waxing or waning phase. 

Aid in Decision Making 

When faced with the decision to push forward or let it go, notice what moon phase you’re in for guidance. If you’re in a waxing phase, push on; if you’re in a waning phase, consider letting it go. This idea can be applied to interactions with people, manifesting work, and projects. Of course, there are times when you may not have the option to “let go” of a project that genuinely needs to get finished. If you’re in a waning moon phase and really need to complete something, you can still make a mental shift to let go of expectations and desired outcomes. It’s a subtle but powerful shift.

Burning Candles

Candle magick is one of the easiest ways to shift your energy. When you align it with lunar energy, it is even more potent. When I say “candle magick” in regards to daily energy work, I simply mean lighting a colored candle that’s in alignment with lunar energy, that’s it!

Candle colors that align with waxing energy: white, red, yellow, orange, green, gold

Candle colors that align with waning energy: black, blue, purple, pink, brown, silver

Here’s an example of how to apply this to a real-life situation. If you’re trying to bring more financial abundance into your life and it’s a waxing moon phase, light a green candle to expand your wealth, if it’s a waning moon phase, light a blue candle to bring in a sense of peace and acceptance around your desire to increase your financial abundance. 

Adding and Clearing Energy

When you get in tune with the cycle of the moon, you may find that you enjoy cleansing the energy of yourself and your space more during the waning moon phase. Because the energy of the waning moon is associated with releasing, clearing, and letting go, it will amplify your desires to cleanse and purify. Alternatively, if you feel the need to add energy to yourself or your space, the waxing moon phase will be in better alignment. 

Wearing specific crystals

One of my favorite ways to stay in sync with waxing and waning energy is to wear specific gemstones that are in alignment with the current energy of the moon. Here's a list of crystals that align with waxing vs. waning energy.

Waxing Moon Crystals: citrine, tiger's eye, green moss agate, sunstone, pyrite, sodalite, lapis lazuli, green aventurine, garnet, rainbow moonstone, turquoise, fluorite, kyanite, carnelian, and malachite.

Waning Moon Crystals: obsidian, snowflake obsidian, hematite, black tourmaline, rose quartz, smoky quartz, rhodonite, prehnite, larimar, black moonstone, onyx, jasper, labradorite, and bloodstone.

Full Moons & Waxing and Waning Energy

The different energy associated with the waxing vs. the waning phases of the moon is especially relevant for the full moon. The full moon is the most intense point of the lunar cycle, so understanding the waning vs. the waxing side of it is really helpful! The full moon can be broken down into three parts, waxing side of the full moon, 100% lumination (which only happens for about one minute!), and waning side of the full moon. If you are going to perform a more in-depth ritual, knowing which side of the full moon to perform it on will add a very intense and specific kind of energy to your ritual. 

I hope this breakdown of waxing vs. waning lunar energy helps you feel more confident in your ability to connect with the moon daily! You can find more in-depth rituals to work with lunar energy in the blog posts below:

• How to Journal with the Moon Phases + 10 Journal Prompts

• Meditations for Each Moon Phase + Free Guided Meditation

• 4 Rituals for the Waning Moon + Card Spread

• Rituals for Every Moon Phase // Free Printable Moon Cards

• New Moon Card Spread

• Yoga, Mantra, Pranayama for the Full Moon

• More Full Moon Suggestions

• Three Dark Moon Rituals

3 Rituals for Letting Go

What is your relationship with letting go?

Ritual and magical practice can help us with more than manifesting, attracting, and calling in. It can also help us shed, let go, and transform ourselves and parts of our lives. The winter season invites us to incubate, release, and hibernate. It is an ideal time for release work (as well as the fall!). The phases of the moon that correspond to release are all the waning phases - the waning gibbous moon, the last quarter moon, the waning crescent moon, and the dark moon. Learn more about the phases of the moon with The Ritual Deck (pictured below.)

Before we get into the rituals, I also want to add that we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to let go of things, and I want to honor that letting go can be really hard. Especially if what we’re letting go of has been something we have loved and cherished but is no longer a fit, feels comfortable, and/or feels safe. 

So please, be gentle with yourself, be kind to yourself, and let release happen on your own timeline. 

Keep scrolling to find a few rituals to support you in letting go.

MOON RITUAL FOR LETTING GO

Our sweet, gorgeous moon is more than just an archetype, a deity, or energy. She is a real living body just like the Earth that we can go outside and look at, connect with, and talk to. I think sometimes we forget this but this is one of my favorite practices! 

This is ideal to do when the moon is in its waning phases but still visible (so not the dark moon). 

For this ritual, what you’ll need is yourself, an offering for the moon, and clarity on what you’re releasing. Your offering could be anything - a plate of your dinner, a glass of water, a branch, a flower, a drawing, a song - let your intuition guide you and go with what feels right. 

When you have your offering, it’s ideal to go outside and sit or stand under the moon. If it’s really cold out or you don’t have space outdoors to do this, you can also sit by a window - that works just as well! 

Take some time to center and ground yourself, entering a ritual space. Turn your gaze to the moon, ask to connect with her, and share your offering with her. Spend some time gazing at her and share your offering with her in whatever way feels good to you.

When you’re ready, tell her what you’re desiring to release. Ask for her help letting go. Sit in meditation, drawing down her energy and light through your crown and your whole body, letting this energy fill you up and either help you release whatever you’re desiring to release internally (blocks, fears, internal limits, ways of talking to self, etc), or charge you with the courage and power to release externally (a relationship, a job, a situation, project, etc.). 

When you feel the energy shift, you know you’re finished! Thank the moon, ground yourself again, and spend some time journaling and processing afterward. 

TAROT OR ORACLE SPREAD FOR LETTING GO

For this ritual, you’ll need your tarot or oracle deck and journal. Take some time to create a ritual space, whatever that means to you, and ground yourself before working with your cards. Set the intention to communicate with your highest self, spirit guides, ancestors, intuition, or any other deities or beings you had a relationship with.

Once you’re fully present, shuffle your deck and pull cards for the following questions:

1. What do I need to let go of at this time?

2. Why do I need to let go?

3. What is on the other side of this release?

4. Supportive energies to connect with to help me let go.

Take your time with each card, really letting its messages move through you. I find it incredibly helpful to either meditate with my cards or journal about each card and what the spread means to me. I always get more information and a deeper understanding this way.

When you feel complete, it could be nice to add the cards to your altar - particularly the first and third cards - to support you throughout the release. 

CANDLE MAGICK FOR LETTING GO

I love working with fire in spells and rituals, so naturally, I love candle magick! Fire is such a powerful element with its ability to transform and transmute - think of how fire turn logs into ash. It helps things change shape, die, and transform. 

For this spell, you’ll need a black candle, a tarot card or oracle card representing what you’re releasing, and a safety pin to carve your candle.

Start by grounding yourself and casting your circle. Call in any supportive deities, guides, or other beings you have a connection with to join your circle and help you.

Next, you’ll want to intentionally choose the card from your deck that most represents what you’re releasing at this time. Take your time with this and really make sure you’re clear on what you’re desiring to release.

Once you have your card, it’s time to carve your candle. Carve into your candle any words and/or symbols that represent letting go to you. For example, I like to carve the glyph for Pluto into my candles when I work with releasing spells. Pluto represents change, rebirth, and transformation. Symbols and words work best when they’re personal to you, so don’t worry as much about the technical meaning and just intuitively choose what feels right to you!

Once your candle is ready, set it up with your card under it and take a few deep breaths. Speak your intention aloud as you light your candle, saying, “As I light this candle, I release X.” You might like to spend some time gazing into the candle flame as you focus on this intention.

Then, it’s time to raise energy. You can raise energy however feels good to you - you might chant, sing, dance, do breathwork, or use any other tool that feels good to you. As your candle burns, you are raising energy in order to support this release.

When you feel the energy is at its peak, direct it with your intention towards releasing whatever it is you are releasing from your body, from your life. 

When you feel complete, ground yourself again. Let the candle burn all the way down, thank any beings who joined you to help facilitate this release, and re-open your circle. Spend some time processing in your journal afterward, writing down what came up for you and what you felt.

Three Dark Moon Rituals

The dark moon is one of my personal favorite times of the cycle. It’s the last few days of the waning time of the cycle, when the moon continues to shrink and eventually disappears from the sky.

Different traditions honor the dark moon at different times. Personally, I honor the dark moon when you can’t see the moon at all in the sky--which is technically the new moon. Others honor the dark moon the last few days before the new moon. I recommend using your intuition and noticing how you feel during these days to understand when to honor the dark moon versus new moon.

So what is the dark moon all about?

The dark moon is our time for radical rest, for deep clearing and releasing, and turning within. This is the time to cancel plans, to do shadow work, to go to sleep early and wake up late, and to pull tarot or oracle cards to tune in to your inner voice.

Keep scrolling for a few rituals to consider working with at this time.

WATER SPELL FOR CLEARING

One of my favorite spells to work during the dark moon is this simple water spell. Water is a helpful element for cleansing and purification, and this spell works especially well when the dark moon is in a water sign--Pisces, Cancer, or Scorpio. You’ll need:

• A large glass of water

• A piece of paper and pen

To start, choose what you’re focusing on releasing. Maybe there are blocks to self-expression, fear of being rejected, shame around your path, or blocks to abundance. Once you’ve decided what you’re ready to release (you’re welcome to spend some time journaling on this to get clear), start making a list of all the limiting beliefs and stories that you hold associated with this block.For example, let’s say you’re working with clearing blocks to abundance. Your list might hold beliefs like:

• I can’t make money doing what I love

• People with money are jerks

• It’s wrong to have money when other people have so little, etc.

Keep letting the beliefs flow! I tend to fill up a whole page when I do this spell.

Once you have your list, it’s time to work the spell. Ground yourself, cast your circle, and pick up your list. You’re going to say the first belief out loud, starting with “I clear the belief that ________ from my body” and then taking a big sip of water. Pause and notice, feeling and visualizing the water moving through your body, cleansing this belief from your system on every level.

Repeat this for each belief on your list, taking your time and really feeling the beliefs move out of your body.

Card featured from The Ritual Deck

When you’re done, use the energy of your palms to charge your last sip of water with what you do want - abundance, healthy self-expression, creativity, etc. - and feel your whole body being charged with this intention by the power of the element of water.

Give thanks to water and the Universe for their help, ground yourself again and open your circle.

CANDLE MAGICK FOR RELEASING

For this spell, you’ll need:

• Black taper candle

• Carving tool like a sharp point crystal, toothpick, or athame

• Black tourmaline, smoky quartz, or petrified wood

• A simple oil like grapeseed or bergamot essential oil

• Rosemary

Start by cleansing all of your items for the spell. This can be done by wafting rosemary smoke over them or visualizing light cleansing them.

For this spell, you’ll be carving what you’re releasing into your candle as well as the glyph for Pluto, the planet that helps things die and be transformed. For your words, keep them simple and powerful by carving the basics of what you’re releasing like “fear” or “self-doubt.”

Anoint your candle with your oil and roll it in your dried rosemary. As you carve and anoint your candle, visualize your all of whatever you’re releasing - your fear or your self-doubt as in the example above - pouring into the candle.

Place your crystal(s) and candle on your altar, light your candle, and start meditating on the flame. Continue to visualize all that you’re releasing pouring into the candle, and watch as it burns and turns to smoke. Stay with this meditation until you feel a shift in your energy - until you really feel a release.

Let the candle burn out if you can or snuff out the candle and continue the same spell each night until the candle has burned completely.

SHADOW WORK TAROT OR ORACLE SPREAD

The dark moon is a deep invitation into shadow work.

What is shadow work?

Simply put, it’s an intentional exploration of our shadow side - the parts of ourselves that we reject, that we’re ashamed of, that we stuff down and hide. Click here to learn more about shadow work if you’re new to it!

For this ritual, you’ll want to create a ritual space - whatever that means to you. For me, it usually means cleansing my space with smoke beforehand, lighting incense, and lighting candles. Maybe you also like to take an essential oil bath beforehand, or sprinkle herbs in a circle around you.

All you’ll need for this ritual is:

• A journal and pen

• Your tarot or oracle cards

Spend a few moments grounding yourself, then shuffle your cards and pull a card for each of these questions:

• What part of my shadow is rising to the surface to be worked with?

• How has rejecting this part of myself manifested in my life?

• How can I show this part of myself more love and integrate it into my whole self?

Give yourself the gift of sitting with your cards after you pull them. Spend time meditating on your cards, journaling about them, or even painting with them to process and understand what their messages are for you.

Your Spiritual Tool Box for Stress & Anxiety

Whether you’re in full-on crisis mode or wading through a stressful season of life, knowing which direction to turn for relief can feel overwhelming. A quick fix like reaching for a glass of wine or a shopping splurge might help now and then, but it’s not a long-term solution. What tools can you rely on to help keep your cool when things seem to be falling apart around you?

As a new mom to twins and a business owner, stress and anxiety have become part of my norm. Over the last year, I’ve had to put my spiritual tools to work like never before. I believe we all come to the Earth plane with an assortment of battles to accept and overcome to help our souls progress. We’re all fighting battles. The important part is how you walk through it.

Crisis often brings people to spirituality. I’m frequently asked, “ XYZ horrible thing has happened. Where do I begin?” Here are my top go-to tools that I turn to when life feels out of control.

1. Meditation & Mindfulness

Sit. Be still. Heal. When most people reach out to me asking how to ease stress and anxiety through their spiritual practice, they want a crystal suggestion to make everything OK. Sometimes, a crystal just won’t cut it and work better as an ancillary tool.

Meditation and mindfulness are at the top of my list because if you’re practicing them regularly, even five minutes a day, the rest of these tools will come easier.

Sitting in silence may feel incredibly uncomfortable, initially, if you’re going through a stressful season of life. If you haven’t given yourself a moment to process anything that’s happening in your life, of course, your mind is going to be running a mile a minute the moment you sit down.

During stressful times, I find it helpful to look at meditation as more of a time process and purge. Let all of the stuff that’s been running around in your mind run free. Permitting your thoughts to race around will allow you to process things you’ll otherwise keep cycling through over and over.

Once you’ve allowed your mind some time to run free with your worries, you might find a guided meditation helpful. I love all of the guided meditations from Meditation Oasis, and they have a wonderful selection of free meditations, including several specifically for stress and anxiety. You can also check out my Energy Reset Meditations Bundle and other guided meditations here.

Try meditating or sitting in silence for five to ten minutes a day for a week and see how you feel — having a hard time sticking to your meditation practice? Check out this blog post for ways to stick to it.

2. Body Awareness 

Your miraculous body does so much for you during times of stress! Taking time to become aware of your body offers the opportunity to tune into something other than your worries and can give your body a needed release. We store stress and anxiety all over our bodies but often don’t even notice it because we become so used to it. Try this body awareness exercise a few times a week if you’re in the midst of a stressful time.

To become more aware of your body sit or lie down and name each part of your body. Start at your toes and work your way up to the top of your head. You can do this by saying something like “I feel my left big toe” or “I breathe into my right thigh” etc. for each body part. Take a breath for each body part you go over and spend extra time on any parts that feel extra tense. You can make this activity as long or as short as you need. If your time is limited, try doing this activity in the shower or at a stoplight. Even little moments of body awareness can help.

Mudras are another great tool your body offers. Learn more about using mudras during times of stress here.

3. Breathwork

When we’re stuck in worry and fear, our breath often stays high in our chest. Short chest breaths signal to our body that there’s danger nearby. Directing your breath deep into your belly can help break the anxiety cycle and send messages to your body that it’s OK to relax. It also can take a little bit more focus to remember to breathe from your belly, which can give your mind a break too.

Deep belly breaths are a given if you’re meditating or practicing body awareness but can be an invaluable tool when you’re on the run. Running late and stuck in traffic? Have a screaming child in your arms? Whatever your stressor and wherever you’re at your breath is available to you. The hardest part about this tool is remembering that it’s available. You can learn more about breathwork here.

Remember how I said that meditation and mindfulness would help with all of the other tools? If you’re meditating regularly, even five minutes a day, the thought to take deep belly breaths may come to you more readily than if you’re not meditating.

4. Accept the imperfectness 

During times of stress and anxiety, it can be helpful, and sometimes necessary, to shift our expectations of ourselves. We so often compound our anxiety by placing pressure on ourselves to continue to perform at a near-perfect level even if we’re going through a stressful time. Warning, this one can feel the hardest because it often involves letting others see you in a vulnerable state.

Take an honest look at your week, what can you let go of to help you through this challenging time? Can you let go of cooking a few times and eat out? Can you call a friend or family member to ask for help with something you usually do for yourself? Can you take some time off from work to reset?Whether you choose to let some things go or are forced to, accept yourself and your life where it is in the moment, even if it doesn’t look the way you want it to right now. Accepting yourself where you’re at will let you off the hook from unnecessary self-imposed stress.

Working with a mantra can be helpful when working on acceptance. Find a list of mantras and learn more about using them here.

5. Crystals 

Even though crystals may not be a cure-all for working through stress and anxiety, they can still serve a purpose. I like to think of crystals as a physical reminder of the tools I do have during stressful times.

Grounding stones like jasper, obsidian, onyx and smoky quartz are great candidates when it comes to keeping calm during times of stress. Beyond the grounding energy these stones offer, keeping them nearby can remind you throughout your day that you do have tools to help you through times of stress.

For more tips to help you get grounded, check out this blog post all about the root chakra.

I hope these tips make you feel more supported and offer some relief if you’re facing a hard season of life. Know that it will pass and that The Universe wants nothing but the best for you. Your soul is here to learn and grow!

How to Get Started with Spiritual Activism

If you’re reading this, you probably have a desire to make the world a better place. But you may feel like you’re not sure how to go about it in a way that aligns with your spiritual practice and values.

Your spiritual practice and your activism aren’t separate, they’re one. They can be, and I think they should be— because the world needs you, as an activist, to show up as a spiritual being...and as a spiritual being, to show up as an activist.

This means that not only are we meditating on healing the world, manifesting collective healing, and whatever other healing practices you have…but we’re also bringing that work into how we show up in the world as agents for change. We show up as our whole, spiritual selves when we call our senators and representatives. When we march, when we protest, when we volunteer, when we donate, when we organize, when we listen, when we post on social media.

That is spiritual activism.

COMPASSION

One really important piece of spiritual activism is compassion for yourself and for others. It’s really easy and often justified, to get caught up in your feelings and forget that the person you’re engaging with is also a human being. A human being who may be really offending you right now, but still a human being.

Remember that your feelings are justified. And of course, you don’t have to continue to engage with someone who is hurting you. But remembering some of the truths that are likely part of your spiritual practice, like compassion for all and the idea that at the core of it, we are all one, is just as important in these situations as it is in others.

ANGER

Ask yourself:

• How do I want to feel?

• How do I want others to feel around me?

List these answers out, and think about how they apply to your activism. If you want to feel inspired, open, safe, joyful, free, loved, whatever it is — you probably want other people to feel that way around you, too.

How can you approach your activism in a way that holds space for that? How can you approach your activism in a way that makes yourself and the people around you feel that way the majority of the time?

A note about anger: you probably want to create change around two things: things that break your heart, and things that make you angry. In some dialogue about spirituality, anger is bad. It’s something to be stifled and ignored.

But anger is human, and I think the only thing that makes it bad is repressing it. You’re going to be angry about injustice. It’s what we do with our anger, how we express it, and how we channel it that can help or hurt us.

So instead of repressing your anger or using it to lash out at people, I invite you to channel your anger into productive change, remembering that compassion and anger aren’t mutually exclusive.

START WITH YOU

When it comes to activism, start with you. It can be hard to wrap your head around at first but understand that you are not separate from the problem. You are not separate from these oppressive systems.

As a white person, racism isn’t about someone else. It’s about me.

As a cisgendered person, violence against transgender people isn’t about someone else, it’s about me.

The list goes on.

Ask yourself: in what systems am I an oppressor?

You can be oppressed in certain systems, like gender, and be the oppressor in others, like race.

This is where we get into the idea of privilege.None of this is about berating yourself for being a bad person or being complicit in these systems. You’re not a bad person! But the point of this being the first step is that when we know better, we do better. But we can’t do better if we don’t immerse ourselves in the “know better” step first.

Ask yourself: what privileges do I hold?

(Ideas: able-bodied privilege, white privilege, cisgendered privilege, straight privilege, thin privilege, in your country legally, etc.)

Take some time to really think about how those privileges manifest in your life and how they’ve become systems of belief. For example, what beliefs have you absorbed about people who don’t hold the privilege of being documented, or who don’t hold thin privilege?

What can you do to root down, shift those beliefs (which always manifest into actions even if you may not realize it!), and create more equality in your own life?

How is this spiritual activism? I think it comes back to the idea that healing yourself is healing for the world. I think most of us can probably get behind that. In this sense, cleaning up your own baggage, the ways in which your hurt and oppress is the most important thing we can do.

RELEASE

These days in this political climate I think it’s really important to have an embodiment practice to help you release trauma, anger, and other emotions you’re storing up from your cells. Tapping, breathwork, and a good old-fashioned scream are great ways to release.The practice can look like anything you need it to, but choose something that’s a physical release.

How to journal with the moon phases + 10 journal prompts

Your mood, physical body, and spirit body all go through phases, and journaling with the moon is an ideal way to track all of these. You may find that you’re more synced with the moon than you thought!

Why You Should Try Moon Journaling

Wouldn’t it be nice to know which moon phases make you feel the most intuitive, expressive, or reserved? The way you relate to each moon phase is reflective of you alone and experiences will vary from person to person. You may find that your diet, intuition, and menstruation are affected by the phases of the moon. Keeping a moon journal will enable you to track any patterns to better understand all of your cycles. 

How Often Should You Write in Your Moon Journal?

Take notes in your moon journal as often as you like! Journaling once a week will ensure that you hit each of the main phases of the moon: new moon, waxing moon, full moon, and waning moon. Moon journaling twice a month, on the full and new moon, can also be enlightening.

Starting out, I suggest making a quick note in your moon journal for 30-60 consecutive days. Making a quick note daily, in the beginning, will help you catch any obvious patterns right away.

What You’ll Need to Start Your Moon Journal

1. You’ll need a moon phase calendar, digital, or a hard copy.

2. You’ll also need a writing utensil and a journal or notepad. That’s it!

10 Topics for Moon Journaling

Here’s a list of suggested moon journaling topics. Read through the whole list. What topics call out to you the most? You can journal on all or some of these topics, it’s completely up to you.

Start your moon journaling by recording the date, the moon phase, and the zodiac sign for the phase (optional).

1. Record how you feel emotionally. Check-in, do you feel content, happy, sad, jealous, excited, energized, grateful, anxious, or angry? Record your mood for the day or overall week. This can be as simple as writing one word.

2. Record how you feel spiritually. How connected and intuitive do you feel? If you meditate regularly, was it easy for you to “drop-in” or did you find your meditation to be a struggle (this is always a good indicator of my spiritual well-being).

3. Record how you feel physically. How are you sleeping, your energy levels, and your diet? Are there any particular foods you're craving? If you exercise regularly, was your activity easy or more forced?

4. Record when you start and end your menstrual cycle. You may also decide to notate what each menstrual cycle feels like to help unearth patterns. If you’re particularly in-tune with your cycle or trying to conceive (or not conceive!) you might also find it helpful to track your ovulation with the moon.

5. Note any goals, intentions, and manifestations you’ve initiated and when they manifest. New intentions are best to set on a new or waxing moon.

6. Note any habits, people, outcomes, or things you’re trying to let go of and when you feel you’ve shed them. Releasing and letting go is best to initiate during a full or waning moon.

7. Notate the zodiac sign the moon is in. If you want to take your moon journaling to the next level you can notate what zodiac sign the moon is in. The moon is always positioned in a zodiac sign and cycles through them every 2-3 days. The sign the moon is in will also have an effect on you too. Try looking for even broader patterns by notating what sign the moon is in when you journal. I like this online resource for tracking the zodiac sign for each moon phase.

8. Track your triumphs! Did something happen that was totally out of the blue and made your day? Maybe you received an unexpected promotion, landed your dream job, or ran into an old friend, write it down!

9. Track your worst days. Did you have one of those days where nothing seems to go as expected and you just can’t shake it? These days aren’t as fun, but being able to estimate when they may come up can sure be helpful.

10. Note your dreams. Dream journaling is an insightful activity on its own. Notating the moon phase for your dreams can shed even more light on what your subconscious is trying to tell you. You might be able to identify times when your dreams are most active so you can plan to have a notepad ready on your nightstand.

Moon journaling can be as simple or in-depth as you’d like and can be tailored to suit your needs and schedule.

6 Ways to Work With Your Tarot Cards Besides Divination

Divination is a fantastic way to work with the tarot, but you’re selling yourself short with your trusted tarot deck if you’re only using it to glean insights into the future. At its core, and in my opinion, the tarot is a powerful self-reflective tool. It’s here to share insights and guidance about what’s going on with you right now, at this moment. Telling the future is one of the most common draws to tarot, but the tarot truly brings a host of other benefits.

Read on for six ways to work with the tarot to grow and expand in new ways, aside from divination. 

Working with Common Archetypes

The tarot is full of common archetypes that you will encounter or embody at different times in your life. Archetypes are timeless and universal energies that people can understand across cultures. For example, the archetype of the mother is something we can all understand on some level. Even if you do not have a relationship with your biological mother or have children of your own, the overarching energy of the archetype of the mother is something you can understand. Furthermore, you do not have to be a mother or a woman to embody the mother's archetype. Anyone can access and learn from the energy of motherhood. 

The tarot is dripping with common archetypes, especially in the major arcana. The way the archetypes show up can be personal and vary from person to person. Most of the common archetypes appear in the major arcana, but they can also be found in the minor. Here are some of the archetypes I associate with the cards: the ego (the sun), soul (the moon), mother (empress), father (emperor), wizard (magician), child (the fool), lover (the lovers), martyr (hanged one), seer (hermit), and authoritarian (hierophant), etc. You may decide on different archetypal associations with different cards, and that’s fine. 

So, how can you work with the archetypes of the tarot? Lots of ways! You can explore how the archetypal energies associated with the cards make you feel, you can look at the symbology on each card and explore how it makes you feel about its archetype, you can journal about the cards and their archetypal connections, and you can layer it into how you interact with and understand the cards. 

Journaling

Journaling allows you to dive deep into the meaning and energy of each card. You’ll better understand the lessons each card wants to offer you through journaling about them. Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of journaling. Journaling with the tarot is different, though. I always write when I pull cards for myself. To begin journaling with the cards, you can work through them one at a time in order or intuitively select a card to journal about. Here are some suggestions for questions to ask yourself when you’re journaling about different cards: 

• How does this card make me feel? 

• What symbols or imagery jumps out to me? 

• Are there any archetypes or human themes that stand out to me in this card? 

• How does this card show up in my life right now? 

• What can I learn from this card? 

Energy Readings

If you’ve followed my work long, you already know that I love all things energy! We are energy beings, and the tarot is another magical and beautiful way to work with your energy. What do I mean by this? Tarot is an excellent tool for reading your energy and understanding how to balance your energy. 

Each card in the tarot corresponds with different energy. When you work with the cards specifically to assess your energy, the cards can act as a guide for what kind of energy you may need more or less of. Each card's energy can act as a signal that you either have too much or too little of that energy.

For example, if you pull some cards to determine what your energy needs to be more balanced and you pull loads of pentacles, that would be a sign that you need more grounding in your life to feel more balanced because the pentacles relate to the element of earth. 

You could also consider pulling a card for each energy center or chakra in your body to get an idea of what each energy center needs to be in better balance. I dive into this more in-depth in my book, The Zenned Out Guide to Understanding Tarot. 

Exploring and Understanding Common Correspondences

If you’re a visual learner, like I am, you’ll love working with the tarot to understand common correspondences better. I won’t spend too much time talking about this here because I already covered this in a previous post here. 

Basically, each of the cards has a handful of correspondences (correspondences are simply energies that match or “play well together.”) The most common correspondences are the elements, astrological energies, and numerology. I’ve found that using the tarot as a tool to understand different types of energies better is immensely helpful, especially for visual learners. The cards' symbology and meanings will add a depth of understanding to your astrology, numerology, or elemental practice. You’ll also learn the tarot card meanings faster as well. 

Shadow work

The cards of the tarot contain a complete range of human experiences. It does not gloss over the hard, scary, and sometimes earth-shattering parts of life. This is one reason why, I believe, so many are nervous about diving into tarot. It’s also why it can be such a powerful healing tool. 

Your cards will not shield you from your shadow. Instead, they call you to cozy up to your shadow to understand better what it has to teach you. If the idea of shadow work is new to you, check out this previous post to learn more about what shadow work is. Here are a few ways to dive into shadow work using your tarot card deck. 

• Journal about the cards that make you the most uncomfortable. Use the questions above from the journaling section. 

• Ask questions specifically to explore your shadow, like “What parts of my shadow need healing and exploring?”, “ What do I have to learn from my shadow?” or “What parts of my shadow have I been avoiding?”

Spellwork & Magick

If you’re a fan of spellwork, altars, or magick, this one’s for you (it’s also another one of my favorite ways to work with my deck.) Because each tarot card carries a unique energy, they are perfect for adding energy and intention to spellwork, magick, and your altar. Here are a couple of ways to start working your cards into your magickal practice.

• Place a card on your altar to invite in a specific kind of energy. For example, if you’re focusing on improving your intuition, you could place the moon, the high priestess, or the queen of cups on your altar as a reminder and energetic intention. 

• Add a card to your spell. For example, if you’re focusing on bringing more abundance into your life, you could include the nine of pentacles or the empress into your spell. 

Want to learn more about working with the tarot? Order my book, The Zenned Out Guide to Understanding Tarot. Or, check out some of these posts: Understanding Tarot Correspondences, The Difference Between Tarot and Oracle, 7 Tarot Myths Debunked or Understanding Tarot Birth Cards. 

Dreamwork 101 // What is Dreamwork and How to Get Started in 5 Steps

Dreamwork is the practice of tending to our relationship with our dreams. We’re dreaming every night, but many of us barely remember our dreams, or if we do, don’t spend much time thinking about them or working with them.

(How often have you dismissed a dream as, “oh, it was just a dream?”)

But dreams can have a lot to teach us and offer us when we enter into a deeper relationship with them. The dreamworld is rich with feelings, desires, needs, and possibilities. Our understanding of what the dreamworld evokes and presents can support our physical lives and our connections to ourselves. 

In this blog post, I’ll share a bit about how to start a dreamwork practice of your own.

Dreamwork Lineage

First, I’d like to share my dreamwork lineage. What I know about dreamwork comes from the work of these folks in particular, as well as my own intuition and my ancestors:

• Blanca Villalobos

• Toko-Pa

• Robert Moss

• Tara Burke

• Sanyu Estelle

These are wonderful people to go deeper into dreamwork with if you feel so called.

1. Support Dream Recall + Sleep 

The simplest of ways to begin supporting your dreaming is by supporting sleep and dream recall. It’s difficult to consciously work with our dreams if we’re not sleeping well or can’t remember our dreams when we wake up. Everyone is different, but here are some things you might like to explore to support your sleep:

• Set screen time boundaries for a certain amount of time before bed 

• Drink a tea to support your sleep, like chamomile (always do your own research and check with a professional before ingesting herbs) 

• Create your own sleep ritual that helps you shift into rest mode 

• Meditate and/or do a gentle, restorative yoga practice

• Take a few minutes to journal brain-dump style to help clear your mind. 

To support your dream recall, there are a few things I find helpful:

• Set an intention to dream and to remember your dream(s) before you go to sleep (you can write this down, say it out loud, or just tell it to yourself silently)

• Take a few minutes in bed in the morning before you get out of bed (or look at your phone) to give yourself space to remember your dream.

• Create a dream altar and meditate at it before bed to welcome your dreams to come 

• Pay attention to the dreams you do receive by tending them (more on that below!)

2. Start a Dream Journal 

This is probably the number one tip anyone you ask about dreamwork will give you, and with good reason! A dream journal creates a container for tending your dreams, helps solidify your intention to connect with your dreams, and helps you understand your dreams.

I recommend choosing a dedicated journal for your dreamwork and placing it on your dream altar when you’re not using it if you have one. As soon as you wake up (definitely before you look at any devices), put pen to paper and record your dream. Try recording your dreams in the present tense to honor its aliveness (for example, instead of "I was walking by a river,” try “I’m walking by a river). 

If it feels available to you, you might like to marinate in the dream in bed for a few minutes before actually getting up and reaching for your journal to record.

3. Explore Dream Feelings & Textures

After you record your dream, there are many ways to work with it more deeply and explore the messages it might have for you. 

I like to explore the dream textures: what are the textures, sights, smells, tastes, sounds of the dream? What do those senses mean for you and evoke for you? How do they make you feel? How does the dream, in general, make you feel?

4. Understand Dream Associations

As you work with the dream you’ve recorded, notice what stands out to you. Maybe your red dress feels particularly alive, or the hawk sparks something for you, or you feel curious about a figure in your dream. 

Whatever you feel curious about, do a bit of freewriting about it. List out: what does this thing make you think of? How does it make you feel? 

For example, some associations that come up with hawks for me:

• Hawk feather

• Maggie Smith’s poetry book Good Bones

• Mothers

• Protecting your children 

• Imagination

• Play 

Notice how I’m not so focused on the hawk itself, but I follow the threads of what each thing is associated with! Now I have something interesting to work with and can ask myself questions like, "what’s my relationship with play right now?" 

Some of the associations you make might really surprise you and can offer deeper insight into your dream. 

5. Assign Dream Correspondences 

As you continue to work with your dreams, you start to develop some personal symbols and correspondences. 

Like you saw above in my example with the hawk, I could make a section in my journal where I note that hawk led me to mothers and children and play. When I see a hawk again in my dream, I have that reference and can ask myself if/how it applies to this dream. 

Over time, you can deepen your understanding of your own personal dream symbols and correspondences. I love this practice so much because, to me, it’s not about what a certain symbol means but about what it means to you, how it feels in your body, how it resonates with your ancestry. That’s what feels potent and powerful!

Dreams Aren’t Your Personal Vending Machine 

It feels important to state that working with dreams isn’t just asking a question and receiving an answer. Generally, it’s not a simple or linear way of working. There isn’t one true or hidden meaning that we need to uncover. 

In my eyes, dreams and the dreamworld are alive. So it truly is a practice of engaging in relationship with, of exploring. You might like to ask yourself, "how can I be in equal exchange with my dreams?" How can I honor the dream world and not just extract from it?

Dreams have such potential to expand us out of binary thinking and into visionary possibilities, especially if we acknowledge that power and allow them to take us there!

Going Deeper with Your Dreams 

Another way to explore dream tending and go a bit deeper is by asking for a dream. I share how to do this in the dreamwork ritual I shared for Pisces season, which you can find here.

Feel free to contact us and share: how is your dream practice going? How is your relationship with your dreams evolving? 

Sinking into acceptance // 4 Rituals for the Waning Moon + Card Spread

The waning moon phase is nature's way of calling you inward. How can you truly know what you need to release, shed, or let go of if you haven't allowed yourself time to go inward and fully experience your emotions? This phase is your invitation to feel and allow.

The waning moon phases occur after the peak of the full moon to the dark moon. Energetically this phase represents a time of allowance, acceptance, and shedding.

Growing up, most of us are taught to bottle our feelings up rather than sinking into them and accepting what is. Acceptance doesn't mean rolling over and taking it or being okay with the status quo. Not by a long shot. Acceptance of the current moment means allowing yourself to fully experience whatever is bubbling up in you at the present moment. 

If things in your life, or the world at large, are not aligned with your desires and want them to change, you don't have to accept them as they are. What you do need to accept is your feelings about these situations. It's in the allowance and acceptance of situations that healing, growth, and change can occur.  

There's an opportunity to grow from every situation you're presented with, and this phase asks you to be open to the learning and evolving process rather than pushing against it. Imagine the energy of this lunar cycle as a big unconditional and loving hug. 

Here are a few keywords to understand the basic energy of this lunar phase. 

Energetic Themes for the Waning Moon

• Passiveness

• Acceptance

• Allowance

• Releasing

• Shedding

• Letting go

• Resting

The rituals outlined below will work well together, but if you don't have the time or tools to perform all of them at once, that's okay, do what feels most aligned with your needs. Keep reading for four ritual suggestions for the waning moon phase. 

1. Candle Ritual for the Waning Moon

Candles are an ideal ritual tool for this moon phase because they can be used as a very passive tool. I suggest using this candle ritual suggestion in tandem with one of the ritual suggestions below so your candle can burn as you sink into a ritual. There's more than one candle color that will work for this lunar phase, here are three suggestions, go with what feels best for where you're at, or use all three!

Pink candle: Pink candles offer soft and loving energy. This candle color is ideal for bringing in self-love and acceptance. This candle color is often suggested during the waxing moon phase to call in romantic love. For the waning moon phase, its energy will be used as a tool to call in self-love. 

Blue Candle: Blue candles offer peace and respite. If you've been in a cycle of overwhelm and feel like you can't catch a break, this is your candle. The energy of this candle can help you soften into the present moment to access your emotions better. 

Purple Candle: Purple candles offer inner wisdom and perspective. If you're in a place of allowance with your emotions but struggling with accepting them, the energy of a purple candle can help open you up to a higher perspective and shed light on why you feel the way you do. 

If candle magick is new to you, and you'd like to learn more about how it works and the process I outline here, check out this past blog post on candle magick basics. 

Once you've selected your candle color(s), you may want to anoint your candle with a specific oil. I suggest lavender, bergamot, rose, or geranium work well with the energy of the waning moon. If you don't have any of these available, a simple carrier oil, like almond or coconut oil, will work just fine. 

Anoint your candle with your oil, hold it in your hands, and impress it with your energy. Repeat this intention or something like it that feels good to you, "I love and accept myself as I am. I am allowed to feel the fullness of my emotions and will let them flow through me. I trust that Spirit will show me what needs to stay and what needs to go. So it is."Light your candle(s) and stay with it as it burns. 

2. Waning Moon Meditation

If you're going to do any of these waning moon rituals, meditation is my top suggestion. I covered this topic in-depth in a previous post, so I'm not going to spend too much time discussing it here. But, if you've followed me for long, you know that I adore meditation. 

Meditation opens you up to your inner world, which is step one in allowance and acceptance. As I said above, you have to take the time to explore your inner landscape before you can truly know what needs to be released. Meditation and internal reflection is the first step in this process.  

Click here to get my free waning moon meditation or here to read my previous blog post on meditating with each moon phase. 

If you'd like to add some supportive crystals to your waning moon meditation, I suggest rose quartz and a grounding stone of choice like obsidian, black tourmaline, or garnet.

3. Waning Moon Card Spread

Use this card spread with your favorite oracle or tarot card deck. These questions can offer guidance on finding more acceptance in your life and suggestions for releasing anything holding you back from your highest good.

If you didn't begin with the candle ritual or meditation suggestion above, take a moment to connect with your breath and ground yourself. 

1. In what area of my life do I need to soften my resistance?

2. What lesson does my resistance have to share with me? 

3. Where can I focus my energy to bring more acceptance into this area of my life? 

4. How can I integrate these lessons into my life?

5. How will I hold myself back if I am unwilling to explore my resistance?

6. What old ideas do I need to shed to come into more wholeness?

Be open and honest as your cards reveal guidance to you. The next ritual can help you uncover any confusion you may have about your reading. If your reading is initially unclear, leave it, be open to signs from Spirit, and revisit it at a later time. 

4. Write and Release

This ritual suggestion works well after performing either the waning moon meditation or waning moon card spread because you should be fresh with emotion and insight. Take some time to write about what came up for you. Alternatively, if tarot and oracle cards aren't your thing, you can use the card reading questions above as journal prompts. 

Writing is a powerful tool for exploring, feeling, processing, and releasing your emotions. Here's a conclusion from a study conducted on the healing benefits of writing: "There is power in written expression and the personal sharing of one's story. Writing shows promise not only as a therapeutic tool during intervention, but as an ongoing avocational activity with many personal and health benefits." 

Try to write without judging what you're writing and let your thoughts and feelings flow. 

Choose to release your writing in a way that feels good to you. You can burn the paper in a fire-proof vessel, bury your text in the earth, release it into a flower body of water (ensure that your paper is compostable if you do this method!), or something else that feels good to you. You cannot do wrong; the purpose of all ritual is to bring meaning and healing to your experience, so trust that the releasing method you select is what will serve you best.

 I hope you feel empowered to love and accept yourself fully, emotions, and all. Dance with all aspects of your being. Know that in each moment, even the uncomfortable ones, there is an opportunity to go deeper and find wholeness.

Walking the Path of Infertility & 5 Spiritual Tools to Help

Walking the path of infertility was one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced during this lifetime. If you’re walking this path, I see you, and I send you my love and encouragement because I know how hard it is. For four years, I was unable to conceive naturally, and I tried all the things. Eventually, after four years of walking the infertility path, I became pregnant and birthed my sweet twins, Ellis Andrew and Lillian Hart. Here I’m sharing some of the tools that helped me through this journey.

Let me preface this post with a gentle reminder that your experience is unique, and so was mine. Please, take what you like and leave the rest. My suggestions are based on my individual experience and may or may not work for you. 

I’d want to be extremely transparent about all of the tools that I relied upon throughout my infertility journey. I am a huge advocate for therapy and found a therapist that specialized in working with women who were struggling with infertility (she actually went through IVF herself!). If you live in Arizona and want her contact info, please send me a note here. I also used a variety of holistic and modern Western medical interventions, including acupuncture, massage, herbs, IUI, and ultimately, IVF. IUI and IVF are not for everyone, and certainly has its many downfalls, but it was the path I chose. 

The suggestions I offer you here have less to do with becoming pregnant and more to do with loving yourself where you’re at. I believe, for me, that the acceptance and peace I found around this issue is what ultimately lead me to conception. This isn’t the case for everyone, and as I said, this is a deeply personal path that is unique to each individual. Be open, but, if something doesn’t feel like a good fit, that’s okay! 

Berkano card featured from The Ritual Deck.

CREATE AN ALTAR

Having an altar gives you an area to hold space for all of the big emotions that go along with infertility. Early in my infertility journey, I made an altar for my unborn child. If you’re feeling this, go for it, but I’ll be honest and tell you that I took it apart in a fit of rage and rebuilt an altar for myself. I was so glad I did, and here’s why. 

For me, so much of the infertility journey was me constantly doing and trying new things, often with little regard for my body and energy. I can’t tell you how many times Dr’s would say, “This procedure is perfectly harmless and painless!” only to discover that it was indeed painful and very emotionally taxing. I felt like a human pin cushion on an emotional rollercoaster. I needed a space for myself more than anything, not for my unborn child! My unborn children were totally fine; I was the one who was struggling. 

So, my recommendation is to focus on you and honor your feelings as much as you can throughout the process. One powerful way to do this is to dedicate a space to yourself and your feelings with an altar. Think of your altar as a container for all of the big things you’re not ready to face or need a break from. I would even visualize placing my big emotions in a safe little container stored on my altar until I was prepared to confront them. 

Check out the video below to learn more about creating an altar, embodying the mother archetype, and leaning into shadow for infertility.

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A post shared by Cassie Uhl (@cassieuhl)

Altars work well for grief and hardships of all kinds! Click here to check out a post I shared a while ago about how to create an altar. 

EMBODYING THE MOTHER ARCHETYPE WITH BERKANO AND THE TRIPLE GODDESS 

You do not need to bear children to be a mother. This was huge for me in my journey. In fact, I even tattooed the Rune Berkano on my finger as a reminder. I decided to have Berkano tattooed on my finger after I came to a place of acceptance about possibly not being able to have my own children. I wanted it as a reminder that I could be a mother in a variety of different ways. Berkano is a Rune that represents creation, birth, and fulfillment. It is often associated with fertility and motherhood. 

The Triple Goddess symbol is another symbol I used to tap into the energy of motherhood. The Triple Goddess symbol consists of the waxing moon, full moon, and waning moon representing the maiden, the mother, and the crone. This lunar reminder suggests that we can embody all aspects of the Triple Goddess at different times in our life. You don’t need to be young to act like the maiden, and you do not need to have children to embody the mother. Beyond the archetypes associated with the Triple Goddess, the moon phases also point to a reminder that everything is a phase and nothing is forever, just like the infertility journey. Read more about the Triple Goddess in a post I wrote here. 

You don’t have to have these special symbols tattooed on your body to work with them! But if you want to, by all means ;) You can add these symbols to your altar, meditate on them, create art with them, and wear them. 

MEDITATION

There are SO MANY choices to be made along the infertility journey, believe me, I know. Here are just a few, “Should I try IUI or IVF?” “Should I adopt?” “Should I stop trying altogether?” “Why do I think I don’t deserve to have children?” “Should I switch to a new Dr.?”, “Should I go the holistic route first?”, “What are my limits with this process?”. These are just a few examples of some of the big questions that went through my mind during my infertility journey. 

When life hands you any difficult situation, meditation is a powerful tool for a variety of reasons. Meditation will help soothe your possibly stressed nervous system to give you the space to feel and process some of the big emotions and questions connected to infertility. Once you’ve gotten to a place where you’ve experienced some of your emotions, meditation can help again by giving you clarity around any questions or confusion you may have about your path. 

If you’re new to meditation, I suggest trying a 5-minute meditation every day and then bump it up to 10 minutes a day when you feel ready. Click here to read a great blog post about meditation and how to start and stick with a meditation practice. 

My final IVF attempt that resulted in the viable pregnancy of my twin babes happened when my meditation practice was the strongest. I was actually hosting a two-week meditation challenge on Instagram at the time. I was the most at peace I’d been throughout my entire infertility journey and can say, honestly, that I knew I’d be okay whether or not my final IVF resulted in pregnancy. Now, I don’t think it was only my solid meditation practice that made this IVF attempt stick, it was a culmination of several things, but I know that it certainly helped!

CRYSTALS ALLIES

I saved this tool for the end because, though I do believe crystals are mega-powerful, I also think they can be a crutch. I like to use crystals in tandem with other tools, like the ones I mentioned above, not as a solo tool. Personally, I think crystals work best when their energy can be layered with other actionable steps. 

Here’s my list of crystals to help with infertility, bonus they’re all also great for pregnancy and connecting with Goddess energy!

Card featured from The Ritual Deck.

Moonstone- Moonstone, in all of its varieties, corresponds to femininity, the Triple Goddess, the element of water, and cycles. Working with moonstone can serve as a potent reminder that everything you experience is a phase. On a physical level, moonstone is said to help regulate cycles within the body. Moonstone is a gentle enough stone to keep in the bedroom on your nightstand or under your bed. 

Carnelian- There’s nothing like scheduled sex that will take the passion out of your sex life! Carnelian connects with both the root and the sacral chakra, making it ideal for connecting with your passion. It is also another stone that can help heal the reproductive organs. 

Rhodonite- If you’re in the trenches of infertility, you’re going to need a lot of self-love and self-acceptance. Rhodonite is here to help. Rhodonite is also said to help with fertility directly, but I relied on it more for its emotional balancing. When I was TTC and struggling, I had a rhodonite mala necklace created for me and used it often during meditation. 

Smokey Quartz- If you’ve been at this long, then you probably already know that that 2ww (two-week wait) is one of the most anxiety-provoking times of the month! Not to mention your hormones are at their peak! Smokey quartz can be your grounding and anxiety soothing bestie during this time. 

LOOK FOR THE SOUL LESSON AND DIVE DEEP INTO SHADOW

My last suggestion, and it’s a pretty esoteric one, is to look for the soul lessons in your infertility journey. I believe, before we are born, our souls decide what lessons we need to learn while in human form to help us progress. For me, this is where therapy and meditation really helped. It became evident to me throughout my process that I had a deep belief that I did not deserve to have children and that to be happy, I had to struggle. 

Much of my infertility journey involved getting nice and cozy with my shadow side (learn more about shadow work here) and negative the storylines I was choosing to live in. In therapy, I explored my beliefs about being undeserving and where they stemmed from through EMDR therapy. EMDR therapy gave me the tools I needed to explore these darker aspects of my life and ultimately heal them. 

My meditation practice helped me become more aware of when these stories would come to mind, so I could look at them with clarity and not attach to them. For me, this step was not the sort of thing I did in a day or even a week; it was a long process. 

I could obviously write about this for an entire book worth of writing! If you’re walking the infertility path and have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here. Remember, there’s a lesson in everything, even when it’s hard. Nothing lasts forever, and you are always supported!

I hope these tools offer you some peace and healing. I’m sending you so much love, hope, and strength for your journey, wherever it leads you. 

Meditations for Each Moon Phase + Free Guided Meditation

There are so many ways to tune into Mother Moon. But did you know, there’s a powerful tool you can use to align yourself with lunar energy that requires nothing more than your mind?

Meditation is the ultimate tool to tap into the cycles and energy of the moon. 

Meditation grants you the opportunity to shift your energy on a deep level. During meditation, you can visualize and experience your desires on a physical and energetic level in a way that produces real change. Now, line these powerful energetic shifts up with Mama Moon, and you’ve got some real magick. 

In this post, I’m going to breakdown meditation techniques for the five primary moon phases, including the new moon, waxing moon, full moon, waning moon, and dark moon. 

I include a free guided meditation for the waning moon that you can get access to here. To purchase guided meditations for all five moon phases, click here. 

For each moon meditation, I offer you a meditation script, a suggested mantra, and a list of optional tools. Please, don’t feel like you can’t perform these meditations without the optional tools! Your mind is incredibly powerful, and the meditations alone will have a powerful effect on your energy and intentions. 

Keep in mind; you don’t have to perform these meditations at night, when the moon is out. Feel free to perform your moon meditations any time of the day during the moon phase. Just like the stars in astrology, the effects of the moon can be felt even when it’s not visible. As above, so below. 

New Moon Meditation

The new moon is a time to cleanse, prepare, have hope, and be open. The new moon invites you to welcome fresh energy and be aware of guidance and direction. One of the best ways to tune into the energy of the new moon is, you guessed it, meditation. When you quiet your mind, you enable yourself to tune into the flow of information from your guides, higher self, and the universe. It’s within the realm of spirit that you can receive guidance.

New moon card featured from The Ritual Deck

The meditation for the new moon is all about cleansing your energy and allowing yourself to receive guidance from spirit. The new moon is less about taking action and more about tuning into your highest truth and receiving guidance. 

New Moon Mantra: My energy is clear, and I am open to receiving guidance. 

New Moon Optional Tools: Selenite wand, white candle, cleansing herbs like cedar or rosemary. 

New Moon Meditation: 

• Sit in a chair or on the ground with your spine upright.

• Say aloud: New moon, I ask you to help cleanse and clear away any energy no longer serving me. 

• Quiet your mind, and become aware of your breath.

• Start sending each inhale deep into your belly. 

• Begin extending your inhales, and your exhales. 

• Visualize white cleansing light coming from the new moon softly surrounding your body. 

• Imagine that this white cleansing energy is gently clearing away energy no longer serving you. 

• Continue to focus on your breath and imagine the cleansing energy cleansing your aura for a few minutes. 

• When you feel that your energy has been cleansed, thank the new moon. 

• Say aloud: New moon, I ask that you and my guides share guidance with me about what I should focus on this lunar cycle. 

• Continue to focus on your breath. 

• Be open and receptive to information that may come to you.

• Trust any sensations you experience as truth.

• Continue to focus on your breath. 

• Stay in this receptive space for as long as you’d like. 

• Thank the moon and your guides for any information they shared with you. 

• Release any control of your breath.

• Open your eyes, connect with your body, and jot down any information you received. 

Waxing Moon Meditation

The waxing moon invites you to grow and take action. While the new moon is focused on receiving guidance, this phase beckons you to act on the information you received during the new moon phase. The lively energy of the waxing moon intensifies as it nears closer to the full moon. The waxing moon phase includes the waxing crescent, the first quarter moon, and the waxing gibbous moon phases.

Moon cards featured from The Ritual Deck.

The meditation for the waxing moon focuses on activating your energy center and solar plexus chakra. This is a great time to focus on completing tasks you’ve been putting off or finishing a difficult project. With the combination of the wave of energy from the waxing moon and your internal energy, you will be unstoppable at accomplishing your goals.  

Waxing Moon Mantra: I have everything I need to accomplish my desires.  

Waxing Moon Optional Tools: Tiger’s eye, sunstone, or citrine, a yellow candle, and a spicy cup of tea (chai is a great option).

Waxing Moon Meditation: 

• Sit in a chair or on the ground with your spine upright. 

• Say aloud: Growing moon, I ask you to spark a fire within me to give me all of the energy and wisdom I need to accomplish my goals. 

• Quiet your mind, and become aware of your breath.

• Start sending each inhale deep into your belly. 

• Begin extending your inhales, and your exhales. 

• Visualize a golden yellow light coming from the moon and connecting with your solar plexus region (below your sternum and above your belly button). Visualize this light sparking a fire within your solar plexus area. With every inhale, the fire and the golden light grow bigger and brighter. 

• Begin the breath of fire to move this energy throughout your body. The breath of fire is conducted by taking a sharp and fast inhale followed by a quick and forceful exhale. You should see your low belly moving up and down for this breath. If you feel lightheaded at any point, stop the breath of fire. 

• As you breathe, visualize the golden yellow energy flowing throughout your body. 

• Complete three rounds of 30-60 breaths of fire

• Release all control over your breath and allow your breath to return to its normal state. 

• Say aloud: Growing moon, I ask that you give my signs over the coming days to indicate that I am taking the right action.  

• Continue to focus on your breath. 

• Be open and receptive to information that may come to you.

• Trust any sensations you experience as truth.

• Continue to focus on your breath. 

• Stay in this receptive space for as long as you’d like. 

• Thank the moon for its energy.

• Release any control of your breath.

• Open your eyes, connect with your body, and jot down any information you received. 

Full Moon Meditation

The full moon is a time of celebration, fulfillment, and gratitude. Even if you haven’t reached your goals, the full moon invites you to pause and celebrate all of the abundance you do have in your life. The full moon is also an ideal time to perform magick work of all kinds as it is the most potent moon phase and affects us the most.

The full moon card is featured from The Ritual Deck

The moon is completely full for about a minute. Aside from this one minute of total fullness, the moon is either at its peak waxing or waning phase. These peak phases are the most potent times for action or release. You can read more about waxing vs. waning lunar energy here. This is something to keep in mind during this meditation, as it may change the time and purpose you decide to use this meditation for. 

Full Moon Mantra: I am grateful for all that has come, and all that is still coming to me.   

Full Moon Optional Tools: Rainbow, white, or peach moonstone, purple candle, dried mugwort. 

Full Moon Meditation: 

• Sit in a chair or on the ground with your spine upright.

• Say aloud: Full moon, I ask you to fill me with gratitude and reveal the magick all around me. 

• Quiet your mind, and become aware of your breath.

• Start sending each inhale deep into your belly. 

• Begin extending your inhales, and your exhales. 

• Visualize the bright white light of the full moon bathing you in sparkling white light. 

• Bring something to mind that you’re grateful for. Allow yourself to experience your gratitude fully. Continue bringing things to mind that you are grateful for. 

• Sit in this place of gratitude for as long as you’d like and continue to focus on your breath and the sparkling light of the full moon. 

• You can stay in this place of gratitude for the remainder of the meditation or continue and connect with spirit. 

• Say aloud: Full moon, I ask that you help me open up to the spirit realm. 

• Continue to focus on your breath. 

• Be open and receptive to information that may come to you.

• Trust any sensations you experience as truth.

• Continue to focus on your breath. 

• Stay in this receptive space for as long as you’d like. 

• Thank the moon and any spirit guides for any information they shared with you. 

• Release any control of your breath.

• Open your eyes, connect with your body, and jot down any information you received. 

Waning Moon Meditation

The waning moon invites you to release anything that’s no longer serving you and accept your current situation as is. This energy may also require you to reevaluate your previous desire and let go of any expectations you might have or control of your current situation. Download my free waning moon meditation here.

Last quarter moon card featured from The Ritual Deck.

The waning moon is a potent reminder that The Universe doesn’t always work on our timeline. Things might look or feel out of control, but it all has a purpose. Beyond the harsher side of letting go, the waxing moon has a soft side of acceptance of what is. Though this phase might seem quite active, it is actually more passive. I invite you to imagine waves gently removing what needs to go. Love and accept everything that remains. 

Waning Moon Mantra: I release what no longer serves me and accept myself as I am. 

 Waning Moon Optional Tools: Obsidian, rose quartz, black candle, and cedar.

Waning Moon Meditation: 

• Sit in a chair or on the ground with your spine upright.

• Say aloud: Waning moon, I ask you to show me what needs to go and what needs to stay. 

• Quiet your mind, and become aware of your breath.

• Start sending each inhale deep into your belly. 

• Begin extending your inhales, and your exhales. 

• Visualize a soft pink light coming down from the waning moon and weaving all around you. Imagine that this soft pink light is whisking away any stagnant energy, old beliefs, or cords connected to other people that are no longer serving you. Imagine it’s sending anything it takes from you down into the Earth to be transformed into useful energy for someone else. 

• Some things might stay that you want to go and that’s ok. 

• Imagine this soft pink light is now surrounding you like a soft cloud of love. 

• Say aloud: Waning moon, I ask you to help me love and accept myself where I am right now.

• Continue to focus on your breath. 

• Be open and receptive to receiving love and acceptance. 

• Trust any sensations you experience as truth.

• Continue to focus on your breath. 

• Stay in this loving space for as long as you’d like. 

• Thank the moon for the release and love that it shared with you. 

• Release any control of your breath.

• Open your eyes, connect with your body, and jot down any information you received. 

Dark Moon Meditation

The dark moon is a time of rest, integration, and restoration. This moon phase beckons you to do very little. This is a time to reflect on everything that transpired during this moon cycle so you can integrate it into your being. Without proper integration, cycles will continue to be repeated. 

Dark moon cared featured from The Ritual Deck.

The dark moon phase happens right before the new moon when the moon isn’t visible in the night sky. You can learn more about the difference between the dark moon and the new moon here. 

Dark Moon Mantra: I am allowed to rest. Rest is necessary for growth.

Dark Moon Optional Tools: black tourmaline, blue or black candle, dried lavender. 

Dark Moon Meditation: 

• Sit in a chair or on the ground with your spine upright. 

• Say aloud: Dark Moon, I ask you to guide me to deep rest so that I can integrate everything that has happened. 

• Quiet your mind, and become aware of your breath.

• Start sending each inhale deep into your belly. 

• Begin extending your inhales, and your exhales. 

• Visualize a dark blue sparkling light coming from the dark moon and meeting you at the top of your head. Imagine that this blue energy is warm and heavy. Visualize the energy gently touch each part of your body, from the top of your head to the tips of your toes, covering you like a warm blanket. 

• Notice thoughts that come up and ask if they need anything to be resolved. You may have thoughts and feelings that come up that will require you to purge emotions. Let your emotions come and go as they need. 

• Say aloud: Dark Moon, I ask that you help me experience the light and shadow of any emotions that come up. 

• Continue to focus on the breath and the warm blanket of energy from the moon. 

• Stay in this receptive space for as long as you’d like. 

• Thank the moon for its comfort and restoration. 

• Release any control of your breath.

• Open your eyes, connect with your body, and jot down any information you received. 

The phases of the moon can be used as a guide to manifest, trust, release, connect, and rest. Each phase offers you a reminder to tune into different kinds of energy and different aspects of your life. Meditation is a powerful way to put this energy into practice. 

If you’d like to learn more about working with lunar energy, you can check out lots of free content from our blog here or purchase my Meditate with the Moon bundle of guided meditations here.  

The Spiritual Side of Boundary Setting + 4 Steps to Help You Set Boundaries

Many of us, especially women, have been taught to give and give and give without question. Over time, as you probably know, this becomes exhausting and depleting. You might already have strong boundaries, or maybe you’re realizing just now that you really need to set them, but you’re afraid. If you’ve been waiting for a permission slip to create more boundaries in your life, consider this it.

You are a powerful being, and you get to decide what is and is not acceptable to you in your life (if reading that gave you a strong reaction, check out this post for tips to connect with your authentic power). You are allowed to take up space. You are allowed to speak up and stand up for yourself. This is the spiritual work of boundary setting.

Boundaries are an important way of setting the terms for how it is and isn’t okay for other people to interact with you, and on an energetic level, they’re a way of protecting your own energy.

Because spiritual work isn’t all pretty all the time. Sometimes it’s the deep, unglamorous work of digging into the roots of your heart and seeing what you truly need, and then telling people that no, you won’t answer their DMs, or no, you won’t do free work anymore, or no, you can’t hold energetic support for them at this moment because you simply have nothing left to give.

I saw Gabby Bernstein live last year, and during the Q&A portion of the night a woman went up to the mic and told Gabby that she was feeling so spiritual these days— so spiritual, in fact, that all she wanted to do was lock herself in her room and meditate and read spiritual books. She said she was starting to resent her life— her kids, her work, her husband— for taking her out of that.

Gabby said, “Here’s what you don’t yet understand: your life is your spiritual practice.”

That’s always stood out to me. Meditating, ritual, yoga, tarot, all of the things we love— they can all be part of your spiritual practice. But they’re not THE spiritual practice. Your spiritual practice is how you treat people, how you treat yourself, how you move in the world, how you set boundaries.

And since we’re always evolving and growing, our boundaries are always evolving, too.

Scroll down for some tips on how to set clear boundaries.

Figure out what your boundaries are

How do you know which boundaries need to be set? How do you know when a boundary has been violated?

Practice checking in with your feelings. Boundary violations may manifest as making you feel powerless, confused, drained, disassociated, angry, or upset. When you feel that way, take an honest look and ask yourself why?

Did someone treat you in a way that’s unacceptable to you? Did you perform free emotional labor that’s leaving you drained? Are you speaking to yourself in a way that’s hurtful?

Dig in and look at why you may struggle to set boundaries

Try these journaling questions:

• What did I learn as a child about the importance of being liked, going with the flow, and saying yes?

• What did I learn as a child about saying and hearing “no?”

• What am I afraid will happen if I set and stick with clear boundaries?

Open your throat chakra

The state of your throat chakra is heavily associated with your ability to set and communicate clear boundaries. When your throat chakra is blocked, you might be afraid to stand up for yourself and be seen or fear being judged for the boundaries you set. Get seven ways to balance your throat chakra here.

Communicate clearly

Once you’ve done the work in steps 1-3, this step should come more easily. Just remember when you’re communicating your boundaries to stand firm. You can speak your boundaries with love and compassion without apologizing, feeling guilty, or making them feel optional. Be as clear, honest, and direct as you can.

Remember, you have to set that boundary clearly with yourself before you can communicate it to anyone else.

You’ve heard it before but I’ll say it again: saying no creates the space for your big YES to come in—whether that’s relationships with people who treat you well, a job that fulfills your soul, or something else. Setting boundaries aren’t just about saying no, it’s about saying YES to only the things that feel good to you and light your soul up.

What’s your relationship with boundary setting? Now’s a perfect time to take a look!

6 Signs Your Shadow Work Practice Is Working

We’re often encouraged to ignore our darkness. To pretend that we don’t have inner demons, that we can be all love and light, that we can be “healed” without diving into our wounds.

The truth is that we can’t, and that’s where shadow work comes in.

Shadow work is the conscious practice of exploring your dark feelings, often ignored in your subconscious, that you feel ashamed and afraid of.

The aim of shadow work is to bring that darkness to the light and integrate it into your whole self. So that you can heal and become whole.

Click to learn more about what shadow work is and 4 simple steps to get started with it.

But once you start working with your shadow, how do you know that it’s really working?

This post will share 6 signs that your shadow work practice is working, moving you towards being a more healed, whole human being.

1. Other people’s behaviors don’t trigger you like they used to. They no longer create intense emotional responses or cause you to go into your head. You notice their behaviors, of course, but no longer feel a need to react or respond.

2. You drop blame and denial. When a shadow aspect of yourself shows up, you don’t deny it and you no longer blame yourself or the person who may have triggered you. You’re learning to acknowledge and accept your shadow, so you may even feel grateful to those who have helped shine a light on it so that it can be transformed and healed.

3. You judge other people (and yourself) less. When you’ve gone into the depths of your own darkness and learned to offer yourself complete acceptance and forgiveness, it’s so much easier to offer that to other people, as well.

You’re able to be much more accepting and compassionate towards others because you realize that your judgments of others stem from your own unhealed places. Once you heal those wounds, other people’s behaviors don’t phase you.

4. You recognize that you have become part of someone’s shadow. According to shadow work expert Jessi Huntenberg, the shadow work journey starts as what was done to you— all the conditioning and fear and wounds you have from your family, your childhood, from society— and slowly you get to a point where you realize that you are someone else’s shadow, too.

When you can realize this and offer yourself forgiveness for the people that you hurt when you were operating from a place of your own wounds, you know that your shadow work is working.

5. You’re no longer afraid to be seen. So many of us have wounds around visibility. We’re afraid to be seen. We feel like if people knew this or that about us, they wouldn’t love us. They would see how “unworthy” we really are.

When your shadow work is really working, that shame around the darkest parts of you begins to dissipate. It gets transformed into acceptance and love. And so you’re no longer afraid to be seen as you really are because you accept and love yourself fully and wholly.

6. Your life has become more peaceful. This is what we all want, right? Shadow work can get you there. Your life becomes more peaceful when you fully embrace and love ALL parts of yourself— the parts that are easy to love and the parts that are really difficult. Your interactions with others, your relationships with others, and your relationship with yourself all become a lot more positive.

What is your relationship with shadow work? Which of these signs are you experiencing?

5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Intuition

Intuition goes by many names: sixth sense, inner knowing, gut feeling. I’m sure you’ve had at least one experience when you “JUST knew.” Maybe it was a safety concern, a work issue, or about a relationship.

If you look back you probably didn’t say, “hey intuition, can you please give me some information about…” Nope. The insight came in a flash and you knew exactly what to do.

What if you could call on that flash of knowing anytime you wanted? This post will help you do that with 5 simple tips on how to improve your intuition. If you want to learn 3 daily actions you can do to support your intuition, check out Cassie's post.

Acknowledge Intuition Exists

It’s innate in everyone, so even if you don’t feel like you have it, know you do. Make a declaration like, “I have a clear and strong intuition,” and observe how your body adjusts.

Clear Some Clutter

Getting rid of junk in your house and mind will create space for new information. Seem overwhelming? Start with just one small area of your house. Try to keep that area neat and tidy (maybe it’s your nightstand or corner of your desk).

Mental and emotional stuff got you weighed down? Dump all that stuff onto paper. No need to analyze or ponder, just freely write down what you are feeling and all the tasks you have to finish. You’ll be amazed at how light you will feel.

Know Your Colors

Here’s a quick exercise to help you connect with your inner knowing. Try this before you get out of bed in the morning. Ask your intuition to give you a color for “yes.” Stay away from the traditional stop light green. That’s too easy. Ask for your individual color for “yes.” Maybe it’s a light orange, or a deep purple. Then ask for your color for “no.” Again, watch for another color aside from red. Maybe it’s grey or bright pink.

Sit with this new information for a few quiet moments and be open for it to appear throughout your day.

Start Small

Now that you have your colors, let’s see how you can use them in everyday scenarios! Your intuition is like a muscle, it likes to be worked out, but you can’t start lifting 100 pounds right away. So start with asking about what shirt you should wear, or which road to take to work. Ask for your “yes” or “no” colors. Go with it!

Trust

Your intuition will get clearer with time and patience. One thing to keep in mind is following your intuition doesn’t mean that life will always go the way you want.

Your intuition is serving as your guide for a deeper purpose for reasons you might not see. Maybe that bad traffic your intuition lead you into was to keep you from something worse. Maybe those “yes” shoes you tripped in means you’ll get to tell a funny story to a new person!

The most important step is to have fun! Don’t worry about getting it right or wrong. Your intuitive power is supposed to bring you closer to who you are, not stress you out.

Developing your inner knowing just takes a few minutes a day. Clear some clutter, use your colors, and trust in your developing “muscle.” Your intuition is the inner gift that keeps on giving so have fun listening to what it has to say! If you are looking to play with your intuition some more, check out my funny and in-your-face oracle cards at www.rebeldeck.com.

Cord Cutting a Ritual for Letting Go

What are you holding onto right now that you’re afraid to let go of? Is it a career that you thought was your life’s calling, something hurtful someone said to you, a relationship gone south, or your lack of control over a situation?

If you haven’t already been faced with one of these “letting go” hurdles, it’s likely you will at some point. The need to let go comes in all shapes and sizes throughout life and might be some of the hardest tasks you’ll face.

Why is it important to let go?

Holding on can take up a lot of unnecessary headspaces, leaving you anywhere but in the present moment. When you’re afraid to let go, it’s usually your ego that’s in control, and no one wants that! Refusing to let go means you’re also refusing to trust that you’ll be taken care of and that the universe does have a plan for you.

This week I’m breaking out my favorite ways to help you let go of whatever it is that’s holding you back from your highest potential. These rituals can be done on separate days or all together as one big ritual, your choice! Let’s get started.

Step 1: Burn Baby, Burn

Time to get out your candles and cauldron. The first step is to recognize what it is that you’re trying to let go of and become willing to work on it. A burning ritual can help make this decision more concrete for you.

You’ll need:

• Black and white candle. The white candle is for protective loving light and black candle is to help absorb negative energy, but any candle will work if you don’t have these colors available. Click here to learn more about candle magick.

• Pen and paper

• Cauldron or other fireproof vessels

• Optional: Frankincense EO or incense. Frankincense will help you center yourself and let go. I like using Plant Guru’s Meditation blend.

The best moon phase to perform this ritual is during a waning moon. Set aside some quiet time, and center yourself with as many deep breaths as you need to feel calm and present.

To get started, light both of your candles and incense, if you’re using it. Write what you need to let go of on a piece of paper. Light the paper with the flame of each candle and place it in your fireproof vessel. Watch and breathe as your paper burns, allow any feelings you have to come to the surface. This is also a great time to call upon any angels, deities, or energy you’d like to invite in to help you through this process.

When you feel like this part of the ritual is complete, thank any spiritual energies that you invited in and blow out your candles. You can leave this setup and the ashes of your burned paper out as long as you’d like as a reminder.

Step 2: Cord-Cutting Ceremony

This is my personal favorite ritual for letting go. I discovered it from The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky and is the suggested ritual when you receive the Lilith Goddess card.

You’ll need:

• String. Must be strong enough to be worn for a long period of time.

• Scissors

• Candles, incense, EO (optional and can be the same as above)

This ceremony should also be performed during a waning moon. it blends well into the first ritual and I recommend performing them in tandem, though they do not have to be. If you do start this ceremony separately from the above one, be sure to set aside time to quiet your mind and center yourself.

To begin this ritual, start by deciding where your cord should be tied on your body. You’ll want to tie the string somewhere that connects with what you’re letting go of. If what you’re letting go of has something to do with work and you use your hands you might decide to tie it around your wrist, if you’re walking away from something you could tie it around your ankle, if it has something to do with your creative center you could tie it around your belly.

As you tie your cord on your body say out loud what the cord represents and what it is you’re trying to let go of. Wear this cord for the rest of the moon cycle, or longer if you feel it is necessary, as a reminder of your commitment to let go. When you feel that you are ready to let go and cut the cord, prepare a quiet space to do so. Thank yourself for your commitment and willingness to be more present and let go.

Step 3: Visualize & Verbalize

During this process, you may find that your desire to hold on becomes even stronger. It’s normal and is usually your ego screaming at you to stay in control! Here are some tools to use to keep your ego in check through this process.

Voice and movement are powerful tools to reinforce your commitment to let go. Here are my favorite supportive tools to use:

• Woodchopper yoga pose with a loud “HA” exhale

• Lion’s pose

• Allow time to shake it out, dance it out, and/or yell it out

• Wear a reminder of your commitment to let go.

• Create a vision board of what your life would look like if you did let go, and place it somewhere you’ll see it regularly.

• Create a mantra about what you’re letting go of. Write it down somewhere and place it where you’ll see it regularly.

• Journal. Write out all of your fears associated with what you’re letting go of. I find that if I write out my fears and look at them, many of them are pretty silly and things I don’t have any control over in the first place.

• Above all, be gentle with yourself!

Letting go can be hard but I hope my offerings give you the tools you need to move forward in your healing journey. Sending you strength and peace through your process of letting go!

5 Simple Steps to Get Started with Shadow Work

Intimidated by starting shadow work? Most of us have spent a lifetime hearing phrases like “be positive” and “look on the bright side,” so it’s no surprise that you might be a little freaked out about shadow work. While these sentiments are always shared in love, they can also cause us to repress trauma, difficult emotions, and thoughts we'd prefer to keep to ourselves. This constant repression will usually backfire, causing your fears and judgments to erupt out onto others later.

It’s no wonder most of us are hesitant to jump into shadow work. We’ve been told our whole lives to ignore it.

There are three fundamental steps to doing shadow work: to identify your shadow aspects, allow space for you to process them, and, finally, integrate them. By integrating your shadow side, you become whole.

As with all deep work, sometimes a qualified professional is needed. If you feel you need help from a therapist, psychiatrist, doctor, healer, or even a friend, I encourage you to do so. Facing the parts of ourselves often ignored can be difficult, especially if you've faced particularly traumatic events in your life.

I invite you to approach these offerings as ancillary allies to a shadow work practice. Here are four simple steps to help you get started with shadow work.

1. Practice Mindfulness

I mentioned in my last post that much of shadow work is becoming aware of how you’re projecting your shadow onto others and being triggered. Imagine your triggers as little notes from your shadow self.

The most effective way to bring more awareness into your daily life and catch those projections and triggers is through mindfulness. I’m not saying you need to commit to 30 minutes of silent meditation a day; a simple 5 minutes can really go a long way. If you need some pointers on how to start meditating, check out this earlier blog post on 8 quick tips to “be here now.”

2. Connect with Goddesses Associated with Shadow Work

There are Goddesses worldwide across cultures who correspond with the parts of life we're often told to keep to ourselves or ignore. Each Goddess below offers unique wisdom concerning shadow work. There are many more Goddesses and Gods to connect with

Kali

Kali is the wild and intense-looking Hindu Goddess of time, death, destruction, and rebirth. She is often shown with skulls around her neck and one in her hand. Morbid as it may seem, these skulls actually represent the death of the ego. Even though the image of Kali may be jarring or even scary, she is the personification of shadow and can help you get in touch with darker aspects of your ego that you may be avoiding.

Lillith

The Goddess Lilith has roots in several cultures and religions including ancient Sumeria and Christianity. She's referred to as both a demon and a seductive sex Goddess. Lilith is in touch with her sexuality which has caused men to fear her. She represents equality between men and women. Connect with Lilith to explore any sexual shadows you may have hidden.

Hecate

Hecate is a Greek Goddess of witchcraft and magic, she's closely related to ghosts and death. Hecate is often shown standing at a fork in the road as a reminder to examine our motives clearly before making a decision. She offers protection and wisdom. Hecate is perfect to work with if you're going through transitions. Ask for her guidance to shed light on the shadow side of changes you are going through.

Once you’ve found a goddess or god that you connect with, place a card, picture, or statue of her on your altar or in a place you’ll see it regularly to offer inspiration while meditating or journaling.

One of my favorite ways to connect with the goddesses is through The Goddess Oracle card deck. It doesn’t shy away from the dark goddesses, and my readings are always so powerful when they show up!

3. Create an Altar Space to Explore your Shadow Side

Altars are powerful healing tools. Much like a sacred container, your altar can hold space and energy for difficult emotions, traumas, and experiences. An altar can be as small or large as you'd like. It serves as a physical representation of what you're working on or working through. Small objects, tarot or oracle cards, crystals, herbs, pictures, or journal entries, etc., could all be parts of an altar. Learn more about creating an altar here.

To implement an altar for shadow work, start by selecting some representative items of what you're working through. It could be as simple as a black candle and a piece of rose quartz. Use the altar space to meditate at, call upon some of the Goddesses mentioned above, cry, yell, journal, process. When you're done, leave the energy you created at your altar space. You can go about your day knowing your feelings are safe at your altar, ready to be revisited when you're ready. The altar space will also serve as a reminder of your commitment to integrating your shadow.

4. Work with Supportive Crystals

Several crystals can be used for helping you with shadow work, but these are my favorites. Here are my top 3 picks for crystals to recruit for starting shadow work:

Snowflake Obsidian

This grounding stone is my top pick for shadow work. It can help open the door to your shadow side by bringing emotions, patterns, and fears to the surface. Black obsidian is also good for shadow work, but the balancing flecks of white in the snowflake version soften and balance its energy nicely.

Blue Kyanite

This stone is the softer, subtle version of snowflake obsidian. If you’re looking for a very gentle introduction to shadow work, kyanite is your stone, or you can just add it to your shadow work crystal collection! Kyanite comes with a host of other benefits but is helpful for recalling old memories and working through obstacles.

Rose Quartz

Shadow work will most likely bring up strong emotions for you. It’s important to bring in some soothing self-love energy while diving into shadow work, and rose quartz is the mother of loving vibes!This quote really says it all.

“If darkness is the absence of Love, then the most effective tonic to use in healing internal shadow is self-love. The more love we flow into our deepest wounds and darkest emotions, the quicker we are able to clear and raise our vibration.” - Jennifer Diamond

Place your shadow work crystal on your altar or in a place you’ll see them regularly. Another good alternative is to wear these stones for a beautiful and powerful reminder of your intention to do shadow work.

5. Draw, Paint, Write & Journal

You may find that tapping into your shadow side is more difficult than you thought. If you find yourself stuck in positivity mode, grab a pen or paintbrush and spend some time journaling and creating. Allow yourself time to create and/or journal without any outcomes in mind and let your subconscious flow. You might be surprised what naturally comes up when you commit yourself to some no expectation creative time.

This is the perfect time to keep some snowflake obsidian or kyanite nearby to help bring your darker side to the surface.

I also created an infographic for those who like visuals, and I added more ways to process shadow work.

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Shadow work is not a one-and-done kind of deal. This is work that will happen over a lifetime. Every time you uncover and process one thing, you'll usually find there's more underneath. It's part of the process of being a whole human.

8 Simple Gratitude Rituals

What does gratitude do for you? It brings a sense of peace within you where there might otherwise be turmoil. Gratitude calms your nerves and makes you right-sized. All of that doesn't happen on its own. Gratitude is a state of being that can be accomplished more readily if you are vigilant about revisiting the gratitude rituals that work for you...and maybe even throwing in some new ones!

Practicing gratitude allows you to realign your roots with the universe. It can aid in manifesting your desires and help to pull you out of catastrophic thinking.  Keep scrolling for eight simple gratitude rituals to add to your practice.

1. Make a Gratitude Box

When we aren't getting what we think we should have, it's easy to lose sight of what we are grateful for. To help with this amnesia, create a Gratitude Box. Every day, put a piece of paper in it and scribble something on it that you are grateful for. In times of need, open your gratitude box and read the slips of paper. When you think you are having a tough day you might pull out a slip from a time when you were grateful for the roof over your head. For me, I know that most of my problems today are “luxury problems.” If I find myself upset that I didn't get a day off from work, I might pull out a slip of paper reminding me that I should be lucky I have such an awesome career in the first place!

2. Play the Appreciation Game

This gratitude ritual comes from Gabby Bernstein who is a goddess of gratitude and manifesting. She recommends playing the appreciation game, based on the idea that it’s good to feel good.

To play this game, “follow the fun” by focusing on what’s thriving in your life. Start to speak out loud a list of all the things you appreciate. This can range from simple physical things like your favorite ring or yoga pants to your amazing career or best friend. Start small and allow the vibration of gratitude to take you deeper and deeper into what’s thriving in your life.

If you get stuck for a moment, return to something you already said! Try to do this for at least 3 to 5 minutes, and afterward notice how you feel.

It can also be really fun to do this with another person or even a whole circle of people. Hold space for another to speak their blessings out loud, and then allow them to hold space for you.

3. Meditate with Mantras to Inspire Gratitude

Incorporate a version of this mantra that resonates with you into your meditation practice: I know the abundance of the Universe flows to and through me, and I receive freely without hesitation. I am so grateful for the abundance in my life, and I know it all comes from you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Gratitude is a muscle, and these rituals will help you flex that muscle so that gratitude becomes part of each day.

4. Ask Your Tarot or Oracle Cards

Try asking one of these questions, and then pulling a tarot card or an oracle card:

• What blessings are available to me now?

• What new blessings are coming my way?

• What am I grateful for in my career, relationships, or personal development?

• How can I express my gratitude towards myself?

• How can I express my gratitude towards others?

• What are the silver linings of challenges I have faced this year?

• How can I continue to create abundance in my life?

Tarot and oracle cards are incredible tools available to you as a mirror for your own inner wisdom. The cards you pull might give you a new perspective on certain situations or people in your life. To learn more about how to get started using tarot, click here. To learn more about using oracle cards, and get a free printable oracle card deck click here.

5. Create a Gratitude Crystal Grid

Invoke gratitude by opening your heart chakra! Gain a heart-based perspective by creating a gratitude crystal grid. Green and pink stones will speak to your heart chakra. They will vibrate love, truth, and compassion. You might choose rose quartz and green kyanite, and harmonize all of the stones with some clear quartz. If you are looking for something special choose a moss agate Merkaba for the center of your grid! You can find out more about crystal grids here.

6. Journal with Crystals for Gratitude

I encourage you to commit to doing this practice for at least ten days, and maybe even every single day. Before you go to bed each night, make a list of 10 things that you were grateful for today. You can use rose quartz to open the heart chakra, petrified wood to ease fear and connect to your deep roots, and tiger eye for balance and harmony as you journal.

What amazing things happened? What is the opportunity that something not-so-amazing may be creating for you? Create a journal specifically for this gratitude practice and flip through it when you feel discouraged to remember how blessed you are.

7. Work with Essential Oils for Gratitude

Part of being grateful is staying grounded. It's planting your roots in what matters, and letting go of everything else. For scents that inspire gratitude, choose earthy oils such as patchouli and cedar. To keep yourself firmly planted in the present try this rollerball blend with your favorite carrier oil (mine is sweet almond oil!!)

• 5 drops patchouli

• 5 drops sandalwood

• 5 drops frankincense

• 5 drops ylang ylang

8. Get Outside

It may be chilly and gray where you live, or maybe it’s beautiful and sunny. Either way, take a walk outside sans cell phone and challenge yourself to be really present. Notice the beautiful things you see. They could be really simple— the shapes of the clouds in the sky, the color of the grass, a crisp leaf on the ground.

Beyond feeling amazing after practicing these rituals, carrying a heart full of gratitude is a great way to usher in a new year! Above all, be kind. Ultimately, gratitude is an action. It's a display of thankfulness.

6 Steps to Creating Positive Emotional Anchors

Have you ever wished that you could trigger a certain emotion at any given time? Sure, its healthy to move through uncomfortable emotions in order to heal. However, some negative emotions can become enslaving and stop serving a purpose.

Creating positive emotional anchors is a great tool for combatting your daily triggers. Bonus, it’s pretty easy, and you probably have everything you need (maybe even in your purse!).

If you’ve had it with overriding emotions of fear, anxiety and depression, I invite you to add this to your enlightened tool belt. Having a go-to emotional anchor is kind of like having your favorite person on reserve for a hug anytime you need it. It may not be a cure-all, but it’s certainly lifted me out of some dark places on the spot.

What Is a Positive Emotional Anchor?

Anchors are what link us between our present emotional state and a more preferred one. You might already use an anchor without even knowing it. Take music, for example. Maybe you’re dreading going into work, your favorite song comes on in the car, BAM your mood is instantly lifted and you’re ready to take on the day.

Unfortunately, hearing a song that reminds you of someone that’s no longer in your life may take you in a fast downward spiral. Scents, sounds, tastes and imagery all have the power to swing you one way or the other.

So, how can you use these to your benefit?

How to Create Your Anchor

Forming an anchor can be simple, it just takes practice. The more you can reinforce your anchor with all of your senses the better. That’s right, pull out the big guns for this one, your favorite scent, mudra, imagery and mantra. Here are some steps to get you started:

1. What emotional state are you in need of most? Maybe it’s a feeling of safety, calm, happiness, or peace. We’ll build from the emotion you’d most like to bring into your life.

2. Pick a scent that matches your emotion. I use lavender for mine.

3. Choose a touch sensation that you can do while smelling your scent. This could be a simple mudra, maybe placing your hand over your heart, whatever feels right to you. Keep in mind you’ll need to be able to do it with one hand and you might need to use this tool in public so maybe don’t use placing your leg behind your head as your touch sensation ;)

4. Decide on imagery that brings about the emotion you’re aiming for. This could be imagining you’re in a calm forest or simply imagining an object. I use the image of a feather for mine.

5. Bring something auditory into the mix. This could be a favorite song, though you might not always have this available so a mantra is a great option. It can be something as simple as repeating, “I am safe”, “I choose peace”, or “so hum”.

6. Now bring all of your tools together for one superpower of an emotional anchor. The next time you start to feel your anxiety or sadness triggered and need a boost, find a few moments to implement all of these at once.

Tip: The more you do this the more ingrained it will become in you. Our negative triggers form over years and this positive one will need time too. Treat this like a mini-meditation practice, the more you use it the more powerful it will become.

The best part is, you don’t have to do all of these things at once. If I’m in a public space but need some calm I’ll hold my mudra and quietly say my mantra to myself for some quick relief.

No matter what emotion you are choosing to anchor, feel relief in knowing that you don’t have to be at the mercy of your negative emotions today. Find power in choice. You have options today.