Why You Need to Uplevel Your Journaling Practice
Earlier this year I was introduced to the Morning Pages. I was amazed by how it enabled me to tap into an abundant well of creativity that had been lying dormant within. Then, somewhat recently, I stumbled upon the work of Claire Gallagher, The Body Astrologer, who introduced me to the wonders of lunar journaling in this podcast.
You already write down the date when you start a journal entry. Why not include the sign and phase of the moon as well? If you want to get really in-depth and you have a moderate grasp of astrology you can even write down your daily planetary transits.
With our modern lifestyles, not as much time is spent outside and many of us have lost touch with the moon and her phases. Lunar journaling allows us to re-establish this connection. You will be fascinated by the impact the moon has on your life. After all, she powerfully affects the tides. As beings made up of 60% water, is it really any surprise that her pull can influence us as well?
Combining lunar journaling with the Morning Pages has been a life changing practice for me and I am so excited to share it with you. It involves building up a body of astrological evidence and using this evidence to draw patterns that can improve your life. Here is a sneak peek of how I structure each daily entry:
A Page From My Book
As you can see, not all of what I have included is strictly astrological or relevant to today’s post for that matter, but I thought you might be interested in the other aspects as well such as dreams, goals, affirmations, etc.
In order to get the moon phase and moon sign information I use a paid app called Deluxe Moon. But you can easily get the same information from Time Passages, a fantastic free app, or a website- Moontracks which lists these facts on the right sidebar of the homepage.
If you want access to your daily transits you can find them on astro.com >> free horoscopes >> personal daily horoscope. Then you can enter your natal information and it will provide you with your free personalized horoscope which includes and is based off of planetary transits.
So what does it all mean?
Claire describes the moon sign as being related to your mood. For example, “How do I feel when the moon is in Leo?” Whereas the moon phase is related to your energy levels, ability to take on work and the volume of your life at this moment.
Mood, physical symptoms, energy level and workout motivation/performance are all worth noting. You may begin to see patterns or correlations emerge from this data, allowing you to become deeply in tune with your mind body.
Claire advises against drawing and analyzing patterns until you have at least three months worth of lunar journaling under your belt. And it needs to happen at least three times to be considered a pattern. Only then may you go back and examine clusters of symptoms- both physical and mental/emotional.
For example, hmmm… during a Taurus moon I have a tendency to experience phlegm in my throat, perform really well in weight training and have a desire to prioritize self-care. Or, during a waning moon my body craves rest and sleep much more than usual. You may also notice that you have more difficulty with some elements (for example: air signs) than others.
Reflective Questions
Claire suggests that you study your patterns ask yourself the following questions:
“Why was this difficult?”
“Why did this symptom occur?” << Look for the astrological root in your birth chart
“What is this information telling me to do?”
“What actionable step is it nudging me towards?” <<most important
This is meant to be an empowering exercise that allows you to tap into lunar influences and gain a better understanding of yourself. You can certainly use this information to your advantage, it is limited only by your creativity. For example, you might decide to schedule a product launch during a (waxing) Gemini moon when people are naturally more inclined towards social networking and it is easy to drive a lot of traffic. Or scheduling a therapy session during a transformative Scorpio moon when you can easily access your deepest, darkest emotions to get to the root cause.
Generally speaking, in my own practice, the lunar journaling and goal setting aspects will take up an entire page and then I will write three additional pages that are my traditional Morning Pages.
As always, take what resonates and leave the rest. However, if lunar journaling is something you feel passionate about, I would recommend consistency as this will yield the greatest insights. It is difficult to discern a pattern if you didn’t journal at all during the full Capricorn moon for example.
If you have any journaling practices that have aided you in your journey towards personal growth please share them with me, I would love to hear about them.
