Moon Mapping: Using Lunar Phases for Magickal Planning

Astrology & Astrological Magick
, ,
1

Moon Mapping: Using Lunar Phases for Magickal Planning

I am currently reading The Moon Book by Sarah Faith Gottesdiener, which details a strategic process for planning out spellwork (or general goal setting) she calls moon mapping. It looks very useful and versatile; it addresses actions and psychological blocks.

Moon Mapping

  1. Define a (spiritual / magickal) goal.

  2. List blocks and fears surrounding this goal.

  3. List the subconscious beliefs and behaviours underlying said blocks and fears.

  4. List habits that have arisen from these beliefs, and what changing these habits would look like.

  5. Envision a best-case scenario of achieving your goal, and work out which beliefs and habits would need to be transformed to make it happen.

  6. Plan this work out according to the phases of the moon.

Lunar Phases

  • New Moon: planting seeds, initiation, imagination, dreaming, recharging, envisioning, renewal

  • Waxing Crescent: creating better habits, action, starting a process

  • First Quarter: choices, pivoting, discipline, changing course, boundaries, overcoming obstacles, balance, refining

  • Waxing Gibbous: health, luck, abundance, expansion, growth, energy, fertility

  • Full Moon: harvest, creativity, sex, celebration, amplification, psychic ability, intuition, divination, ancestor work, emotional release

  • Waning Gibbous: second harvest, downloads, release, sharing inner wisdom

  • Last Quarter: balance, crossroads, research, subconscious work, uncrossing

  • Waning Crescent: cleaning, clearing, cleansing, banishing, internal work

  • Dark Moon: deep rest, death, endings, cord cuttings, banishings, acceptance, peace, acceptance, destruction before creation

The author offers free “moon map” downloads.

I am only 1/3 through the book but highly recommend it so far :+1:

Update: Having finished the book and attempted moon mapping I still recommend it. Its the tiniest bit fluffy at parts but it has a lot of depth. Its modern with a dose of radical feminism but still accessible and well-written. I found many valuable things to incorporate into my practice, including moon-mapping.

14 Likes
2

You always chose such great books to work through. I’ve been told a few times that working more with lunar cycles would be beneficial to me.

I have seen how when I by chance do something on a full moon, it’s an extremely powerful working, and clearly the lunar energy oomphs it up.

I’ll be interested to see what little nuggets of gold you find.

5 Likes
3

Cheers Ket :slight_smile:

I’m going to try this with an abundance working. New moon money bowl, etc. Still working it out. If you try it too, I’d love to hear how it goes for you.

4 Likes
4

Actually I’d be down to do it, it seems like abundance is always something I could use more of.

4 Likes
5

Love it! Especially the “moon mapping”.

My menstrual cycle syncs up within 1 +/- days of the lunar cycle. Usually if I am trying to add some extra power to a working, I will rely on my menstrual cycle phase (tracking it over time can be very beneficial, there are apps available, etc.) rather than the moon phase.

I’m interested, what do you think about women substituting the lunar cycle with their own individual menstrual phase? Would it be more/less potent? Would it depend on the type of work being done?

5 Likes
6

If I can comment on this:

The traditional view is that everything in the material world emanates from higher spiritual Ideas in the Mind of The One. However, the material world is an imperfect manifestation of the perfect Ideas.

Just as the Platonic Shapes are within all things, and when you make an artwork you usually draw the basic shapes within what you are drawing first, before working on the outlines, these Platonic Shapes are not perfectly in anything material. The perfect Circle exists only in the Ideal, but not in the material world.

With that said, you can say the menstrual cycle is an imperfect manifestation of the heavenly cycle that the Moon embodies. With that, I would rather follow the cycle of the Moon and consider it to have more power, as all things in this world follow it, and it shows that cycle at work in the higher Celestial world more perfectly.

5 Likes
7

This was a perfectly executed explanation, thank you.

Do you think the menstrual cycle would have any effect, even if (far) lesser than that of the moon, if one is using this kind of astrological association?

3 Likes
8

I believe it would, yes. For a woman, you can say that the menstrual cycle is the Lunar cycle manifest in the microcosm. So when you are strong in your menstrual cycle in a way that the Moon is strong in her cycle, such as when she is Waxing, you have strength which can be put into all endeavors done to cause increase, and that includes power placed into magickal works. But the Moon affects the Macrocosm, so this is best when the Moon is in an appropriate phase and your menstrual cycle is in the appropriate phase together.

3 Likes
9

This makes sense to me yet, if one is to view themselves as some sort of extension of the all, source or whatever-wouldn’t the blood of the exact personalization of that extension be intimately connected with that extension and its connection to that source?

Personally, I’ve yet to see anything more powerful than my menses (in ritual work), except my menses timed with a full moon. (In ritual use/not collection)

Edit: Dammit, old habits die hard, I’m always derailing @Mythopoeia 's threads… :woman_facepalming:t2:

4 Likes
10

Firstly, I would say, I don’t think any of this would work if we were not all extensions of The One.

Now, I’m not entirely sure if I understand your question, so please correct me if this does not answer it, but yes, everything in the material is intimately connected with the Idea that it descends from. The Planets are embodiments of those Ideas, and so through a grand chain, things descend from the Divine Ideas in the Mind of the One, multiplied by the Soul of the World, and descend through the Stars and Planets (This is somewhat of a simplified Chain from our traditional sources).

So, a plant such as Artemesia is intimately connected with Venus, as the plant is ruled by her. You will find the qualities of a planet within the Plant it rules (And, in anything else in this world that the Planet rules). For example, Cannabis is ruled by Saturn (This is from my personal divination, but our traditional sources say Hemp is ruled by Saturn, and Vedic astrologers also say Cannabis is ruled by Saturn), and so the plant exerts a strong earthly smell, that is a stench to many (Stenches traditionally belong to Saturn), and this Plant I find tends to draw all the creatures of Saturn towards itself strongly, as some time ago when I grew one there was one Grasshopper (ruled by Saturn according to William Lilly) that was almost only interested in this plant, and the Stinkbugs (clear link to Saturn) also congregated on them, along with Praying Manti (Which, I believe exert strong qualities of Saturn although so far I haven’t found a traditional rulership for them in our sources) who would not leave the plants.

Further, when the fruits are taken, they tend to slow down the mind, and either cause anxiety and fear, or relieve it (Traditionally, a plant ruled by a planet has the power to both cause and relieve the diseases of that Planet), along with depression and sorrow.

However, likely to show that all things ultimately come from one source, all the Planets are manifest in all things. According to Agrippa, in plants, Saturn rules over the Roots, Jupiter over Fruit, Venus over Flowers, Mercury over Bark and Seeds, and the Moon over Leaves. It is just that one or another planet usually has dominance in something.

With all that said, you can say the Menstrual blood is likely ruled by the Moon, along with Mars, who rules over Blood. The Menstrual Blood will likely be strongest when used when the Moon is strong, or collected when the Moon is strong.

3 Likes
11

The author addresses this briefly:

“If we get our period, and we find that we are more in sync with our hormones than the lunar cycle, it is important to take both of those pieces of information into account…if one of your goals is to become more aware of how your menstrual cycle impacts you, then take a deep dive into that aspect of your body, using lunar tracking as part of your process.”

Josephine McCarthy writes about how women have access to deeply powerful and primal magic when the menstruate; I think in The Exorcist’s Handbook.

The Moon Book also says it’s not necessary to start with the new moon, etc. All in all, I’d say it’s up to your intuition. It is lunar work after all :slight_smile:

5 Likes
12

I’m inclined to agree, but it does seem I have a lot to think about already with all the rest of the discussion.

2 Likes
13

Not derailing! Enhancing :slight_smile:

2 Likes
14

Is Artemisia not ruled by the moon?

3 Likes
15

According to Paracelsus, likely going from popular and generally accepted sources, no, it is ruled by Venus. Nicholas Culpeper in his The Compleat Herbal and The English Physician also attributed Mugwort to Venus. Looking at the plant, I also don’t see a very strong link to the Moon. Plants ruled by the Moon tend to have thick and watery leaves, such as lettuce or cauliflower.

As to it’s use in the menstrual cycle, and it’s traditional help in child-birth, these things can also be attributed to Venus, as Venus rules over the reproductive system and “members of generation”.

In practice, I would probably consider it as belonging to Venus and the Moon, but with Venus having more dominance over it. That is my personal take currently.

3 Likes
16

This surprises me. It is literally named after a virgin and lunar goddess, has silvery leaves, and is strongly associated with psychic abilities and spirit work. Interesting.

3 Likes
17

Looking through 13 Witching Herbs, Harold Roth mentions mugworts association with yang energy, thunder, and fire in TCM, and comments on its interesting fire/water and yin/yang duality. “Lunar fire”. Cool :slight_smile:

2 Likes
18

Actually, according to Pliny the Elder, the genus is named after Queen Artemisia II of Caria (Natural History, Book 25, Chapter XXXVI).

So, it is not named after the Greek Goddess Artemis, but rather after Artemisia II of Caria.

However, according to Pliny, the genus was beforehand called Parthenis, so perhaps a reference to Artemis, but it is hard for me to say, although it might be likely the case.

5 Likes
19

Thank you for looking that up and sharing :slight_smile:

3 Likes