Season 2: Ep.08 - On Astrology & Full Moon

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Hello, and welcome back to Graceful Rulebreakers. I'm your host, Kirsten Lee Hill, and I'm excited about today's episode. I want to talk to you about my full moon ritual. That's right, my full moon ritual, because this researcher who loves data and hard science and facts, is really into astrology. I think it's an amazing tool for self-reflection. I think it's super interesting. I eat up books on it, blogs on it, I just think it is so exciting and fascinating. And I tell you, when I read about my chart and the placement of the sun and the moon and planets, I am consistently, my mind is just blown because I feel so seen. And I'm like, wow, how is it possible that just by knowing my sun sign, my rising sign and my moon, someone who's never met me can write this description that just encapsulates who I am. It blows my mind, it excites me. And I have just been super into this stuff for many years.

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And I will say I get a lot of eye rolls, side-eyes, I just, special commentary from people who think it's so ridiculous. And they're like, you can't possibly, you're a scientist, you're a researcher, you can't possibly buy into this stuff. And I tell you what, the Babylonians were into astrology 2000 years ago, ancient civilizations looked to the sun, the moon, and the planets and their movement in the sky to explain what's going on, on our planet, right? Like, this isn't a new thing that just got invented. This is a deeply historical, spiritual practice, and to me that says, like, there's something to this, right? And part of it is, I believe, as humans we have this desire to make meaning of the world around us. And so us and our ancestors have looked to the sky for answers, and we found them. And I think that is pretty amazing and exciting.

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So, let's talk about the full moon and some practices you can do to take this day or series of days, take this period of time to reflect on your life and move towards the life that you want, the life of your dreams. And I will say, I think disclaimers are important, I am not an astrologer, I'm not an expert by any means in any of this. I am a person who has developed her own spiritual practice and who consumes a lot of information on this, and I'm excited about it, and I know experts in this space, but I just want to share with you my practice, and my thinking about this, and if it resonates with you and you can take it and implement your own life, that's great. And if it doesn't, that's totally great too. No worries.

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So full moon rituals, as you know, you go outside during a full moon, the moon is full, right? It's completely lit up. And it's this time of completion, right? And so the full moon is a great time to release things that are no longer serving you, because it's the end of a chapter, right? It's the end of a marking in time, and I'm gonna admit something kind of embarrassing that I didn't realise. Every month there is a full moon and a new moon for, like, a very long time. Like, I was getting into, like, the moon and astrology and I was like, wow, this is so interesting, like, wonder how many full moons there are because you will read occasionally about full moons because there will be a special one, like a harvest moon or a pink moon and you'll read about them. So, it seems kind of like they don't happen that frequently. But no, every month there is a full moon and a new moon which means there is built into our lives and to our calendars, these periods of reflection. So, I take the full moon, end of a chapter, time of completion, time for me to let go of the ‘ish’ that is not serving me anymore. And the new moon, which I'll definitely have to do another episode on, that's more of a time to set new intentions, vision, planning for the future, because it's a new beginning.

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So, for the full moon, and I'll typically do this the week of the full moon because sometimes it's hard to do things exactly on the day of the full moon, we got to be a little flexible and graceful with ourselves, kind towards ourselves. So, in the time leading up to the full moon, a few days after, I do a bunch of decluttering. I let go of physical things in my space that aren't serving me and that I don't need anymore. I am like a constant donator / seller of clothes that no longer resonate with me, I'm just pretty good at, like, recycling things. So either, you know, selling or donating. But just looking at my space and being like, I don't need this anymore. I'm totally into, like, Marie Kondo. This isn't bringing me joy, it's got to go. Because if I want space for new things in my life, if I want space to create the life of my dreams, I need to make some space for it, right? So, I do a tonne of decluttering, and even just cleaning out my house a little extra, picking things up, you know, and just really preparing the space, super important to me. And then, on the day of the full moon, plus or minus a few days, right? If you miss the exact day of the full moon, don't stress about this. But I set aside at least five minutes. Yes, I set the bar very low, because I want to make sure I actually do it. I set aside five minutes to make a list of all the things I want to let go of. And what I mean when I say that is a list of things like thoughts and beliefs, and possibly even relationships that aren't serving me anymore, that are holding me back, that feel heavy or bad, or stressful, or that I know are sitting in the way of the future I want. And I make a list, and I'll usually title it with like the date and they'll be like, you know, June 2021, full moon, and then I'll be like with this full moon, I let go of... and then I just make a list. And sometimes it's a page, sometimes it's many pages, I make a list of all these things that aren't serving me anymore.

(7:35)

And just to give you all a few examples of the greatest hits of my full moon releasing lists, I'll put down things like any blocks that I have towards money, any fears I have around showing up more online, any resistance I have to being successful, negative thoughts that I have about my body, you know, doubts about my worthiness, resentment towards so and so, don't want to put anyone on blast, but you know, things like that, and I list them all down. And then at the end of my list, or I'll fold up the list to kind of make it like a little envelope, I will always write on it with ease, and grace, like, I let go of these things with ease and grace. And I think this piece is really important, because you can let go of things the easy way, or you can let go of things the hard way, and I want the easy way, right? I don't need life to be more difficult or painful or uncomfortable, like, clear these things out of my life with ease and grace. And also like, for my highest and greatest good, I like to say that too because sometimes I could be wrong about what needs to be let go, or you know about thinking that it'll be easier to let go than it is. So, I like to make sure it's for my highest and greatest good. And with ease and grace, and I write all that down.

(9:07)

And then I do one of the following few things. If it has been a really emotionally charged list, there have definitely been some resentments towards people that I have had to let go of that have been really emotionally charged, back like this, this Full Moon is one of those, and in those instances, I often burn the list. And if you're wondering, Kirsten, have you ever set off the fire alarm in an apartment you've lived in, burning your full moon list? The answer is yes. Practice fire safety, be smart about it. Everything was fine. It was very dramatic. But that was the full moon, I released a lot of heavy stuff. And of course the fire alarm needed to go off for all that releasing, right? But I'll burn the list. You can also drown the list. If you know, fire safety, you can drown the list. Or sometimes I save the list, because Hello researcher here, I like to look back and see what stuff has actually changed, what I've actually gotten rid of. So, you make the list, you do those things, and it feels… gosh, I mean, please try it and let me know how it feels, because to me, it just feels like this weight has been lifted. Like, I've been carrying all of these things that no longer serve me, they're taking up space in my mental, physical, the emotional, spiritual body. And by just putting them outside of me onto this piece of paper, I feel so much lighter, it is incredible to just release it and just surrender it. And to the universe. I like to surrender things to the universe, big capital U universe, and let it go.

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And this is a key follow-up step, right? You don't write these things down and then obsess over how they're going to leave your life. The idea with these moon rituals is that you're not, you're not controlling, because as I mentioned in a few episodes, we are not in control. And the more we try to control things and have that tight control, forcing energy, the more chaotic and haywire things can go. The idea here is you say, I'm ready to let go of all this with ease and grace, and you let the universe show you the way. And I again, I don't want to use names, I'm not going to use names. But I can tell you about… gosh, seven, eight years ago, I did one of these, and I wrote down a pretty serious resentment I had in a major relationship in my life that I was finally ready to let go of, right? And like I was ready, I put it on the list because I was ready to let go of it, it hadn't been on the list before, decided, carrying this resentment is not serving me, I'm gonna put it on this list and surrender it. And the next day, I kid you not, the next day, I ended up having to call that person for some reason, which is insane, because we hadn't spoken for over a year, there was this reason that I needed to call them that was very strange and divinely aligned. And I was talking to them, and I just had no more resentment. It was just, it was gone. I didn't have that resentment feeling that I had been carrying around with me. And it was in that moment where I was like, wow, this, like, this works.

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Like, I decided to let this go and it's gone, and just wow. It's not always that instantaneous, there are things I've been trying to let go for many moons and I haven't completely let go of them. But I do genuinely feel like I make progress when I consciously decide, hey, this is something that's not serving me and I'm willing to let it go and just let the universe show me the path and it really comes down to tuning into your intuition and being open to receiving signs about what steps after you make that declaration. What steps ought you to take to bring it to full fruition, right? And I just love the practice, I'm like, I have a huge smile on my face just thinking about it. I find it very healing. I'm really excited to do my practice for this full moon, I haven't done it yet. I like to light some incense, light a candle, just kind of create a really sacred, beautiful, safe space and let it all out so that I can let it all go.

(14:08)

And I encourage you to try it and even if you're not bought into the magic of the moon, I'm not offended, that's totally okay and up to you. I truly feel that these periods of time, that again like these are built into the calendar, like, the full moon is coming every month. It's these, basically scheduled times for you to check-in with yourself. For me, the thing to remember with astrology are the moons, and these different spiritual practices, is you can take from them what you need, right? It's just another lens, another framework, another framework, excuse me. Another framework that you can use to view your world, to make sense of your world, and I think it's helpful to have different perspectives and to have pushes to think about different things that are going on and why these things might be going on, and to be honest with you, other, you know, planetary aspects, other things that have to do with astrology, like Mercury retrograde and you know, technology going haywire and things like that. Also, for me at least, bring this levity into life, right? Like, when I am having tech problems during Mercury Retrograde, it's just, it's funny to me, it's like, it makes it less frustrating almost because I'm like, oh, right, it's Mercury Retrograde. It's a coping tool, right? And I just, I think if there are things that you can tap into, whether it's the moon or astrology or what the planets are up to, they can help you to process your energy and your feelings, why not take advantage of that tool, that fresh perspective, and have fun with it, right? Explore, see what it brings up for you.

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If you are intrigued by astrology, I highly recommend the book Born for This by Chani Nicholas. It is one that I read and reread, it has super helpful reflections in it. But it also just takes you through your birth chart. I can't tell you how many times I've texted my mom asking what time I'm born, that's very critical for having your birth chart. And I finally just have a picture of my birth certificates so i'm fine, but it's a really interesting read, I found it an incredible tool for reflection. And to me, you know, I'm bought in on astrology. I think it's tremendous and fascinating, and exciting, and I love it, and I believe it, right? And even within that, there are times when my horoscope or you know, something with mercury retrograde and not being able to sign a contract and all these things come up and I'm just like…meh, not for me, not right now, right? You can believe in things and not take 100% all of it. But even if you don't believe in astrology or you're, like, just Kirsten, not into it, not into it, that's fine, you can still take from this, the opportunity to reflect, and to me, that's what this is about. These rituals that are aligned with the moon are these beautiful opportunities to reflect on your life, to ask for more, to let go of things so that you can become more, so that you can become more of yourself. And I think that is a truly incredible experience, and I hope you'll give it a go.