How to Strengthen Your Intuition Through the Lunar Cycle

Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all deeply connected to the moon’s 29.5-day cycle.

The human body is composed of approximately 60 percent water. Like the moon’s pull on the ocean tides, the moon similarly provides us with an ebb and flow of energy that can be observed if we take the time to notice it.

When we begin to track the lunar cycle and the ways it affects us, we instantly become connected to something bigger than our ego’s narrative, which often keeps us in a “never-enough” paradigm—the constant hunger for distraction, disconnection, or multitasking. Lunar connection and the development of intuition awakens us from this trance and connects us to something more grand.

Aligning with the moon’s waxing and waning fluctuations can support us in strengthening our intuition and becoming more emotionally intelligent.

How to Start Your Lunar Connection: Trust Your Instincts

One of the advantages that comes with being connected to the moon’s cycle is that twice a month—on the new moon and the full moon—you are given concrete dates to check in with yourself and explore what thoughts, habits, or attitudes need to be let go of in order to grow. Start here to begin your journey of connecting with the moon’s cycle.

Check In With Yourself Every New Moon and Full Moon

By regularly taking these days to check in with yourself, you can start to clearly identify where to make changes to align yourself with the life you most want to live. Discerning a clear yes or no from within is the process towards trusting your instincts. On these dates, ask yourself: Are my habits, activities, and choices really serving my higher self? This lunar commitment opens the portal for one’s intuitive nature to evolve.

Stay Nourished

As you work on developing your intuition in alignment with the moon cycle, it’s essential to eat nourishing food, stay hydrated, and get proper rest. You will be more likely to get a clear response from your gut instincts if your body is not struggling with indigestion, dehydration, and fatigue. Meditating or resting in stillness for at least 10 minutes a day will also nourish your intuitive capacity.

Use Gut Wisdom

When you find yourself doubting a decision or feeling a deep sense of stress or fear, check in with how you feel in the center of your body, specifically your lower abdomen—trust your gut. Start observing your decision-making process when you are overwhelmed or anxious. Keeping awareness, relaxing your breath, and giving yourself space to change is key to transforming these feelings.

Practice Mindful Speech

Slowly but surely shift habits that cause you to exaggerate the truth, repress your feelings, or overreact in harmful ways. Observe yourself as you act in these particular ways, gaining greater awareness of your behavior. As you bear witness to yourself changing, also take notice of the moon’s constant state of momentum and evolution.

What the Moon Phases Represent for Our Intuitive Journey

The new moon is the beginning of the moon’s cycle and can mark a monthly “starting point” for our intentions. This is a time to envision the upcoming month and to release any outcomes attached to the “final product” of what you want out of life. On this day each month, ask yourself questions like: What seeds am I currently planting right now? Are there any projects or soul care practices to begin this month?

The new moon is a time to honor and contemplate your inner life and internal process. It is a time where our intuition is heightened, so honor this energy with softer, more contemplative practices. Activities like a candlelit bath, ecstatic dance, restorative yoga, watercolor painting, and creative writing all help develop and honor intuition during this time.

The full moon is the middle point of the moon’s cycle, marking the full expression of our intentions. This is a time where drama, chaos, or stress may take over if you are not aware of your current triggers and condition. When we are fatigued or imbalanced, full moon energy may amplify reactivity and sensitivity.

Grounding practices such as breathwork, exercise, proper nourishment, rest, and creative pursuits allow us to tune in to our bodies, clear our minds, and become inspired by what we love. A simple question—What can I release?—will keep your intuition sharp during this time.

Bear witness to the shape-shifting moon as your anchor. In time, and with dedication, your moon-aligned intentions will morph into sacred rituals. Your soulful practices magnify under the guidance of the moon’s call. Steadily, layer by layer, outdated habits are shed. Your true nature expands, and stepping stones on your life’s journey will appear clearly.

Know that your intuitive process is unique to you. Believing in your capacity to be as expansive as the full moon or as refined and precise as the new moon will remind you that you are connected to a universal, celestial alignment. By turning toward the lunar rhythms for counsel, you will naturally gravitate toward a deeply intuitive and reverent process—in tune with the cosmic forces that are right here for us.

A Lunar Gazing Practice to Build Intuition

This practice can be done at any stage of the moon’s cycle. You will just need a place to sit or lay comfortably, and a pen or pencil and journal. Rest with each of these steps for as long as it feels necessary and helpful.

1. Gaze at the moon or visualize the moon before you.

2. Soften your whole body, breathing deeply and welcoming in a sense of release.

3. Set an intention to remove blockages and negative perceptions and perspectives from your mindset.

4. Open yourself to aligning with your highest, most balanced self, and greet the moon as a guide in this process.

5. Observe any shapes, sounds, inner impulses, symbols, or messages that may arise in this meditative state.

6. When you are ready, fill out the following prompts, allowing the answers to come from your center. You may choose to journal in length or keep your answers short. Consider posting your responses on your mirror or wall as a reminder of your intuitive process.

I connect with…
I feel…
I am inspired to/by…
I love…
I speak…
I sense…
I am welcoming…

Try these 10 full-moon affirmations during your next ritual.