Moonology - how to practice moon ceremonies, and so much more

By Yasmin Boland, with the subtitle Working with the Magic of Lunar Cycles

I had been paying attention to the moon and her cycles for some time before reading this book, and always wished I knew a bit more about it. For example about what it meant when they said the full moon is in gemini or in taurus. Or how I could ‘work’ with the moon more effectively. After hearing Yasmin Boland speak at a festival in 2019 and buying her book there, I haven’t missed a single full or new moon ceremony; I’m hooked to the lunar cycles, thanks to Yasmin and her book!

Read this book if…

• If you’re curious to find out more about how you are influenced every day by the position of the moon.
• If you know – or maybe also feel – the moon has effects on how you feel or what is coming into your life, but you want to know more about why that is, and what effects to expect.
• If you wonder how you can let the powerful energy of the moon support you in your manifesting activities.
• If you want to know how you can use the influence of the moon to let go of old energies (resentment, situations, grudges, fears) still effecting you.

What the book is about (including quotes)

Moonology’s explanations about how to use the New Moon and the Full Moon phases were the best I’ve ever read about. You learn in a very practical way what you can do – and if you want more information, detail or explanation it is all there as well if you need it, but it’s not necessary to start using the magic of the moon.

I’ve been posting on Instagram Stories for a long time talking about “Have you made your forgiveness and gratitude list yet?” That wisdom comes from this book a hundred percent.

In the book, the new moon comes first. This phase is all about manifesting your wishes. If you’ve learned elsewhere about manifesting, the new moon is the perfect moment to do your manifesting. First, Yasmin talks about the Golden Rules of New Moon Manifesting. These are a lot like other manifesting tips and practices you can learn about, but if you want to learn, I really like Yasmin’s style in explaining how you can get the most out of it. My personal favorites are explained in a very clear and wise manner by her too. The first is to wish for a ‘feeling’, because, as I understand it, wishing works best if you connect your material wants to the feeling you connect to it, how do you want to feel? And the second, often neglected one, release your attachment to the outcome. If you want your wishes to come true, it is best to let go how it specifically should look to you. That’s why wishing with feelings works so well, too! A lovely, supportive mantra the book gives us for this is “This or something better now manifests for me, under grace in perfect ways”.

The New Moon ceremony is explained in much detail and I love this part of the book maybe the most of all. I call it the Gratitude and Wish List. I sometimes don’t follow the whole complete ritual, and stick with intentionally and mindfully writing down the people, things and situations I am grateful for over the past month and then listing my intentions for the month ahead.

And then I burn the list: the perfect way to release attachment and surrender the outcome to the Universe.

And then we come to the healing and supporting Full Moon ceremony. I find it so very soothing to perform this ceremony each month, or lunar cycle I should say. It’s a beautiful time in the month to reflect and let go of all the stuff that has bothered you during the past 30 days. If you keep doing your Forgiveness and Gratitude List, you are making sure you are always energetically cleansed, as old resentments and angers and other negatives energies won’t remain piled up as energetic garbage inside of you. It’s like a monthly spiritual detox. Talk about practicing Self Love, right?

Yasmin also explains why the new moon and full moon ceremonies complement each other and can’t really exist without each other.

More astrology to make the lunar cycles even more relevant for you

If you’ve practiced lunar ceremonies, you may also, as I did, want to know what the zodiac sign mean together with the new or full moon. That way, you can write your lists of wishes, gratitudes and forgiveness much more intentionally and notice any special things going on in your life. The different themes that come up can really give you deeper insight into what’s relevant for you during this specific lunar cycle. There are also easy to use tables that show in which of your astrological houses the current moon is for you. That really helps you pinpoint what areas of your life are most relevant and active right now.

What this book taught me– and could teach you too

You probably guessed it…. I am a really big fan of this book. I already knew the lunar cycles influence me a lot, but I didn’t know how exactly. Moonology has taught me all the basics and gives me more details if I need it. I still use the book almost every new and full moon and I can’t really imagine my life without this wisdom anymore.

Highly recommended to start understanding the influence of the sky on your day-to-day!