PROGRESSED LUNAR PHASES: A PREDICTIVE TECHNIQUE
Photo by Mark Tegethoff on Unsplash
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One of the affirming and predictive timing techniques in astrology is the progressed Moon cycle. This cycle can tell you what kind of phase you’re in in your life and what’s next for you. You can look at this cycle to get an idea of when one roughly 30yr chapter in your life ends for another one to begin.
You’re born during a particular lunation phase indicated by where the Sun and Moon were located in relationship to each other. The progressed lunation cycle is the relationship between the progressed Moon and the progressed Sun. The Moon cycle is roughly 28 days. It’s in a phase for around 3.5 days (if we’re looking at the 8 phases of the Moon) so with the progressed Moon, that translates to years. You’re in a progressed Moon phase for roughly 3.5 years and the total length of your progressed Moon cycle is around 30 yrs.
To find out what progressed Moon phase you’re currently in, go here, enter your details, choose “whole sign” under houses system, and you’ll see a list of dates of your progressed Moon phases.
New Moon
This is when the Sun and the Moon are conjunct and the light is blocked, thus making it the darkest phase. The New Moon phase is one where you’ve recently completed an entire roughly 30yr lunation cycle. This signifies major endings and completions of a huge chapter in your life. You’re beginning a brand new cycle and planting seeds for a new, long chapter of your life. It’s a time of the unknown. Everything is too new to know what will become. You might feel confused, disoriented, like your life used to be full but is now empty, tired, uncertain, and needing more support. That’s okay. That’s how it’s meant to be. You’re not meant to have it all figured out right now. You’re planting seeds. It’s okay to try new things, get support from your parents, family, friends or community, be unemployed for a while if you need and are able to, explore, sleep a lot, rest more, and bathe in stillness.
Crescent Moon
This is the next phase, when the Moon gets 45 degrees away from the Sun. This is when the light is beginning to increase again like the sliver of the Moon in the sky like a crescent. The seeds you planted during the New Moon phase are beginning to sprout. You will notice that what you’ve been taking action towards is starting to come to life. You’re still riding the wave of a new cycle; new things, people, and events are emerging in your life. The old has fallen away; stay true to where your soul is drawing your attention.
First Quarter Moon
This is when the Moon is 90 degrees from the Sun at the first quarter waxing phase. Things are starting to grow in your life: relationships, work/career ambitions, living more of your soul’s purpose and building more of the things you want most in life. This is a time when you’re getting more serious about the seeds you’ve planted, and are taking deliberate, focused actions to see where and how your seeds grow. You need a strong, solid foundation to continue to nurture your sprouts, so this is a good time to create solid support structures that can hold your dreams, passions, business, projects, collaborations and relationships. The seeds you planted during the New Moon are becoming a lot more visible. There might be challenges that arise during this time that help you learn how to better nurture your plants. It’s okay to learn by trial and error and not have it perfect (as if you ever could).
Gibbous Moon
The next phase is when the Moon is 135 degrees from the Sun. The light is increasing even more and you’re getting closer to that Full Moon phase. What you’ve been working towards and building is flowing more now. This can be the most enjoyable phase because this is when the Sun and the Moon are in a trine, which is the most harmonious aspect, so things in your life might be flowing more easily now. Or, you might be feeling more confident about your life and what you want to be doing. Often the Full Moon phase is anti-climatic because the joy is in the journey, not the destination. Enjoy the process while you can.
Full Moon
Here we have the Moon directly opposing the Sun at the 180 degrees phase at peak brightness. This is a culmination period of all that you’ve been building and nurturing since the New Moon. It’s a time of acknowledging and celebrating all that you’ve accomplished, and all of the ways you’ve tried. Since the Full Moon is full illumination, all of your successes and “failures” will be highlighted. It’s a time of heightened activity so there can be a lot going on in your life, and often a mix of things you’re proud of as well as things you’re not happy about or things that haven’t worked out the way you wanted them to. And, that’s okay. You’re human. This is how it is.
Disseminating Moon
This is when the Moon begins to wane. Full illumination has already happened and the light is starting to decrease again. You’re riding the wave of the “peak” Full Moon period letting it take its course. You might start to get inklings about the next phase of your life and wanting to do something different, but you don’t know what yet. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. If you feel confused during this phase, no need to worry, it’s a Full Moon hangover. Trust that this is part of the cycle and you don’t need to know what’s next. Go with the flow and let your intuition guide you.
Last/3rd Quarter Moon
Here the Moon is a quarter away from completing its cycle. In this phase, you’re reflecting on what happened during the Full Moon period and making meaning out of it. What you were working towards during the waxing phases culminated at the Full Moon. What’s done is done and you’re in a mode of contemplation. This time can bring up a variety of emotions about how your life has been throughout this cycle. You might be feeling like you want to make some changes, but you’re not feeling 100% clear on what those changes are yet or how to make them happen. It’s okay to rest in the unknown space as this progressed lunation cycle is nearing its end.
Balsamic Moon
This is the last phase in the lunation cycle. As you get closer to completing an entire progressed Moon cycle, the activity can actually heat up to pack in what needs closure and completion so that once your New Moon begins, your slate is clear. This phase can bring people back from your past that you still have unfinished business with, whether that’s getting back together with an ex, an old friend, or reminders of what was going on for you during earlier phases and wrapping up this cycle. Whatever comes back from the past will be an opportunity for you to find out whether it is aligned with where you want to go from here into the future. In addition, the things your soul is ready to do in the next cycle of your life usually hunger within and you begin moving down a new path fulfilling your next purpose.
Want to learn more about the progressed moon phase you’re in? I recommend booking an astrology reading where we can dive deeper into what stage you’re currently in and what’s next for you.