Lunar Mapping for a Pleasureful Future

For thousands of years, the moon has waxed and waned through our shared sky; she's seen what we are all capable of, and has offered guidance with an unmatched celestial grace. There is so much to learn, and she is brimming with excitement to share, babe.

How can we integrate the moon's guidance as we dream into more pleasure-full futures?

A self-care and pleasure based practice is most potent when ritualized; a string of actions, thought patterns, or movements that we can return to with purpose, building relationship as we go. The moon embodies the cyclicality of ritual and offers a way for us to connect to our own bodies. When we track and connect to the moon's phases, we can see our own pleasure journeys mirrored there. With the moon as our guide, we can invite pleasure into our daily lives.

A full lunar cycle lasts approximately twenty-nine and a half days — during this period, the moon moves from New Moon to Full and back to New again. Each of the lunar phase has meaning. Looking to the moon for guidance and support as we track how we feel in our bodies throughout these phases can shed light on our needs, desires, and our body’s pleasure rhythms.

Setting a pace for pleasure through lunar mapping is an act of devotion.

To begin your lunar mapping work, take out your planner or open a calendar app on your phone. Look ahead at the next two weeks and see if you can find a gap for your pleasure to take root in — is there an hour or two between appointments on a Sunday afternoon? Do you have ten free minutes on Wednesday morning you can devote entirely to your own pleasure? You don't need to know how each of the lunar phases impact and influence your sensual body just yet; what's most important as you begin this process is noticing your own rituals, habits, schedules, and patterns.

In your planner, mark this empty gap with the words "Lunar Devotion Date." Consider this time a radical declaration to reclaim your pleasure, cosigned by the moon. Dream into what nourishes you — is it a sacred bath, taking yourself out on a dinner date, wrapping your naked body up in a luscious silk robe after an oil massage? Make a list of pleasure-stoking actions you can take on this lunar devotion date.

Next, look up what phase the moon will be in during your self-date. If you're entirely new to the lunar phases, resist the urge to look up what it means. Instead, give your intuition permission to explore the information your body already has on hand. Make space on your altar for symbols of this lunar phase; draw it on a piece of paper, collect items of significance that carry the same energy of this lunar phase, sit and reflect on the feelings that surface in your body when you think about this lunar phase. These are all small acts of devotion — all invitations towards relationship.

Throughout the days leading up to your lunar devotion date, take an additional pause each day to consider how you felt in your body. Did you experience or desire any kind of pleasure? Alternatively, what stopped you from seeking out that pleasure? Take specific note on days you felt deeply in your pleasure, as well as days you needed an extra boost.

Once you arrive at your pleasure date, challenge yourself to really lean into it, especially if it’s a day that you’re needing extra support. Afterward, reflect on how it felt to have pleasure scheduled into your day. How did connecting your body and emotions to the lunar phases feel? Journal and record your thoughts. If it feels good, repeat this practice for another two weeks, choosing another gap in your schedule to fill with lunar pleasure. This practice will guide you through an entire lunar phase, regardless of which phase you started in.

We invite you to continue this practice on your own! As you move deeper into the lunar cycles, try to schedule in more and more pleasure.

Building a Devotional Lunar Altar

If you’re struggling to nail down just one act of pleasure to schedule into your lunar devotion date, start with building your devotional altar to the moon. A lunar altar can be a both a landmark and sacred space for reflection. With your altar you can create a physical reminder of the lunar support available to you.

This altar can be as simple as a candle that you light before you begin lunar work, or can be as complex and full as you’d like. Let your pleasure lead you as you create this altar.

Begin by taking out your journal or lunar tracker, and lighting the candle. If you’d like, speak aloud your devotion to the moon: talk to the moon as you would an honored guide, a friend, an ancestor. Give yourself permission to let the words flow, babe. This is practice is for you and you alone.

Once your altar is ready, journal about your relationship to pleasure and why you've started this practice. How does seeking out pleasure make your body feel? What support or tools would you need to live out your most pleasureful life? Remember that pleasure work is inherently liberatory, radical, magical. Be tender with yourself if feelings of shame, fear, regret, or anger join you in the space.

Each time you reflect on your day and track the lunar phase, return to your altar. This space is devoted to you just as much as you are devoting yourself to it.

Suggested Pleasure Acts Through the Lunar Phases

New Moon:

Stretch and move your body in the dark. Hum softly to yourself by your altar and let the sound carry.

Waxing Crescent:

Charge your favorite skincare potion by leaving it on the window sill overnight. In the morning, apply it while listening to your favorite song.

Make art, wildly! Anything is possible in this moment.

First Quarter:

Make yourself a delicious snack or hearty meal. While adding in your ingredients, reflect on the person you are becoming — envision each of your chosen ingredients nourishing your future. This dish is an offering to your self; past, present, and all that's yet to be.

Full Moon:

Take a luscious bath! Add in some bath salts or oils, sink into the water and envision the moon basking in the water alongside you. Soak up her light as you do the water's warmth.

Last Quarter:

Write a letter to an ancestor and burn it in your hearth. Ask for their support with release, and making new space for pleasure in the aftermath.

Waning Crescent:

Celebrate your wins! Light a candle to honor yourself and keep it on your altar in the presence of your guides.

Dark Moon:

Take a cleansing shower — add a shower steamer for extra magic and envision the water washing away everything that is preventing you from seeking out the pleasure already available in your body.

The moon gives us sacred permission and blessing to be in our bodies. When we're stuck, we can look toward the lunar phases to remind us that life continues on. It’s okay to fall out practice and fall back in again, and the moon will always be there to support this journey. You are a magical gift to this earth, and deserve all the pleasure that your body can hold. The moon says so, babe.

Join us for a deep dive into the 7 traditional planets! We will be learning how to work with and learn from these celestial bodies by tapping into how we intuitively connect with their correspondences. Basics of Planetary Magic is a 5 week course that begins on 2/28/24 @ 12pm pst via zoom.