When the Moon tarot card comes up (especially in the Dreamkeeper’s deck, above), I am also called to ask about grief. For me, this image is about waiting, about being in that twilight place in a long embrace with the past. What losses have I not fully processed? If I allow myself to change in the ways that I really want to, in the ways that I am really excited about, what will I have to let go of?

Energetically, a blood moon is an incredibly powerful time to set intentions, to release negative energy, and to try the practice of making moon water.

Women and people with female anatomy and/or hormones are said to suffer from chronic gut issues like IBS and Crohn’s disease more often than men This is partly physiological, but the more researchers look into these chronic conditions, the clearer it becomes that the nervous system and the gut-brain connection play a major role. Some of us have learned to swallow our emotions rather than express them. To stuff down our needs rather than insist they get met. Many of us (including me) have a history of disordered eating. It makes sense: we’re trying to digest way more than food.

Occasional gut issues like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, and gas are really, really common. Part of this is due to stress. And for the 10 to 20 percent of people out there who have IBS, it can be related to a misfire in the intimate relationship between the brain and the gut.

When your gut is unhappy, there are a few things you can do to help it calm down and get back on track. And there are more things you can do to avoid your gut turning sour in the first place.

Winter is a time of hibernation for many plants and animals, including humans. We may still be getting up and going to work, but we may find that we’re a little slower, a little more tired. We may lack the energy to start new projects or really get things moving until we start to feel that spring fire kindling within us again. Here is a ritual we can use to help tap into this thawing and igniting energy of the full Pink Moon of April.

April’s full moon has a traditional name given to it by indigenous peoples that would count time by the moons: the Full Pink Moon. It is named after the pink phlox that would cover the ground in April, indicating the first flowers of the spring season.

When we are seeking spiritual guidance, it’s usually because we are hurting. Something is missing within us, and we need support and reassurance we can’t get in our day to lives. We can feel that there’s something else out there, and we want to connect to it. That need makes us vulnerable. And a lot of people like to take advantage of vulnerability. 

For many people with IBS, especially people with childhood trauma, one of the strategies we’ve used to survive what is happening in our lives is to try to digest too much: to take on other people’s energy, to swallow our own feelings, to eat our needs and boundaries so we can get through the day.

After healing from sexual assault, sex has to change. Whatever our experience of sex before the assault and however it has affected our lives, sex can never be the same again. Here’s the good news: it can be way better.

March’s full moon is called the Worm Moon, likely referring to the movement under the earth that begins in the early spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a time when the ground is melting, the frozen earth is beginning to give way, and the worms begin to wriggle and move beneath the ground.

Though the drooping head and lost color of a flower might look like death, there is wisdom in its wilt. There is wisdom in pausing when we are going through something hard. Slowing down, as if our internal energies are hibernating. Just because we’re not “doing” something doesn’t always mean nothing is happening. That flower was able to come back to life again when the sun returned not despite but because it had the wisdom to wilt. This is true for us, too.

Humans are wired for connection and to have some sense of spirituality, whether it’s directed at a particular deity, to nature, the moon phases, or to community. And when we lean into the parts of ourselves that believe in the magic of all we don’t know, we are stepping into our own intuitive magic.

The waxing gibbous moon phase begins just after the quarter moon—when the moon is half-illuminated—and ends with the full moon. This waxing gibbous period is a time when energy is growing with the light of the moon; we’ve moved out of the contemplative, dreamlike new-moon phase and are galloping toward the full moon with energy and intention. In this vein, it’s the best time for a more energetic yoga practice. Here is a trio of postures to try.

Are you ready to get down and dirty to tap into the energy of the full Worm Moon?

March’s full moon is called the Worm Moon, likely referring to the movement under the earth that begins in the early spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a time when the ground is melting, the frozen earth is beginning to give way, and the worms begin to wriggle and move beneath the ground.

For me, empathy is a deeply spiritual practice. It’s a process of stepping into the shoes of another, of showing up without judgment to what’s happening emotionally in the moment, not only for the person I’m trying to empathize with, but for myself, too. This requires that I be able to feel my own feelings and take responsibility for them while opening to the feelings of the other. This is easy enough when I am trying to empathize with someone I love and share values with. It’s a more challenging practice when my reaction involves fear, hate, disgust, or confusion. 

For a lot of us, especially when we have experienced trauma, been through difficult times, or, like, ever made a mistake, trusting ourselves can feel more complicated. I mean, trust myself to what, exactly?

I used to think trusting myself meant being able to feel into my gut or intuitions and just “know” something. Like whether or not a certain person was good to date. Whether I should follow a particular career path. Should I buy a yoga studio? What I should have for lunch??

The problem with self-care is that it implies that your care is 100 percent in your control. It isn’t. We also need other-care and community-care. We need infrastructure care like health services and school for our kids. Yes, Zoom happy hours do help. But they aren’t the same thing as a hug from a friend you love or soaking up the music at a concert with your favorite band. We can’t access all the things we need to take care of ourselves right now.

Inevitably we dip into the darkness with each new moon, and that is to help us shed our outer layers and reveal what’s on the inside, what’s new and possible within us. This new moon aligns with Imbolc (Feb 1st to 2nd), an ancient holiday celebrating the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It’s also Groundhog Day, Candlemas, and Chinese New Year: all over the world, we celebrate the the shifting of the light, the moment where we start to stir from our winter darkness.

Our bodies have a way of expressing what we haven’t been willing or able to. When we listen to our symptoms, we can sometimes learn something about our lives, how we feel, and what we need as we move into the next phase of our lives. What are our symptoms telling us?

The psoas muscles are often to blame when dealing with lower back pain, sciatica, and even constipation and other gut issues. They have a relationship with our organs, nestled up next to the guts and the reproductive system, and they are strongly governed by the nervous system.

We must be gentle when we approach and try to soften the psoas, as they are deeply connected to our spirits and our experience of stress. Stretch all you want—these muscles won’t release until you feel safe enough to let them.