I have been a major nightmare-haver since I can remember. When I was about four, I used to try not to fall asleep at night because I was so afraid of my dreams. They were intense and disturbing, often gory, about things no four-year-old should be thinking about. I’m not sure where I got the information about world wars, tsunamis, and general apocalypses, but I saw them a lot in my dreams. I still get nightmares pretty often, but they don’t bother me as much as they used to. Here are a few things that have helped.

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. 

A lot of people will tell you that the first year of parenting is really hard. It is, and it’s also beautiful and amazing, and I’m sure you already know all that. Of course, our number one priority as parents is always going to be the health and wellness of our little ones. But there were three things we did in the first year that made our lives so much better I can’t imagine trying to get through the first year without them. And I’m quite confident they made us better parents, too.

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.

In February we greet the full Snow Moon. It’s a name that comes from various sources, including the Naudowessie band of the Dakota tribe. Because February has typically been the month with the heaviest snowfall of the year, it became the month of the Snow Moon.

Of course, it can be helpful to have some familiarity with the cards, especially the major arcana and the underlying meaning of the suits and the numbers, and there is plenty of information out there on these meanings. But no particular card explanation will be as important as how you feel when you select a card from the deck and take some time to contemplate it.

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.

I don’t always watch reality TV dating shows, but when I do, it’s Love is Blind. It’s absurd, high-drama schadenfreude, but there’s also something very real about watching these imperfect people try to figure out the braintwister that is modern romance. The concept is simple: couples meet and get to know each other through a wall and may only see each other in person once they’ve proposed. If they’ve gotten engaged, sight unseen, they have a month (a month!) to get to the wedding day.

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.