Teach Your Daughters to Love the Moon is a mother’s manifesto about how to raise daughters who burn, flow, hunt, sow, bare, howl, and shine. Now more than ever, we need to raise strong women who are in touch with nature and themselves.
Teach your daughters to burn. Teach them to fly their flaming chariots across the sky, even in daytime when the sun can see.
Teach them to turn their faces toward the light even when it is dark, and that the darkness can help them see the stars and allow them to appreciate the smallest specks of light.
Teach them that if they dare to glow the ocean will reflect their light, sending ripples in all directions.
Teach your daughters to flow. Teach them to allow for phases, for cycles, for the way everything waxes and wanes.
Teach them to sway toward the moon’s pull like the tides, to follow the oceans and currents, to move with the rhythms of the earth and the stars so they can take part in the dance of creativity.
Teach them to love the ebb and flow, to know that sometimes they will be more or less full, but that they will never be stagnant. Every phase is passing and there will always be more growth.
Teach your daughters to hunt. Teach them to learn to listen to the wild inside and around them, and to find their own sustenance so they can survive.
Teach them that even if they are small, they can eclipse much greater forces, for life is all about perspective and sometimes everything will align.
Teach them to embrace their dark side, to know that part of being whole is embracing the fault lines, the craters, and deep seas.
Teach your daughters to sow. Teach them they are always on time, always right where they should be, because time is measured by the way they grow. Teach them that there is a time for planting seeds and a time for letting go. That they can feel that time and reap the harvest.
Teach them that they can be harder than rock and break to pieces in catastrophe and still pull themselves back together into something brighter and more beautiful than before.
Teach them that night is necessary, that dreams and rest and destruction are the things new life is made of.
Teach your daughters to bare. Teach them to be unafraid of moonlight on their skin and comfortable with shadows, comfortable with shades of gray and reflection.
Teach them that they don’t have to be perfectly round or smooth to be beautiful, that even pockmarked and stretched, people will stare in awe, and they will be sublime.
Teach them to love the wax and wane of Luna’s body, the way it grows full and round and the way it becomes a sliver, at just the right times, so that they can also love the wax and wane of their own bodies.
Teach your daughters to howl. Teach them to call their kin and gather beneath the moon’s light, to know that they are more powerful together than they can ever be alone, and that the gravity of a group can support so much more beauty than a rock floating alone.
Teach them to look up, that there are worlds outside themselves, outside their houses and cities and countries. That no matter how small they feel, their actions send ripples across space.
Teach them to search the sky for answers and allow the moon to light the answers within. To know that everything they need is within themselves, precisely because they are part of the whole.
Teach your daughters to shine. Teach them that the world needs their light, their pull, their words, their movement, for life is fuller and brighter with their influence.
Teach your daughters to love the moon because you have shown them how.
The Writer’s Moon is a journal and planner for writers that helps you sync your writing practice to the phases of the moon. It’s a 30-day workbook for deepening your writing practice and getting more intentional and productive with your work by using the energy the moon has on offer. In this author interview, the book’s creator, Alicia Manson discusses her inspiration, her own writing practice, and how to use writing as a spiritual and therapeutic practice.
The Writer’s Moon
The Writer’s Moon by Alicia Manson is a guide that walks you through the process of using the energy of the moon to enhance your writing practice. You all know I love planning and goal-setting and you all know I love the moon, so I was quite excited when I met Alicia Manson in the Writing by the Moon Facebook group and found she had created a book that combined them both.
The Writer’s Moon has the tagline: Harness the Power of Lunar Energy to Make the Most of Your Time and Accomplish Your Writing Goals, A 30-Day Action Journal. It includes 30 days of goal-setting and journal prompts that help you explore what’s working and what’s not in your writing, and deepen your practice. It includes ideas for incorporating rituals into your writing practice, journal and reflection prompts, and space for goal setting.
The book is designed to begin with the new moon and goes through each phase of one moon, about 30 days of structuring your writing around the lunar phases. The book begins by guiding you through creating goals and brainstorming for the new moon. The majority of the work of writing happens as the moon grows into a full moon. And then as the moon wanes into the third quarter, you are guided to finish up your writing goals, revise, and remember why you are writing in the first place.
The Writer’s Moon is formatted like a workbook or journal, with space to write and answer the questions asked each day. Each day has a little introduction of motivation that follows the phase of the moon and guides you to deepen your practice. Then there are questions that prompt you to set your goals for the day and begin with intention before you write. Finally, there are questions about how everything went, gratitude, and plans for tomorrow that are intended to be answered after you write.
Manson’s book even gives practical tips and advice for writers, whether they are adhering to the moon phases or not. She includes ways to hold yourself accountable, ways to support your writing practice, ways to practice gratitude, and reward yourself for a job well-done.
I personally found that this journal helped me reflect on my writing both before and after the actual act of writing. Prior to this, I had mostly reflected after and it was helpful to do a little bit of thinking and journaling before I got started on my creative work. Also, there were simple ideas for making your writing into more of a ritual, and I find ritualizing your writing to be very useful. There were also simple ways to stick to my writing goals. I especially loved the prompt of gratitude each day, as I found it helpful to incorporate this into my writing routine.
An Interview with Alicia Manson
Alicia graciously offered to answer my questions about her inspiration, the book, and her own writing process.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for creating The Writer’s Moon?
A: The idea for this book came from my own writing process. Like so many writers, I have a lot going on in my life in addition to writing. I want to use my time in the best ways possible. I’ve worked with business/accountability coaches, as well as productivity and organizational experts, and learned there are various strategies to get All The Things done more efficiently; however, there didn’t seem to be many experts or coaches talking about ways in which we use the cycles of the earth or the moon to work more efficiently. This journal goes a bit further than the typical goal-setting book in that it incorporates loving advice, practical tips, as well as mystical solutions to the short-on-time writer. I wanted to put something out there to help writers like me who are incredibly short on time and are open to nature-based approaches to use their time well. I also wanted to show some kindness and encouragement to the writers who are in need of a writing coach, but for whatever reason, haven’t gotten one. This book is a DIY version of a 30-day coaching program. I help the writer using the book feel supported, encouraged, and excited to write. The journal also allows the writers to express themselves and their frustrations, and obstacles, as well as how to work through them. Last, the journal guides the writer on how to utilize the changing energy of the moon to write more efficiently. Just as it’s easier to swim with the current and not against it, it’s easier to do certain types of writing during certain phases of the moon. More fun, too.
Q: Are there other rituals or practices that you incorporate into your writing practice?
A: Absolutely! And I encourage others to explore their own energy patterns and work with those; test out some rituals that may be new to them; switch things up once in a while. Some of the practices I use most are inside The Writer’s Moon. There are endless ways to enhance your writing process, and these practices are also subject to change as we grow as people and as writers. One of my favorite pre-writing rituals is to do something meditative. For me, that means walking, doing yoga, and/or showering. The most effective mid-writing ritual I’ve found is so simple and shockingly helpful: I light a candle. I keep it on my desk in my view. Maybe it’s the power of the fire, or the focus it seems to provide, but I love it. During longer breaks, I go for walks outside. All of these have cleansing and transformative powers that I find necessary for my writing process.
Q: What kinds of books do you write? What kinds of writing projects are you currently working on?
A: I write the books I like to read and use, so I’m currently writing non-fiction and journals. I have several journals I’m using right now, and am currently reading 20 or more non-fiction books. I have several stacks around my room and pick one book each day to read from. My WIPs are much like that- so, so many. If you’d like to keep up with updates, you can follow The Writer’s Moon on IG, Twitter, FB, or subscribe to the newsletter by going to www.thewritersmoon.com. I update from there as I’m coaching, writing, and editing from that space.
Q: Do you have a favorite moon phase? Which is it and why?
A: I have several, but my absolute favorite is the new moon phase. The new moon (or dark moon) is hidden and dormant, and so are we during this phase. In this state of repose, there is room to grow. There is space for ideas to take root. It’s a place where our creativity can simmer, where we can rest, and like during meditation, the universe seems to open up and, if you’re available for it, it’s a time of massive receiving.
Q: How does your writing practice intersect with your spiritual or therapeutic practice?
A: This is the best question ever. These are so intertwined that I’m not sure someone could have one without the other. Journaling has been a part of my spiritual life since I could write, and I’ve used writing as a way to get through family problems, teenage angst, deep love, shocking loss. More recently, journaling has been a way to design my life. I write out often what I plan to do, as if I’m commanding the universe to co-create my future with me. I’m not sure I would have left a friendship that was no longer healthy if I hadn’t explored it deeply by journaling and reflecting on it. I may not have gotten the fulfilling career I’m now excelling at if I hadn’t written down over and over that I’m worthy of a career full of purpose and meaning. In the past 15 years or so, I’ve used automatic writing to explore depths of trauma and heartbreak that I didn’t want to dive into previously. You and I could probably write a book on this subject alone. Writing is a powerful tool in any spiritual or therapeutic practice.
For more on using astrology and the seasons to deepen your writing practice, check here. If you’re looking for more prompts and inspiration, you can find them here. And if you want to learn more about incorporating rituals into your writing practice, you might like this post about designing your own ritual and this ready-made ritual to inspire creativity.
Alicia Manson is an author, editor, and writing coach living in Cincinnati, Ohio. She received her BFA in Creative Writing from Bowling Green State University, and was an editor for a Cincinnati publishing company for over 15 years. On weekends and in the evenings, you’d likely find her spending time with her family, walking in the woods, lying in her hammock, playing guitar, or, more likely, writing.
It’s the golden hour, and all the plants are glowing as I make my way up the hill. The sky is shocking, pink and blue and purple, as if suddenly bruising from its collision with the earth. I want to reach up and comfort its throbbing beauty. The turning leaves soak up the last bits of sun and radiate as if they were autumnal lanterns. They light my way as the air turns dark.
The turning of the season and my northern-hemisphere body are at odds. It’s nearly Beltane. My blood wants to dance around fires throwing the cozy scarves and mittens of hibernation wantonly to the wind. My skin is expectant with the warmth of new beginnings, and yet the gusts here are becoming harsher. I push on. It’s not fall for me.
As the final rays of the day tuck themselves in behind clouds and hills, I reach the well. The very sight of the clearing tugs at something inside me. I finger the stones, making them melt and turn to sand, as if they were an old lover who’d been waiting for my touch.
In response, I remove my shoes and socks. My toes dig into the dirt and rocks dig back into my soles. The breeze lifts my shirt and grazes my belly. It’s all the impetus I need. The wind keeps nibbling at me, encouraging me, and so I tie my clothes to the hawthorn tree.
It’s cloudy tonight and I know it’s no accident. The moon is hiding in the shadow of the earth, tucked in the darkness of her cave as if in hibernation. She’s just waiting for her moment. It’s an up-side-down celebration here. The leaves are beginning to saunter away from their branches. The night is still pregnant with the potential of sprouts and seedlings, even as Antarctic winds raise mountain ranges of goose bumps on my skin.
I start a fire and I know you will be here soon. I wonder how many logs and how much kindling we will need to last through the night. The moon is flush and full. Beneath my feet, the phlox creep further and further from the well. The pink moss stretches its feelers toward unknown lands, testing whether those grounds hold lives that it can live. The dainty flowers look up to the moon and howl, reflecting her full, surprised face back in their flushed cheeks. They beam on a night like tonight. They gather in such numbers and their blushing blazes so brightly that even the moon blushes back.
You come with logs for the fire and no words. Before long we have our own sun flickering before us. “Ne’er cast a cloot ‘til Mey’s oot,” they warned us. It’s not quite May, but it is time to cast our clothes. The cold of the April wind nibbles at our skin and makes it blush, in brazen mimicry of the pink moon. The light is deafening, and I am exposed, as are you. The heat of the fire makes my frontside glow. The cold of the April wind turns my backside pink. I am round and glowing, a perfect salmon moon.
We dance in circles, falling into orbit around the fire. I am drunk on the pollen wafting through the air, and red, yellow, and brown leaves swirl around me. I can no longer tell whether I am surrounded by flames or trees or both. Stars leap from the fire, embers fall from the sky. I collapse into the embrace of the infinite.
Lost in space like this, there is no north and south, no spring or fall, only the endless expanse of new fires being lit.
Creative Commons love to phil dokas from flickr for the stunning photo!
As the final rays of the day tuck themselves in behind clouds and hills, I reach the well. The very sight of the clearing tugs at something inside me. I finger the stones, making them melt and turn to sand, as if they were an old lover who’d been waiting for my touch.