Transcript: How To Plan By The Moon With April McMurtry

How To Plan By The Moon With April McMurtry

Whitney (00:00):

Welcome to Spiritual and Ambitious. I’m your host Whitney McNeil. I’m a certified medium and spiritual teacher, and I help spiritual and ambitious souls just like you live your life purpose through your career and attract abundance by connecting into your intuition and spirit guide. Let’s get spiritual and ambitious.

Whitney (00:31):

Thanks for listening to another episode of the Spiritual and Ambitious podcast. Today I have a guest that you’re going to love. April McMurtry is going to be talking about how to use the moon to plan. April is a dynamic lunar facilitator and course creator who supports people on their path of growth and transformation through the simple yet profound practice of self-study in relationship with cycles. So good. She’s also the host of the Between the Moon Podcast and the founder of the Moon is My Calendar which I’m gonna ask her all about and she has a special offer for you, so make sure you listen ’till the end. Oh, thank you so much April for being on the podcast. Welcome.

April (01:16):

Thank you, my pleasure. Thanks for having me, Whitney.

Whitney (01:19):

You know, I get so many questions from my students and they say, how do I best utilize the energy of the full moon? How do I best utilize the energy of the new moon? What does it mean? So I, I think this is such a profound and helpful topic and I was just thinking about this, I’m getting chills. I was just thinking about this the other day about how I need to lean more into my own energy cycles.

April (01:43):

Mm-hmm.

Whitney (01:43):

So I know that the moon is so powerful for you. Can you tell us a little bit about how you started to understand that planning could go with the moon and what it looks like for you?

April (01:59):

Yeah, beautiful. It’s really a part of it is welcoming in that the lunar energy, which in actually some ways is about planning for rest because the podcast is spiritually and ambitious, I am even currently sort of what does that mean to own being ambitious? I think it’s a word I’ve kept at an arm’s length, but I am such a doer and I’m such a lover of creating things. So the moon was actually how to not do, because in, in order to create and with every cycle, even with our seasons, there’s a time that’s needed for that, for the rest, for the not doing, and for all of the things really that society does not value and I think the moon is a part of that. Really, I mean, the moon was removed from the calendar that we currently have, right? The Gregorian Calendar. It doesn’t reference the moon other than some might have it sort of scattered throughout each month, but it’s not anchored in what is the cycle.

April (03:08):

So I love that question about what is the energy of the cycle and, and I say to work with that energy, I think that’s this shift for people who work with plants or work with crystals or shifting from how do I use this crystal? How do I use this plant, or how do I use the energy of the full moon or the new moon? And so that might be just this first teaching around how do I work with that, right? What’s available there? And that opens us into being in relationship when we’re working with something.

Whitney (03:44):

I love that. So moon is rest, and would you say the sun is action and doing, like, are they kind of opposites but also partners?

April (03:53):

Yeah, I love that, right? All opposites are actually two parts of the, the hole, the sun and the moon. I was just doing some research and reading yesterday about the history of calendars. It’s something I’m fascinated with, right? And my business is called The Moon is My Calendar. It’s pretty specific. There are, I mean, according to this, there are at least 40 different calendars that are,

Whitney (04:23):

Wow.

April (04:24):

I mean there’s probably more but that are sort of parallel or even alongside the Gregorian calendar, which has its roots in the Roman calendar, which it was all just a mess, like humans, were trying to figure out how do we calculate time? Because the moon is kind of unruly as well. There’s like not conforming into a structure that’s nice and tidy into boxes. The sun is a little more consistent in that way, but still we have this cycle of 365 days plus a quarter of a day, but it’s not exactly a quarter. So there’s even more reconciling that has to happen. So in some of the research it was saying the sun and the moon are incompatible, like you can have a Solar calendar or you can have a Lunar calendar but many calendars, for example, like the Jewish calendar or the, the Chinese calendar are solely Lunar. So they go by the Lunar cycles, but then also account for the seasonal Solar cycle.

Whitney (05:34):

Mm-hmm.

April (05:35):

It’s enough to make your minds, right, do some somersault to think about.

Whitney (05:39):

Yeah.

April (05:40):

But I do,

Whitney (05:40):

I was thinking,

April (05:41):

Yeah,

Whitney (05:42):

I was thinking, gosh, I had no idea. So, and now I’m putting together, if the sun means action and so many calendars are based on action and what you said in the very beginning, well, we’re not really honoring rest and if that’s the moon, it just shows you.

April (06:01):

Mm-Hmm. And that’s what’s valued, right? In a Solar society, which United States and much of the West is in this mentality of constant production that there’s no longer of like being in season. It’s just always available, whether that’s fruits and vegetables or whether we put that pressure on ourself of like, I’m always available, which energetically is more parallel to the full moon, like the full moon’s available. Like, hello, I’m here, I’m full, I’m rising when the sun goes down, I’m available all night long, like I’ll light up your night. That’s a more solar like on kind of energy. Whereas the New Moon is a like, where is the moon? Like why can’t you see the New Moon? And that’s being unavailable, which again, when we’re planning and thinking about how do I work with the lunar cycle? How am I planning for the times where I’m not available right now?

Whitney (07:06):

Mm-Hmm.

April (07:07):

It’s so important because I think anyone listening can has the experience of like, when we make ourselves always available, what does that lead to?

Whitney (07:18):

Yeah, absolutely. I had this revelation. I went to Jamaica for a couple weeks and I said, we are unplugging. We’re not gonna be around our phones. We’re going to be disconnected from all the things and I had so much insight that came through in a place of, I don’t wanna be always on. I really wanna dive into what’s important to me and the name of the podcast, Spiritual and Ambitious, the ambitious part sometimes we think of all that action, but also we can rest too.

April (07:54):

Mm-Hmm.

Whitney (07:55):

And so many ambitious people forget that we can rest, and rest as in fact a wonderful thing to increase our own abundance and our energy. And when I came back to really set my energy into the new year, what came up more was personal development, play, fun and there was so much I found in unplugging and the inaction that I thought, I remember this, I want more of this.

April (08:27):

Mm-hmm.

Whitney (08:27):

I need this. So there’s no coincidences. So glad that we’re talking right now and thank you for that insight about Full Moon versus New Moon. That makes a lot of sense and it’s actually something I’ve never really put together. So I think so many people are gonna have some ahas. And I wanted to ask you, how did you get into this work? Was it a personal push or how did that come about for you?

April (08:53):

Yeah, I think there’s, there’s sort of multiple, there’s like the tributaries that all were leading together. Some of it was early motherhood. I think having, after having children and realizing, oh, my, what I can expect of myself out in the world is different and how do I, how do I make that adjustment? I was meeting on the New Moon with a dear friend of mine at Cita Davis, and she and I just had, it wasn’t even like an official moon circle. It was like, let’s touch base and so that’s something beautiful, you know, for someone who’s just starting out working with the moon to identify when the new moon is and we didn’t do it when it was convenient, like, oh, let’s meet Friday or Saturday. It was like, okay, sometimes the new moon is on Tuesday and so we honored that for many years and it’s getting on the moon’s time of like, rather than adapting it to what’s convenient.

Whitney (09:54):

Mm-Hmm.

April (09:54):

So just to touch base, just to like, where have I been? Where am I going? This is often why it’s recommended, and I say recommended because I don’t like following formulas or even some of the moon teachings that are out there feel very dogmatic to me when I see them. And it can help to follow a formula if you don’t know where to start but the New Moon isn’t the only time to set intentions, right? We set an intention before this podcast.

Whitney (10:28):

Yes.

April (10:28):

Right? So it’s not this like limited, it only has to happen then. However, it’s such a wonderful time energetically to really just pause and take that time outside of the ordinary to course correct, to vision. Part of this work also came from realizing that pressure that comes with the new year, like the so-called New Year. Again, this one calendar that,

Whitney (10:53):

Right.

April (10:56):

It was a part of, I mean the Gregorian calendar was a part of also these conquests like of the empire of like standardizing and erasing other ways of knowing.

Whitney (11:12):

Mm-Hmm.

April (11:12):

We have that awareness of not just taking for granted that’s the only way to tell time or track time. January wasn’t even a month, like the year used to start in March on the Roman calendar and it was just a mess. So they were like, we need another month in here. Okay, let’s put this one in the middle of winter. Anyway, I say that because there can be a lot of hype or pressure around the new year to like, Ooh, I’m gonna vision. I’m gonna like, you know, that may work for some people’s own internal, what I refer to as like the harvest cycle, if that’s your time of year to do that. And if not, like trusting, oh my time is another time. I don’t have to get caught up in this kind of new year moment.

Whitney (12:04):

Mm-Hmm.

April (12:05):

And yeah.

Whitney (12:07):

Yeah. I agree. I definitely agree. One of the things that I, I talk about is we can set our new intentions at the new year, but you can set your new intentions at any time. And to be honest, for 2023, I didn’t really feel like the new year felt new to me. It just felt like, nah,

April (12:26):

Mm-Hmm.

Whitney (12:27):

And so it’s like honoring those who want to make a statement, but also at the same time knowing that it doesn’t have to be the, the end all and this is what it is and you can start a new cycle at any moment, at any time. What I really think a lot of people are gonna take from what you said too is ooh, get on the moon’s time.

April (12:47):

Hmm.

Whitney (12:48):

And we do plan things out of convenience. I just made a, a date with my friend because you know, we’re busy and it’s, oh, it’s the weekend. But what I remembered is I used to meet with friends on a Full Moon or on a New Moon and we just kind of got out of that routine so that was really key. And I think a lot of us out there too plan our weeks based on weekends and workdays. So this is an invitation for everyone to make your own calendar. It doesn’t actually have to look like that. So I wanted to ask you, what are three ways that you can use your lunar cycle to improve your business and life?

April (13:30):

Yeah.

Whitney (13:31):

Since we’re talking about this planning.

April (13:33):

Definitely really the first way is to look at what if something were to be more rhythmic in your life, like what would that be? Is it having more rhythm around mealtime and you know, food nourishment related? And then creating a rhythm that goes with a lunar cycle. So maybe it’s a rhythm of producing a podcast and looking at what are the activities that I wanna do around the New Moon? And maybe it’s just kind of dreaming into ideas or just that the New Moon is also a great time for stillness and listening and for insight to come in. If we stay busy, it doesn’t allow for that space for maybe something is like waiting for us just to be quiet. So creating a rhythm, then basing a schedule around that. Okay, so if the New Moon is a time, I’m just gonna be listening, maybe jotting down ideas, but I don’t have to act on them, building up, right? So the energy of the cycle, it’s very much like the breath of that exhale of the New Moon, and then when we begin the inhale, okay, well, what are some of, I’m reaching out, I’m opening up, maybe I’m writing and sending out a bunch of emails to potential guests around that time of the first quarter. And then, you know, looking at what are the different tasks or things that are a part of whatever the project is and then seeing with my podcast, I launched it last year. I actually, my launch was because I am more in this Lunar mode, which is more like possibly quiet or just more intimate. I didn’t feel called to make this like huge big announce-, like build up and all this like energy. I sent one email that was like quietly launching. I got more responses to like writing, quietly launching cuz I think some people can appreciate, like my nervous system is already on light, heightened vibration. I need something that I would then work with Full Moon and I was releasing the podcasts on the Full Moon, right because that’s more of this energy of visibility of being seen, of possibly just a more heightened, yeah, I think visibility is probably the best word. And it’s also a chance to celebrate, here’s this culmination of something. This episode, however much time that it took to kind of to bring everything together. Here’s this offering for the full moon. And then after that, having a chance to reflect, regroup, the waning time is like the exhale. So what are some of the activities that are more like the exhale? It could be, you know, in that cycle with podcast, it could be editing other shows to then be ready for the next cycle.

April (16:31):

So, okay cuz you said three things, how many things I cover? That’s really, that’s, that’s about being rhythmic, right? So it’s about being, okay, what do I need to be more rhythmic and how can I think about how that might align with different energies of this opening up, this inhaling and then the exhaling and trying not to fill up more, take on more in that waning time. Again, I say this not as being like strict, like you can or can’t start things at you know whatever the waning time, but for people who wanna kind of experiment with it and to see does this rhythm work for me, anything that’s rhythmic is just gonna have more ease. I mean the moon helps provide that. It’s almost this anchoring of a rhythm that most of us are just out of whack with that aligning with lunar time, getting on lunar time, can bring us back into this more rhythmic way of being.

Whitney (17:36):

Mm. I like that. So if someone were to launch a program, an offer, whatever it is, would you recommend that that be launched on a Full Moon rather than a New Moon, or close to the full moon from what you said? It doesn’t matter if it’s a podcast or anything, you just, whatever you’re putting out there.

April (17:59):

I actually think it’s partly what is the intention behind what you’re doing. I probably launch the podcast, the quietly launching, I usually send my newsletters out around the New Moon. So that was probably the time where was just like, here’s this whisper. Okay, here’s something.

Whitney (18:17):

Oh that’s so nice.

April (18:19):

But that’s my way of doing things and so someone listening, right, I would say experiment. You know, if there’s a program you have, try one launch on the New Moon. Try one on the Full Moon. There’s so many factors at play. So some of it is like, what is the energy we’re generating within ourself and our life that goes into it? And you know, for people who follow Astrology, there’s even just the Lunar Astrology of what sign is the moo and do you have a particular affinity to that sign? Or is your program, there’s somebody who I’m gonna be a guest teacher in her community that’s, I think it’s called Nest, and there’s certain words when I hear them, I’m like, oh, that’s a very Cancerian, Cancer.

Whitney (19:08):

That’s exactly what I thought.

April (19:10):

Right. It’s just, it’s like they’re right there together and, and so maybe she would do things that are more related to when the moon is in Cancer, which, what’s beautiful is every Lunar cycle, the moon goes through all 12 signs.

Whitney (19:29):

Mm-Hmm.

April (19:30):

So there’s always an opportunity to touch base with the moon in each sign. It just might not be on one of like the big main four phases but, yeah.

Whitney (19:43):

I see. Well I wanna ask you more questions about that. We’re gonna take a quick break, but I wanna get into a little bit more of Astrology with how you might utilize that in what you just said. So stay with us. We’ll be right back.

Whitney (19:59):

This episode is sponsored by my free spirit guide masterclass. Inside you’ll learn the five Cs of spirit guide communication, your role with your spirit guides, two proven effective strategies to stop second guessing yourself and your intuition, and the single most important step to understand your intuitive guidance, along with four ways to perceive your spiritual intuitive messages. You’ll also be getting a workbook to go through this class as well. You can join at messengerofspirit.com/freeclass.

Whitney (20:35):

Thanks for tuning in. I’m here with April McMurtry and she is helping us plan and get in tune with the moon. So April, you had just mentioned that the moon goes through different signs and it might be better to, let’s say launch something that has to do with the Cancer energy around the Cancer moon and things like that. So could you tell us a little bit more about how the cycle could impact our elemental energy? How it can impact our astrology? I wanna hear about that and I know everyone else will too.

April (21:12):

Yeah. What’s a good starting place? I’ll actually say, when I first created the New Moon calendar and journal, when I first created the tool, which came from this personal practice of connecting on the new moons, I actually felt like some aversion to Astrology. So it was really about the cycle, the energy, the seasons, the phases, this curiosity of what are all of the phases, not just the New Moon and the Full Moon, but everything, the whole, whole cycle, so Astrology wasn’t a part of it. To be honest, I think it was because my sun’s sign is Capricorn, which is associated with ambition and associated with success and associated with by climbing the ladder, climbing the mountain, like associated with capitalism even. And in beautiful ways like the structures where we can express our purpose, like in building those structures and creating those structures for whatever the legacy is.

April (22:16):

So there’s some beautiful parts to it, but in Pop Astrology, what I had always read even as a kid was just like, sounded like scrooge and coldhearted and like not generous and so I just shut it out, and because I think it can seem sort of deterministic or something. How I relate now is more on this elemental, the earth signs, the fire signs, this elemental way of that is something I can see expressed in nature inside of us all around us. So one thing might be to look and see what your moon sign is because that’s a whole other dimension of our astrological makeup is yes we have the sun, but where was the moon in relationship? Both looking at the phase, which can give us insight and what sign and the element of that sign. So I have that, that earth sun in the Capricorn and my moon is also an earth moon in Virgo, which is very detail oriented.

Whitney (23:28):

Mine too.

April (23:30):

Tends towards perfectionism, the internal, you know, all sort of the lunar side of ourself is usually only people who are close to us see that side of us. So it makes perfect sense now for creating a moon calendar. You have to be pretty detail oriented and precise and like, you know, even kind of finicky about I will get on a soapbox about when people talk about the Lunar cycle being 28 days, most of the time I don’t care about things having to be precise. I’m very like I can flow with approximate or just the feeling of something but when it comes to the Lunar cycle, I’m like, that’s not true. There’s not 28 days in a Lunar cycle, ever, and to make a calendar then to mark those days, it’s this practice of seeing some cycles are 29 days and some cycles are 30, and it’s never the same.

April (24:33):

There’s such variability and so creating the structure around that to allow for this flowing, you know, sometimes this, sometimes that. Again, when people say there’s 13 moon cycles in a year, there’s not. There’s not and there was a meme recently that said something about 28 days and 13 cycles and I was like, that would be lovely. It would be so much easier and then probably we’d still be all working with a Lunar calendar because that would work. Most of the time there’s 12 cycles and then every three years there’s 13, so it’s this both end. So that’s my little soapbox about that because I think it can be confusing for people who are like, oh, there’s 28 days and then if you actually count, you won’t get all the way to the next New Moon.

Whitney (25:25):

That makes sense.

April (25:26):

That’s why I think for creating this tool in the calendar to track that and to be in relationship with that, it just again can bring some more of that rhythm.

Whitney (25:37):

So it sounds like when you have a birth you, you find the sign that your moon’s in for your, your birth chart. It gives you insight on some of your gifts and what might be very important to you. So my next question is when the moon naturally goes through the different signs and let’s say, so I’m a Virgo moon as well and let’s say that the moon currently is in Sagittarius. I’m just making up the sign.

April (26:07):

The moon is in Virgo right now. So we are having, you and I

Whitney (26:11):

Double, right?

April (26:13):

Yeah. So we’re having what’s called like it’s the Lunar return. So our Solar return is our birthday. The sun comes back around and we mark that as this trip. We’ve gone around the sun. Our Lunar return then is whenever the moon is going through either the sign for us Virgo which is right now or it can come back around to the phase.

Whitney (26:36):

Mm-Hmm. So what would you recommend I plan in the Lunar return or anyone plan in their own Lunar return?

April (26:42):

Yeah, it’s so personal so it might just be tracking for a couple cycles. I like to use my highlighter in the calendar and so like I’ll highlight these, the moon is in each sign for two and a half days. So I’d highlight, you can get super precise and specific with the exact, exact degree, you know, at that exact moment, like ring the gong, ring the bell, something at that very moment or just generally here’s these two and a half days that the moon is in my sign. And what is Virgo like to do? And the moon helps us get our needs met. It is that nourishment. It is that feeling, there’s a reason why the moon is the guardian, like that Cancer and the moon go together because it’s like how are we nourished and feel at home and safe?

April (27:32):

And so what feels nourishing to Virgo, you know, for me was like researching.

Whitney (27:38):

I see.

April (27:39):

All these detailed things that I just, my mind, it’s a sign that’s related to mercury. So it’s like very, the mind can get overactive, so it could also be something that calms the mind or that wants to be stimulated so it could be a time for researching or getting something that needs to be precise. In general, as we started this conversation about how to plan with the moon planning for rest, it may be, this is your moon birthday. It’s your Lunar return. So how do you celebrate a Solar birthday? It’s often not for everyone. So we’re all different, right. Solar birthdays are often, like me. I’m at the center. The sun is at the center of our solar system. And so it’s like at the center with a cake, everyone’s around singing, you know, this is very stereotypical, but just that picture of a kid being the center of attention.

April (28:34):

Yeah. A lot of us myself include are like, Ooh, I don’t know. Do I wanna be in the spotlight like that? So our Lunar birthday can be more of the, nobody else has to know, but I’m gonna make this bath and just take this like however much time to myself. Something that helps to replenish, you know? And so maybe the word self-care is overused, but it is more along those lines of like a Lunar birthday and that can be your own special, you know, relationship to that side of yourself that you’re cultivating of like, I have to make myself rest. It’s not my natural, I’m speaking for myself. It’s not my natural and I think a lot of us. So okay, I’m gonna practice resting even if we have to show up for different roles and responsibilities in our life where there’s things that we’re needing to be on for, how do I show up in a way knowing this other Lunar way of knowing, I’m doing this away where I’m still, I’m being fed by this. I’m being replenished.

Whitney (29:40):

Mm-Hmm. So I wanna go back to that example of let’s say the moon that’s currently in a sign isn’t the same sign. So let’s say it was in Sagittarius, but my, you know, whenever that would occur. But my, my birth moon is in Virgo. How do you honor the sign that it flows through? Do you just kind of look at the qualities of that sign or how would you kind of just a quick surface level. How would I look at that? If I know what to do on the Lunar return? What about the other signs?

April (30:13):

Yeah, I know and that’s like the, the going beyond the 101, like the starting place is like start with your own moon birthday cuz it’s personalized. So we can say like, oh this, okay, this one’s about me and I’ll track this. There’s 12 signs. So it’s moves from the energy elementally of fire, the order that it goes in, right?

Whitney (30:38):

Yes.

April (30:38):

Fire, then earth, then air, then water. So just starting on an elemental level of when there might be more fire energy. There’s three signs, right?

Whitney (30:50):

That’s helpful.

April (30:50):

Four elements, three signs, thankfully simple math, It is 12. So four signs, three of each. There is, so for fire, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius and I didn’t know any of this when I started. It was like too much information. It’s like when a kid is learning the order of January, February, March, they don’t know what order the months go in. So it’s totally okay if you don’t know what order the signs go in because it’s another language and system and structure. Fire, What are some fire activities?

Whitney (31:28):

Yeah.

April (31:30):

If there’s more action, there’s more possible exploration, there’s more of that energy of initiation.So without having to get super specific about, well what if it’s Aries that can come with time and it’s very satisfying for the Virgo moon to refine things over time even if there’s a desire to like know it all, all at once. It’s like, okay, let me go through some levels and layers of this and just polish. I’ll often know when the moon moves into a certain, especially with Virgo. I’ll just, all of a sudden I wanna tidy up, I want to like recycle things, I want to color code things and I’m like noticing those tendencies, so this is the practice of self-study in relationship with cycles and this is what the tool for the New Moon calendar and journal was really designed for. So we each have our own practice. We have a place to kind of experiment with some of these things. The signs are listed in there. I actually recorded like a minicourse that goes through when the moon is in each one of the signs. So it’s a way for someone who wanted to listen to an audio, you know, there’s 12 audios but to listen when the moon is in each sign for some inspiration, some ideas. The moon is said to set the mood or the tone.

Whitney (32:57):

I like that.

April (32:58):

Yeah.

Whitney (32:59):

Can we get that link and we’ll put it in the show notes for that?

April (33:02):

Yes.

Whitney (33:03):

That would be amazing.

April (33:05):

The Lunar zodiac series.

Whitney (33:08):

Mm-Hmm.

April (33:09):

Yeah. I set that up last year and it was again so satisfying to have a way to support this self-study.

Whitney (33:17):

Yeah. I think that’s so helpful for, for those that wanna really dive in. But I love what you said about the elements because that right there clears it up. Oh, the moon is in fire. What are some fire activities? The moon is in air. How do you, you know, what are activities for air and if you’re in Earth and so forth. That’s really, really simplifying it for someone without feeling like, cuz you know, when, like you said, iif it’s too detailed, oftentimes we’re like, I’m not gonna do it. You know, I’m not, I can’t even, nope. But if it is more of a, Oh I get it and I can get detailed if I want to. That’s so helpful. But I do have a question for you because we’re talking about some of these planets and astrology signs. Could you tell me a little bit more about knowing your Venus? So maybe three tips on how to know your Venus or something of that sort since we’re on that topic and then I wanted get more into your calendar too.

April (34:18):

Yeah, wonderful. So the Lunar cycle for me was this gateway into the Venus cycle. So all planets have cycles. Saturn has Saturn cycles. They’re different lengths of time and have different themes that go with them. So the themes for the moon we’ve mentioned, but they are those more, what are my emotional needs? Where is my home? How am I resting and taking care of myself and having the kind of more of that, that quiet, receptive space? So then the planet Venus also goes through phases and rise to the earth. The moon is orbiting the earth. Venus is orbiting the sun but from our perspective, Venus has a crescent phase. Venus has like a Full Moon phase or a new moon phase. And so I was fascinated and so I’m like my mind again, how does this work? What is the inner workings for Venus?

April (35:21):

So we each have our own Venus sign. Venus stays close to the sun. So, which is why we only see Venus either as a morning star or evening star cuz her orbit, just the way that it works is just close to the sun. Which means your Venus sign is either the same sign as your sun. That’s common minus or one or two ahead or behind, depending on how far Venus was away from the sun on the time of your birth. So the Venus cycle is a longer cycle, but it has a waxing phase and a waning phase.

Whitney (36:01):

Mm-hmm.

April (36:02):

And each of those, yeah, I didn’t know any, of this is my, you know, I first taught this course, Know Your Venus in 2020 when Venus was retrograde. I wanna say in Gemini. A number of people have been asking me about Venus. And I said, well I don’t know, but I wanna research and find out and do you wanna like, I’ll create a course as we go and it was amazing. And so I teach it every time, either Venus. When Venus goes behind the sun and disappears which we just had this fall or when Venus goes in front of the sun and does a little retrograde dance and disappears for not as long and that’s happening this next summer. And so I teach the course when that’s happening and it creates sacred geometry so that five petaled rose, there’s a podcast, actually I can give you the show notes. I recorded just a solo episode talking through like, what is this five petaled rose or five pointed star that’s created over eight years? And the themes then can come up around what do I love, what am I attracted to and what’s attracted to me?

Whitney (37:21):

Mm.

April (37:21):

That’s, you know, I think with Venus there can be this development of our self worth. That feeling of like, wow, I really value and cherish myself. And what happens in the world when we walk around feeling like, wow, I really, I just cherish myself. There is a kind of a magnetism.

Whitney (37:43):

Yeah.

April (37:44):

So it’s a different energy than the moon, but the moon cycle can help us understand this other clockwork. All the planets they give us this different kind of clockwork and it’s the beauty, right?

Whitney (37:56):

Mm-Hmm.

April (37:57):

It’s creating beauty, it’s expressing beauty, it’s finding beauty even outside of whatever standards of beauty there may be. So Venus is currently an evening star, but it’s been so stormy in California. I actually haven’t seen Venus for a whole month and so there’s this feeling of this longing sometimes when I don’t see planets. I’m like, I know you’re there, I just can’t see you right now.

Whitney (38:25):

Oh wow. But that makes a lot of sense with, when you’re really connected to your Venus. You’re more abundant, right? You’re this magnet. You attract more abundance in your life. One of my astrology readings I had years ago was a Shamanic Astrology reading and for years I never felt connected to the traditional astrology. I just didn’t feel connected to all the things, you know, but the planets and whenever they would tell me things and with a Shamanic astrology, she only focused on Venus and my moon and I totally got it. I was like, that is what I understand. So I know that I’ve kept you here for a while and we’ve got a few minutes, so I wanna make sure that we talk about your calendar because you’ve got a special offer. So all listeners listen up. If you use Code, WHITNEY20, and we’re gonna put the link in the show notes, you can get 20% off of April’s calendar. Can you tell us a little bit more about that calendar? I know we’ve talked about it, but you showed me what it looked like. Really interesting. I love it.

April (39:30):

Yeah, so if you’re watching the video on YouTube, then you can see me holding it up. So this is the New Moon calendar and journal and it has six pages for each lunar cycle and it’s very spacious. So there’s a space to create a moon mandala and I actually just created mine this morning for this cycle. It used to be called the New Moon Mandala but again, you don’t have to make it on the New Moon. It’s like setting aside time for visioning. Mine are very,

Whitney (40:03):

Oh, that’s beautiful.

April (40:04):

It’s like, what is the energy that I’m cultivating? What do I need to, and then I put this on my altar so I’m focusing on this for the Lunar cycle. I am personally working on, I’m so anemic, to be magnetic, right? Magnetism, like iron is magnetic and I’m making all these connections where it’s like I have to build my blood, I have to build my blood and it just fell off. So that’s a personal practice and I’ll relate it back to the calendar. It’s one of those personal practices is like when things are going well, sometimes then we fall off or forget to do the things that help it go well in the first place. Three months later, we’re like, why do I feel so like terrible?

Whitney (40:49):

Yes.

April (40:49):

So this calendar, because I’m in this myself. I’m not doing anything perfectly. It’s a practice that’s for the rest of my life and it’s beautiful because the moon is so forgiving and so like come back to the circle. Again with New Moon, with, sorry, what is it? New year resolutions. Often there’s like, well it didn’t work and then failure. With the Lunar cycle, so that’s the first page is the Moon Mandala. There’s a page to write Seeds of intention.

Whitney (41:19):

Mm-Hmm.

April (41:20):

Again, it’s open. There isn’t a prompt or there isn’t, this is what you should do or you know, some people want more structure so you can, I often will teach New Moon or Full Moon workshops for ideas and prompts, but it gives you the freedom to do it your way. I’ll write my intentions here. I’ll choose a couple things to track. I have this, I just wrote Fe for Ferritin, for iron. So I’m going to, I like to color code so choosing something to track and there’s symbols in here for ideas for tracking emotions, tracking lifestyle and habits, or tracking like body sensations.

Whitney (42:03):

Mm-Hmm. I think symbols are so powerful. You know, all my students that learn with me through Four Intuitive Languages, especially with a clairvoyance like spirit provides a symbol and I love the Mandala. I love the symbols that you have. And for everyone watching the video on YouTube, can you show them the page of the circle with all of the, you have, it looks like a pie?

April (42:26):

It’s a pie, yeah. So this is, this is, I just wanna show for the color coding, like I chose green for iron, could be green or red, so I’m just color coding in. I’ve taken my supplements. I’m drinking the vitamin oral green. I’m doing all the things to encourage ourself, especially when it’s so seemingly like mundane daily. Oh, I don’t wanna take my vitamins. To make a beautiful and to give it a place in a home of this is a bigger energetic project that I’m working on to build that.

Whitney (42:57):

Oh my gosh.

April (42:58):

Right.

Whitney (42:59):

I love that. So I have a program Aligned and it’s for students who’ve worked with me in either Four Intuitive Languages or Intuition Abundance Academy, and they come in and they’re wanting to develop more and raise their vibration. And one of the things I talk about is that when things are going well, that’s when we push away the spirituality or that’s where we push away the routines because it’s going well. And a lot of times people will say, Whitney, I just can’t talk to my spirit guides. I just can’t make that five minutes a day, you know, to do it. And I’ll go through with, hey, you don’t have to choose the time. Just do it. You know, that’s the most important thing. And what I love about this is you’re making it fun. You’re saying, you know, when you, so I would say talk to your spirit guides if you get April’s calendar. You can color it in and then it creates this beautiful Mandala.

April (43:47):

Yes.

Whitney (43:48):

You’re done. You’re building that energy for it. Oh, that’s so neat.

April (43:52):

And that’s too, this started because I was like, I just need to meditate five minutes a day. I need five minutes of quiet. I had a preschooler and a second grader and three jobs. I mean, this really came from burnout. I can do it all and I cannot do it all. And energy, yes, when we’re working with source, it’s flowing, but when we’re doing too much, it feels pretty limited and depleting. I couldn’t find five minutes a day. So similar to your students of like, when do I do it? Okay, anchor your practice somewhere, anchor. And this is almost like this anchor. Here’s one from a previous cycle where we have to get rid of the perfectionism of, I don’t do it every day then I have failed. Like once, start with once a Lunar cycle and then build up, Ooh, twice a Lunar cycle, the cycle back in. So yeah, I’ll show you there’s two, there’s the next two pages are just a phase by phase, like a mini snapshot.

Whitney (44:53):

Yeah. So for all of you listening on the page, it’s showing a snapshot of when the moon phase is, which is really helpful.

April (45:02):

Yeah. So it’s, you know, there’s room for like maybe three little lines of text. Some people use this again for gratitude practice, for dream journal. You know, for me it’s like foundational, the supplements, am I getting enough sleep? The very foundations and then what other practices am I working with? What other intentions for people who work with, animal, guides and sort of seeing signs, marking? I do that too, like I’ll go through a period of seeing skunks all the time and I just am like, this is my, again personalizing. This is my skunk moon cycle because apparently I need to be repelling people more, attracting, you know, that whole thing, like thank you skunk for showing up and reminding me, then the final page in here is a just a space for reflect and release.

Whitney (45:52):

Mm-Hmm.

April (45:52):

It has a very faint like seed of life graphic that you can just color in or just write as a journal, write straight over it. It really is you know, whatever modality you like to work in. Color, image symbol, written word. It’s the container.

Whitney (46:12):

Absolutely. One of the quotes I love you said was that the cycle invites you back in.

April (46:19):

Yeah.

Whitney (46:19):

And I hope that everyone listening, really you’re taking away here to celebrate your wins. Celebrate when you do these things and I love the color it brings it to life, but go check out April’s calendar. You can, we’re gonna link to it in the show notes, but you can go to the moonismycalendar.com/new-products. So the moonismycalendar.com/new-products. If you use Code WHITNEY20, we’ll put that in the show notes as well. You get 20% off and start planning your calendar. Really, it’s your energy from your energy, like what, what are you planning? What are you bringing in? So thank you April so much for being here and I know that everyone is going to really have some great nuggets of wisdom from this conversation.

April (47:07):

Thank you. My pleasure. Thanks for having me, Whitney.

Whitney (47:11):

All right. That’s been another episode of the Spiritual and Ambitious podcast. I will be back next week with a brand new episode, but until then, here’s to staying spiritual and ambitious. Thanks so much for listening to this episode, and if you loved it, would you please share it with a friend? I would also love your review and a reminder to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find me at messengerofspirit.com, and you can take the four intuitive languages quiz and find show notes there too. If you wanna connect on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram, you can find me @messengerofspirit. I’ll meet you right here next week. Here’s to staying spiritual and ambitious.

Speaker 3 (48:00):

This podcast is part of the Sound Advice FM Network, Sound Advice FM Women’s Voices, Amplified.

Questions? Contact us here.