KIRSTY GALLAGHER - Lunar living: working with the magic of the moon.

www.yellowkitebooks.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Yellow Kite

An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton

An Hachette UK company

Copyright Kirsty Gallagher 2020

The right of Kirsty Gallagher to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Illustrations by The Colour Study Hodder & Stoughton 2020

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

eBook ISBN 978 1 529 39822 9

Yellow Kite

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London EC4Y 0DZ

www.yellowkitebooks.co.uk

This book is dedicated to my incredible mum, Sandy G, and my darling best friend, Samantha Day, both of whom have always believed in how bright I can shine.

W ELCOME TO LUNAR LIVING!

Have you ever woken up feeling overly emotional and nothing can shake you out of it all day? Have you ever found yourself, out of nowhere, obsessing over certain areas of your life for no apparent reason? Are there days when your intuition or gut feeling are so loud and so strong that all the answers and changes that need to be made in your life seem to have become obvious and the way ahead is clear? Are there times when you cant sleep and end up lying awake all night? What about those days when synchronicities seem constant and everything falls into place like magic? And days when you feel the need to be completely alone, craving quiet time and solitude?

What if I told you that all these things and much more can be explained by working with the constantly changing cycles of the moon? That rather than being thrown around by your thoughts and emotions, you could instead look to the moon and her ancient wisdom to make sense of how you are feeling, and use her cycles to create powerful change and take back control of your life? This is the magic of the moon and its what Lunar Living will provide.

For those of you who dont know me, my name is Kirsty Gallagher and I will be your moon mentor, revealing my moon musings to bring clear guidance on how you can work with the mystical, magical energies of the moon.

Looking back, Ive always been fascinated by the moon and astrology. I remember as a teenager poring over astrology books to find out about my sun and moon signs and how they relate to me as a person.

In 2009, I spent eight months in India, immersed in my yoga teacher training and on a real soul journey, during which time the moon came to be one of my greatest teachers. It is traditional not to practise yoga on the full and new moons and during these days off, I experienced the profound effects of the moon. I actually felt things shift on moon days: the energy differed, peoples moods and personalities noticeably changed and my love affair with the moon began.

Moon days were for self-care, self-reflection and deep inner work. These days of quiet contemplation allowed me to fully connect to and draw upon the energies of the moon and immerse myself in her wisdom, effects and guidance a turning point, a time of insights and answers, clarification and intention-setting, with deep stirrings in my heart and soul. These twice-monthly check-ins showed me areas in my life that needed work or attention, what was coming to the surface for me and, most of all, the power I had over the direction of my own life.

Over those eight months (and ever since), I made profound shifts in my life working with the moon recalibrating, resetting and realigning my inner compass and I now want to share the wisdom I gained with you.

You may already have heard about the magic of the moon. Maybe youve been captivated by the sight of her in the night sky. Perhaps youve noticed your moods or those of the people around you changing at certain times of the month. Or maybe you want a way to honour the passing of time, an opportunity for a regular check-in, to get in tune with a cycle, a rhythm, a flow in your life or to take back control.

Whatever your reasons, there is something for you in this book and its potent power lies in its simplicity: you dont have to know your sun, moon or ascending sign or which of your houses the moon happens to fall in (although this is all fascinating); you dont need to follow a certain spiritual path or even believe in astrology or anything in particular; and everyone can gain huge insights and inspiration, making quantum leaps in their lives, all from working with the phases of the moon.

My motivation for writing this book was largely the many responses to the shares of my moon musings on social media and daily requests for more information on working with lunar energies. This encouraged me to create Lunar Living, an online sisterhood where we learn to follow the moons guidance and wisdom, and we celebrate all the moon magic. So many people have been awakened to the power and the incredible influence of the moon and the skies; around the days of the full moon, social media is littered with talk about sleepless nights, the moon now features in everything from jewellery to clothing and Mercury retrograde is a commonly talked about and accepted phenomenon.

But the real turning point came when I did an on-stage talk at the Birmingham Mind Body Spirit Festival in October 2016. I expected a handful of people to show up, but ended up with a crowd of hundreds of people from businessmen to mums to teenage girls and older men all eager to hear what I had to say. At the end of that presentation (and at every talk or workshop I have held since), there was a long queue of people wanting to ask questions or tell their stories. This made me realise that people of all ages, from all backgrounds and in all walks of life are actively seeking a reconnection to cycles, to nature, to understanding rhythms, to receiving guidance and, ultimately, a different way to live.

Hundreds of people that day (and countless since) asked if I could recommend a book to help them learn more and delve deeper. So here it is! Lunar Living provides an understanding of emotional impulses, allows a time to be and a time to do and gives you back control of your life an opportunity, month on month, to hold yourself accountable and work with an ancient magic and cycle. And within these pages are the answers that all those people and you, as you are holding this book are seeking.

I will show you how to work with each phase of the moon, using them to your advantage, along with the influences of the zodiac signs, the wisdom the moon wants to share with you and how to work with her cycles and energies to know yourself better than ever before, bringing about real transformation in your life. Even just skimming the surface will bring you a deeper understanding of your own and other peoples behaviours at different times of the month and will help you to go with the flow of life, instead of constantly pushing against it.