Ashley Leavy - Cosmic Crystals: Rituals and Meditations for Connecting With Lunar Energy

rituals and meditations for connecting with lunar energy

ASHLEY LEAVY

About four years ago, my life was interrupted dramatically when I needed to have a full hysterectomy just two weeks before my twenty-ninth birthday. This wasnt entirely devastating for me because I had long before decided not to have children, but it hit me in quite an unexpected way.

My choice not to bear children felt positive and somewhat empowering, but when that choice was completely taken away part of me grieved what may have been lost. Over the next few years, I struggled silently with grieving a part of myself that I hadnt realized was so important to me. It felt like part of my feminine energy had left when my womb was removed.

Being active in the modern spiritual movement, I couldnt help but be surrounded by amazing women who were creating change by empowering one another and celebrating their womanhood. The womens movement that was (and is still) taking place is SO inspiring, but on a personal level I was still dealing with a wound that needed healing. All around me women were celebrating their womanhood, their ability to create and birth new things into the world, and their bodies.

Although my logical mind told me I was still as feminine and womanly as ever, the wounded part of me felt less than or incomplete. I felt a longing for a reconnection with the part of myself that had been lost. These feelings completely took me by surprise, but I knew I needed to do something to feel empowered again.

So my journey into reconnecting to the divine feminine began. I spent my days meditating, connecting with different goddesses, and creating rituals for myself. Naturally, my love of crystals ensured they were a regular part of just about everything I was doing, but I started to develop a new passion: I became enamored with the moon. I fell in love with learning all I could about staying in rhythm with her natural cycles and flows. Perhaps the need for that connection arose from the absence of my own feminine cycle, or perhaps I was simply awakening to something larger taking place in our world. Whatever the reason, living in alignment with lunar energy became part of who I am.

I spent many, many hours journaling and sketching and doodling about the spiritual moon work I was doing. One evening while connecting with some amazing women in an online Goddess Circle, I shared a few of the ways I had been working with the moon in my own spiritual practice. It was then that I realized just how powerful this work wasand just how much I needed to share it with others as part of my own journey toward wholeness and completion.

I realized in that moment of sharing that it was not just me who was feeling disconnected from the natural world, from the seasonal cycles, and from my own divine energy. Many other women (and men!) were feeling the same way. We have become so far removed from our roots that we have forgotten how to live in harmony with the world around us. One of the easiest ways to repair this connection is to live in alignment with the moonto let her guide our actions and become aware of our place in this universe once again.

Its with great excitement and love that I write this now, hoping youll enjoy every ounce of goodness in these pages, hoping that youll feel more whole, more connected, and more aligned after reading them, and hoping that youll discover something new that excites and inspires you to share part of yourself with those who need to hear your story.

Wishing you many moons of health, happiness, and peace, Ashley

This book is divided into seven chapters to help you better understand the energy of the moon, and how to work with that energy and harness it using crystal rituals.

, Crystals & Moon Magic, provides a foundation for understanding the importance of lunar energy in your day-to-day life. It offers an explanation for how and why crystals make such perfect companions for your journey toward lunar connection. Youll learn the basics of why crystals are so powerful and how to start working with them. Youll also discover why our ancestors placed such great emphasis on our nearest celestial neighbor, the moon. This chapter sets the stage for the rituals, ceremonies, and meditations provided later in the book; it shares important techniques for crystal cleansing and space clearing, as well as for grounding and centering yourself. These techniques should always be carried out before performing the rituals described in later chapters.

In , Crystals for the Lunar Cycle, youll dive deep into the eight moon phases. Youll learn about the distinct phases in the lunar cycle and how each one relates to you here on Earth. Youll also discover the unique energies and characteristics associated with each phase and how you can work with crystal energy to stay in harmony with lunar energy during each stage in the cycle. The lunar cycle is a metaphor for the natural ebb and flow that occurs in your own life. By aligning yourself with the phases of the moon and working with the energies that accompany each, youll find that youre more aligned with the world around you.

The third chapter, Crystals for the Lunar Zodiac, takes you on a journey through the cosmos, following the moons orbit through each astrological house. While the moon is in each sign, it takes on, and magnifies, that signs energetic qualities. Understanding this astrological influence on the moon can help you interpret how this energy can affect you day-to-day, based upon your own moon sign. Youll discover crystal rituals and meditations for strengthening the positive aspects of this influence on your moon sign, and youll become aware of the less compatible aspects of each signs energy with your own.

, The 13 Full Moons of the Year, gives you an introduction to the powerful monthly moons that hold great promise and potential, especially when paired with crystal energy. Since long ago, people from cultures and traditions around the Earth have been naming the full moons of the year. These names helped tell the story of what important events would take place during each month. They connected people to the seasons and to natural cycles. This chapter also explains Blue Moons and how to understand the lunar year, which has thirteen moons, even though most people follow a twelve-month calendar.

gives the Celtic names for each. These chapters provide the deeper understanding you need to work with crystal energy for each of these full moons as they occur during the year.

When you understand the effect that lunar energy has on your mind, body, and spirit, its easy to see why you need a relationship with the moon. Living in sync with the rhythm of the lunar cycle is a powerful way to stay balanced and aligned with universal energy. Healing crystals, which are natural amplifiers of energy, can enhance your connection to the moon.