So the moon should be hitting its full stage tonight as it enters the Virgo constellation. So the full moon is five days past ‘setting the clocks ahead an hour’—which fell on Sunday the 13^th. Hopefully it will be last time of having to change the clocks (the US senate did vote to keep the time change, will just have to see how the house votes and the wait for it be signed into law). There is only one Friday the 13^th this year—and that is in May.

I’d mentioned earlier, that I’m going to be trying to be a little more ‘narrow’ in my focus for goals that I set during each new/full moon period (because in actuality—each only lasts about a week). Though it will probably take quite a bit of trial and error for me to ‘narrow’ down goals that can serve more as stepping-stones to the next milestone for that series of goals.

If you’re one who tries to understand how your mood changes or is affected by the moon—the Virgo full moon usually has people feeling finicky and anxious. Personally—I don’t need any extra anxiety in my life; I manifest plenty on my own. Though no matter what sign I go with (star, rising, or moon)—all three are able to handle the Virgo energy.

Feeling even more finicky and anxious currently probably isn’t helping world matters, but I’m going to try to focus on what I can control (how I perceive and react to various things).

So what are some questions that one can ask during this full moon?

They include:

1. Have I been too picky, pedantic, or critical of myself or anyone else?
2. Have I been humble to the point of underrating myself?
3. Have I been of service to others enough this month?
4. Have I been worrying and complaining too much, and thus attracting negativity?
5. Have I paid enough attention to the the details that I need to this month?

My answers to the questions are the following:

1. I don’t think that I’ve been too picky, pedantic, or critical of others (I haven’t really been around anyone other than family for over three years now) currently (though I am harboring critical thoughts of various world leaders right now—but take a look at the current political, health, environmental, and all other issues plaguing the planet, and it shouldn’t be surprising that I’m irritated with various world leaders). In terms of how I see myself? I probably have been a little too pedantic and critical of myself lately. I’ve realized that I am still allowing my inner critic/imposter syndrome to get the better of me quite frequently. This is something that I’m trying to catch and slowly correct on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis.
2. This is a maybe, leaning towards a hard-yes. I’ve realized over the past few years, that I have two ‘problems/issues’ that I need to work on address as I transition away from academia. The first ‘problem/issue’ is that I have a terrible habit of trying to be a people pleaser (taking on tasks I don’t want because I’ve been asked or told to; avoiding confrontations no matter what). The second ‘problem/issue’ is not speaking up or asking for more challenging work, once I become ‘bored’. I’m a fairly quick learner (at least in terms of technical techniques), and once I learn how to do something, I always have ‘okay, what’s next’ bouncing around in my head. How do these two ‘problems/issues’ equate to humbleness—I prefer being in the background and not center stage, and not ‘claiming’ the spotlight when one of my ideas or something I worked on gets spotlighted (letting others take the ‘fame’). Moving forward (either working for myself or into industry)—I need to start tooting my own horn and showing/highlighting my own worth.
3. I’ve been doing more of the house chores, and taking on a little more of the cooking chores as well at home. I’m working on my transition plan to either remote writing and/or freelance writing. I’ve discovered that two of my ‘whys’ for this change include wanting to help improve both science communication between the general public and scientists, and to help improve science education (possibly through the creation of online courses that can serve as supplemental study aids for students).
4. Well, if one isn’t worried about the current state of the world—please find some ‘neutral’ media sites and take a gander at what is going on. It is entering week four of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the SARS-CoV2 is still a pandemic (even if some countries are moving to a ‘endemic’ living), and we’re still trying to destroy the only place we have to live. I’m trying to focus on what is actually within my control (how I react to things), and am working on trying to catch and ‘rewrite’ the negative self-thoughts throughout the day.
5. Well, this depends on the situation. If we’re talking about the overall details of what I would like to accomplish in a given month—no I haven’t been giving enough attention to the details. I’m working on getting back into the habit of doing a monthly ‘brain dump’ and then trying to create (and follow) an editorial calendar for the blog, possibly the Facebook page, and of course LinkedIn. If I can manage those two things—I should be spending time on all aspects of life, and not either zeroing in on one area or being so overwhelmed I’m not doing anything.

Another aspect of trying to set habits according the moon and its phases is to see what house the moon is moving through as well. For me, the Virgo full moon also correlates to my 11^th house or my friend zone. Therefore, the period of the Virgo full moon is a time to try to focus on the other people in your life, plus build up your personal and professional networks as well.

I have realized that I haven’t been doing nearly as much networking as I need to since I’m looking to transition to a new role (either within a company or working for myself). The reason may seem silly to others—that while I have an good idea of the direction I want to go, but haven’t narrowed down the companies, I don’t want to waste ‘other peoples’ time’ with trying to set up informational interviews if I decide that company isn’t for me. Though I logically know that is how I’m suppose to find out if the company could be a good fit or not.

I know that I want to transition into a remote writing position, and also work on creating my own freelance business. While I know this is the direction I want to go in—I need to develop strategies for working with my inner critic/imposter syndrome to start stretching the comfort zone.

I will be starting up networking again (probably reworking the timeline I came up with this past weekend), but it may be a little slower than what other people are doing—but that’s fine as long as I’m moving forward and not either staying stagnant or moving backwards.

So what are some things that I can work on during the next full moon period?

1. Finish setting up the ‘meditation’ area for nightly meditations
2. Get back into the practice doing monthly ‘brain dumps’ and using that to gauge how narrowly focused or ‘well-rounded’ I’m being in both my thoughts and actions.
3. Continue working on various Diamond group activities to help with the transition to either a remote writing position (and then slowly starting my own freelance wiritng business–side hustle to begin with).
4. Finally, my last long-term goal is to continue looking into my cultural heritage and starting to strengthen my sisu.

Looking at these goals—only one can be considered a ‘one-and-done’, and that will be setting up the meditation area (though I’m planning on having the area ‘taken down’ when I’m not meditating to reduce risks of animal accidents).

The others three can be considered on-going goals/projects. But, I’ll be at least ‘starting’ each goal/project. I’m actually working on a mind-map for a post/article on trying to combine ‘traditional’ goal setting (SMART goals) with using the 12-week year method and trying to harness the power of the moon cycles (more on this as I make headway on the project).

How are you handling the extra anxiety of the Virgo moon??