How to Track the Lunar Gestation Cycle

I began incorporating weekly moon rituals into my self care routine in the late part of 2021. In these rituals, I deepened my understanding of moon cycles, how they were playing out in my life and even predicting what was going to happen during future phases of the lunar cycle.

If you’re looking to deepen your spiritual practice through moon rituals or simply want to learn more about the lunar cycle and how it affects our emotions and actions here on earth, tracking the Lunar Gestation cycle is a great way to develop greater understanding and focus for what matters to you and why.

In this post, I will break down exactly how to track the lunar gestation cycle and how to incorporate it into your own moon rituals.

What is the Lunar Gestation Cycle, and Why Should I Track it?

The Lunar Gestation Cycle is a cycle that the moon goes through that lasts 36 months. It was discovered by Dietrich Pessin and the entire process of using the cycle and how to incorporate it into astrology work is outlined in her book, Lunar Shadows III, affiliate link.

You can use it for creative projects, predicting future events based on past phases and learn more about your creative energies within each phase. It’s helpful to track your daily experiences in order to analyze the data in later phases of the moon. Below I will outline exactly how I document and analyze at each phase.

How to Track the Lunar Gestation Cycle

Use a Daily Habit Tracker

When I first learned of the longer lunar cycle, I was already practicing moon rituals. But they felt hollow and like I didn’t know what the eff I was doing. I only observed the New and Full moons and had little idea what to do with the rest of the moon’s phases. 

I was introduced to the lunar gestation cycle by Celeste on her Youtube videos and then more of the work was shared by my mentor, Bronwyn. Of course I bought the book to understand more of how to incorporate Pessin’s wisdom into my life. 

In order to make the most out of what I learned from these astrologers, I had to create a way to track the information over the long 3 year cycle. I was already tracking my daily energy with a different tracker, and I had modified it over the course of time to suit what I wanted to remember and analyze later. So I simply revamped it to track information that would help me at the quarter moon phases over time. 

You can use your own habit tracker or you can use the one I created for my Moon Play Moon Journal (MoJo) to guide your moon rituals. The Daily Snapshot included in the Moon Play Aspire bundle has most of the info listed below, plus a place to track the physical stuff. The bare minimum is at the top of the list. 

What you will want to track:

• The date
• The sign the moon is in
• Moon phase (I track only the big 4)
• What’s happening in your life (Get as granular as you’d like, but keep it in bullets for later reference)

Optional: 

• Other Astrological happenings (planetary ingresses, retrogrades, aspects, etc.)
• Dreams
• Oracles
• Intentions
• Daily Vibe
• Gratitude list
• Daily inspo
• Physical stuff (activity, sexy time, energy levels, menstrual data etc.)

Use a Moon Family Ephemeris

An ephemeris is included in the Moon Play MoJo, but you can get just the ephemeris or buy the Lunar Shadows book for a complete ephemeris, as the one available in my shop shows only this year.

To use the moon family ephemeris, look at the current date of the moon phase we are in. In order to know which phase we are in, you can use an app. I like iLuna. Once you know which phase we are in, you can see the moon families associated with the current moon phase. On your moon journal pages, note the rest of the moon family dates so that you can look back when those lunations happen.

Below is an example of a third quarter moon and you can see which dates are linked to the energy of the third quarter moon phase.

It’s good to see when the stuff is going to unfold, especially if you are setting intentions for manifesting with the moon. I have a hard time keeping track of all of the many cycles we are in at any given moment, but I try to at least acknowledge what each season of each zodiac brings. Especially as it relates to my natal chart.

Using Moon Phases with your Natal Chart

Using the example above, I look at my natal chart to see which house Libra rules. Libra rules my Midheaven and 11th house. It’s important to note which area of your life this lunation is asking you to look at. She is illuminating things for you to reflect on and adjust or celebrate.

When we look at the above moon family example, it is a third quarter moon, so I will be releasing what is no longer serving me based on 11th house subjects. The 11th house is all about communities, friendships, social media, and even your boss is in there. 

Organizing your data

I keep only one month’s worth of Daily Snapshot pages in my journal at a time. The book would be huge and heavy if I kept them all there. That’s why I like the discbound system. It’s relatively cheap to produce DIY, and I can have one for each year. I currently have 3 of them, but need to start the 4th one for the new year. 

I also keep all the year’s moon pages in my journal. There are less, so I keep them all together until I transfer them to the current year’s journal archive at the end of the year, along with the rest of my planner, seasonal reflections and notes pages from the entire year.

I like to start the new year with a fresh new MoJo!

Use the Data

In order to use the data, you have to have it organized. Make sure to develop a system that works for you. I gave you my organization ideas above.

Let’s look at how I use the data I collect in my moon journal. First, I review what happened at each lunation in my moon journal. Then, I go back to each moon journal page as well as the daily pages around those dates. I like to look 2 days before and 2 days after a lunation to see if there are any patterns concerning 11th house stuff. Lastly, I make the notes on my moon journal page for the current lunation. I usually see a story from my quick bujo style habit tracking and then use that information to release, reflect and set intentions for the next cycle. 

As in the example, since it’s the 3rd quarter, I will be releasing, and I get 9 months to do so before the next New Moon in this moon family happens. I usually have to pull out my larger ephemeris at that point in order to know the exact date. But it is about 9 months later. 

Making the most of the Lunar Cycles

Having a system to track the lunar gestation cycle and make the most from it is vital to understanding the power and necessity behind it. It’s an extremely helpful and transformative practice to add to your own self care routine. Make it your own with ways to deepen into your inner wisdom using the guidance of the moon.