Dreaming by the stars—not just under them—can bring vivid self-awareness and inner guidance. Astrologer and wellness consultant Stephanie Gailing, author of The Complete Book of Dreams, shares stellar insights and techniques for capturing the messages of our subconscious minds.
by Stephanie Gailing
Like astrology, our dreams are periscopes into the deeper layer of our identities. They help us understand, integrate, and appreciate the rich complexity of who we are. There’s a symbiosis between the stars and the messages that come to us while we sleep. Our dreams may reveal the reservoir of self-knowledge potentiated within our astrology charts. Astrology can be used to translate the meaning of our dreams. When combined, they’re a powerful dynamic duo for self-awareness, which I like to call AstroDreamwork.
Using the lunar cycle is of the most accessible ways to begin practicing AstroDreamwork. Archetypally, the moon governs our emotions and unconscious. It guides us into the realms—such as dreams—that bring us inner illumination. Aligning dream inquiries with the monthly new moon can bring potent reflections.
Setting new moon intentions
New moons offer us an opportunity to begin again; to make fresh starts. These monthly lunations are prime time for setting intentions and planting seeds. What do you want to invite into your life during the subsequent month—or the six months leading up the corresponding full moon?
Beyond making a wish list on paper, dreams tap us into the fount of our inner desires. Their wisdom can guide us towards the most fruitful new moon intentions at any given time. Through our dreams we can discover the promise that each new month holds for our life in terms of growth and expansion.
Here are several ways that you can work with your new moon dreams
Pay attention to your new moon dreams
The first approach is simple: pay attention to your dreams the night before and after each monthly new moon. As you do, home in on any dream symbols, images, or themes that reflect new horizons or frontiers you’ve yet to pursue. Are there attitudes or behaviors that you’ve been longing to embody, but have yet to embrace? See whether your dreams feature any guiding message. Write down any and all dream details that have to do with beginnings, births, and anything that blossoms.
Dreaming the signs
To further refine this practice, look at the zodiac sign housing the new moon each month. There are 12-13 new moons per year, each one tapping us into a different theme. Once again, you’ll tune into your dreams the nights before and after each of these lunations. Yet, instead of just looking for dreams about beginnings, use the zodiac sign of the new moon as a guide to define your monthly intentions in greater detail. This can help you pinpoint what new chapter you want to author over the coming four weeks.
Here are possible areas of dream discovery during the 12 new moons
During each new moon, look to your dreams to see what they reflect about the following realms of life. Here is how to interpret your new moon dreams by zodiac.
Aries New Moon: Finding courage, strengthening your will, fighting for what you desire
Taurus New Moon: Devising practical solutions, grounding into your sensuality, connecting with nature
Gemini New Moon: Accessing information, communicating an important message, relating with peers (siblings, coworkers, neighbors)
Cancer New Moon: Nourishing yourself, addressing family issues, making shifts in your home/living situation
Leo New Moon: Living boldly while following your heart, sparking your creative spirit, tapping into childlike wonder
Virgo New Moon: Bolstering your holistic well-being, organizing/systematizing your workflow, being of service
Libra New Moon: Balancing important relationships, connecting to art and beauty, discovering diplomatic solutions
Scorpio New Moon: Pursuing your desires, deepening your understanding of life’s mysteries, exploring your sexual nature
Sagittarius New Moon: Broadening horizons, tapping into need for freedom and independence, cross-cultural communications
Capricorn New Moon: Advancing toward a goal, determining where loyalties lie, designing your legacy
Aquarius New Moon: Connecting to a cherished community, tapping into technology and innovation, hopes and wishes for the future
Pisces New Moon: Activating intuition and psychic abilities, embracing a soulful/creative approach to life, unlocking compassion and empathy
Your dreams, your birth chart
Do you know your birth chart? If so, you can go even deeper with this AstroDreamwork technique! (You can cast a free birth chart right here at https://astrostyle.com/birthchart.) Based upon the unique position of the planets when you were born, you can access further awareness of the opportunities each new moon brings. See if the new moon makes a connection (an aspect in “astrospeak”) to any of the planets in your birth chart.
For example, if a new moon connects with your natal Mercury, the following weeks may bring dreams in the areas this planet rules: communication with peers, information gathering, and getting your message across. Will Venus lend her romantic touch to the new moon? Dreams may herald insights in your love life or be a source of creative inspiration.
What natal house will the new moon fall in? This information provides even more layers to the AstroDreamwork equation. Let’s say the new moon falls in your second house, the realm of your chart related to your personal resources and value. Illuminating messages about money matters and self-worth may come to you via dreams. Use these visions as guidance for refining the monthly intentions you want to make.
Designing your dream and sleep sanctuary
Transforming your bedroom into a dream and sleep sanctuary invites in stellar dreams. The space should be cozy and clutter free, filled only with items that bring you ease, comfort, and delight. For deeper slumber, keep your bedroom around 65ºF/18ºC. Make the room as dark as possible, and use a pink-noise machine if you need to blur out distracting ambient sounds that interfere with your voyage to the land of nod. And, of course, make sure to keep your dream journal and a pen on your nightstand so they will be handy when you want to document your oneiric visions.
To maximize the flow of energy, design the room with feng shui principles in mind. For example, place your bed in the command position, where you can see the entry, but your feet are not directly facing the door. (Learn all about feng shui-ing your bedroom in The AstroTwins’ Home Reset Course: https://astrotwins.kartra.com/page/home-reset-course) Want to make the space even more sacred? Set up a dream altar, upon which you can place crystals, photos of ancestors, meaningful objects or any items that honor power of your dream life.
Tips to remember your dreams (not just new moon dreams)
If you have trouble remembering your dreams, you’re not alone. It’s believed that half of our nocturnal memories disappear within ten minutes of waking. That is also why those ten minutes are a golden window for recalling the messages that came to you in your sleep.
Rather than jumping out of bed, dedicate your post-awakening period to luxuriating in the covers and trying to capture your dreams. Don’t judge anything of your recollections, nor edit yourself when you’re documenting them. Even one small fragment—whether an image, feeling, or word—can offer you a treasure trove of insights. It might even be a thread that connects you to other insights later in the day.
Create a page in a dream journal that features the most common symbols and narratives that appear; you can use this list to jog your memory should you find yourself not remembering even an iota of your oneiric experience. Alternatively, if you’re someone who remembers so many details of your dream and can’t write fast enough to gather them all, audio record them (you can do it right into voice capture app in your phone). Later, you can transcribe this cache into a dream journal.
With the total solar eclipse in Sagittarius, this December 14, 2020, you have an opportunity to tap into even deeper corners of your psyche. Tune to your dreams to further understand the sea changes you may be feeling, quite common during solar eclipses as we beckon the new and leave parts of the past behind. As eclipses reveal shadows, much like dreams they can show us what is hidden from our view on most days: combine that with Sagittarius inspiring us to explore new landscapes, and this could be the optimal moment to begin an AstroDreamwork practice!
Photo credit: Studio Firma via Stocksy
Stephanie Gailing is a wellness astrologer and life guide with over twenty-five years of experience. Her unique approach to healing weaves together compassion-based coaching, wellness strategies, dreamwork, and astrological insights. Stephanie is the author of The Complete Book of Dreams as well as the forthcoming The Complete Guide to Astrological Self-Care and the co-creator of My Stellar Year online course. She holds holds a Certificate in EcoPsychology from Pacifica University, an Advanced Diploma in Coaching from New York University, and an MS in Nutrition from Bastyr University. Find out more about her and her work at her website.
