Lunar Abundance: Cultivating Joy, Peace, and Purpose Using the Phases of the Moon

by Ezzie Spencer

Lunar Abundance is a beautiful and practical guide for today's women on cultivating peace, purpose, and abundance in both their personal and professional lives, guided by the phases of the moon. In a world in which women feel increasingly disconnected-from their inner selves, each other, and the world, Lunar Abundance offers a path to reconnection, with results that you can actually see. It shows how by tuning into the natural rhythm of lunar ebbs and flows, you can connect with work, relationships, your body, and surroundings on a higher level than ever before, becoming more productive and self-aware in the process. Filled with inspirational photography and interactive features, it's also a practical guide to self-care that will help you summon your true potential and create a better life for you and for those in your orbit. This beautiful book is perfect for any woman seeking holistic wellness and unique inspiration to feed mind, body, and soul.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Astrology, Self Help, Witchcraft, Personal Development, Psychology

228 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 6, 2018

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised, not as “new age” as I thought

When I saw this title come up in my book group, I have to admit I was sceptical. I’m a scientist, and have always shunned anything that came across as pseudoscience. But, I went in to this book as open minded as I could, and I was pleasantly surprised. Early on, Ezzie says she is not trying to imply that the moon makes us “do” anything, as this is rather disempowering.
The only reason this isn’t a 5 star review is that I had a lot of trouble relating to the author and the person she describes in the book. I’m not a career driven woman who finds it hard to unwind, quite the opposite in fact. I have since found that Yang could be referring to my tendency to overthink things rather than just overdo things.
This is not a reflection on the quality of the book, more a reflection on my own character.
I’d definitely recommend, and have already.

[LaRae☕️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was perfect for me at this time. Unfortunately, it is shelved at the bookstore with occult and divination books, which would have prevented me from ever looking at it if I hadn't first found Ezzie Spencer online.

It is not a religious book at all. It is about connecting with our own personal rhythms and cycles in order to live a more intentional, purpose-filled life, using the moon as a mirror or timekeeper. She does reference some religious practices, and she uses Yin and Yang as descriptors for resting/doing and receiving/giving. However, it will be easy to use the book in whatever way suits one personally. I can see how following this practice will strengthen my discipline of prayer.

I'm looking forward to revisiting the book more in depth when the moon cycle starts afresh in a few days.

[teres · Rating 4 out of 5]

ezzie spencer is the wokest white women ive ever read and every word of this book is inclusive and compassionate. i learnt what you can during each lunar cycle, however i find that the book (on the whole) is full of fluff. a gorgeously put together book and a great read, but not something that i would personally keep coming back to.

[Mary Reynolds · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me

I went into this book wanting to enjoy it and learn from it. I was disappointed by how abstract and amorphous most statements were. Each instruction or statement was followed by one stating that you might not benefit from that thing or that your experience may be completely different. I am willing to acknowledge that I probably missed the point of the entire book because I certainly haven't gained anything by reading it.

[Andreea Zelenyak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting information! I recommend! 5 stars

[Tanja Mavie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The insta-perfect-Bali-pictures weren't doing it for me, but the content was actually very acccessible, especially for beginners. I will definitely come back to each chapter in future moon cycles🌙🤍

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her book, Lunar Abundance, Ezzie Spencer, Ph.D., shares her personal practice of following the moon, which is ultimately a loving practice of self-awareness and self-care.

Ezzie speaks to anyone who has ever been called by the feminine mysteries of the moon. She teaches women who have been attuned to Doing the value of Being by recognizing and honoring the Yin and Yang qualities of the eight phases throughout the lunar cycle.

One of my dreams has been to see the world reconnect with nature and natural cycles. Understanding the rhythms of nature leads to living a more balanced and creative life.

By eliminating astrological associations and focusing on history, psychology, and science, Ezzie has opened the concept of natural timing to a whole new audience: an audience of empowered women, hopefully, large enough to change the world.

* Full Disclosure: my website zodiacarts.com is listed as a resource in the book

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed with this book and can see it being a significant part of my life for a long time. I love the idea of waxing and waning as part of life to balance between doing and being. I love how the author explicitly recognizes— throughout the book— alternative ways of being (e.g., people having gone through trauma, people with low-income, POC); her moves here felt like ways of creating space that I often don’t see in the self-development genre. I could tell that this book was written by someone with a PhD (that reference list though!!!), and I am so happy I discovered it. My moonchild Cancer self lives for this way of understanding my world. 🌙

[Lizzie Erdahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book! It was so refreshing to read a self-help book that didn’t make me feel like I was totally failing at my life now. I really enjoyed that the author took a mostly secular approach to using the moon as a marker for time and intent. I can’t wait to finish my first cycle of intentions and see what this can bring me!

[xDaniDragonflyx · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty easy to read, and fun, but it's not a book I really gained any useful knowledge from, nor could I easily connect with. I love to read books about practicing moon magick but this isn't one of those. At least, not for me. Still, it is a beautiful book and offers a lot of information to someone who is too Yin or too Yang and how to find a balance between the two.

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still like Moonology better on the whole, but enjoyed more talk of ALL of the moon cycles instead of just the new and full moon and the focus on the importance of yin phases.

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Като погледнеш корицата и заглавието започваш да си вадиш изводи, че тази книга няма да е много... как да го напиша... нормална, научна, или логически обоснована. Неочаквано - книгата не се оказа това, което си мислех, че е. Заглавието и корицата са очарователно подвеждащи. Чак се изумих, тъй като бях подготвена за доста мистичност и шантавост, а получих много разумно, структурирано и логическо обосновано четиво . :)

Книжката е тип работна книга с теми за журналстване и предложения за релаксиращи дейности за саморефлексия и просто "да бъдеш", както се казва. Заглавието всъщност е наименованието на практиката, която авторката създава в търсене на своето място, смисъл и добруване. Фазите на луната реално ги използва като времеви пътеводител; като нещо солидно и нещо, което винаги ще е там за теб - в небето и няма да изчезне, защото винаги се връща с началото на новата луна. Книгата представя всяка фаза като отделна тема, през която да преминеш като целта е простичка - твоето благополучие. Определено е различна книга и има какво да си вземе човек, а и те кара да погледнеш към луната с нови очи.

Самата книжка е изпълнена богато със снимки, оформена е много красиво и създава усещане за комфорт, релаксация и спокойствие. Припомни ми и колко ми липсва да гледам към луната и просто да бъда в дадения момент без мисля - само аз и луната в небето. :)

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really like the look of this book (although all the photos of the author are a bit much) but overall too much fluff and less practical than I was hoping for.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

beautiful pictures

[Phoebe Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A way of living that I want to start cultivating more in my own life as I explore Wicca/paganism. I loved how she grounded the practice in real life with her phd not just airy fairy ideas

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating, as I learn more about the moon and it's cycles and how they can correspond with our being. The author talks about using the moon to cultivate peace, security and purpose in your life. I found it really interesting how different energy can exist during the moon's phases, but it sort of makes sense to me that the moon can affect us. Really interesting read if you want to learn more about the moon and your spirit.

[Kailee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about the lunar cycle, but I wanted more information and history of lunar cycles and less pictures.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely intro to using the phases of the moon to cultivate your different qualities (she uses yin/yang) and get back in touch with your body and soul. I love the way Ezzie Spencer writes. She makes the topic accessible in comparison to a lot of writers who make this stuff challenging to read or too "woowoo" for me. The book is very pleasing to look at and offers areas to write and reflect. I think I'll go back and use this as a little workbook for the phases soon.

[Melanie Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were many things that I liked about this book. The images were absolutely stunning, and I love the idea of using something so natural like the phases of the moon to get in touch with one's self and grow and develop as a person. I wish I would have read it more quickly, because I don't think I truly got the gist of how the phases relate to each other because I took so many breaks while reading it. There were some places where the wording was a little flowery, which was part of the reason why it took me so long to get through it. However, the focus on each woman choosing her own journey and making the Lunar Abundance experience her own was a huge takeaway, and I'm exciting to start experimenting with it in my life. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, although I recognize it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

[Faith Tydings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book, not just for reading but for interacting with, and really following the steps inside. I highly recommend a copy of your own so that you can write and take notes and keep forever, though I am forever grateful to the library for the borrowed copy to see if I like it. And, I loved it! Now I’m off to buy my own.

[Jes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was on the Boho Berry Book Club list and I hated it. I got 100 pages through and I'm done reading it. This book REALLY wants you to touch your own butthole too. You've been warned.

[Randiriel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is probably great for burnt out cis women. That's not me. I haven't returned a book in a very long time, but this one went back. Extremely cis-normative, no consideration for trans or nonbinary experiences, which seems a little ridiculous as it was published in 2018. Not all people with menstrual cycles are women, and not all women have menstrual cycles - which the author does briefly address, which got my hopes up, only to dash them as she listed exclusively cis-woman examples.

On the subject of publishing, it seems as though this book needed an awful lot of padding to meet some page minimum, as there are a ton of full page photograph spreads, some of which have pithy little quotes from adjacent pages, some of which come jarringly in the middle of sentences. I found this to be a distracting experience when I'm just trying to get to the meat of the information.

Speaking of information, this book is extremely geared toward burnt out cis women. There is very little advice for people who have difficulty finding motivation or drive, and almost none for people who fall outside of the author's narrow definition of women. Nearly every chapter is either "harness your Yang properly stop burning yourself out" or "please for the love of god rest during this Yin phase" and like? I am the opposite. The author mentions this near the beginning, but I did not expect it to be this overt and exclusive.

There's probably a lot of valuable advice in this book for people much more like the author, but I put it disgruntledly on my DNF pile after weeks of trying my best. Reconsider if you're "type b". Outright avoid if you are not cisgender.

[Lis - The Indigo Quill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lunar Abundance was a title one of my book clubs was interested in going through together. Over the last cycle we have used the moon to become more conscious with our living. The book is formatted as more of a workbook, with questions to answer and journal about your experience. It's laden with gorgeous images and illustrations that I could easily frame and hang on the wall.

Lunar Abundance isn't a metaphysical book. I suppose it could be seen among such titles, but I would label it as self-help. It offers a recipe for using the visual marker of the moon to create attainable goals through Yin (resting) and Yang (action).

The printables found on the website were a nice bonus and helped simplify what was discussed in the book. I also loved that each chapter had a summary at the end.

The reason I give it three stars is I feel the book was much longer than necessary. For myself and the women in my book club, most of us have very busy schedules, and as I was reading I kept thinking "this could've been said in less words." It also had a lot of technical errors that made me cringe. Wordiness, unnecessary "fluff," an overabundance of punctuation, and repetitive terms. There should've been a lot more editing before hitting the shelves.

Love the imagery, the workbook portions are fairly simple, but reading through the text was a struggle.

[Samantha Puc · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars. I received an advanced reader copy of Lunar Abundance: Cultivating Joy, Peace, and Purpose Using the Phases of the Moon from Running Press Books in exchange for an honest review on The Verbal Thing. You can read that review in full here, or read an excerpt below.

***

Centered on Spencer’s own experiences working with the moon and learning to follow its cycles in order to improve her relationship with her body, with nature, and with that ever-elusive work/life balance, Lunar Abundance explores how she works with the moon to achieve a state of “abundance”, which allows her to live her fullest life, give back what she can, and not stress about the things that make so many of us — myself included — incredibly anxious.

...

In our society, which is rampant with “bootstraps” rhetoric and absolutely ridiculous challenges to even earn a living wage, it can be especially hard to feel like we deserve time to ourselves. We work on our days off, sacrifice important recharge time, and change plans with friends and partners in order to earn an extra few bucks. And while hustling isn’t bad, we must also practice self care.

Spencer’s book serves as a guide for balancing those things, and learning how to listen to our bodies and our minds. It isn’t condescending, the way many self-help books can be, and it gives you the space — both mentally and literally on its pages — to focus your thoughts and consider what’s best for you and your life.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books are meant to be purchased and read. Others are meant to be purchased and studied. And some, like this one, are meant for dipping. The idea of the book is that women are often too busy to notice how they react with nature, or how much they need to.
This is a lovely, detailed book about interacting with the moon for strength and fulfillment. There are exercises for each phase of the moon. There are prompts for journaling. There is information that is fun to read and informative.
It's a big book of opportunities. I enjoy looking up a phase to see where I am in relationship to it, to dive deep for a few days, then to move away again.
If you know nothing about the mood and the feminine aspect of the moon, this is an excellent place to start. Already an expert? This book will help you dig deeper.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began incorporating the Lunar Abundance practice and the benefits I feel are much more calmness, peace and gratitude. I especially love Ezzie's live new moon intention setting meditations that she guides each month when you sign up on her website. The way she guides you is so beautiful and you find the deepest intention from within your body and your heart, which is more powerful than what you think you want in your mind. The book itself is also beautiful and I love how it's set up to be easily used and re-read each month as needed! This is a practice that you can pick up and weave into your life to reduce overwhelm or feeling stuck and have a clear path to follow to get to where you want to be in life.

[Dreya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the idea of using the natural world, the moon cycle specifically, as a physical and regular reminder of an arbitrary schedule of self reflection and improvement. I will be able to use some of these ideas. Some of the activities or reflections in each of the cycles weren’t as obvious as others and seemed like maybe it was the same as another phase. I’d recommend to someone who wants some outside reminders, as well as the cycles being so short that you can rework your intention or find out another more pressing one without having to feel guilty about investing so much time (only a month).

[Lashette · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, its a beautiful book. The images, artwork, format and construction work together to make reading (and writing) a pleasant experience. They also bulk up the book a bit so its really not as long as it looks.

Second, I like and better understand the yin and yang portion of Ezzie's practice. However, I think the yin chapters are more explaining what yin is and isn't, than how to be during those periods of the moon cycles. The Yang times get examples while the Yin's don't really.

Overall, a nice uplifting book with nothing surprising but nothing harmful. I like that she kept things open enough for each reader to find their own path/cycle.

[Bledvar Albekell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book but it didn't reward my philosophical and motivational drive. As a self-help book aimed at women, I found the book discriminating that males seeking to develop their feminine side are not referenced. Sure, the male Moon gods from various cultures are mentioned but there is a recurring emphasis on the feminine even during the Yin and Yang discussions of the Moon phases. I found some of the exercises to be pretentious expecting the reader to be of a particular social class and financial status. I was very disappointed and I think the aim of this book is to take advantage of naive readers and people looking for self-growth. Not a book I would recommend.

[Claudia Loureiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this vbook, Ezzie is so inspiring and offers a unique avenue of self-improvement by working with the moon cycles. Since practicing her methods I've noticed a difference in my relationship to myself and am much more aware and sensitive to how to work with these energies during different lunar cycles throughout the month!