Full moon journal prompts are questions for the middle of the lunar cycle, the evening when the Moon is full, about two weeks after the new Moon. The useful ones ask what has become visible since the cycle began, whether the direction you chose still fits, and what you would like to say, change or put down in the second half. Two or three prompts and ten minutes are enough; the point is to notice, not to produce a finished page.
This article is the long list. The short method, three questions and what to do with the answers, is in full moon reflection. Use that if you want a fixed routine, and this when you want more angles to choose from.
How to use these prompts
The full Moon is the night the Moon is opposite the Sun and its whole face is lit. Symbolically it is the cycle’s brightest point, which is why most traditions read it as a time when things show. In practice, it is a good evening to look at the last two weeks with the lights on.
- Read back your new moon page, if you wrote one. Two minutes is enough.
- Pick two or three prompts from the sets below. One from “what has come to light” is a good start.
- Write for a few minutes each, without editing.
- Underline one thing to carry into the waning half: something to keep, something to change, or something to finish.
If a prompt turns up a big decision, write it down and let it rest a few days before acting.
Prompts for what has come to light
- What is clearer now than it was two weeks ago?
- What turned out to be bigger, or smaller, than I thought?
- What have the last two weeks been full of?
- Which feeling has come up more than once lately, and where?
- What did someone say recently that I am still thinking about?
Prompts by area of life
Work and career
- Which piece of work is going better than I expected, and why?
- What have I been avoiding, and what does the avoiding cost me each week?
- Where do I need help, and who could I ask?
- What would I like to have finished by the next new Moon?
Love and relationships
- Who has been on my mind this cycle, and have I told them?
- Which relationship feels easy at the moment, and what keeps it that way?
- Where did I say yes when I meant no, or no when I meant yes?
- What is one sentence I would like to say to someone this week?
Self and emotions
- How have I been, honestly, since the new Moon?
- What has been giving me energy, and what has been using it up?
- What did I need last week that I did not give myself?
- What am I proud of that nobody else noticed?
Decisions and change
- Which decision looks clearer than it did two weeks ago?
- What new information do I have that I am not yet using?
- What am I holding on to only because I already started it?
- What would change if I let the second half of this cycle be lighter?
Creativity and inspiration
- What has caught my attention lately, even briefly?
- Which idea keeps coming back, and what would a first small try look like?
- When did I last lose track of time, and what was I doing?
- What would I make if I had one free afternoon this week?
Prompts for the direction you chose
If you set an intention at the new Moon, these check it. If you did not, skip to the next set.
- Do I still want to carry the direction I chose?
- Where did I follow it without trying, and where did I forget it?
- Does it mean something different now from what it meant two weeks ago?
- If I rewrote it in one line tonight, what would it say?
Whatever the answer, the direction is yours to keep, reword or let go, and the second half of the cycle can run without one. How intentions work across a cycle is in new moon intentions.
Prompts for what to put down
Use these tonight or any evening in the next two weeks, as the Moon wanes.
- What am I ready to stop doing, even if I do not yet know what replaces it?
- Which commitment did I make out of habit rather than choice?
- What worry have I carried this cycle that turned out not to need me?
- What would I like to finish, so that I can stop thinking about it?
The full Moon by sign pair
At every full Moon, the Moon and the Sun stand in opposite signs. Astrology reads that as a balance between two themes, one lit by the Moon and one by the Sun, and many people like to add a prompt for the pair. There are six pairs, and each is usually lit twice a year, once from each side: a full Moon in Aries comes while the Sun is in Libra, and a full Moon in Libra while the Sun is in Aries. The windows below are the usual Sun-sign dates and shift by a day from year to year.
Aries and Libra: me and us
A full Moon in Aries falls while the Sun is in Libra, usually between 23 September and 22 October. A full Moon in Libra falls while the Sun is in Aries, usually between 20 March and 19 April.
- Where have I been putting other people’s comfort ahead of my own, or my own ahead of theirs?
- What do I want to do alone, and what do I want to do with someone?
Taurus and Scorpio: what is mine and what is shared
A full Moon in Taurus comes with the Sun in Scorpio, usually 23 October to 21 November. A full Moon in Scorpio comes with the Sun in Taurus, usually 20 April to 20 May.
- What do I hold on to tightly, and what would happen if I loosened my grip a little?
- Where am I sharing more, or less, than feels right: time, money, trust?
Gemini and Sagittarius: the details and the big picture
A full Moon in Gemini comes with the Sun in Sagittarius, usually 22 November to 21 December. A full Moon in Sagittarius comes with the Sun in Gemini, usually 21 May to 20 June.
- Am I lost in details, or so far in the big picture that I am missing them?
- What do I believe about my situation, and what do I actually know?
Cancer and Capricorn: home and work
A full Moon in Cancer comes with the Sun in Capricorn, usually 22 December to 19 January. A full Moon in Capricorn comes with the Sun in Cancer, usually 21 June to 22 July.
- How is the balance between what I need at home and what I want from work?
- What would I protect if I had to choose one this week?
Leo and Aquarius: my voice and the group
A full Moon in Leo comes with the Sun in Aquarius, usually 20 January to 18 February. A full Moon in Aquarius comes with the Sun in Leo, usually 23 July to 22 August.
- Where do I want to be seen, and where would I rather be one of many?
- Which group am I part of because I chose it, and which because it was there?
Virgo and Pisces: order and letting go
A full Moon in Virgo comes with the Sun in Pisces, usually 19 February to 20 March. A full Moon in Pisces comes with the Sun in Virgo, usually 23 August to 22 September.
- What am I trying to fix that might need to be left alone?
- What is drifting that could use a little order?
A note on full moon nights
Some people sleep less well or feel more restless around the full Moon, and others notice nothing. Studies have not found a consistent effect of the Moon on sleep or mood, so your own experience is the better guide: if full moon evenings tend to feel busy, keep the writing short and leave the bigger questions for a quieter night.
Where this lives in Cosmia
Cosmia marks the full Moon with a Full Moon Check-in at the bottom of the Today screen, next to the Evening Reflection, for the whole day: one short question about what has shown up in the first half of the cycle. What you write is saved to the Journal by date, so you can scroll back to what you wrote at the new Moon. The start of the cycle is in new moon journal prompts, and the six phases in between are in journal prompts for every Moon phase. More on writing at the end of an ordinary day is in evening reflection questions.
