Each New Moon starts a month-long Lunar Cycle when we feel motivated to improve the area of life (the house) related to that sign in your birth chart. Normally, we have 12 month-long Lunar Cycles in a year, one in each sign.
But every 2.5 years, there are two New Moons in one of the signs. One New Moon occurs when the Sun is at the beginning of the sign and the other one occurs when the Sun is at the end of the sign. Because each New Moon starts a Lunar Cycle that lasts a month, there will be two Lunar Cycles in the same sign back to back. You get two months to focus on the house related to that sign in your birth chart. The extra Lunar Cycle is called Adhika Masa.
What Adhika Masa Feels Like and What to Do During This Time
⏸️ What it feels like. During this extra month, life feels like it is on pause — an extra month outside of time where not much happens. Life stands still and feels restful. It is an opportunity to rest, slow down, and reflect on what you want before life kicks back up. It is also a powerful time for spiritual practice.
🧘 What to do. In India, it is said that it is inauspicious to do much else during this time. It is not a time to do big things, which are often unsuccessful if you try them now. Try not to beat yourself up if you haven’t accomplished much — you are drawn toward introspection instead. The rest, reflection, and rejuvenating spiritual practice are more important until the extra month ends. These activities will help you get clear on what you want to do during the second Lunar Cycle in that sign, which is when you can move forward with what you’ve learned.
How the New Moons and Full Moons Change after Adhika Masa
Three interesting astrological shifts happen after every Adhika Masa (the extra month that happens roughly every 32 months). Overall, these make the Full Moons and the waning half of the Lunar Cycle more intense. These effects last for about a year and a half after the extra month.
1. 🌑 Lunar Cycles start 3–4 weeks after the Sun transits into a sign.
Every month, you are usually working on two things at once: the Sun is giving you insight into what to do next month while you are still acting on what you learned about last month.
Example: After the New Moon in Leo, the Sun moves into the next sign (Virgo) a few days later. So even though you are taking action around Leo themes (and the house Leo is in your birth chart) all month during the Lunar Cycle after the New Moon in Leo, the Sun will be teaching you about Virgo themes (and the house Virgo represents in your chart) most of the month as well, because the Sun is in Virgo.
2. 🌕 Full Moons happen 8 houses away from the New Moon instead of 7.
New Moons happen when the Sun and Moon are in the same sign. Full Moons happen when the Sun and Moon are opposite each other in the sky — they are in opposite signs.
- Normally (7 houses away — balancing): The Full Moon happens in the sign opposite the sign where the New Moon occurred. For example, when the New Moon happens in Aries, the Full Moon usually happens in Libra (the sign opposite Aries). Opposite signs balance each other, so the Full Moon brings in the qualities of the opposite sign and house. We explore that balance in the waning half of the Lunar Cycle.
Example: In the two weeks after the New Moon in Aries (waxing phase), you feel the qualities of Aries (wanting to start new things, take action, focused on self; impulsive, restless, and prone to anger if you do not take action) and you want to work on the house Aries represents in your birth chart. After the Full Moon in Libra (Sun still in Aries, Moon in Libra), you still pursue Aries qualities but start caring about the opposite qualities of Libra (thinking about other people over your own interests, patience, slowing down to make a well-thought-out decision) and the house Libra represents. In the two weeks after the Full Moon, you seek a balance between these two opposite sign qualities and houses.
- After Adhika Masa (8 houses away — transforming): When the Full Moon occurs in the sign 8 houses away from the New Moon (for example, New Moon in Aries with Full Moon in Scorpio instead of Libra), the feeling of the Full Moon changes. This happens when the Sun has moved into a different sign before the Full Moon. The sign 8 houses away transforms instead of balances — it causes us to change and may revolutionize how we do things in the house the New Moon happened in. The second half of the month feels particularly transformative and a bit more intense.
Example: Imagine the New Moon happens in Gemini (Sun and Moon both in Gemini). In the two weeks after the New Moon (waxing phase), you feel the qualities of Gemini (curious, talkative, making things fun, wanting to explore and learn about a variety of things, overstimulated, information overload) and you want to work on the house Gemini represents. Then the Sun moves into Cancer (the sign after Gemini) before the Full Moon. So during the Full Moon, the Sun is in Cancer and the Moon is in Capricorn (the sign opposite Cancer). Capricorn is 8 houses away from Gemini. After the Full Moon in Capricorn, you still pursue Gemini qualities but also start caring about the balance between Cancer (heart, intuition, emotions, unconditional love) and Capricorn (serious, valuing quiet and solitude, aware of what could go wrong and working hard to prevent it, committing long-term in a sustainable way) — and the houses Cancer and Capricorn represent. Those Capricorn qualities don’t balance Gemini; they change and transform how you do them. The quiet and solitude Capricorn makes us crave helps soothe Gemini’s overstimulation. The desire for commitment and hard work Capricorn brings may help your Gemini side stick with one thing long enough to make real progress. In the two weeks after the Full Moon, Capricorn qualities help you evolve and grow your Gemini side, while keeping the Cancer qualities and house in mind. Making those changes may not be easy and may be intense.
3. 🔄 The balancing Full Moon now arrives two weeks before its matching New Moon.
When the Full Moon occurs 8 houses away from the New Moon, the balancing 7-houses-away Full Moon happens two weeks before the New Moon it balances. For example, the Full Moon in Libra (Sun in Aries, Moon in Libra) happens two weeks before the New Moon in Aries. This means that in the two weeks before each New Moon, you are processing emotions and trying to balance qualities related to the next New Moon and its opposite. You may let go of emotional patterns and limiting beliefs in those two weeks that will help you handle the next Lunar Cycle better.