This is one charged up full moon.

I haven’t been in a very Aries mood lately. The moon in Pisces always seems to make me moody and emotional, but to be fair, I’m usually PMSing around this time of the month. Once the wateriness of Pisces fades and the moon moves into spicy Aries, I can usually feel a hyped-up, energetic shift.

But this month is different.

First of all, we have Mars retrograding through Aries. The warrior planet in the fiery sign that usually wants to move full steam ahead does not charge along as confidently when it’s retrograding. Then we had Mars squaring Saturn earlier this week, and Saturn finally stationing direct in Capricorn after retrograding back from Aquarius for a little over four months.

Mercury is now in Scorpio, meaning thoughts and conversations are much more intense, emotionally charged and no bullshit than they were just a week ago, when the planet of communication was in peacemaker Libra. And Mercury has officially entered its shadow phase before it begins its own retrograde Oct. 13.

That should be enough, right? Wrong!! There’s a full moon in the sky as we speak!!!

The thing that gives the first full moon of this month a little extra oomph is the conjunction it’s forming with Chiron, an asteroid known in astrology as the “wounded healer.”

The moon is already sensitive. Ruled by the sign of Cancer, she is all about emotions and fluidity. Add to that Chiron, which represents deep, unhealed wounds and even trauma in many cases, and you’ve got yourself an emotionally charged period of time.

I’ve certainly felt all of the emotions of the full moon and its conjunction with Chiron. All of this is happening in my sixth house of wellness, daily routine and taking care of things, and I have been worried about my health and the health of others this week.

But since Mars retrograde in Aries is also happening in my sixth house, I’m trying to embrace this as a time to get rid of bad habits and adopt healthier ones, and to be more organized and have better structure to my day.

For example, I’ve basically completely stopped vaping at this point. I’ve been smoking on and off since college, and while I don’t really smoke cigarettes at all anymore, I’ve been pretty addicted to my vape for awhile now (damn you delicious Puff Plus bars). Who knows if my most recent quit attempt will stick this time, but I have a really good feeling about it. I stopped drinking almost five months ago, and in some ways, quitting smoking feels like it’s been even harder than that, believe it or not (certified sober badass Amy Dresner wrote about why here).

Another sixth house thing I’ve been doing this week is getting up every morning and immediately meditating for ten minutes, followed by ten minutes of writing in my journal. At the end of my journal writing, I set my intentions for the day. And it’s been phenomenal for keeping me grounded.

My emotions are a bit all over the place at the moment, what with the PMSing, worrying and nicotine withdrawl, but setting those intentions makes an enormous difference.

It can be hard to face any tumultuous emotions or feelings that a full moon might bring up, especially one as raw as this one. But you know what? We shouldn’t be afraid of change, or tumult, or the unknown, or even the darker side of things, because that is ultimately what makes us better. We can never be our best selves until we face the truth, look darkness in the face and let go of what’s no longer serving us.

That’s the literal magic of full moon, and I like to use that magic for the highest good, even if that means bursting into tears at random intervals along the way. Crying is magic too, you know.