The new moon is a potent time to turn inwards, reset, and plan your next move toward impactful changes.

New moon rituals are practices to help you manifest your dreams into reality – anything can be a ritual – so long as there is conscious awareness behind it. Intention setting is clearly stating what you want to experience and achieve through your actions. What matters most is that it’s unique and works for you.

Understanding the lunar cycle

Every 29.5 days the moon completes a full Lunar cycle. During this cycle, the moon goes through eight phases as it orbits around the earth – with each phase offering a different energy which we can channel into daily life.

The new moon is the first phase of the Lunar cycle when the moon is dark and ‘empty’, occurring when the moon is between the earth and the sun. Symbolising a cosmic reset and new beginning, it’s a perfect opportunity to ask ‘what am I ready to invite in?’ and consciously set intentions for the upcoming lunar cycle.

As the moon travels through her cycle, becoming increasingly illuminated from the new Moon to the full moon (which is the fifth phase), it’s believed our intentions will too.

THE MOON = FEMALE ENERGY

Astrologically speaking, the moon is considered female energy. She governs our deepest emotions and subconscious desires. Her energetic shifts influence the cyclical nature of our bodies (especially women who menstruate) as we respond to her ebbs and flows. When you think that the moon influences the ocean’s tides, and we are made of more than 55% water, it’s really no wonder we respond to her power. Traditional farming practices involved planting seeds at this time; the moon’s gravitational pull made the soil wet and fertile. So too can we plant the seeds of our intentions, and ask the universe to support us in bringing these to fruition at the full moon.

Observing a moon phase calendar is an easy way to live deliberately in accordance with each phase of the Moons cycle and supercharge your life to flow with her astrological energy.

Recording upcoming new and full moons in your planner or calendar app makes monthly intention setting a ritual – and offers a powerful way to honour our connection with mother nature and the cosmos.

PREPPING FOR YOUR NEW MOON RITUAL

Carve out some time Recording upcoming new and full Moons in your planner or calendar app makes monthly intention setting a ritual – and offers a powerful way to honour our connection with mother nature and the cosmos.

The most powerful time for rituals, meditation and self-reflection are on the day of the new moon and the three days following. Schedule some time that works for you, ideally during the night time to fully embrace the moons energy, and make en effort to be present and engaged. You can make your ritual as short or long as you like.

Pick a space and set up

Decide on a space you’ll do your ritual. You’ll need a quiet and comfortable spot to sit – by a window or if the weather is nice, outside, to soak up the moon’s energy.

Gather your spiritual tools. In particular:

• A notebook or journal and a pen
• A candle

Optionally, you can also include the following in your ritual:

• A deck of tarot or oracle cards
• Crystals
• Smudge sticks
• Mood music
• A bath

Performing The Ritual

The following steps are a suggestion for the format of your ritual, you can follow it as it appears, or pick and choose the steps which work for you. So long as you’re consciously recording your intentions, you can’t go wrong.

Inhale and exhale

Light your candle to illuminate your workspace. Begin by meditating for a few minutes to clear out any chatter. There are a bunch of new moon meditations available on YouTube, or you can do your own using frequency music (we like this playlist). Meditation is a great way to gauge where your head is at and centre yourself before you begin.

Write it down

First, spend a few moments to get clear with your intentions. Ask yourself ‘what do I want to bring in this month?’. Jot down your thoughts in a note book or journal (there is something particularly magical about putting pen to paper), allow your thoughts to flow. Once you feel in your body you’ve shared enough, pick out 3-5 intentions and clearly write them down in short sentences. It’s best to keep it simple.

Use Visualisation

After you’ve recorded your intentions, spend a few minutes visualising. Visualisation is a powerful tool to use not only for intention setting but for manifesting as well. Close your eyes and clearly imagine whatever it is you want to see, be or do. The power of visualisation is realised when you feel the emotions you’d feel when that intention manifests, as though they’ve already happened. Imagine your intentions have manifested, and use descriptive words like ‘thankful’, ‘fulfilled’ and ‘accomplished’ for example.

Draw a card

Now you’re channeling the positive emotions of your intention, you should feel calm and connected. While holding your tarot or oracle deck ask the universe ‘what knowledge do I need to successfully manifest my intentions this cycle?’. Inhale and exhale deeply and slowly before pulling a card from your deck. Let your intuition assist with your interpretation and let its insight guide you through the next cycle.

Clear your energetic space

Now you have set your intention and received insight from the universe, it’s important to clear yourself and your space by burning a cleansing incense or herb such as palo santo or white sage. Further deepen your cleansing practise and listen to relaxing tunes – we love these Tibetan Bowls and Chakra playlists. If you’re inside, make sure that the space has an open window or door while you’re burning herbs. Take a cleansing bath

Immersing yourself long and rejuvenating ritual bath with herbs, florals, essential oils and salts (which are particularly cleansing), complete with candles, can further cleanse you of energies and heighten your experience. When you’re ready to get out of the bath, pull out the plug and remain in the bath while it empties; imagine you are washing away anything old or bad to make way for something new.

Take action

Be sure to take aligned and inspired action towards your intention, respond to opportunities as they present themselves during the month and listen to your intuition. Manifesting is a collaboration between you and the Universe, which requires your active involvement.

As with many spiritual practices, there is no singular right or wrong way to perform a new moon ritual. If you don’t have some of these items or you just don’t resonate with using them, that’s okay. Adjust the ritual according to your preferences and make it your own. Rituals are a beautiful way to do something nice for yourself and take some quiet time to listen to your intuition and check in. They can be as simple or elaborate as you choose so long as the practice is done with a sense of awareness and purpose.

“A new moon teaches gradualness and deliberation and how one gives birth to oneself slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe.”
– Rumi