Modern lunar astrology · Symbolic interpretation
New moon intentions: a simple reflection practice
Writing down intentions at the new moon is one of the most widespread modern lunar practices: name what you want to begin at the start of the cycle, and look at it again as the Moon grows. Here is where it comes from, what practitioners say it is for, and a short version that needs nothing but a pen.
Where the practice comes from
It is modern and Western, and younger than it is often made to sound. One popular format, ten wishes written within hours of the new moon, traces to a single book of 2001; the Historical beliefs side documents that format and the wider practice. Practitioners such as the AstroTwins frame the new moon as a time for fresh starts and beginnings (opens in a new tab), with intentions building through the waxing half of the month.
The sky that night
At new moon the Moon is roughly between Earth and the Sun, so its lit side faces away from us and it rises and sets with the Sun. There is nothing to see; the first thin crescent shows in the evening a day or two later. The new moon, as astronomy. The calendar gives the date of the next one.
A ten-minute version
A Cool Moon Facts reflection prompt
- Any time on the day of the new moon, or the evening after, sit somewhere quiet with a pen and paper. The exact minute does not matter to this.
- Write three short sentences that begin “I am beginning…”. Make them specific enough that you would recognise progress.
- Circle one you could act on this week, and write its first small step underneath.
- Put the page where you will see it again about a week later, at the first quarter, and again at the full moon.
Nothing to buy, burn or drink. This is an exercise written for this site, not an old ceremony, and it promises nothing beyond what writing something down can do.
What it can and cannot do
Practitioners describe the practice as working with the cycle rather than against it. This site makes no claim that the Moon changes what happens to anyone; if the practice helps, the help is in the attention. That is not nothing, and it is also all this page promises.
Sources
Practitioner sources tell you what those practitioners say. They are not evidence that the Moon does it.
- Practitioner The AstroTwins (Ophira and Tali Edut), New and Full Moon Rituals, Astrostyle (opens in a new tab) for the new moon as a time for fresh starts, with intentions building through the waxing Moon
- Astronomy NASA Science, Moon Phases (opens in a new tab) for what the new moon is, astronomically