There’s something magical happening every month, a gift bestowed on us from the universe that might be easily missed: the new moon. But if we look at its intrinsic potential and meaning, it’s an event that shouldn’t be overlooked.
In some ways, the cycle of lunation is the basis of our lives and the rhythm by which all the other aspects of the astrological pantheon manifest themselves. It’s the rhythm that marks the passage of the sun and the other planets. It marks the beginning, the development, and the culminating phase of projects.
In short, it’s an invaluable guide, and we’d like to inspire you to really harness the potential of new moon energy with a ritual you can explore every month.
What is a new moon?
The new moon is one of the moon’s many phases occurring every 28-30 days. It’s the initial phase of the lunar cycle, from which the next fundamental phases unfold: the first quarter, the full moon, and the last quarter. During a new moon, the moon and the sun align, and the sun shines behind the moon, making the moon practically “invisible”. But, although invisible, the new moon represents a very important phase of the cycle: the beginning.
What is the meaning of the new moon?
There are different ways to define the new moon: a "beginning", "departure", “new opportunity” or even a "door that shows a new way". While they are all fitting definitions, a new moon is first and foremost a conjunction, which is an appointment between the sun and the moon that meet exactly on the same zodiacal degree.
Marking the beginning of the lunar cycle, the new moon is like a seed: within itself it has the power to generate universes, but it is a completely latent power. For it to come out and transform from power into action, three ingredients are needed: time, care, and a fertile soil ready to receive it.
The new moon is the phase of the lunar cycle with the highest generative potential. It gives us a seed (made of intentions, projects, initiatives), that must then be cultivated in the right soil to be translated into concrete activities. In a nutshell, it marks the best days to give life to something new.
Why have a new moon ritual?
The moon is our guide to help make the best out of our potential, giving us the opportunity to harness the cosmic forces that best enhance specific actions intended for us.
The new moon stands for new beginnings, or rather a clean slate: this is the time to start a new cycle, to set intentions for ourselves that we want to manifest in the following weeks until the moon is completely full, hence ready to foster our actions, accomplishments, and initiatives.
A new moon ritual is finding time and space for yourself to look inward and define your intentions and desires, visualize them, and eventually set them in motion.
Make sure you create a ritual that feels natural to you, trust your gut and intuition about what feels authentic. We’re giving you a little step-by-step guidance below for you to re-create your own new moon ritual and a few practical tips on how to make it special.
New moon ritual: Harness the new moon’s energy in 5 steps
Here are 5 steps for your new moon ritual that will hopefully help you take in all that new moon energy. You can go back to these tips every month.
1. Prepare your sacred space
First of all, pick the right time for your ritual. Ideally, it should be the evening of the new moon or the one after. Make sure you have about 20 minutes just for yourself.
Secondly, find a space that is clean and welcoming, turn on some mood music, light some candles and prepare something warm and nourishing to eat or drink.
2. Ground yourself
Grounding yourself means feeling a connection to nature and to everything that surrounds you.
A great way to find this connection is by having all four of nature’s elements in your sacred space: for example, you could use crystals (earth), candles (fire), incense (air), and a bowl of water with salt (water).
3. Cleanse the space
At this point, it’s important to cleanse your sacred space by burning rosemary, mugwort, palo santo, sage or any other “smudge bundle” which is accessible to you.
Light the stick or bundle and wave it around yourself in circular motions or around any specific objects or space you want to energetically clear.
Now, close your eyes, breathe, and try to clear your mind. As thoughts naturally come in, try to simply observe them and then release them to make space for all the new things that you are about to intentionally envision or manifest.
Think of what you want to achieve and how you see yourself growing with the moon over the next month.
4. Write down your intentions
Once you’ve had the time to look inward, write down your intentions on a piece of paper or a journal.
Writing down is a different way of processing information compared to only thinking about what you want to accomplish. You can do so by asking yourself questions like “Where am I in this present moment?”, “What do I still need to let go of?”, “Where can I better put my energy into?”.
As the new moon also stands for new beginnings, you can start something new as part of your new moon ritual: write the first line of a novel, make a phone call, send that email, (re)open a certain conversation - anything that has the flavor of an incipit.
While it is not enough to do all the work, it’s still essential to break the stillness in favor of all the necessary actions that will come later on.
5. Visualize
After you’ve written down your intentions, close your eyes and visualize them as if they are already accomplished.
Imagine the actual scenario and the feelings that it would evoke. A new moon ritual should encourage you to rest, reflect, visualise, and get deeper in touch with yourself and your desires.
Hold your intentions or store them in a journal and go back to them anytime throughout the following weeks, to renew your intention setting and manifestation.
It’s a great way to check in on yourself, acknowledge where you want to go, and give credit to how far you have already come.
At AVMM, we take pride in not only creating slow fashion, but also fostering a mindful, slow way of living. For more rituals, check out our Winter Solstice Ritual Offering or our little guide on how to kick off a mindful morning the right way.
This article was written by Ambra Andrei, AVMM's content contributor and stylist.
