The moon's rhythm and why it is felt
A new moon is for setting intentions and a full moon is for letting go. The moon that pulls whole oceans into tides is unlikely to leave a human body that is around seventy per cent water untouched. In astrology and esoteric practice the moon stands for emotion, instinct and the subconscious, and working with its phases rather than against them is what gives these two rituals their reputation.
New moon: sowing the seed
The new moon is the dark stretch when the moon is not visible in the sky. It belongs to beginnings and to fresh energy, which makes it the phase for naming what you want to draw towards you rather than for finishing anything off.
The new moon intention ritual
- Take a clean sheet of paper and a pen. Red ink is traditionally used to lift the energy.
- Write your intentions in the present tense, either for the coming 28 days, until the next new moon, or for the coming six months, until the full moon falls in that same sign. For example: "I have started work that is new and nourishing, and I am grateful for it."
- As you write, try to feel the wish as if it had already happened. Feeling, not wording, is the fuel here.
- Fold the paper and keep it somewhere of your own: a wallet, under a pillow, a box you use for nothing else.
Full moon: harvest, light and release
The full moon is the phase of greatest brightness and visibility. Emotions run high and whatever has been hidden tends to surface. It is the time to gather the harvest of seeds planted at the new moon, or to let go of habits and relationships that no longer serve you.
The full moon release ritual
- Take a sheet of paper again, but this time write what you want out of your life: fears, worries, debts, the beliefs that keep you small.
- Say the intention out loud: "I release all of this energy that does not serve me, and I send it back to its source with love."
- Burn the paper somewhere safe, in a fireproof dish or outdoors, and watch the smoke carry it away from you.
- Rinse the ashes away with water or bury them in soil. Picture the water or the earth completing the cleansing.
Keeping the two rituals connected
The pair works better than either half alone. What you name at the new moon gives you something concrete to review two weeks later, and what you release at the full moon clears space for the next round of intentions. The sign the moon is moving through colours the mood of each phase, which you can follow in our horoscopes.
Moving with the cycles of nature lowers your resistance to life and makes the sky feel like company rather than weather. Let the moonlight be your guide.
