The Full Moon receives a lot of credit for various things, ranging from emotional turmoil to high hospitalization rates; but it is pretty rare (and dare I say virtually non-existent) that the New Moon is given the same level of acknowledgement. One can visibly see the moon at 100% of its bright, round magnificence when it is full. On the other hand, and at the polar opposite of the Full Moon phase, the New Moon isn’t visible to the human eye at all. It rests at 0% visibility.

That doesn’t sound very powerful, now does it? However, it most certainly can be! Some people believe it is more powerful than the almighty and infamous Full Moon. So, what type(s) of magick are they practicing you ask? What is the New Moon ideal for? Where does its strength lie?

Let’s look at the phases of the moon in the format of an idea or goal, and the New Moon is where it all begins (or resets). Magickal workings for this phase, indeed, should include the “seed” of the idea. With this in mind, consider that every invention one knows of today began as a seed or an idea in the mind of the inventor who brought it to life. Using the moon’s phases to plant, nurture, grow and harvest your desires is simply a tool, a cycle you can align with to observe (and tweak as needed) one’s own personal life manifestations.

Looking up to the sky during the New Moon phase might bring about the old adage, “out of sight, out of mind,” one cannot see it, so it makes sense that the magick should happen beneath the surface, behind the curtain of stars and from within ourselves. Though one can set or re-assess one’s intentions for growth and full (eventual) external manifestation, the majority of the work with the beloved New Moon is recommended to be sought and tended to internally.

Let us discuss what types of magick would be best suited for this moon phase. Any type of magick workings that focus on cleansing oneself, whether it be on a physical, spiritual mental, or emotional level. This may include rituals or spellwork that focus on removing aspects in one’s life that are no longer necessary, or coming to terms with how things are. This moon phase is also a good time to work on spells that have already been performed and need additional strength, or a resetting of intentions. During the New Moon is also a good time to work on growth, which can be something as simple as enhancing, or expanding upon a spell that was previously performed, or it can be working on one’s personal growth. Another area of focus during the New Moon would be new beginnings, or perhaps deciding to start something new. The New Moon marks the start of the Moon’s cycle, it starts as what appears to be nothing, then grows until it is full. Starting new spells, activities, or anything in general will also grow stronger as the moon grows. 

Now that we’ve discussed a bit about key focal areas, here are a few New Moon practices for you to try:

Cleanse before setting intentions.

One can use this magickal time to quite literally and physically clear out junk and organize your space, as well as perform an energetic cleanse. Housework isn’t necessarily something that’s done internally, but often one feels better on the inside when the external environment is “up to par,” so to speak. Having an allocated or a designated area as one’s “sacred space” often can help with magickal workings. With this particular phase, it is a good time to simply tidy it up from all angles, in all aspects: physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Some choose to use sage or palo santo to clear out stale and unwanted energy, while others simply close their eyes and clear the space from the other plane, or through visualizations. Others will use an enchanted or blessed water, or maybe even diffused oils. There are many ways to energetically cleanse your space. Use what works best for you.

Meditate.

It is a good habit to do daily meditations, but during the New Moon, it can be especially beneficial. Things change, that is inevitable, change is the only constant thing in this world. If one attempted to plant a seed from the prior New Moon, and expected a different result by now, one might ponder the current obstacles of the desire, and alternatives, or the means of overcoming such obstacles during your meditations in order to “reset” your intention.

If one chooses to reset, or even if one is just starting out with planting the seed, one can use meditation to hone in on the details of what the finished product or result will look like. This is essentially creating (or altering) the genes of the seed – the smaller building blocks and components of growth that lead to a fully matured success. 

One can burn candles and/or incense in alignment with the vibration(s) with the end goal(s) in mind. For example: burn a green candle and frankincense for money intentions. After which, you would continue the same ritual at roughly the same time daily, up to and on the Full Moon, if drawn to do so. It also helps to divide the candle into the corresponding number of days you will be burning it by carving markings or lines to snuff the candle each time, then wrap up each daily portion of the ritual. As the candle lessens and the moon increases, visualize and feel the intention coming to life.

Schedule a date with your shadow, i.e. your “dark” side, transmute and find balance. Know thyself.

The New Moon is a great time to also explore weaknesses and shortcomings. Perhaps these are the very things that have created obstacles to success, or just strive to continually rise above and be better. Use the hidden moon above to find hidden tendencies and traits that may be carried below. Acquainting yourself these traits can adjust, or transmute them to aid in a better equilibrium, and therefore, more stable ground to “plant” your intention. Solid foundations are important regardless – but for big ideas, especially.

Let’s say that this date with your shadow side reveals a personal flawed thinking pattern. You had been under the impression that success requires full throttle, relentless effort to manifest. Therefore, rest and rejuvenation are not priorities for you, and anyone else who believes otherwise may be lazy and doomed for failure. Well, you’re going have to sleep, or rest at some point, and while persistence can be a good thing – it is entirely possible to overdo things and burn out. As with the Wheel of Fortune, what goes up, must come down, after all. However, because you believed that passivity would halt your progress, it has done just that. You then decide that stillness has the benefit of creating space for contemplation and alteration of both focus and momentum. You can set the intention of periodically by allowing yourself some downtime, and by practicing a grounding and centering meditation or ritual each night until the Full Moon. As the moon makes its way from 0% to 100% visibility, your ability to balance action with inaction also strengthens, your limiting belief hinders you no more, and you’re back on track to success with your original goal. Win-win-win!

Side note: You can also count the New Moon phase as a reliable time to go on a first date with a love interest – planting the intention for growth in the romance department. You can put in applications for new jobs, begin a new project or write your own ritual or spell – all with the notion of new beginnings and promoting growth. 

Furthermore, you can use the sign of the New Moon (or any phase, really) as a guideline for personal and spiritual growth. This very day, the 26th of December 2019 provides those in the Northern Hemisphere with a New Moon in Capricorn. Capricorn characteristics are Earthy, with traits like self discipline, persistence and practicality. If you struggle with forming a positive habit, this New Moon in particular could be the perfect time to set your intentions and change that. You could call it your New Year’s Resolution! *insert cheeky grin*

Get to know and strengthen your spiritual gifts. 

Anything that you personally find to be lacking or weak can be strengthened by setting the intention of growth – theoretically at its strongest when the Full Moon is present. Spiritual gifts are not an exception. The moon is often associated with the element of water, which possesses energy that presides over, and permeates the fluid nature of emotion and intuition. Psychic gifts and modes of reception, such as: clairvoyance (clear seeing), clairaudience (clear hearing), clairsentience (clear feeling), and claircognizance (clear knowing) are considered to be intuitive senses, and can be acknowledged for the purpose of growth during the New Moon. The other clair senses that can be worked on during the New Moon are clairempathy (clear emotions), clairtangency (clear touching), clairsalience (clear smelling), and clairgustance (clear tasting). 

One may wish to begin a ritual to grow such gifts on the New Moon, using corresponding colors, candles, scents and crystals. Some examples of this would be:

• Enhancing one’s gift of clairvoyance: one could burn a purple chime candle while holding an amethyst tumbled stone against one’s forehead where the third eye is located, and meditating on it opening.
• For enhancing one’s gift of claircognizance: meditating with yellow citrine, while burning a yellow or white candle, and visualizing knowledge pouring into you through your crown chakra.
• To enhance the gift of clairaudience, one needs to focus on listening. When able, sit with your eyes closed and take a few deep breaths. Listen to all that is around you, ignore all other senses for a short while and just focus on what you hear. Pay closer attention to the noises you often hear, the wind, the rain, et cetera. Often these very noises are ones we generally dismiss help us to listen and hear things from other planes.
• When working on clairempathy, one of the best ways to enhance your ability is to gain a greater control of your own emotions. Gaining control over your own emotions can be done through meditation, some find that it helps to meditate with certain stones that are known to assist with getting a handle on one’s emotions. A few stones that we recommend for this purpose would be agate, bloodstone, or amethyst.
• Clairsentience is often referred to as one’s gut instinct. To enhance this ability, one can simply practice listening to one’s instinct. An activity that can assist with this includes asking a friend for a picture of someone they know well, but it must be someone that you do not personally know. Looking at a picture of the person, make a list of what comes to mind, such things could be: (A) Is the person in trouble? (B) Are they a good person? (C) Are they trustworthy? Once you have finished with the list, ask your friend for feedback so that you can see how you did. This activity can be repeated several times with different friends and pictures.
• Working with clairtangency (also known as psychometry), is most noted for those who can pick up objects and know some of their history from a single touch. One way to enhance this ability is to meditate while holding an older object. Think of the story of this object, it’s history. It is helpful if someone you know can verify the background information of the object you are practicing with.
• Clairsalience (clear smelling), working on enhancing this particular sense can be a bit difficult; however, it is important to be able to know what one is smelling. This is an exercise that should be done in a room with minimal lighting and one’s eyes closed. The first step is to take several different scents, or perhaps oils, and place them on small pieces of paper. When doing this, make sure that they are properly labeled so that you know which one is which. With your eyes closed, smell one scent at a time, then see if you are able to identify it. It is also a good idea to think of what this smell makes you feel or reminds you of.
• As for clairgustance, you can use a similar exercise to the one detailed above as a means of enhancing this ability, the only difference would be the use of edible items instead of scents or oils.

It is important to note that there are many methods one can choose from, these are only a couple that you may wish to try. 

The same can be said with respect to other practices you may choose to partake in during the New Moon. What do we recommend? Further research and the continuation of one’s studies. Due to the abundance of information on this particular topic, we could not feasibly include all of it in this article. Some of the main principles and widely used basic concepts are here, but there is much more to explore through research and experience as well. 

Additional articles pertaining to utilization of the Moon in one’s magickal practice will be made available as the cycles arise, and as time permits. 

Remember every person walks his or her own path. May you be blessed on yours.

~ Sara Lynn & Jewel AnnaLysa

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Next post in this series:
Moon Magick: Working with the Waxing Crescent Moon