New Moon Ritual: Setting intentions and beginning again
The Moon marks the beginning of a new cycle as it moves between Earth and the Sun – blocking the Sun’s rays from our view and leaving our night sky dark. It can feel uncomfortable to sit in darkness, and yet if we embrace it, we can tune our thinking brain out and connect more into our bodies. When we can tap into what we intuitively need, we can plant the seeds of those intentions to bring them into the world. It’s not a time to act – it’s a time to feel.
A New Moon Ritual
To help us connect to our bodies and our feelings, I’ve provided a short ritual that you can do on or near the New Moon. You’ll need:
Quiet, comfortable place
Journal
10 - 15 minutes
Reconnecting to feelings
As we sit in the proverbial darkness, we see that the only way is through – and the way through is to feel. To help you come into your own body, I recommend that you find a quiet (and perhaps dark) place where you can be still. Find a comfortable position and take a deep, cleansing breath. Then use the equal breath tool to drop into your body.
Equal breath tool:
Sit comfortably and close your eyes
Begin to deepen your breath by taking equal inhales and exhales through your nose
Consider using an equal count (e.g. inhale for 1-2-3-4-5, exhale for 5-4-3-2-1) or saying a mantra to yourself to help you maintain your focus
Continue for 4 - 5 breath cycles
Once you’ve completed the breath exercise, you can bring your awareness to the following questions:
What do you feel in your body right now?
Get specific: What do your toes feel like? What do your thighs feel like? How do your sitz bones feel on the earth, cushion, or chair?
What physical and imagined sensations are you experiencing? (Examples of physical sensations are tingly, warm, solid; examples of imagined sensations are golden, shimmery, joy, etc.)
If you’ve come up with imagined sensations, can you try to go a little deeper?
Wiggle your toes. What do you feel?
Rub your thighs. What do you feel?
How is the quality of feeling different from what you experienced the first time?
Now that you’ve identified how you feel in your body, in this moment, what else is coming through for you? Set your intention for the month ahead. This could be something you’re calling in or an action you may want to begin taking that aligns with your higher self. Write your intention down in your journal. We’ll revisit the intention during the Full Moon.
