New Moon Intention Spell for Fresh Beginnings

The new moon intention spell is one of the most widely practised workings in contemporary witchcraft. At the start of the lunar month the practitioner clears the mind, writes down a small number of clear intentions and dedicates them under the dark or newly returning moon, then reviews them as the moon grows to full. It is a working for beginnings — a project, a habit, a season of study — and draws on the old and widespread sense that the month's first light is a time to start things.

How to do it§

1. Find the time. Check the date of the new moon on the moon almanac. Some work on the night of the conjunction itself, when the moon is invisible; others wait a day or two for the first slender crescent, which many older calendars treated as the true start of the month.
2. Clear the space and yourself. Tidy the area, open a window briefly, then stir a pinch of salt into the bowl of water and touch a few drops to your forehead and hands as a sign of cleansing.
3. Light the candle. Sit quietly for a few minutes and let your breathing slow. Think about what you want the coming month to hold.
4. Write your intentions. On the paper, write no more than three intentions, in the present tense and in positive terms ("I finish the first draft of my thesis", "I walk every morning"). Keep them within your own life and choices; intentions should never be aimed at changing another person's will.
5. Speak them. Read each aloud. A simple original wording to follow: "As the moon returns, so this begins. As the moon grows, so may this grow."
6. Charge the paper. Hold the paper in both hands near (not over) the candle flame and picture each intention already in progress. Fold the paper towards you three times, as a gesture of drawing in.
7. Close. Give thanks, extinguish the candle with a snuffer or by pinching, and place the folded paper in the envelope or box on your altar or desk.
8. Act on it. Take one small practical step towards each intention within the next day or two; in most modern teaching the spell and the action belong together.
9. Review at the full moon. Open the paper, note what has moved, and either keep it for another cycle or, when it is complete, tear it up and add it to compost or recycling with thanks.

Origins and history§

Beginning things at the new moon is an ancient and widespread habit. In classical Athens the noumenia, the day of the first visible crescent, opened each month with household offerings; Greek sources also describe "Hekate's suppers", food left at crossroads at the dark of the moon. Judaism marks Rosh Chodesh, the new month, with prayers and, in many communities, the blessing of the new moon. European agricultural lore advised sowing crops that grow above ground in the waxing moon, and medieval and Renaissance astrological magic, such as that collected by Agrippa, generally preferred an increasing moon for works of growth and gain.

The specific practice of writing "intentions" at the new moon is modern. It grew in the late twentieth century where several currents met: Wiccan lunar practice, astrology magazines and New Age publications, and the American New Thought movement's emphasis on directed thought and affirmation, later popularised as the "law of attraction". By the 2010s new moon intention rituals had become a staple of witchcraft books and social media. Practitioners vary in how they understand it — as communion with lunar deities, as working with natural tides, or as a psychological discipline of goal-setting. See What Is Witchcraft? and the law of attraction.

Variations§

Some practitioners carve a single word into a candle and let it burn down over several evenings, a few minutes at a time. Others write on bay leaves (see Bay Leaf Wish) or plant seeds as living symbols of the intention. Astrologically minded witches choose intentions suited to the sign the moon occupies. In the southern hemisphere the timing is the same, since the phases are shared across the world.

Safety and good sense§

Keep paper well away from the flame; do not burn the paper indoors unless you have a heat-proof dish, ventilation and water nearby. Never leave a candle unattended. Writing intentions can be a helpful discipline, but it is no substitute for medical, psychological, legal or financial advice, and setbacks are not a sign of personal or spiritual failure.

Sources and further reading§

• Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner — Scott Cunningham, 1988
• The Spiral Dance — Starhawk, 1979
• Three Books of Occult Philosophy — Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, 1533
• Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America — Sabina Magliocco, 2004
• The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft — Ronald Hutton, 1999