How to Perform a New Moon Ritual

Readying Your Gathering Space

Choose an appropriate setting for your ritual. New Moon rituals are typically practiced by those who associate themselves with magic, paganism, witchcraft, yoga, meditation, or any other kind of spiritual awareness. The location you choose will ideally be outdoors. Being outside means you will be connected to the outside world in a way that will make it easier to harness the energy of nature. If being outside isn't possible, make sure you are in a comfortable room where you will not be disturbed.

Cleanse the area. Cleansing the area is important to ready it for the new moon ritual. You can do this one of two ways. One way is by smudging the location – sage is ideal as it's associated with the moon. You can also cleanse the location by lighting incense. Some effective incense types that are associated with the new moon include lavender, lemon balm, and calamus scents. To smudge the area, simply light the end of the sage stick and blow on it until there is a visible smoldering glow. Wave it around your body and around the space where your ritual will be performed.

Set up an altar. You can decorate it as much or as little as you wish; it’s all up to your own personal preferences. Put a pretty tapestry on the ground with a pillow around it for each participant in the ritual. Create your altar on top of the tapestry. Include things that connect you to nature (like flowers) and things that make you feel at peace (like incense or some nostalgic trinket). Use something to correspond with the elements: a feather or incense for air; a shell or small bowl of water for water; a stone or small amount of soil for earth; and, finally, a candle (white or silver for the moon) to represent fire.

Light candles. Candles are an important part of the ritual itself because the flame symbolizes your own inner light and allows you to visualize this in a more tangible way. Different colors of candles symbolize different energies and desired outcomes. Choose the color that best fits your intentions for the ritual. Red symbolizes action, green symbolizes abundance, yellow is for health, white represents purity or spirituality, and pink is for love.

Choosing Your Moon Ritual

Decide on your intention for the ritual. The New Moon is a great time to make a new beginning, to ask for a new love, to begin a process of healing, or to renew your commitment to an old resolution. Write down a couple of words or phrases that reflect what you hope to get out of the ritual.

Choose some words for the ritual. If you wish, you can prepare or research some words that you will say during the ritual. These words can be an offering of gratitude or a hopeful wish for the future. Say whatever you want. The point is to connect to nature and to the people around you. If you want to offer up your gratitude to nature, try saying something like this: “Dear Mother Earth, she that gives life and light to all of us, thank you for the abundant blessings you have bestowed upon us.” If you want to ask for a specific desire to become reality, try saying something like this: “I come here today to offer up my request to the universe so that it might become my truth.” If you are performing the ritual with more than one person, you should give each participant an opportunity to discuss their intentions in this way.

Include something to help set the mood. During your New Moon ritual, you want to feel inspired and energized. Reciting a poem or singing a song is a great way to enter into the right mindset for the ritual. Try reciting this poem by Rumi for inspiration: “Let us fall in love againAnd scatter gold dust all over the worldLet us become a new springAnd feel the breeze drift in heaven’s scent.Let us dress the earth in greenAnd like the sap of a young treeLet the grace from within us sustain us.Let us carve gems out of our stony heartsAnd let them light our path to Love.The glance of Love is crystal clearAnd we are blessed by its light.”

Performing Your Moon Ritual

Acknowledge the energy of the elements. Call upon the energy of each element and its corresponding direction. Fire is in the South, Water in the West, Earth in the North, and Air in the East. Note: The corresponding directions vary depending on your precise path. Say something like, “I call upon the energy of the elements to assist me in my journey. Fire in the South, Water in the West, Earth in the North, and Air in the East.” Consider reciting a text that celebrates the things you associate with every direction.

Recite your words. When you have reached a place of peace, now is the time to read or say a few words that reflect your intention. If you wish, you can burn the paper on which you wrote those words/phrases in the flame of a candle. As it burns, imagine your words/intentions being carried up and out with the smoke into the universe. If you are not able to reach a place of peace because of something that is troubling you, now would also be a good time to acknowledge this. Imagine the thing that is causing you pain or worry and is being carried away from you by the smoke from the candle. If you are performing your New Moon ritual in a group, give each person an opportunity to read their intentions and burn the paper in the candle’s flames.

Perform a symbolic act. This is a great addition to acknowledging your intentions because it allows you to physically visualize the thing you desire. Create the symbolic act yourself and feel free to get creative. If your intention is to become a published author, write this intention down on a piece of paper that you tie to a helium balloon and release into the sky. If your intention is to find love, put lavender and a rose quartz in a small pouch along with your ideas about what your ideal partner should be like. Write your ideas down on a piece of paper to include in the pouch. Each participant should be given the opportunity to perform a symbolic act of their choosing.

Share your intentions with others. If there are other people present at your New Moon ritual, take a moment for everyone to share some of their intentions with the group. This will help you connect to one another, but it will also give more energy to each person’s intention.

Thank the energies. This will help you close the gateway on each of the elements you have called upon. Each group member should close the ceremony in a way that feels appropriate for them. An ideal way to close a ritual is to recite one of the following phrases: “And None it Harm, Enhance My Charm.” “By the Power Of Three, So Mote It Be.” “Blessed Be.”