Practices to reconnect, release, and renew the soul after loss
The new moon—also called the dark moon—is a powerful time each month for ritual, reflection, and renewal. Many people feel drawn to mark this moment, and you can shape your own practices based on what feels personally or ancestrally resonant.
You might be guided to honor the new moon for spiritual, astrological, or energetic reasons—or simply because it’s a traditional way of keeping time.
While the brightness of the full moon often gets the spotlight for ritual and intention-setting, it’s actually the quieter new moon that offers the most fertile ground for change. After all, most beginnings—from flowering seeds to emerging from the womb—start in darkness. If you’ve been taught to associate darkness with fear or heaviness, consider darkness as a place of infinite potential and notice how that feels for you.
New moon themes
New beginnings: The new moon is the start of a new lunar month, when the moon begins its next orbit around Earth, which lasts about 29.5 days. During this time, the moon is positioned between the Earth and the Sun, with its sunlit side facing away from us. It’s a true fresh start, a good time to focus on intentions and planting seeds—literally and figuratively.
The unseen / the void: During this time of a darkened night sky, with less illumination for plants and animals, less moonlight, and higher high tides and lower low tides, this phase is associated with mystery, introspection, and potential not yet realized.
Feminine energy: The average length of a menstrual cycle—about 28 to 29 days—closely mirrors the lunar cycle, and this natural rhythm has long linked the moon to feminine biology and cyclical wisdom. In many cultures, lunar phases are linked to feminine cycles and goddesses.
New moon ritual ideas
Altar tending
This is a great time to give your altar a refresh and reset. Dust and wipe up any incense, ash, leaves or other bits that have accumulated. It can be nice to occasionally cleanse the space energetically with smoke, an herbal spray, or prayers. It’s also a good practice to keep checking in with your unseen guides and ancestors: what would they like to see on your altar? If you don’t have an altar, a new moon is a nice time to initiate that creation process.
Ancestral connection
Dedicate time to sit in communion with your ancestors. There are a lot of resources here at Ancestral Medicine for stepping towards ancestor work, and Ancestral Lineage Healing. The healing portion is the first step in developing and deepening a relationship with your people. Just like our living relatives, time together doesn’t always have to be about healing or working. You can just spend 10-15 minutes sitting at your altar, or wherever you feel most connected to your ancestors. Enjoy being in direct presence with your well and bright ancestors. There might not be anything to say, or you might bring a gentle and open prompt of “what can I do to renew or deepen our relationship?”
Be present in the dark to connect more deeply with yourself
Maybe you live in a city where there is so much artificial light that it won’t be apparent if the moon is dark (or full). If that is the case, you can sit in a dark room for 5 minutes and see if you can tune into the potential availability of renewal. Intend to experience what it’s like to let the darkness hold you. If it’s possible to be outside, it can also be a powerful ritual to spend these 5 minutes (or more) becoming aware of your inner world (thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations) as well as the outer world (sounds, temperature, smells).
Plant something
Seeds start in the dark. The new moon can be a beautiful time to sow literal seeds, even if just something that sits on the windowsill or if you have planters or a garden outside.
Write and release
The new moon is a great time to do some writing. Explore the journal prompts:
- What wants to begin?
- What is one small thing I can let go of? (consider burning these pages to further ritualize the release)
- What do I feel in the silence or darkness of this moment?
Listen, wait, and integrate
The new moon invites us to contemplate, plan, and wait for answers (the full moon is when we can take action and make decisions on these plans). In a culture of to-do lists and overwhelm, dedicating time to simply listen to yourself, to your ancestors and trusted powers, and to your intuition, is a potent practice. Set aside some time to listen to all aspects of what you are and who you are: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Then, simply wait for an answer, it might not come for hours, days, or weeks. During the following new moon, you can check in again, and integrate any information that has come forward.
The new moon reminds us that we can begin again and can be a guide for following a different kind of seasonal or cyclical rhythm.
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