New moon intention
Write one intention for this lunar cycle. It stays sealed until the full moon, about two weeks later, and then comes back to you with one question: did it move? With it comes what astrologers traditionally say tends to stand in the way under that full moon's sign. Free, private, no account.
After the full moon the light shrinks, which tradition keeps for finishing and letting go rather than starting. Your intention joins the next cycle: write it today, and it is counted from the next new moon.
Dates are shown in UTC. Your private page shows them in your own time zone.
Write your intention
How the cycle works
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New moon: set it
At the new moon the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and its lit side faces away from us, so it is dark. The thin crescent shows in the evening sky a day or two later. Tradition reads this as the seed moment of the cycle, the time to name one thing you mean to grow.
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Waxing moon: tend it
For about two weeks the Moon grows each evening. Electional astrology has long advised beginning things while the Moon is increasing in light, so that what you start grows with her. About a week in comes the first quarter, half lit, which astrologers traditionally read as the first test: the moment something pushes back.
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Full moon: read it back
At the full moon the Moon stands opposite the Sun and is fully lit, rising as the Sun sets. In the old reading this is the moment of clear sight, when what began at the new moon can be seen. It is the halfway mark of the cycle, not the end of it: the waning half that follows is traditionally kept for adjusting and letting go.
Where the practice comes from
Three older threads meet in the modern ritual. Electional astrology, the art of choosing the moment to begin, has favoured a waxing moon for new ventures since ancient times. Farmers' almanacs carry the same idea into the garden: sow crops that bear above ground while the Moon waxes, root crops while it wanes. And in his book The Lunation Cycle the twentieth century astrologer Dane Rudhyar described the whole cycle, new moon to new moon, as one process, with a seed at the new moon and fulfilment, or clear sight, at the full.
Calendars have kept time this way for millennia. The months of the Hebrew and Chinese calendars begin at the new moon, and each month of the Islamic calendar begins with the first sighting of the crescent after it. Writing an intention at the new moon and reading it at the full is the everyday version of that old rhythm.
This cycle's new moon in Libra
Libra is ruled by Venus and is the sign of partnership and balance. The Sun is in its fall here in the old scheme, which astrologers read as a time when you work through other people rather than alone. Tradition favours intentions about relationships, agreements and fairness: a conversation you need to have, a shared plan, more balance between work and rest.
About this new moon About its full moon in Taurus
How to write one the full moon can answer
- Make it yours to act on. "Ask for the review" can move in two weeks; "they notice my work" depends on someone else.
- Make it fit two weeks. Not the whole year's goal: the next piece of it.
- Say what moved would look like. "Walk for twenty minutes on five mornings" is easy to check. "Be healthier" is not.
- Keep it to one. A single intention gets the cycle's attention. A list splits it.
A few that work well: send the email about the course; say no to one thing there is no time for; put fifty dollars aside each week; finish the first chapter; call my sister on Sunday.
How the dates are worked out
The new and full moons come from the same in-house ephemeris as our written readings, checked against NASA's JPL tables. The new moon is the moment the Moon passes the Sun along the zodiac, the full moon the moment it stands exactly opposite, and the sign is where the Moon is at that moment. Our times land within about ten minutes of the published ones, so a new or full moon a few minutes from midnight can fall on the neighbouring date in some time zones. These are the same dates as our sky events calendar.
If you write while the Moon is waxing and the full moon is at least two days away, your intention belongs to the new moon just past. Otherwise it waits for the next new moon and comes back at the full moon after it. Your browser shares its time zone when you press the button, so the dates and reminders on your page follow your own clock.
Honest limits
The moon dates are astronomy, within about ten minutes of the published times. What the new and full moon mean is tradition, not science, and nothing here can promise an outcome. What the ritual reliably gives you is simpler: one clear aim, written down, and a fixed day to look at it honestly.
What we keep, and for how long
Your intention, your time zone, the dates and signs of its new and full moon, your answer to "did it move?" and, only if you add one, an email address. No name, no account. It all lives at a private link and is deleted about 90 days after the full moon, or straight away when you press Delete on that page. An email address is used for one confirmation and one check-in, and is never added to a newsletter; one that is never confirmed is deleted about ten days after the full moon. Phone reminders and calendar entries say only that a date has come, never what you wrote.
Questions people ask
What is a new moon intention?
It is one short, specific aim you write down at the new moon, when the Moon is dark and the lunar cycle begins again. You tend it while the Moon waxes and read it back at the full moon, about two weeks later, to see whether it moved. The idea comes from a long astrological habit of starting things with a waxing moon.
Why check in at the full moon?
The full moon is the halfway point of the cycle, when the Moon stands opposite the Sun and is fully lit. Tradition reads it as the moment of clear sight, when what began at the new moon can be seen. Two weeks is also long enough to act on one intention and short enough to remember why you set it.
What if I am writing it after the new moon?
If the Moon is still waxing and the full moon is at least two days away, your intention belongs to this cycle and comes back at this full moon. Closer than two days there is too little time to act on it, so it waits for the next new moon instead. While the Moon is waning, it always waits for the next new moon. The page tells you which applies before you write.
How are the moon dates worked out?
From the same in-house ephemeris as our written readings, checked against NASA's JPL tables. The new moon is the moment the Moon passes the Sun along the zodiac, the full moon the moment it stands exactly opposite, and the sign is where the Moon is at that moment. Our times land within about ten minutes of the published ones, so a new or full moon a few minutes from midnight can fall on the neighbouring date in some time zones. Your private page shows the dates in your own time zone.
Can I set an intention on an eclipse?
Astrologers disagree. A solar eclipse is a new moon close to the Moon's node, and many traditional astrologers advise against beginning anything on one, because eclipses were read as unpredictable. Others treat eclipse new moons as the most potent of the year. If your new moon is an eclipse, the page says so and the choice is yours.
Who can read what I write?
Only someone with your private link. There is no account, no name and no public page for it, and it never appears on a preview image, a phone reminder or a calendar entry. If you add an email address and confirm it, your intention is in the one check-in email we send to that address.
What do you keep, and for how long?
The intention, your time zone, the dates and signs of its new and full moon, your answer to whether it moved, and an email address only if you add one. An address that is never confirmed is deleted about ten days after the full moon. Everything else is deleted about 90 days after the full moon, or straight away when you press Delete on your private page.
Does it work?
The Moon cannot promise an outcome, and this page will not pretend it can. What the ritual reliably gives you is one clear aim, written down, and a fixed day two weeks later to look at it honestly. Many people find that useful, whatever they believe about the Moon.