Crash Course in New Moon Intention Setting

Have you started ruminating on your intentions for this upcoming New Moon in Leo? If you find yourself at a loss for an intention to set, or consistently find yourself NOT setting intentions because you “can’t think of anything” or feel “it’s not big/important/well thought out enough”, STOP! Let me remind you of a few simple, but crucial things when it comes to intention setting.

First off, setting an intention at the New Moon is an extremely personal process. You are hand selecting areas of your life to change for the better, which depending on the subject matter has the potential to become a very vulnerable process. For a lot of us, finding parts of our life that don’t measure up, exist in excess, are too weak, or have been depleted, etc means admitting that we are not perfect, and that's why a change is needed (we are all too hard on ourselves). And because change can be difficult, we can in effect become our own worst enemies or biggest obstacles if we are not ready to push against the resistance habits/comfort/familiarity offers. However, it is not enough to recognize a deficit or area of opportunity, but many will stop here and feel that recognition equals action. IT DOES NOT! This is why part of your intention/manifestation cycle must include an action plan for actualization! This goes for all types of intention setting (moon work, spell work, candle work, etc). You don’t get better by doing something once or twice, you get better by repetition/practicing. With physical endeavors (throwing a ball, archery, dancing, etc) practice builds muscle memory which aids in the completion of a physical movement (scoring a goal, hitting a target, flawlessly executing a dance number). Soon you may find that you are doing these things without having to THINK about them, thus increasing your overall success by increasing the complexity of movement in the same span of time. The same can be said of your psychic/intuitive endeavors! The more you practice and observe your results, the more you will come to trust in yourself and the potential emanating from within. The mere act of setting some minor intentions will get those manifestation muscles working, allowing your confidence to grow, enabling you to aim higher, and achieve greater things for yourself.

I've found that writing 1-2 major/long term intentions to focus on along with a handful of smaller/short-term intentions really keeps the manifestation energy flowing in a positive feedback loop! Prior to each New moon (usually at the Full moon), I review the previous month’s list and evaluate what has been accomplished, what is no longer desired and what new intentions I'd like to set for the upcoming New moon. I then REWRITE a new list for the current cycle, keeping things neat and clear to reinforce where I am NOW (for me, writing this list also involves the use of oils, herbs, crystals, etc). Depending on what is going on in my life, it may feel more “logical” to focus on ONE single thing in the hopes of attaining its manifestation more quickly, but in practice the concept of surrounding myself in the flow of continuous manifestation really boosts my morale and aligns thoughts with action, and brings my intentions INTO the limelight of reality. The more exposure I have with my smaller successful manifestations, the more I am willing to trust in my intuition to guide me through some of the less obvious, but bigger moments where the only thing standing between myself and the manifestation of my intention is…ME.

For some of you, there’s never going to be a “right” time to start this new lifestyle/practice of intention setting. Prior to starting, it’ll seem like there’s TONS of excuses why you shouldn’t (“I don’t have enough time to perform the elaborate ritual”, “I don’t have the right supplies”, “I haven’t finished the chapter in a relevant book”, etc), but I promise you, once you get going, the reasons you SHOULD will begin to outweigh the reasons you should not. So start small. “My intention for this new moon is to increase the amount of time I meditate/spend with the kids/read a book at night/go to the gym/etc.” Boom, done! That did not require any supplies, though I do strongly suggest writing it down for accountability reasons, but honestly, you can skip writing it the first time or two if it means you get started THIS cycle. You don’t need any rituals, candles, incense, crystals, oils, outfits, etc to set your intention. All of the extra things are very nice tools to hone in on your intention, but they ARE NOT REQUIRED. For some of you, this stuff may overwhelm the process, so let it go until it HELPS you.

Once you get a couple months under your belt, reevaluate! What’s working? Are you being a fair and honest judge of yourself? Don’t spend too much time SEARCHING for the manifestations, but don’t be strict about the manner in which you characterize a true manifestation (if that makes sense). This is exactly inexact, for the better or worse! (This is where a journal comes in handy should you feel so inclined). A potentially important and eye opening task involves going back through your previous lists (whether via memory or the physical copies-however your practice guides you) to track your progress. Are there similarities to the types of things you removed from you lists (due to a lack of desire)? Any common threads running through the things that succeeded for you? Keep in mind that the New Moon and Full Moon play off each other: during the New Moon we focus on new beginnings (hence making our intentions list), whereas during the Full Moon we acknowledge achievements/manifestations and release that which no longer serves us. At times the things we release will be the obstacles WE built ourselves (and must overcome if we truly want change), though there will be times we release the actual intentions themselves as we find they no longer serve our true desires.

So to bring this back around to the beginning: don’t make it too difficult, don’t become overwhelmed with the process and above all, flex your intention setting muscles at every opportunity!