new moon seeds: on setting intentions with the moon

 A common question people ask me when viewing the Lunar Mandala Calendar for the first time is: What do 'New Moon Seeds' and 'Fruits of the Cycle' mean?

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Simply put, these places are here for you to set intentions with the new moon and then to reflect on what happened, to give thanks for the blessings that graced your life.

So, what is an intention?

An intention is anything you can see, anything you can put your sight on, matched with the motivation to move towards that sight. It's something you'd like to see in your life. A goal, perhaps. A longing with directed focus as to how to actualize that longing.  

And why set intentions with the moon?

The moon is the swiftest moving planet in the sky, zipping through each zoidion every two and a half days. Each month she grows from darkness into light and back again, her cycle averaging about 28 days. She is related to all things impermanent and passing - our emotions, physical states, thoughts, surges of creativity, our sensual expression - all things that we have in the moment and then are gone. The lunar cycle is a mini cycle of the seasons of the year. It begins in darkness (new moon/winter solstice), grows to half light (first quarter/spring equinox), then to complete brightness (full moon/summer solstice), half light (third quarter/fall equinox), and returns to darkness once more. In 28 days she completes a full cycle from birth to death. 

If we set intentions with the moon, we are aligning with this natural creation cycle each month. We are planting our visions in the dark and allowing them to grow and fade away as the moon reveals and conceals herself in the sky.

I choose to set intentions with the moon in order to align my life with the moon's cycle. She reminds me that there is a time to expand and a time to contract, a time to be outward and a time to be inward, and that there is a wisdom in aligning our ebb and flow with hers. 

Setting intentions on the new moon can be an introspective opportunity for asking yourself, how can I more deeply honor my humanity in this coming cycle?

​In the spirit of the moon, the ever-changing one, when I set intentions with the lunar cycle I vision around the questions:

What would I like to see more of in my life?
What needs to come into balance?
​Does something need to be eliminated or initiated?
How do I want to relate to my self-care?
What are my body needs?
​What are my soul needs?
What parts of my spirit are really needing expression and nourishment?
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Maybe I see images of hot baths, of spontaneous meetings with friends, of sensual dancing. Maybe I haven't made anything with my hands in a while, and want to set an intention around a creative project. Maybe I want to be more social, or be more alone, or more committed to my studies. Maybe I just need sleep or need to jump in the ocean or listen to new music. Or maybe I want to set a bunch of practical goal-oriented intentions and meet some deadlines. Trust whatever is unique to YOU. Vision your whole-life balance - if you could fill your life with whatever would most nourish your unique human expression, what would that be? What could that look like?


There are no right or wrong ways to set intentions with the moon and there is no particular rhyme or reason to it.

Do what feels right to you and you might expect that your relationship to this practice will fluctuate from month to month. 

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