Jeudi: Moon Work

The New Moon rises today (at 2:45 PM U.S. Eastern Daylight Time) and as usual I’m filled with a sense of potential. Most rootworkers pay attention to the moon’s phases, as do Neopagans, Wiccans, Druids and many established religions. The Catholic Church sets more than one of its “moveable feasts” based on moon cycles and this has come down from the Jewish faith (as an example, Passover and Easter are both based on the date of the New Moon). These calendar “quirks” continued to be followed even after reform churches tossed out the so called “pagan” practices inherent in Catholicism.

The “New Moon itch” to start something new transcends spellcraft and religious observance and trickles down into daily life. Just as the Full Moon inspires “lunacy”, the New Moon kicks us in the butt. I have a devout (though not fundamentalist) LDS friend who always waits until the New Moon to start projects around her house like sewing new curtains or painting. “It just feels right,” she tells me and I can’t argue with that.

So today, tomorrow, Saturday and even Sunday are opportunities to start something new with the blessing of the Moon. A project, a blog, a job hunt, a painting, a novel, a relationship, a family, volunteering, studying; what is calling you right now? Whatever endeavor you truly want to throw yourself into but have been saving for “later”, now is a wise time to seriously think about jumping in with both feet. Or, if that just doesn’t sound right, there is always another New Moon next month.

Some specific focuses for New Moon energy are: gardens, love, networking, beauty and health, education and self-improvement, all artistic pursuits. This is also a great time to begin work on breaking a bad habit and/or removing something (or someone) toxic from your environment and your life.

Think of the possibilities.