We all know that I’ve been blog-crushing on The Witch of Lupine Hollow for like, ever. (Cottage witchery with no cottage required? hello yes sign me up!!) After I mentioned in my Witchy Wishlist post that I’d been eyeing her Moonglow workbook for a while, she was nice enough to send me a copy to use and review and wow, it’s gorgeous! It got me thinking a lot about how I celebrate the moon and how I really want to be more intentional about it – usually it’s more like “oh dang, new moon tonight, guess I’ll take a bath or something.” Moonglow gave me a bunch of SUPER awesome ideas so I thought today I’d share a few easy ways you can make the most of the new moon’s energy and really celebrate in style!

The new moon is a really great time to set intentions and get real about what you want to manifest for yourself in the coming weeks. Usually what I’d do is think about my intention and light a tea light candle on the windowsill, surrounded by any crystals or tarot/oracle cards that might be relevant. For example, if I wanted to focus on healing, I might put the candle on top of the Healing card from my Animal Kin oracle deck and surround it with fluorite crystals. I let the candle burn down completely, releasing my intention into the world. It’s a simple ritual that serves me well, but it’s not very festive – it’s gotten a bit routine at this point and I find I’m sort of just going through the motions a lot of the time. This obviously isn’t doing the new moon justice!

Moonglow is broken down into sections about the different types of things you can incorporate into a new or full moon ritual for yourself, such as candles, meditation, divination, and so on. There’s information on each type of activity and how to make it work, such as what tools to use and why you might want to use certain things at certain times. It advises that you pick a few elements that work for you and combine them to form your own personalized ritual, so I decided to give it a shot!

Meditation is one thing I’m always trying to include more of in my spiritual practice, so I decided I definitely want to make that a part of my new moon festivities. Divination is a HUGE part of what I do, so that’s a given, and I like the crystals and candles that I’ve been using so far. Taking all this into consideration, my new moon ritual for this month will look like this:

• Choose an intention for the upcoming lunar cycle. I personally have been focusing a lot on healing, calming, and finding peace, so mine will focus on these things.
• Choose a few crystals that are relevant to my intention as well as how I’m feeling at the moment. If I’m feeling particularly negative I might choose smoky quartz, or if I’m stressed I might go with amethyst, things like that.
• Sit in a comfortable position, holding the crystals in my hand. Meditate with a mantra that’s relevant to my intention – such as “I am calm” or “I am in control of my emotions.”
• Choose a tarot deck that feels right in the moment. Draw three cards to discover how to make the most of this moon cycle and how I can work towards my intention.
• Place the cards on the windowsill along with any oracle cards that might be relevant. Place the tea light candle on top of the cards. Arrange the crystals around the candle and the cards.
• Light the candle, envisioning my intention rising with the smoke and being released into the world. Sit quietly with the candle for a while and reflect on my intention, what I’ve learned so far, and where I’d like to go. Keep a notebook on hand to write down any important thoughts.
• I won’t sit there the whole time, but once the candle has burned out I’ll clean up the space, put everything away, and do a smoke cleanse of the area with a calming lavender incense.

That’s WAY cooler than just lighting a candle, right? I’m so excited to do my ritual – not only will it help set the mood for the weeks ahead, but it also makes for a calming and relaxing evening! I can’t help but think how amazing I felt after making a real ritual out of the summer solstice. If I could feel that fantastic twice a month, on the new and full moons, then why the heck not?

Moonglow also has workbook pages for each new and full moon of the year, so you can write down what you did and keep it for future reference!

If you love a little moon magic, I would definitely give Moonglow a whirl. I think it would be amazing for a budding witchling who’s still figuring out what kinds of things work for them OR for anyone who feels a little stagnant in their spiritual practice – the tips in the book can be used for any kind of ritual, not just for the new and full moons, although they’re definitely geared towards the moon cycle. I feel like this workbook really inspired me to actually DO something with the moon and not just go through the routine like I always do, and I’m really pumped to get more specific with what I incorporate – maybe fall-colored candles once September rolls around? or using things from nature to make it more seasonal? So many possibilities!

While I was sent this workbook for free to review, all opinions are 100% my own – I’d never recommend something to you that I didn’t truly love. I especially like that this workbook breaks down every moon of the year for you, so you can use the worksheets again and again and easily keep track of how you’ve celebrated each specific new and full moon! If you’re interested, you can pick up a copy of Moonglow at The Witch of Lupine Hollow’s Etsy shop here just in time for the new moon next week, and don’t forget to check out her blog – SO many great witch tips. LOVE IT.

How do you celebrate the new moon? Do you usually do a whole ritual or do you keep it simple? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to know! <3