Setting New Moon Intentions: A Step-by-Step Guide

by on in Manifestation & Mindset

A Step-by-Step Guide to Setting New Moon Intentions

Time: ~ 1 hour*

Timeframe: The day of, the day before, or the day after the new moon

*Note: You can also make this practice shorter or longer, depending on your desire. 

How to Set New Moon Intentions: A Step-by-Step Guide

The new moon is an excellent time for new beginnings, to plant seeds, and a clean slate. There’s no need to wait for the New Year; you’ve got the new moon cycle for a start fresh!

A new moon cycle is a great time to set intentions to welcome change in your life. Additionally, it is also a great time to reflect on the previous month and to let go of anything that is no longer serving you.

How do you actually go about setting new moon intentions?

When setting intentions, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. In other words, there’s no single, perfect way to practice the intention-setting process. Make sure you ditch the need or desire to make this a rigid or ‘perfect’ routine each month​; otherwise, you will find yourself not manifesting the things you desire. 

There are some things you can do to make the process easier and more effective — you’ll find them in this blog post. Moreover, if you follow this step-by-step guide (while tailoring it to your specific needs and desires), you will find yourself manifesting your dreams faster! And, let’s face it. That’s one of the main reasons you seek to create a new moon intention practice, right?!

In this blog post, we’ll explore how to set new moon intentions. You will find a step-by-step guide that is intended to be modified to suit your needs. Along the way, you’ll find tips on how to write intentions that are in alignment with your overall goals, dreams, and desires.

Things You Should Do During a New Moon Phase

Creating a new moon intention ritual is multi-faceted, meaning there are several elements. Here are the elements to include in your new moon ceremony:

  • Cleanse your space
  • Meditate (and/or spend time in nature)
  • Self-reflection and journaling
  • Creative writing (might we suggest dreaming about what you’d like to manifest in the future!)
  • Set intentions for the month ahead
  • Close your ceremony with gratitude

Don’t worry if you are not feeling super confident in your routine at first; this is common when starting something new. As you move through the moon cycles and practice your new moon intentions, you’ll find yourself making adjustments to the routine. This is normal — and expected. You want to modify, refine and/or update your routine, so it feels right in the moment; that is part of what will make you successful. 

Step-by-Step Guide to Manifest Your Dreams by Creating New Moon Intentions

Let’s walk through the elements of new moon intention setting.

1​​​. ​​Create an intentional space: Physically, mentally, and spiritually.

As we start the process, our primary goal is to raise your vibration level. The purpose is to cultivate high-vibe energy within yourself. ​By raising your vibration level, you will be more successful in manifesting your intentions. This helps you to improve the efficacy of your intentions and makes manifesting easier. ​​​​​​​

Clear your space

Find a quiet place that makes you feel at peace within yourself while you go through your new moon routine. You may have the desire to light a candle on your altar or bust out your favorite crystals — do it. If you feel called to burn sage or palo santo — do it! You want to feel at peace within your space while completing this process.

Clear your mind/mental space

If your mind is full of thoughts, this would be a good time to do a brain dump. You want your mind to be (mostly) silent with no (or limited) interruptions.

If a brain dump isn’t enough to calm your mind, practice mindfulness by doing a breathing exercise or meditating for a few minutes. If you feel sore or tightness within your body, consider doing some stretches or yoga to help to release the stagnated energy. 

Clear your spiritual energy

Call in your higher power and those who have your best interest in mind to guide you through this process. Your higher power may include your angels, spirit guides, ancestors, Mother Earth, God, the Universe, or your higher power of choice. 

Now we are ready for the good stuff!

2. Self-Reflection & Journaling

Once you’ve prepared yourself and space, reflect on what has been happening in your life. Give extra attention to what you want to welcome into your life during the new moon cycle and over the next six months. You may find yourself thinking about things that no longer serve you. Take note of them so you can focus on releasing them to make space for newness.

Journal your new moon intentions

As a part of the self-reflection process, make sure to journal your thoughts. This will help to clear your mind and flesh out what you want (and don’t want) moving forward. To do this, you can use a new moon intentions or manifestation journal. You may consider using rolling papers if you want to burn your intentions or have things you’d like to leave behind you.

As you write, be sure to do so in the present tense — Even things that have not manifested yet. Think of it this way; you want to act as if you have already achieved what you desire. More on this in the next section on visualization.

If there is anything you’d like (or need) to release.

Write those thoughts down so you can release them. This will help to prevent them from holding you back with your new intentions. Later we’ll talk about whether or not to burn your intentions; my preference is to burn the things I’m releasing while keeping a record of the intentions I’m welcoming into my life.

3. Visualize Your Intentions

As you visualize your intentions coming to life in the future, ponder the following questions:

  • What do you want to create in your life in the upcoming moon cycle?
  • Where do you see yourself in the next 6 months? 
  • More importantly, focus on the “why.” Why do you want to create these things in your life? 

Think of specific things you can do starting now to work toward your desires. Once you’ve got specific ideas in your mind, create an image (like a movie or video) in your mind.

You want to visualize yourself doing the things you want in your future. If you desire to possess something, imagine yourself holding that item. Pay attention to what you are wearing. Notice what you are doing. Take note of the people and things around you. The more elements you visualize in your practice, the more likely it is to manifest. 

As you visualize the future, pay attention to your heart. In other words, the visualization practice does not come from the head. If you are having trouble visualizing with your heart, think of how your heart flutters when you kiss someone you love. Or, when you say “awe” to something that melts your heart, like a super adorable puppy or kitten. That’s how you want your heart to feel when you are visualizing your future.

4. Formulate Your Intentions

Now, thinking about what you just wrote in your journal, it is time to make a list of your intentions. This is intended to help you with the follow-through. To assist your current- and future- self to be most successful, it would be best to include at least one actionable item for each intention. Examples of actionable items for each intention are included in the example section below.

As you write down your intentions and actionable items for each, focus on writing your intention in the present tense. Yes, even though you haven’t officially obtained these things yet. Your sentences will most likely start with I am. If your intentions start with any of the following, you will want to revise them to be in the present tense: I want, I will, I need, or I desire.

To hope you focus on the present tense, formatting your intentions may include any of the following prefixes:

  • I am…
  • I am guided to start…
  • This new moon cycle, I call in…
  • My guides support me in…
  • For more variations, scroll down to the example section.

Once you have this list, you will revisit it daily and recite them to yourself or out loud. Over the next week (through the first quarter and early waxing gibbous), keep these intentions close; you might even want to recite them multiple times a day. As the days pass, you will continue to review your intentions for the entire moon cycle — and beyond.

Remember, when you started the process of visualizing your intentions, you were thinking six months in the future. So, not everything has to come to life during this moon cycle. 

5. Close Your New Moon Ritual by Releasing & Be Open to Receiving

Once you’ve finished all of these steps, it’s time to close your ceremony. What you say to conclude your ceremony doesn’t have to follow a precise script. Here are some things to do and ideas to help you get the ball rolling:

  • Close your eyes.
  • Focus on your breath and turn your attention to your heart center.
  • Thank your higher power for guiding you through his process. Say any other words or thoughts that come to mind; it’ll probably be something about your intentions, surrendering them to the Universe and/or welcoming the gifts coming your way. Here’s an example for you:
    • “Thank you to my ancestors, who serve my highest good, for guiding me through the moon cycle.”
      • You may replace ancestors with Universe, angel, spirit guides, Mother Earth, or your higher power. 

You might stumble over your words the first few times you attempt this practice. That totally fine — and normal. As you continue to practice, it will get easier. 

Practice non-attachment

As you finish up this process, it’s time to start practicing non-attachment. While your new moon ritual is focused on creating intentions, we need to be sure we are not forcing these outcomes on ourselves. In other words, we are not trying to forcefully make these things happen.

We want to surrender this details to our higher power — that’s the non-attachment piece. Your primary goal is to focus on allowing your dreams to manifest. You cannot force your dreams (with our head/thoughts) into fruition.

Be open to receiving

If you have have ever struggled with receiving, you might want to check out this article. When we block receiving, we unintentionally block our dreams from manifesting.

How to Create Your New Moon Ritual

Now that you’ve read through the basics of setting a new moon ritual — it’s time to create your own. There are many ways you can go about this; I don’t want to limit your creativity here. However, here are some suggestions to help you out. 

  1. Keep your new moon intentions organized. Consider busting out a new journal specific to new moon intentions or manifestations. Your new moon journal should be kept in a sacred space, such as on your altar.
    • Pro-tip: Keep your brain dump (from the cleanse your space section) in a separate location; you want to keep your manifestations journal high-vibe.
  2. Write down a basic outline of the steps you plan on incorporating into your new moon ritual. Use the step-by-step guide provided in this post as a starting point.
  3. Create your own ritual for clearing your space. You might also contemplate what you would like your closing ceremony to include.
  4. Consider adding your new moon intentions to your planner, calendar, or other task management tool to keep them front and center. It can also be a great way to ensure you are revisiting and reciting them daily.
    • Pro-tip: When you revisit your intentions each day, visualize yourself already in possession of the things you desire and focus on your heart center.

Set New Moon Intentions Examples, Plus Actionable Items for Each

Here are some examples of what your intentions may look like, plus at least one actionable item for each:

  • I am engaged in the writing process and publishing at least one blog post a week.
    • Each week, I set aside 1.5 hours a day (minimum of four days a week) to research, write, and edit a new blog post.
  • I joyfully complete social media promotions to move the needle closer to my income goal of $3,000/month.
    • With an abundant mindset, I create, publish, and fine-tune a new social media promotion each week to push traffic and sales to my website.
    • To encourage transactions by customers, I have customer reviews for the products being promoted; Incentives are offered to customers to purchase products (sales) and to complete product reviews once the order has arrived.
  • I allow love to fill me and my actions.
    • I verbalize my love for others. I also acknowledge and welcome loving remarks from the important people in my life with an open heart.
  • My days include time to create the things that bring me joy.
    • Most days of the week (five), I set aside at least 30 minutes to participate in an activity that makes me smile. These activities include: yoga, meditating, playing a family game, watching my daughters play volleyball (distraction-free), or creating new products with my hands.
  • In this new moon cycle, I call in more time and space to work on building my business.
    • I consciously and deliberately spend my time on business-related tasks, such as keyword research, writing, promoting products, etc… I no longer allow social media, television, or distractions to capture my attention.
  • I have reclaimed my voice.
    • When I see or hear injustice, I speak up. When there is something on my mind, I say it with confidence and without expectation of the outcome.

Things You Shouldn’t Do During a New Moon

The new moon energy brings a sense of a fresh start. Since we are trying to nurture newness, it is best to avoid certain activities or situations during the new moon. These things will not help you to manifest your desires. The following list doesn’t need much explanation, as they are things that bring down your vibration and can potentially block your ability to bring your intentions to life.

What to avoid during a new moon:

  • Energy sucks — people, spaces, or tasks that drain your energy
  • Quitting something you care about
  • Drinking alcohol or eating foods that make you feel blah
  • Having important (or delicate/tense) conversations
  • Decline to start a new job. (You want to start a new job under new moons)
  • Avoiding new people or new opportunities (As in, you want to cultivate newness right now!)

What to Do During Each Phase of the Lunar Cycle (AKA How to Continue Harnessing the Power of the Moon)

Beyond the new moon, here’s what you should be doing during the various phases of the moon cycle (lunar cycle). To give you a general idea of your energy around lunar phases, you’ll find energy levels peaking at the full moon, which taper off as you approach the new moon. From the first phase (the new moon) onto the full moon, you’ll notice your energy slowly ramp up. Learning to accept, embrace, and work with these natural changes to your energy levels will help you to successfully welcome amazing things in your life without the need to force it.

timelapse photography of moon
Photo by samer daboul on Pexels.com

Waxing Crescent Moon

Reflect, relax, and recharge. You’ve already written down your intentions for the new moon, now you can take some time to recite them and reflect on why you are working toward those intentions. This is not the time to become anxious or worry about whether or not your intentions will come to fruition. It’s time to relax and allow the Universe to work its magic. If you are feeling called to recharge, take time to engage in activities that will help to re-energize you. 

First Quarter

It’s time to go with the flow — learn to allow things to unfold as intended. Embrace those yeses and nos; listen to what the Universe is trying to tell you and how you are being guided. Trust is a word that holds extra importance to you right now.

Waxing Gibbous

Redirection and flexibility are significant at this time. Ditch the need to maintain rigidity; allowing flexibility and new paths to form will serve you well. If you are struggling with flexibility, take time to show gratitude for what is and what is not meant to be in your life. 

Full Moon

The full moon brings in extra energy. The intensity of this full moon energy may result in tension or heightened emotion. Be mindful of this by observing your actions; be compassionate toward yourself if your emotions become difficult to manage. Take this time to channel your energy into meaningful projects or tasks that you’ve been wanting to move the needle forward on. If you keep an open mind and focus on allowing, you may find new opportunities start to bloom for the intentions you created during the new moon. 

Waning Gibbous

Whoa, we’re slowing down. This is a time when energy starts to slow. Embrace it, don’t resist. Take a few minutes to write down the things you are grateful for in life. Show love to those important to you. If you lost contact with someone while focused on a project (or all the things) during the full moon, now is the time to reach out again. 

Third Quarter

It’s time for a cleanse. Release negativity and the things that no longer serve you. Forgive yourself if things haven’t gone as you intend; offer yourself compassion and let go. The process of letting go creates space and welcomes new (and better) opportunities for you. 

Waning Crescent

We are coming up on a time that requires rest; it is time to recuperate. Since you are focusing on rest, make sure you are surrendering to the Universe. Practice Trust and release the (misguided) desire to control things. 

New Moon

Rinse, wash, and repeat the contents of this article. It’s time to set your intentions again! Nurture your new moon energy by setting your intentions with your new moon rituals.

Are You a Beginner and Still Have Questions?

Check out my blog post titled New Moon Intentions for Beginners: Your Questions Answered. You’ll find more great information there.

Also, if you’re entirely new to the concept of intention setting, this blog post on Everything You Need to Know About Powerful Intention Setting, Plus Examples is just for you!

Now, It’s Time to Set Your Lunar Intentions

I hope you learned a lot about setting intentions for the new moon to help you manifest your wildest dreams — and beyond. Now is the time to put it into practice!

If you’ve got questions about anything, drop a comment below. I love answering questions and getting to know you more.

XOXO Kristi

Tell us what you think