New Moon and Birthday Ceremony

At the New Moon

This is a good way to state your intentions to the Universe each month. You can do your ceremony anytime from a few minutes after the New Moon up to two days afterwards. You are planting seeds. It will take care and attention for your little seedlings to grow. This is an inner, spiritual and tender time. The seeds will blossom at the Full Moon a couple of weeks later.

Some New Moons will be more powerful than others, depending on your own birth chart. The New Moon that occurs in your birth sign each year will be one of those times. If the New Moon actually occurs on your birthday, the year ahead will be significant in your life. A new or revitalized life direction could begin in the coming year.

Solar eclipses also occur at the New Moon. There are at least two solar eclipses a year, but there can be up to five (this is very rare, the last time was 1935 and the next time will be 2206).  A Solar Eclipse/New Moon indicates the end of one set of circumstances and the beginning of another. Surprises and unsettled conditions can occur around this time. In fact, a Solar Eclipse will be in effect for at least three months and sometimes up to a year. If you have a Solar Eclipse on your birthday, the year ahead will be a time of change for you. Be gentle with yourself and let things unfold naturally.

On Your Birthday

You can also do this ceremony on your birthday each year. This one is focused on the Sun rather than the Moon. Your birthday is the day when the Sun returns to the part of the zodiac where it was on the day you were born. (The precise alignment can actually vary a day from year to year, but for these purposes, your original birth date will be just fine. If you want to be exact you will need to obtain a solar return chart.)

The Sun has a more dynamic and active energy than the Moon and this is a good time to focus on your vitality and life force. It is an excellent time to think about what you want to unfold in your life during the year ahead. Feel a sense of gratitude for your life, physically connect to the energy in your body, connect with your Spirit and the joy of being alive. Think about all the years you have traveled on the Earth as it made its journey around the Sun. Honor the life you have been given. Feel that source of energy flowing through you as you do the ceremony below. Be prepared -this can be a very powerful ceremony and can bring results quite quickly.

This is a life-affirming ceremony and you can do by yourself every year on your birthday. You might want to keep a “birthday journal” and keep track of what you want to manifest and what has happened over the past year of your life.

Ceremony Ideas

There are many ways to do a ceremony. It can be simple or elaborate. You can do whatever is comfortable for you and suits your personality and belief system. The most important factor is your intent. One caveat – be careful what you wish for, because you are likely to get it. The following are just some ideas – feel free to make up your own:

First, clarify what you would like to manifest in your life. Write out your intentions ahead of time, so they are clear in your mind. Think BIG. It is fun to write each intention on a separate strip of paper for use in the ceremony.

Set up a “sacred space” area where you will have privacy. This can be very simple – from your kitchen table to a space outside in nature. Make sure the area is clean and clear. You could also do some clearing with a smudge stick. Do whatever makes it feel right for you. Decorate this space with things that are special to you – crystals, stones, pictures, books or sacred objects, etc.

Prepare yourself. Take a shower or bath. Wear something that feels comfortable and makes you feel good.

Add ambience – music, candles, incense. It is good to include the four elements: fire, earth air and water. A table fountain or a flower or candle floating in a bowl of water would be nice. Having some pure water to drink would also be good. Fire could be a candle or feeling the heat and warmth of the Sun. Rocks, crystals or plants can represent the earth. Air is all around us. Breathing deeply and having a feather or something to interact with the air will work. Go for it – allow yourself to be mystical, honor your intuitive side and be open to the Divine.

Now do a little ceremony. You can make up your own ceremony if you want. Do whatever feels right to you. Here are some ideas that work well and can serve as a template:

It is important to focus your attention and connect with your Inner Self and Spirit. Begin with a prayer/meditation of your own choosing. This can be something simple. The main thing is your intent. It is always good to affirm that anything you say, do or experience will be for your highest and best good and for the highest and best good of anyone who is affected in any way.

Now you need to state your intentions. A fun thing to do is to take a strip of paper on which you have written an intention, read it out loud and then burn that strip of paper in the candle. As it burns, picture your intention releasing its energy into the world, and say “So be it!” Say it with feeling. It’s really empowering and quite fun.

You could also bury your papers in the earth, scatter ashes in a body of water or over the earth – or anything else that feels right to you.

When you are done, say a prayer of gratitude and release.

Keep a notebook close by for the next several days and write down any ideas, hunches, dreams and intuitive flashes that come to you. Then let things unfold.