It’s good to begin a New Moon with a sense of closure. This is best done in the “dark of moon” period, a day or so before the New Moon; I call this “Hecate’s Time” in honor of the goddess who has always been and always will be.

Hecate represents inevitability, mortality and the infinite. She is difficult to describe because she is more about feelings and the knowledge that is ours in the place between sleep and waking.  Think of her as a spiritual midwife, who takes you through the metaphoric death of the maiden into the ownership and commitment of the mother.

Go beyond your fear of the unknown to the place of trust in your Source. When you have a desire to birth a vision, it is essential that you strive to make it happen. But knowing the next move is not always logical. Sometimes you must release attachment to an old course or habit in order to make space for the new. In this place of faith, at the dark of the moon, evaluate what needs to go in order for you to step forward.

Every New Moon, write down 3 things to do in the upcoming lunar cycle. It is even more powerful when the goals are related to the sign of the moon.

Make 1 of the 3 things something you can easily accomplish (but perhaps keep putting off), another that you’re in the middle of and want to cover ground on and the third can be a bit of a stretch. You may not be able to do more than plan a bit on the third thing or simply dream, but it still matters to write it down.

You can have more things on your “to do” list, but only choose 3 for your New Moon power goals. By winnowing down the list you make achievement possible. Accomplishing goals builds confidence.

After the New Moon occurs, jot down your wishes- convention states 10 wishes, more is too much and less may limit potential. 10 is a number of completion so this is energetically strong. If you can’t quite think of 10 that are personal wishes, you can always expand it to be “peace in my life”, “love everyday”, “laughter everyday”.

These wishes can be far-out or accent your goals. The 3 goals and the 10 wishes comprise the sacred 13 number, which distills down to the 4 of concrete manifestation.

Finally, my colleague Jenni Stone has reminded me that many people enjoy writing an Abundance Check at the New Moon.  It augments any other rituals you perform at this time and stimulates your imagination. Jenni mentions you don’t have to believe it will for an abundance check to work.

This amuses me because whether or not you believe that astrology works, it does. It also occurs to me that one may not bother with the New Moon goal/wish/prayer rituals I suggest, but will enjoy the idea of an Abundance Check.  Since to start at the correct time in the Lunar Cycle is extremely powerful, I offer this concept as another possibility for you to focus on your new beginnings.

There are many variations on how to write Abundance Checks, but this is the formula I use. Like the wishes, an Abundance Check should be drafted within 24 hours of the actual time of the New Moon.

1. On the pay to line put your name

2. Instead of a $ amount: Paid in Full

3. In the written $ line: Paid in Full

4. Sign it “The Law of Abundance”

5. Leave the date blank unless you are firm about when you need a return

6. Endorse it – and I always add on the memo line- Thank you, more please!

7. Reflect on your present abundance and express gratitude

8. Put it in a safe place and forget about it

9. At the Full Moon, burn it or rip it into tiny pieces to flush away

10. Express gratitude for all the abundance in your life – the odds are that more abundance has surfaced from the writing of that check to the burning of it!

Have you tried Abundance Checks in the past?  Let me know what you think of the practice. Do you have a story of results?