New Moon ●

In the sky

At the new moon, the Moon sits between the Earth and the Sun and its lit side faces away from us. The sky is at its darkest. Many traditions treat this as a time for rest, quiet and planting a simple intention, the way a seed waits in the soil before it shows.

What is a new moon?

The new moon is the moment the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, once every 29.5 days. Its sunlit side faces away from us, and it rises and sets with the Sun, so it is hidden in the daytime glare. In practice you can’t see a new moon at all. The first thin crescent appears a day or two later, low in the west just after sunset. The full cycle from one new moon to the next, the synodic month, lasts about 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes.

Spiritual meaning of the new moon

In many traditions, the dark night before the light returns is read as a beginning. The new moon is linked with rest, quiet and planting a seed: an intention you will tend over the coming month. Nothing needs to happen yet. A simple practice is to rest, notice what you would like the next cycle to hold, and write down one honest intention rather than a long list of goals.

Amavasya: the new moon in the Hindu calendar

In the Hindu lunisolar calendar, the new moon day is Amavasya. It closes the dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha), and in the amanta system used across much of southern and western India it ends the lunar month. Amavasya is traditionally a day for honouring ancestors with offerings called pitru tarpan, above all on Mahalaya Amavasya in autumn. Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated on a new moon night in October or November, when lamps fill the darkest night of the month.

Other calendars that begin with the new moon

• The Islamic month begins when the first crescent (hilal) is sighted after the new moon
• Lunar New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice
• The Hebrew month, Rosh Chodesh, was once declared by sighting the new crescent and is now calculated
• In Theravada Buddhism, new and full moon days are uposatha, days of observance and meditation

New moons and solar eclipses

A solar eclipse can only happen at a new moon, when the Moon lines up exactly with the Sun and casts its shadow on the Earth. Most months it passes a little above or below the Sun, because its orbit is tilted by about 5 degrees, so there are usually just two to five solar eclipses a year.

The new moon in astrology

At the new moon the Sun and Moon sit in the same zodiac sign, so astrologers name each one after that sign: a new moon in Scorpio, for example. It is read as a seed point for the themes of that sign. The upcoming new moons and their signs are listed beside this page.

Bring it into your practice

Keep practice soft and inward. Rest, restorative shapes and a few minutes of stillness suit this point in the cycle. Write one clear intention instead of a long list.

In some Ashtanga Yoga communities, new and full moon days are traditionally taken as rest days from the main practice. Whatever your style, a lighter day can be a thoughtful choice.

A pose for this phase

Child’s Pose

Open the pose guide

A practice for this phase

Yoga nidra

A guided rest that suits the stillness of the darkest night.

Open the practice

Questions to sit with

• Which one small intention feels honest and possible?
• What do I need to rest from before I begin?

A few lines for yourself Download my notes

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Questions