How to conduct a New Moon ritual even your skeptical friends will be into

Vegetarian tacos, rosé, and your most eccentric friend’s cauldron. The New Moon in Virgo got us talking, and I raised quite a few eyebrows when I revealed my go-to list for one… okay, five New Moon rituals. You know, as if I came into the office wearing my pointy black hat. But I’m from North Brooklyn, a borough that’s all tarot cards and tall girls with black hair and bangs. Trust me, when I say that it’s not weird, and it’s also not, like, hard. New Moon rituals are all about intention setting, starting fresh, and supplicating female bonding outside of a book club.

Of course, I’m a novice when it comes to New Moon parties, unlike astrologer and all-things-moon expert Chani Nicholas, who’s running a workshop for the New Moon in Virgo. If you’re looking to summon the power of this New Moon in Virgo specifically, it’s a really good time to focus on purifying and organization. Note, please, that Virgo’s ruling power is Mercury. If it helps at all, please envision Sailor Mercury, the brainy blue-haired scout in Sailor Moon, to accurately depict this energy. What you want to do is create a little altar (could just be a space on your coffee table, I don’t judge).

“An altar to this New Moon should comprise anything that symbolized what you are beginning, any symbol of knowledge, magic, or intuition, any communication devices that you want blessed, and any crystals related to the Moon or Mercury such as selenite, moonstone, agate, or other multi-colored stones,” Nicholas says.

Okay, but what if you have plans last minute and want to save your New Moon ritual for, well, another New Moon? According to Nicholas, making that little altar space is just about creating something resonant to you. You just want to incorporate a couple of elements connected to what we want to honor, in this case new beginnings, the process of purification, and the Moon and Mercury.

“Think about creating a space that reflects back to you, your beauty, worth and spiritual abundance,” Nicholas says. “Creating a New Moon ritual is about creating a place where you dedicate yourself to your own healing work, a shrine to all that you have created and are creating, and an affirmation of all that you are dedicating yourself to.”

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Redirect that to whatever you want for yourself. I want to be full of love and strength, so I have an altar (read: end table with a pashmina paisley scarf on it) that includes some rose quartz and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer prayer candle.

Still seem a little elaborate? Let’s pare down the New Moon ritual to it’s fresh-start essence.

How to low-stress set intentions with a New Moon Ritual

1. Gather with friends.
2. Pour glasses of rosé.
3. Have someone prepare the vegetarian tacos (I’m a big fan of avocado or sweet potato, meat tacos)
4. Create an altar space with some crystals, candles, or anything that informs the energy you’re looking to absorb.
5. On small pieces of paper, write down intentions and/or affirmations for the next month. Good affirmations include things like: “I am allowed to change my mind” and “I am worthy of love and support.” Intentions might be more like: “I want to thrive in my job.”
6. Burn your affirmations and intentions.
7. Place the burnt paper in a cauldron or as my editor calls it, a Le Creuset mini pot. Or whatever, the main point is that you put your wishes in or on something safe so you don’t burn your house down.

Then rise from the ashes and chow down, my love.

Not done with that Lunar Life? Here’s a little more info on how to set New Moon intentions. Or learn all about your Moon Sign, the key to your inner self.