The new moon is the birthing cycle of the moon’s various phases. The new moon phase is an optimal time for planning and seeding your intentions. Seedlings need a period of gestation before they break through the soil and reach for the sunlight. This is also true for our ideas and our desires. The dark side of the moon, with its mysterious unseen forces, offers a nurturing environment where our intentions can establish roots before their miraculous manifestations begin to sprout and reach out to the stars. 

Ceremony for Birthing Your Wishes and Desires
Setting aside a few minutes each month during the new moon phase to focus on your wishes and desires will help give you clarity of mind and fill your heart with promise. When it comes to setting goals or planning ahead for your future, there is no better time to get started than during the new moon. Any intentions stated or written down carries power, so please take care in considering the things that you really want. The saying “Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.” is fair warning whenever setting your new moon intentions into motion. But, no worries. The moon has its phases and so do our individual wants and needs. This is why it is a good practice to rededicate your list of intentions each month when another new moon visits.

Preparation for Upcoming New Moon Manifestation

1. Check a  moon phase calendar for the next upcoming new moon.

2. Set aside 20-30 minutes to do the ritual itself.

3. Supply suggestions:
* notebooks
* pen and colored markers
* scissors
* scotch tape
* candle
* matches
* incense
* smudge sticks
* meditation CDs

4. Prepare yourself a sacred space where to perform the ceremony when the new moon arrives.

Setting your New Moon Intentions in Motion

1. Cleanse your sacred area with an opening prayer, a sage smudging, and/or by burning some incense.

2. Light one or more candles.

3. Center your being and calm yourself in whatever way is appropriate for you. Take some deep cleansing breaths, slip in a meditation CD to listen to, and/or leisurely sip on a cup of relaxing herbal tea.

4. Open your notebook, and date the first page. Write down these words “I accept these things into my life now or something better for my highest good and for the highest good of all concerned.” or something similar. Below your affirmation statement, begin writing down your desires. Your list may consist of only one item or you may have several pages written down. Try not to limit yourself. If having many things in your life helps to fulfill you, then don’t deny yourself wanting these things.

5. During the month when an item on your new moon list comes to you, don’t merely cross it off of your list, take the time to rewrite the list in its entirety eliminating the manifested item from the listing. This is highly recommended. At the same time you may add whatever else that you have decided you would like. Feel free to reword any of the original phrases if they better fit your life now. It is natural that your desires will change as time advances.

6. A second notebook will be used as a manifestation scrapbook where you paste in pictures or catalog clippings of items that you want to manifest. This is a fun project so enjoy yourself. You will soon be amazed how these things begin to find their way into your life once you start this process.

Rededicating your New Moon Intentions

Each month at the new moon, rededicate your intentions by renewing your list at a repeated ritual. This is accomplished by rewriting your list out using a fresh sheet of paper. Don’t get in the habit of simply scratching out the items you no longer desire and adding the new stuff to the bottom of your old list. You don’t want clutter and sloppiness energies messing up your new stuff do you? Disregard any items that no longer feed your soul and add new things that do.

It is helpful to salt and pepper your manifest list with smaller items that will manifest quickly, such as tickets to the ballet, lunch with a friend, or a day at the spa. You may think that smaller things are too trivial to put on your intention list… Wrong! Things that tend to manifest with little effort still deserve to be written down. Write down everything that you desire, no matter how little or simple. If it is something that makes you happy, write it down. Manifesting smaller items on our lists actually creates a steady flow of energy to the list. These smaller manifestations create movement, allowing an ebb and flow of the tides. We are dealing here with the moon cycles after all. Besides, sometimes we forget to appreciate the smaller pleasures in our lives while we are waiting for the BIG stuff to come in. If you only write statements like, “I want to win the lottery” in your notebook then you are limiting yourself by not allowing abundance to flow to you from other avenues.

From http://healing.about.com/cs/spirituality/a/moonrituals.htm