Our first new moon of 2021 arrives at 5am on the 13th of January in the sign of Capricorn.

Known as a ‘Wolf’, ’Quiet’ or ‘Snow Moon’ the message of a new moon at this time of year is to stay home and reflect – apt as this new moon emerges in another lockdown. New Moons are the time when the moon is shrouded in darkness and begin a new lunar cycle. As such they mark a time for us to begin a new cycle, to look for new beginnings, new plans and to set out our intentions or wishes. Whilst eclipses are the best time to work with shadow self because the light of the moon is hidden at this time, this can be a good time to work on uncovering and owning our shadow side and initiating any work that we need to do. 

Falling under the sign of Capricorn the energy key words are ‘structure’ and ‘planning’. Being a mutable earth sign Capricorns work with the energy of slow and steady progress towards a defined goal. One of the hard-working signs of the zodiac Capricorns know that ambition, determination and a plan lead to seeing, feeling and achieving dreams and ambitions. Grounded and practical, realistic yet sensitive Capricorns tend to be disciplined when working towards a goal or achievement.

Mutable signs though warn us about not being too fixed or rigid in our thoughts and behaviours. Allowing ourselves to be less controlling might just lead to a more favourable outcome.

This particular new moon asks us to consider how far we’ve come in the last 12 months, what growth we’ve seen and experienced and what lessons and understandings we’ve gained. Who are we now compared to who we were 12 months ago?

In looking back, we can see that sometimes the greatest growth comes through adversity and for most people 2020 was a year of challenge and unexpected difficulties.

Starting the year off under Capricorn energies might have the effect of requiring us to confront an issue or problem head on. If this is the case then use this time to reflect on what the issue is teaching you, instead of seeking external approval look to what your intuition and practical thoughts are both telling you. Balance the feeling whilst staying grounded and look for practical and realistic resolutions.

New Moons are times to consider what we want to manifest over the next month, and in the case of this month over the next year. If you prefer you could call it intention setting or visualising but however you refer to it this is the time to set out a plan. 

When you’re working with manifestation or intention setting it’s important to work on what you want to achieve rather than what you want to avoid or don’t want to feel. Remember that this energy is one of working with getting what you want and if you focus on what you don’t want this is what you’re inviting in. 

Allow yourself to really feel your intentions, feel what it is like to have achieved, to have created. When you work with the energy of intention feeling it as accomplished says to the Universe that this is how it is. The inestimable Dr Wayne Dyer put it perfectly when he said, “feel the feeling of the wish fulfilled”. Don’t just wish for it, feel how it feels to have gained it. 

Your thoughts create your reality, it’s time to use this Capricorn energy to really plan out your future, to think about what you really want to create from your soul. How do you want your life to look and what do you need to do to get there?

There are numerous ways of working with the energy of a new moon. You can:

• Begin with a cleansing salt bath and cleansing essential oils such as Juniper Berry, Pine, Ylang-ylang or Spruce (remember to make sure these are in a dispersible form).

• Create your own sacred altar with crystals, oracle cards, power words, images, flowers and symbols.

• Write down your intentions (you’ll find my free downloadable pdf here).

• Draw or doodle how you see your plan, using your right brain works on an intuitive level to really see what you want.

• Create a vision board. Vision boards are great ways to start a new year, and under this new moon is an ideal time to create one if you haven’t already.

My favourite way of working with new moons is to map out my plan, set my intentions and then consider what steps I need to take and what I’m allowing to get in my way to achieving my desires. Starting with a cleansing bath or shower sets up the energies for some simple meditation connecting in with my higher self and looking at what will serve best for the next month.

I write my intentions down each month, and although I know it’s often traditional to burn the list once you’ve manifested your dreams, I like to look back and see how far I’ve come and what has changed over the last year, so I tend to keep a year’s worth of journaling and review it at the end of each year.  If you’d like to use my free New Moon Manifestations planner you can download it here.

What do you really want to achieve and are you committed to manifesting it?