I know a lot of people use the moon in their spiritual practice. It's a perfect reminder of cycles and seasons. And, I am very much into the Goddess archetype of Maiden, Mother, Crone, and the cycles of the moon are a fantastic parallel to the times in our lives when sometimes we need to rest, and sometimes we are compelled to be out there baby! Full and shining!
The new moon in particular has been a pillar for my rituals and prompts from Spirit.
I've had long periods of darkness in my personal life that I had a hard time navigating and didn't know how to find my way out.
The dark moon reminded me that it's pretty important and even necessary to have the darkness come sit with you, next to you, hover over you. In a "love and light" kind of field, the idea of being in the dark can feel overwhelming and unwelcome.
But the love and light isn't really possible or recognizable with the darkness. The new moon, and its darkness reminds me that I cannot always be in "love and light" and honestly, it sounds exhausting anyway. The idea of being full and shining always: hard pass.
If the new moon represents the idea of the wise crone, then we should remember the advice of the wise woman that sometimes its better to sit in the silence and listen, be alone with your thoughts and observe than speak up and be out there like a full moon maiden.
By sitting in silence and listening, we can hear the heartbeat of the earth beneath us. We can hear our Mother whisper and breathing, telling us She is there. The dark provides quiet. The dark provides rest. Both are necessary for progress and moving forward.
These things are on my mind as I look at the calendar, an anticipate another beautiful, dark moon.