About the New Moon spread
The New Moon spread is a four-card reading for the start of the lunar month, the dark night when the moon is not visible and a new cycle begins. It looks at what is ending, what you would like to grow over the coming weeks, what you need for that to happen, and a first step you can take now.
It is a gentle way to set an intention that has some ground under it. Rather than a wish, you come away with a clear aim, an honest sense of what it requires, and one small action. You can do it on the night of the new moon or any time in the few days after.
The positions
- 1What Is Ending. What are you leaving behind with the old cycle?
- 2What to Grow. What could this cycle become?
- 3What You Need. What do you need for it to grow?
- 4First Step. What is the first step?
How to lay it out with your own deck
- Take a moment before shuffling to think about the month just gone and what you would like from the next.
- Lay four cards face down in a row, left to right: What Is Ending, What to Grow, What You Need, First Step.
- Turn them in order. Read the row as a movement from the old cycle, through the new aim, to the action that begins it.
- Write your intention down in a sentence, using the What to Grow card, and keep it to look at again at the full moon.
Drew the cards at home? Choose “Enter my own cards” above and get the written reading for the cards you drew.
How to read it
- What Is Ending makes room for What to Grow. If the two seem connected, the new aim may grow out of what you are letting go.
- Keep the First Step small. If the card suggests something large, look for the smallest version of it you could do this week.
- What You Need can be practical, such as time, rest or help, or inner, such as patience or courage. The suit often tells you which.
- Pair this reading with the Full Moon spread two weeks later to see what has grown.
Questions
- What do you do on a new moon with tarot?
- Many readers use the new moon to set an intention for the month. A short spread like this one helps you see what is ending, what you want to grow and what that will take, so the intention is grounded rather than a vague wish.
- Do I have to read on the exact night of the new moon?
- No. The night itself is a natural moment, but the day or two either side works just as well. What matters more is returning to the reading later in the month to see how your intention has fared.