Tuesday, March 21st
New Moon
In Aries 0°49'
10:22 am PT

Decision Magic
By Sarah Faith Gottesdiener

This is an auspicious, auspicious New Moon! It is the first of two New Moons in a row that falls in the sign of Aries, the fire symbol of birth, rebirth, beginnings, energy, conflict, vitality, confidence, and action. This lunation coincides with the equinox that we celebrated yesterday. The palpable shift to spring here on Earth is amplified by a cosmic fresh start above. It is at 0 degrees Aries, which in some traditions is a powerful degree that supports action, initiating external projects, and recognition gains. Name it and claim it. 0 Aries is a critical degree that connects all the Cardinal Signs*, and all the seasonal shifts of the year. The rest of 2023 could be influenced by what is begun now and may get further amplified at the start of each new season. It’s giving another new year vibes, so if you haven’t gathered intentions and made clear to-do’s, now is the time. Begin by writing all of them down, or review what you already wrote about in January in this guide. Studies have shown that people who write their goals down and consistently review them have a much higher chance of obtaining said goals than those who do not. (Hence, why the Many Moon Lunar Planner exists!) 

Last, but certainly not least, this New Moon kicks off the last full lunar cycle that doesn’t include an Eclipse until May. Whatever you begin during this lunation will be supported and then most likely intensified during Eclipse season. What you begin clearing away consciously during this cycle, the universe will complete in the forthcoming months of Spring.

If you are interested in collaborating with the Moon in an astrological fashion, look to the house that contains Aries in your natal chart. That area could be activated or might benefit from more attention at this time. (For example, if Aries is your rising sign, then that is your first house.) 

One way to work with the lunar phase that will always be supported is attuning to the natural themes of this time in the Northern Hemisphere: seed planting, tangible growth, pivots, the external world, illumination, and expansion around a new interest. How might you gather your world around some of these themes this month?  The most potent way to step forward will always be with your intuition as your guide. Take a moment to close your eyes, place your hand on your heart, and breathe deeply. What actions must be taken now? What messages come up with the strongest resonance? 

Intentions without actions become dead weight.

They accumulate in our spirit like trapped butterflies and circle around our hope like a graveyard’s fence. But how do we get out of a rut? How do we muster up the courage to take risks again, or to keep going, after deep loss? 

This is an optimal time to practice one of the most potent forms of witchcraft that exists: decision magic. A decision ensures that an outcome will happen. We may not know how or when, but somewhere, a door opens. A timeline is set in motion and momentum builds. Decision magic is a surefire way to get out of stuckness. It reframes our mindset from a question mark to an all-caps exclamation mark. This creates a pathway elsewhere. What is already in motion easily stays in motion. No matter what, decision magic ensures that something will happen. And some thing leads to another! 

We make countless decisions every day. These are so real to us that we do not question them: which shoe gets tied first, what time to wake up, how we think about ourselves and our abilities. This New Moon, decide to move forward, decide to think differently, decide to mix certain things up, no matter what. 

A lot of the decisions we make are made for us, implicitly or explicitly: from family, culture, class, or geographic location. Which schools to go to or not go to at all, how to eat, what work to pursue, how to dress, what kinds of friends to make, to be timid or bold, to be passive-aggressive or direct. Those kinds of decisions might have felt more “real,” because they were what you were “supposed” to do. Those kinds of decisions might have felt more like a “choice” than they actually were. If you aren’t actively making clear decisions about your life and about who you are, then your fears, subconscious, or other people are making them for you. Often, you’ll know a decision is being made intuitively, because it goes against a certain taught logic, or what those around you are doing, or want you to do. But rules are meant to be broken— particularly ones that degrade self-respect. 

 — Excerpt from the Many Moons 2023 Lunar Planner. Get your copy to read the rest: the benefit edition is here and the digital edition is here. Or, download the March Guide. Get some magical spell and ritual ideas from Sarah Faith Gottesdiener for the New Moon by clicking here.