This week was the New Moon. I have been focusing on the New Moon more this year than I have in past years. This years Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook has a section on working with the New Moon and I decided to intentionally do some New Moon work this year.

Unfortunately, for June, I did not get to do any planned ritual. I’m nursing a case of COVID this week and just not feeling my best. I did however, spend some time rereading and setting some intentions.

Directly from Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook, “The New Moon in Cancer is a time to create intentions around self-care, nurturing, belonging, family, home, hearth, and security.”

During this pandemic, I really turned my focus inward to home and hearth. My original intention was finding local sources for things that were in short supply, and where I could, natural or minimally processed sources. Meat and eggs were in short supply early on and we started frequenting a local dairy. We’ve continued this and signed up for a vegetable CSA through that dairy. We’ve started getting a meat CSA through another farm and also get local fish.

I started looking for reusable or more environmentally friendly options to paper products and found bamboo paper towels, toilet paper and tissues. The bamboo paper towels are compostable, so less of them go into the trash. Plus, bamboo grows much faster than trees. I do use cloth towels as much as possible. The toilet paper works well too. The only thing I didn’t love in the bamboo is the tissues, they are a bit rough and scratchy on the face if you’ve got a cold and blowing your nose a lot.

As I rebuild my practice, I’ve also started rebuilding my herb collection. Not just herbs for ritual use, but also for medicinal use too, where appropriate. I’m definitely a believer in Western medicine, but I also believe in utilizing Eastern medicine and herbal remedies. A good chunk of my current reading list if books on herbalism and making natural products for the home.

Some of my summer reading list.

Hearth, home, family, and self care; for me these all tie in together with getting back to living closer to the earth. Closer to the Goddess and reconnecting with nature.