For the past couple of years, I’ve relied on moon planning to check in with my intentions and emotions. My practice has remained fairly consistent since my first moon planning session on October 1, 2020. Here’s what it entails:

• I hold a moon planning ceremony every two weeks or so, during each new moon and full moon.

• The session is centered around reflective questions to harness the power of each phase of the moon. For example, the new moon is widely known as a good time to start new projects, and the full moon usually signals celebration, gratitude, and release.

• Each new moon and full moon also carries specific characteristics according to Western astrology, so I read a bit about that. This provides me with some focus when planning.

• As part of the ritual, I pull an oracle card (representing overall theme for the next two weeks) and three tarot cards (representing my desires, barriers, and solutions).

• After taking time to reflect, I write some brief notes in my bullet journal — I include the characteristics of the moon, interpretations of the divinity cards, and responses to the reflective questions. Typically, these notes focus on how I’d like to feel over the next couple of weeks and what obstacles I might encounter.

• I split my new moon and full moon planning sessions into four segments, each with its own overall theme and set of reflective questions:

  • New moon — dreams
    Waxing crescent moon — courage
    First quarter moon — momentum
    Waxing gibbous moon — adaptability

  • Full moon — gratitude
    Waning gibbous moon — connection
    Third quarter moon — release
    Waning crescent moon — rest

• Then, over the next two weeks, I refer back to my notes and jot down any other thoughts as they arise.

In the section below, I’ve shared some moon planning tools in a downloadable and printable PDF format. I’ve also included a calendar of key dates in 2023 in case you’re interested in experimenting with this way of planning in a bullet journal or notebook. If you have a similar practice or if you end up trying out this one, I’d love to hear from you here. To go back to my featured self-reflection activities, click here.

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Planning Tools

• Click here to access the new moon planning worksheet that you can print and fill out on each new moon.

• Click here to access the full moon planning worksheet that you can print and fill out on each full moon.

2023 Moon Calendar

*** All times are in the Eastern time zone (source). ***

Full moon — January 6 @ 6:09 pm
Waning gibbous moon — January 7 to 13
Last quarter moon — January 14
Waning crescent moon — January 15 to 20

New moon — January 21 @ 3:55 pm
Waxing crescent moon — January 22 to 27
First quarter moon — January 28
Waxing gibbous moon — January 29 to February 4

Full moon — February 5 @ 1:30 pm
Waning gibbous moon — February 6 to 12
Last quarter moon — February 13
Waning crescent moon — February 14 to 19

New moon — February 20 @ 2:09 am
Waxing crescent moon — February 21 to 26
First quarter moon — February 27
Waxing gibbous moon — February 28 to March 6

Full moon — March 7 @ 7:42 am
Waning gibbous moon — March 8 to 13
Last quarter moon — March 14
Waning crescent moon — March 15 to 20

New moon — March 21 @ 1:26 pm
Waxing crescent moon — March 22 to 27
First quarter moon — March 28
Waxing gibbous moon — March 29 to April 5

Full moon — April 6 @ 12:37 am
Waning gibbous moon — April 7 to 12
Last quarter moon — April 13
Waning crescent moon — April 14 to 19

New moon — April 20 @ 12:15 am
Waxing crescent moon — April 21 to 26
First quarter moon — April 27
Waxing gibbous moon — April 28 to May 4

Full moon — May 5 @ 1:36 pm
Waning gibbous moon — May 6 to 11
Last quarter moon — May 12
Waning crescent moon — May 13 to 18

New moon — May 19 @ 11:55 am
Waxing crescent moon — May 20 to 26
First quarter moon — May 27
Waxing gibbous moon — May 28 to June 2

Full moon — June 3 @ 11:43 pm
Waning gibbous moon — June 4 to 9
Last quarter moon — June 10
Waning crescent moon — June 11 to 17

New moon — June 18 @ 12:39 am
Waxing crescent moon — June 19 to 25
First quarter moon — June 26
Waxing gibbous moon — June 27 to July 2

Full moon — July 3 @ 7:40 am
Waning gibbous moon — July 4 to 8
Last quarter moon — July 9
Waning crescent moon — July 10 to 16

New moon — July 17 @ 2:33 pm
Waxing crescent moon — July 18 to 24
First quarter moon — July 25
Waxing gibbous moon — July 26 to 31

Full moon — August 1 @ 2:33 pm
Waning gibbous moon — August 2 to 7
Last quarter moon — August 8
Waning crescent moon — August 9 to 15

New moon — August 16 @ 5:38 am
Waxing crescent moon — August 17 to 23
First quarter moon — August 24
Waxing gibbous moon — August 25 to 29

Full moon — August 30 @ 9:37 pm
Waning gibbous moon — August 31 to September 5
Last quarter moon — September 6
Waning crescent moon — September 7 to 13

New moon — September 14 @ 9:40 pm
Waxing crescent moon — September 15 to 21
First quarter moon — September 22
Waxing gibbous moon — September 23 to 28

Full moon — September 29 @ 5:58 am
Waning gibbous moon — September 30 to October 5
Last quarter moon — October 6
Waning crescent moon — October 7 to 13

New moon — October 14 @ 1:55 pm
Waxing crescent moon — October 15 to 20
First quarter moon — October 21
Waxing gibbous moon — October 22 to 27

Full moon — October 28 @ 4:24 pm
Waning gibbous moon — October 29 to November 4
Last quarter moon — November 5
Waning crescent moon — November 6 to 12

New moon — November 13 @ 4:27 am
Waxing crescent moon — November 14 to 19
First quarter moon — November 20
Waxing gibbous moon — November 21 to 26

Full moon — November 27 @ 4:16 am
Waning gibbous moon — November 28 to December 4
Last quarter moon — December 5
Waning crescent moon — December 6 to 11

New moon — December 12 @ 6:32 pm
Waxing crescent moon — December 13 to 18
First quarter moon — December 19
Waxing gibbous moon — December 20 to 25

Full moon — December 26 @ 7:33 pm
Waning gibbous moon — December 27 to January 2
Last quarter moon — January 3
Waning crescent moon — January 4 to 10