I am always aware and wary of the new moon. It is a difficult time for me, for most of us probably. I am edgy then and not very clear. I am more closed off and grumpier than usual. I usually want to be alone. I have trouble staying focused.

New moon is like PMS for all of us all at once. It’s the death time of the month, the time before the rebirth. It’s the dark time of the moon, when her light is hidden from us and when we are physically weakest and lost in darkness and emotional confusion.

Our physical energy varies with the moon’s cycle. It is lowest at the new moon. We can easily overdo it and become sick then. We can easily become depressed and angry. It is the opposite of the time of the full moon, when most of us have an abundance of energy. If the werewolf symbolizes that abundance of wild animal energy that most of us feel at full moon, the hermit crab symbolizes the reclusive and backwards, or crabby, nature of the energy that we feel at new moon.

Living out of doors in the early 70’s, I began to notice the cycles of the moon and the seasons of the year. I would lie out at night, watching the moon and the stars course the night skies.

Living my simple life as a wandering medicine man, I could see the effects of the moon upon myself and others. I would notice this effect most when I was doing medicine. On the full moon, I would be in my body and would be wild and passionate. On the new moon, however, I would be physically quiet the whole time, wandering alone down darker paths.

In the summer, it’s not so easy to notice this energy difference and probably not so important for our physical and emotional well-being. But during the late fall and winter, the new moon is potent and dangerous in its dark and negative way. New moon then is a time to be slow, physically lazy, and always aware of the potential for negativity in ourselves and others.