Moon News: January New Moon 2026
Let’s sit in the Dark and do Magic: January 2026 New Moon
This new moon in Aquarius, happening January 18th 2026, is finding a lot of us at a dark time. I’m reading the news and feeling furious, afraid, and somewhat lost at what to do. It seems that the US government has decided to go to war abroad and domestically against its own people. It’s also January, and Mercury is in retrograde, so that doesn’t help bring about a mood of hope. So many people in my life have expressed to me the feeling of creeping burnout, if not total crisis.
So, how do I write a moon ritual to fix all that? I’m not going to try. Over the holidays we did meditation to keep things serene, but the time for getting through it with serenity has passed.
I float on my back in the cool water of the River, letting it pull and lull me down the way. I find myself easily buoyant, but as the sun on my face begins to flicker with rapid passing clouds, I remember. I need to dive below. There is work to be done. I open my eyes and see the streaks of fire, claw marks in the sunset, and I remember. There is work to be done. I pack myself with breath and go beneath—the river bone deep cold—and find purchase on a gnarled root. Hand over hand I follow it down. To the muck and into the muck until I am a crab, armored and steady over centuries, and made for this. I follow the root through the silt to the place it cleaves bedrock. I pinch and grip and grind, and the world squirms as I sever this vestigial nerve.
As witches it is our duty to act as the infantry of hope. The people turn to us in desperation, and they are turning to us in desperation now. The Etsy witches have remained in business even through eviction from that platform, and others have offered their witchcraft for free in public service against power. It is our duty to serve as this bastion of hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, because when the world needs a miracle, we are the ones who will always say yes. And yes again. And yes in the face of adversity. And yes in the face of terror and evil and death. A miracle will come, and we can help it get here.
As witches of course we also know that those miracles aren’t easy. They take faith, energy, community coordination, and mundane work to match. But we can do it. So let’s sit in the dark on this new moon, and do some fucking magic for the world.
So what are we doing this new moon?
We’re donating $5 (obviously more if you can & want to donate more) to the National Immigrant Justice Center to fight against ICE. This step is some of that mundane work that has to go along with the magic.
We’re getting out of fight or flight. Or at least starting that process. Not because there’s nothing to be afraid of, but because those enforcing hierarchy want us to be too tired and afraid to do anything else. Self care is so important to be able to maintain sanity in a world that’s constantly bombarding us with horror, so take the time this new moon to make sure your body (I say body, because that’s a much easier place to start than the mind) is clean, well fed, hydrated, exercised, and relaxed. This is one of those times where the preparation for ritual might be an all day thing. I’m talking eating well all day, going to the gym or on a run, an everything shower, comfortable clothes, cleaning the house, really being kind to yourself and making a space that feels safe to relax.
We’re slowing down and going analog. Witchcraft is analog. It gets your hands in the dirt, and that is imperative right now. If you’re someone who spends a lot of time online, it can be easy to forget how the real world feels. But the real world is what needs dealing with. I’m going to challenge myself, and I challenge you too, to spend an entire day this week offline. On the 18th, I won’t be looking at socials, or news, or any of that, and I’ll be picking up my phone as little as possible, only to get messages from my real life community. Instead, I’ll be reading, singing, crafting, and witch crafting in the real world.
We are stretching. I am planning on doing a serious stretch session before I do ritual this new moon. At least an hour of sitting in deep stretches, all over my body, and especially in my hips. This is good for your health and mobility, but it will also help cultivate the willpower it takes to sit through discomfort and trust that relief will come when you let your body rest. It can also be a great emotional release to get the stress knots out of your muscles. Just remember to get your muscles nice and warm before you sit in static stretches!
We are doing ritual!
I swim back up to the surface of the river, the softness coming back to my skin, but I am different now. The gentle mud still coats me as my head breaks the surface and my aching lungs can swell again with air that’s free from smoke.
The ritual is up to you.
If you need to do the work for yourself, for confidence, for release, for blessings, for safety, do that ritual. If you can give your work to the community, to weaken the powers that be, to decrease their efficiency, to end their facade of unlimited power, do that ritual. If you can give community healing, do that ritual. If you can give just a candle and a prayer spoken to any god that will listen, do that ritual. If you want a community ritual, here is one you can use.
Collective New Moon Ritual for Hopefully Improving the World
This ritual creates an altered state by setting a pattern, breaking the pattern, then releasing energy.
Start with that day to clean your mind and body, take care of yourself, and treat yourself kindly. Do that stretching.
Cleanse your ritual space, cast your circle, or otherwise prepare as you normally do for magic.
Carve or draw two sigils on two candles.
ICE FALLS APART
JUSTICE SOUNDS SWEET
Hold on your candles, and close your eyes. Focus on the object in your hands, and think about what you want to happen. The first sigil is specifically for energy against ICE, while the second one is more general and can be directed at any figure, but is designed to make them most susceptible to the rhetoric of voices who are advocating true justice. Your imagination as you meditate on these outcomes should be very specific. Imagine specific situations where this will is coming true, and how it plays out. Spend about ten minutes just doing this.
Next you are going to chant for an additional five minutes. The suggested chant is “power is bending, evil is breaking.”
After your chanting, when the moment feels right, get up and run around your space. Take off any outer layers of clothing, open doors or windows waft fresh cold air into your space. Let your body move and shake and make noise, turn the lights on and off, and basically do anything you’d like to break up the rhythm of your space. Jump on the bed! Rearrange your furniture!
When you’ve exhausted yourself, return to the candles. Now light them, and lay down for a while. Let the energy you just put into your sacred space burn along with your intentions. You can go about your day, and let the candles burn until they are nubs.
Take the nub for the ICE candle and crush it. Sprinkle it in pieces on the ground (or in the trash if it’s not a safe candle to compost). Take the nub of your justice sounds sweet candle, and pop it in a little jar of honey or sugar.
Give yourself a cup of tea as a reward for doing a good job. And close any circles you need to close.
Thank you for reading, witches. Thank you for your work. Thank you for being allies in the fight for the hope of the world. We are strong together.
