Here’s the truth: just setting intentions with the new moon just isn’t enough.
Wishing on a moonbeam, fingers crossed, essential oils dripped on the altar—it’s just not gonna cut it. The cosmos doesn’t work like that.
Manifesting isn’t passive. It’s participatory. We have to meet the universe halfway. We have to do our work—the gritty, conscious, courageous kind. That’s where the real magic happens.
I used to religiously set intentions.
Ceremony after ceremony, moon after moon, relentlessly and without fail. I’d gather outside under the stars or in front of my altar, surrounded by crystals and candles. I’d anoint myself with aromatherapy, burn sage, write my intentions on special paper, and seal them in a beautiful box. I’d whisper them to the moon, pull cards—all of it.
If you’ve done this, you know exactly what I mean. The ritual perfection. The sacred setup. The full-on spiritual moment.
And yet, nothing changed. Month after month, I realized I couldn’t even remember what intention I’d set last time. It was like some cosmic game of set it and forget it. Sure, it felt spiritual, like what I was supposed to be doing—but I wasn’t manifesting squat.
Eventually, I realized that setting intentions and magical thinking weren’t going to get the job done. The universe doesn’t deliver our dreams all by itself. We have to show up and co-create with it.
That was my turning point—when I stopped outsourcing my dreams to the moon and started taking aligned, real-world action. That’s when things finally began to shift.
This Week’s Scorpio New Moon
This week, the cosmos offers us a powerful invitation to do exactly that.
Wednesday night (or Thursday morning for some of you) brings the Scorpio New Moon, exact at 11:47 PM Mountain Time here in Colorado.
New moons always invite us to set intentions and plant seeds—it’s the beginning of the moon cycle. But this one is different. It’s not about perfect words on fancy paper. It’s about facing what’s been buried, reclaiming your power, and actually making something move.
Here’s why:
This new moon kicks off a vast underworld journey in our solar system. Both Venus and Mars—the planets of being and doing, our feminine and masculine energies—are disappearing behind the sun in the coming months. They’re entering what the ancients called the underworld, hidden from view and purified in the light of Source.
Scorpio lives in that territory. It’s the archetype of the depth diver, the emotional spelunker unafraid to explore the shadow, our pain, and the parts of ourselves we usually avoid.
So, this isn’t a fluffy, manifesting moon.
It’s a cosmic summons to excavate.
Mercury Cazemi: Clarity and Illumination
Add to that—Mercury is Cazemi at this new moon, meeting in the exact heart of the Sun. That’s Mercury getting a direct download from Source itself: clarity, illumination, and increased awareness.
We are at the beginning of a cycle that continues until February. Through the holidays, we’re deep in this underworld process. Together, these energies point to a massive opportunity—to bring something stuck in your unconscious into the light of awareness, where you finally have choice, agency, and the power to change it.
Scorpio and Sagittarius: Descent and Return
By Friday, the Sun enters Sagittarius—the fire sign of the seeker and adventurer. So we’re not just diving deep with Scorpio; we’re also setting out on a quest for higher truth. Scorpio takes us into the depths, Sagittarius carries us back into the light.
This week begins an underworld time of excavation, bringing more of our unconscious into consciousness so we can create real change. Over the next few months, we’re traveling through a sacred process of rebirth—the alchemy of transformation and growth.
As Venus and Mars meet the Sun in their own underworld journeys, our inner feminine and masculine are realigning with Source, inviting us into greater wholeness—to feel safe and comfortable showing up as our true selves.
So, ask yourself:
- What’s the thing that’s been bugging the hell out of me?
- What feels stuck, exhausting, or just done?
- Where am I finally ready to break free and move forward?
Keep it real and concrete. This isn’t about fantasy-level wishes. Choose one or two areas you can actually influence—something you could transform between now and February, when Venus rises again into the evening sky.
The Real Magic
That’s the real magic of working with the moon: aligning intention with consistent action.
Dive into where you’re getting stuck, where you’re in your own way. Make it conscious so you can get the wiggle room to start making new choices—taking better-aligned action that supports where you really want to go.
So this week, under the Scorpio New Moon, here’s your invitation:
Take one simple, doable step toward change.
Journal or meditate on one area you’re ready to shift. Name the pattern or habit that’s been holding you hostage. Then take one small action to move the energy.
Maybe that’s setting a boundary, making an honest phone call, clearing a space in your home, setting down your phone for an hour, or simply sitting with the uncomfortable feeling you’ve been avoiding.
This is how we honor Scorpio’s power—by bringing light to the darkness, awareness to the unconscious, and movement to the stuck places.
Looking Ahead
Next week, both Mercury and Saturn station direct, and things will start speeding up again. We’ll also reach the first quarter moon—the first check-in point on these new moon goals you’re setting now, all in support of this larger transformation through February.
Use this week to get crystal clear on what matters most so that when the energy shifts forward, you’re ready to move with it.
I’m Sheridan Semple, your astrology life coach, helping you move from feeling stuck to finally getting traction—freeing yourself from old patterns so you can live with more space, ease, and authenticity.
Join me in Moon Sister Circle, where we meet live twice a month to flow with the moon’s rhythm, break the habits that hold us back, and realign with who we came here to be—all grounded in astrology.
Because when we stop just setting intentions and start living them—that’s where the real magic begins.
✨ With love,
Sheridan
Astrology Life Coach
