It is New Moon, the sky is dark and full of stars. A time for renewal and reconnection to ourselves and our source, the new moon reminds me to pause and give thanks.

I walk out to the small palm tree on the path to the garden and dig a small hole, singing about the love and abundance that surrounds me. Prepared with me is an offering of food and treasures I prepared throughout the day – toasted corn, plantain, a chocolate bar, eggs, a beautiful crystal found on the beach, earrings made from seeds, dried tobacco leaves, palo santo, a few coins, and essential oils. As I offer this heap of abundance to the small hole for Mother Earth, I pray with gratitude for all that she has offered me this past month. I thank her for the sunshine, the waves in the sea, the lush soil nourishing our vegetables, the fruit trees blossoming with guayaba, the vast skies, and include some prayers for what I would like to bring to my life in the coming weeks.

We hold sacred this practice of nurturing and acknowledging our Mother Earth, especially during the New Moon. This includes giving an offering to the tierra, the Earth, to sustain that familiar and love connection that we have with the Earth as a live being. The ritual is renewing for the Earth and for us. The idea is that we must help keep her alive, so we feed her and this connection between us. We open a wound, literally a hole in the ground, trying to always use the same one each month.

Maybe you are wondering, what could we possibly offer the Earth that she does not already have? Again, the idea is to bring her life and sustain our connection, so the act is as much symbolic as it is literal.

We save food from each meal that day, and also give her a bit of everything we have eaten during the month. The idea is not to give things you do not need anymore – the end of the candy jar, the last bit of leftovers, or the necklace you don’t wear anymore. Rather, it is important to offer things that have true worth for you, and even things you have been working with the whole month. The offering is like a summary of what we are grateful for from the past month. All of this we want to share with and give to Mother Earth.

For example, sometimes I even include in my offering Vitamin C or a certain type of tea that I have been using that month.

The Earth does everything that is in her power to keep us alive, so in turn, this is our way of nurturing this connection and showing our gratitude.

Indigenous people all around the world have been following the moon calendar since their existence, and also follow this ritual. New Moon is the time for planting and planning, and Full Moon is for harvesting.

We align with this by praying and giving on the New Moon. We give voice to what we want ot thank the Earth for, as well as what we want to receive in the weeks that follow. By giving and praying in this way, we can receive with humility and gratitude throughout the rest of the month.

During the Full Moon, we continue the offering, by giving liquid, milk, or plant medicine, to keep this offering of gratitude alive.

More on the Full Moon soon. For now, it is New Moon, and we are singing:

“Mother Earth, dear Mother Earth, we are here, we are here, hear our cry.”