New Moon Divination, February 2025

Note: New Moon Divination is migrating to the blog this year. Subscribers will still get first view via email for each new moon; everyone else will have access a few days later (probably about a week). I'm not making edits to the messaging with the time differences, though, so buckle in for what might feel like time travel...grammatically, anyway.  

Hello, friends – This month’s New Moon Divination offered some ogham in positions that challenged me. If something feels like what we assume is “good,” then it’s wild to re-examine it as something to be avoided. And when something feels like what we assume is “bad,” then it’s wild to attempt an interpretation of it as an advantage. Fight, flight, fawn, freeze. Rinse and repeat. I don’t know where I’m going with that. 

One of the elements of my ritual (in Druidic style) is to create space for the Earth Mother and Inspiration. Together, those powers anchor me in memory and history, and open my awareness to what I don’t yet know. In a sense, those are the points of balance I seek when I meditate and prepare for divination: suspended between earth and sky, light and dark, history and possibility.

Let’s begin. 

1. Overall Theme: Spindle, for hearth and home and the work we do to care for our community. There’s a song my pagan UU congregation sings when passing the offering plate, called “Weave and Spin.” I am failing to find proper attribution but I think it’s from the Reclaiming tradition, possibly written by Starhawk or Thorne Coyle. It’s not so much of a protest song, but it definitely brings the struggle into focus at a personal level. 

Weave and spin, weave and spin

That's the way the work begins

Mend and heal, mend and heal,

Take the dream and make it real

2. Potential & Allies: Maple, the modifier for the Land. A different modifier was in this position last month, so that’s interesting. In any response or action, can I find my connection to memory? To history? To patience? I think it’s also a callback to the Earth Mother and that anchoring action. Let’s try not to get spun around too hard in the coming days, if we can. 

3. Static & Obstacles: Holly, for balance and justice and discernment. In this position, Holly points out the risks of “analysis paralysis.” Some of the best progress happens with imperfect action. Holly is a scalpel, a tool of precision. Figure out just one thing that feels manageable, and do THAT. This ogham also has some correspondences with air, so it’s perhaps also a reminder to evaluate and/or share information very carefully. 

4. Letting Go: Apple, for sweetness and choices. Okay, so we had Honeysuckle in this position last month, which also has a connection to sweetness. Given the discourse of of the past month, I wonder if Apple is here to remind us that being nice isn’t the same thing as being kind. And maybe also that we have to CHOOSE to change. Being “nice” and compliant isn’t necessarily going to get us to the next screen, but it’s pretty uncomfortable (at first) to break those habits.

5. Helping Grow: Blackthorn, for trouble. I had to sit with this one for a bit. Blackthorn is usually doomy-doom. But it’s very protective, and this is the wood that a shillelagh  is made from. I think Blackthorn is a call to “good trouble,” and a reinforcing of our personal boundaries as things get real hinky out there. 

Would you be interested in seeing a video of the ritual I use for these divination sessions? I got some questions about the process and I’m thinking of how best to share. Let me know! 

Brightest blessings. 

Nicole

~ Nicole (Nikki, sometimes Saffron Hare) is founder and general manager at Nine Fires Press. Her Druidic practice has included solitary, small-group, and congregational worship, with a focus on liturgy and seership. She is rehabbing an underground home in the Midwestern US and has a habit of falling in love with bad ideas.