INCENSE RECIPE and RITUAL to UNTANGLE with NEW MOON in PISCES. 
I am not certain whether it is the restless wind or the waning MOON loosening the edges. Waysides are breathing differently now and the air carries a softness that feels like water returning to vetiver. There is a sense of suspension as we move between cycles, the last breaths of one year and the first spark of the next.
The coming NEW MOON in PISCES rests in the final degrees of the zodiac, in rare and quiet hours just before the SUN crosses into ARIES and a new astrological year begins again. For a moment the sky holds us between an ending and a beginning. PISCES dissolves what has become too rigid while ARIES offers the first ignition of life. The two meet in a space that feels tidal, where reflection flows alongside anticipation.
Under this NEW MOON we may notice dreams that return with clarity, emotions rise from quiet corners, memories surface for acknowledgment. The invitation is to release, not to push. To soften and allow what has run its course to return to the waters. This is a gentle cleansing of the inner field, a preparation for EQUINOX when the SUN will enter ARIES at the first degree of the zodiac. The EQUINOX is a balancing point where light and dark stand in equal measure before the fire of the new astrological year begins. The PISCES NEW MOON therefore acts as a final clearing of the field. It softens the ground of the inner life so that something new can later take root.
You may feel the desire to rest more deeply, to walk slowly, or to spend time close to water or soil. This is the body responding to the closing of a long cycle. PISCES reminds us that endings are rarely dramatic. More often they arrive quietly, like a tide withdrawing from the shore.
NEPTUNE lulls in mysterious beauty, the beginnings of the ARIES cycle that will are only just discovering. This lavenders the year with subtle reflection. This final PISCES lunation encourages the softening of boundaries, compassion that brings closing, and recognition of patterns that have repeated over the past twelve months (and realistically longer). Before the SUN ignites ARIES we are invited to sit with what has been, to observe it with tenderness, and to make room for what is coming.
If this writing resonates, if it nourishes your thinking, your sensing, your way of meeting the season, you’re welcome to support its continuation. This work takes time, attention, and care to create, and your contribution helps keep it alive and freely shared. Adding something to my TIP JAR is a way of participating in the circulation that makes this work possible.
INCENSE RECIPE
This blend is rooted in Ayurvedic principles but I am hoping you can find most of or swappables in your kitchen. Each ingredient has a quality (guna), a dosha influence, and an energetic resonance that harmonises with PISCES and the water element:
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers (soothing, cooling, vata pacifying, calms the mind)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (cleansing, heating, balances kapha, steadies thought) or a dry herb mix like herbs de provence.
1 teaspoon dried rose petals (soothing, opening, sattvic, softens the heart)
1 teaspoon dried citrus peel, finely grated (uplifting, warming, balances vata, brightens intention)
1 teaspoon powdered responsibly sourced sandalwood or a small pinch of frankincense resin (grounding, cooling, clarifying) or alternatively clove.
1 teaspoon fine wood ash or rice flour (binder, provides structure)
1 teaspoon raw honey (binding agent, sweet, unifying, carries the fragrance, nurturing to the senses)
PREPARATION and MEDITATION
Begin with quiet attention. Lay out each herb, powder, and resin on a clean surface. Notice the colours, the textures, the aromas that rise from the fingertips as you handle them. Recognise the journey so far. The cycles, the emotional currents, the moments you have walked through this past year. Each ingredient carries a reflection of that process.
Combine the dried herbs and powders in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle the honey drop by drop, pausing to check consistency, feeling the stickiness, the gentle weight of transformation. Knead the mixture with your fingers, noting how it begins to hold together, how individual scents mingle into a new whole. You are kneading reflection, memory, intention.
Shape the mixture into seven small cones. Each cone can be held in the hand and breathed upon before burning, each cone a vessel for your reflection and release. Lay them on a tray or plate to dry in a warm, quiet place over the next couple of days. The slow drying itself is part of the ritual, a period of pause, of observation, of gentle waiting. Tend to the cones with energy and your eyes, feel into them but try not to handle them.
THE RITUAL
Light the first cone in the evening, preferably near a small bowl of water. Water honours PISCES and flame coming ARIES. Allow the ribbons of smoke to rise and curl, carrying energy into the room. The scent opens a space for contemplation. The lavender cools, the rosemary steadies, the rose softens, the citrus brightens, the sandalwood or resin grounds.
Sit in quiet observation, hands resting on knees or over your heart. Be with the smoke, letting it fill subtle bodies and imagination. Allow the mind to bring forward what must be released. Let the release be natural, not forced. Watch the smoke as it untangles in the air, ribbons curling like thoughts moving into clarity. Consider what has completed its cycle during the past year. The question does not require a dramatic answer. Often it is a habit of thought, an old story about oneself, or a lingering attachment that is ready to loosen. Writing a few words on paper and placing them beneath the bowl of water can symbolise this act of release.
One by one, burn the cones across the coming days. Each flame marks a step in the process of closing the year and preparing for ARIES. Pouring a small bowl of water onto the earth when finished completes the act, returning what is no longer needed to the soil, and creating space for what is to come.
If this writing resonates, if it nourishes your thinking, your sensing, your way of meeting the season, you’re welcome to support its continuation. This work takes time, attention, and care to create, and your contribution helps keep it alive and freely shared. Adding something to my TIP JAR is a way of participating in the circulation that makes this work possible.
Each month I share a RITUAL and INCENSE blend alongside a weekly astrology forecast. If this work, and the cycles of the sky speak to you, you are welcome to subscribe and join in the unfolding of the MOONS as they guide us through the year.