The Hazel New Moon Cycle
The changing sky has always given people natural points for observing time. The Sun marks the days and seasons, the Moon measures shorter cycles, and annual events such as meteor showers reconnect us with patterns beyond our everyday lives.
Each New Moon marks the beginning of another lunar cycle. It gives us an opportunity to pause, reflect on what has become clear and decide where we want to direct our attention next.
My New Moon Practice brings this reflection into the body through movement. Each month has its own character, influenced by the tree period, zodiac sign and natural events surrounding that particular New Moon. The intention is to notice where we are within the wider cycles of the year, then choose a clear focus for the month ahead.
Within qigong, movement, breath and awareness support the smooth flow of Qi through the body. Every New Moon has a Yin quality, associated with darkness, reflection and turning our attention inward, but its balance changes with the season.
A summer New Moon carries more Yang than a New Moon in the darkness of winter because it arrives within longer days, greater warmth and increased activity. Leo adds further Yang through its connection with the Sun, fire, confidence and action.
This practice brings these qualities together: Yin gives us time to reflect and find clarity, while Yang gives us the mental and physical strength to act upon what we know.
Today, 12 August 2026, the New Moon in Leo arrives alongside a solar eclipse and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. The New Moon occurs in London at 6:36 pm, with excellent conditions for seeing the Perseids later tonight, weather permitting.
August New Moon
Today’s New Moon falls within the Hazel period of the modern Celtic Tree Calendar, which runs from 5 August to 1 September. In The Dragon Compass, the tree period provides the seasonal anchor for each monthly practice, connecting the lunar cycle with the natural world.
Hazel has long been associated with wisdom, knowledge, inspiration and clarity. Its symbolism describes the moment when separate thoughts connect and understanding begins to take shape. An answer may have been developing for some time before suddenly becoming obvious. An idea may arrive quickly, yet feel as though it has been growing beneath the surface.
In the Ogham alphabet, Hazel is Coll, associated with the hard C sound. Its connection with wisdom appears most clearly in the Irish story of the Salmon of Wisdom.
In the story, nine hazel trees grow beside the Well of Wisdom. Their nuts fall into the water, where they are eaten by a salmon. Through eating the hazelnuts, the salmon receives the knowledge they contain. The poet Finegas spends years trying to catch it, believing that whoever eats the salmon will gain its wisdom.
When he finally succeeds, he asks the young Fionn mac Cumhaill, pronounced Finn muh-Cool, to cook it for him. Fionn burns his thumb on the hot fish and places it in his mouth. In that instant, the salmon’s wisdom passes to him.
Wisdom grows on the trees, falls into the water and is carried by the salmon before reaching Fionn. Knowledge moves through nature before becoming available to the person ready to receive it. The story also shows that insight may arrive unexpectedly. Finegas deliberately searches for wisdom, while Fionn receives it through an unplanned moment.
Hazel can also be viewed through the Hermetic principle “as above, so below.” The phrase is a modern paraphrase of a line from the Emerald Tablet, attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. It expresses the relationship between the greater world around us and the smaller world within us. Applied to Hazel, it connects the outer world with the inner world, and the conscious mind with what is developing in our subconscious. Through reflection and movement, we can bring that inner knowledge into the body and give it form through our actions.
Hazel also has a practical character. Its long, flexible stems have traditionally been used for baskets, hurdles, fencing, woven panels, walking sticks and divining rods. Individual rods can be bent and woven together to make something useful and strong. This gives Hazel a physical connection with adaptability, skill and bringing separate strands together.
Hazel represents the ability to recognise what matters, connect ideas and use what we know. Inspiration becomes valuable when it is carried into our choices and actions.
The New Moon takes place in Leo, a sign traditionally associated with the Sun, heart, creativity, courage, confidence and self-expression. Leo has a strong outward quality. It asks us to recognise what matters to us and give it visible form.
In traditional astrological body associations, Leo is linked with the heart, upper back and thoracic spine. These areas provide the physical focus for the practice. Movements through the upper spine and ribcage create openness through the front of the body while developing strength and mobility through the back.
Hazel brings insight and understanding. Leo provides the courage to act upon them. Together they raise a useful question for the coming lunar cycle:
What has become clear, and what am I ready to do with that knowledge?
The theme for this practice is:
Strength and clarity of mind. Courage and confidence in action. Knowledge and protection from the universe.
Today’s Solar Eclipse and the Perseid Meteor Shower
A solar eclipse can only occur at New Moon, when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. Today, totality will be visible along a path crossing Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain. From the UK and Ireland, it will appear as a deep partial eclipse.
In London, the eclipse begins at approximately 6:17 pm, reaches its maximum at 7:12 pm and ends at 8:06 pm. Around 91 per cent of the Sun’s disc will be covered at the maximum. The exact timing and coverage vary according to location, with more of the Sun covered further west.
The New Moon is usually invisible because its unlit side faces the Earth and it occupies the same area of the sky as the Sun. During today’s solar eclipse, the usually invisible Moon will become visible through its outline across the Sun. This gives the eclipse a fitting connection with Hazel: something already present becomes clear.
The eclipse also creates a visible meeting of Yin and Yang, as the dark Moon passes across the bright Sun and briefly changes the balance of light.
Eclipses have inspired stories across many cultures. In Norse mythology, Sól personifies the Sun and Máni the Moon. They travel across the sky while wolves pursue them, forming part of an ongoing cycle of light, darkness and time. During an eclipse, the familiar light changes and draws our attention to movements that are usually too gradual for us to see.
Anyone viewing the eclipse must use certified eclipse glasses or another approved solar viewer. Ordinary sunglasses do not protect the eyes. Binoculars, telescopes and cameras require filters fitted to the front of the equipment.
Later tonight, the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak. The Perseids are active from 17 July to 24 August, with the greatest activity expected tonight and during the early hours of 13 August. Today’s New Moon means there will be very little moonlight to obscure the meteors, creating especially favourable conditions if the sky is clear.
The Perseids appear when the Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. Tiny particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, producing the bright streaks commonly called shooting stars.
A meteor may only be visible for a second, yet it immediately catches our attention. Like a sudden moment of insight, it arrives quickly but its effect may remain.
The eclipse will slowly reveal the outline of the hidden Moon, while the Perseids will create sudden lines of light across the darkness. Both reflect different aspects of clarity. One gradually reveals a shape, while the other arrives as a brief flash.
These images sit naturally beside Hazel’s connection with insight and Leo’s relationship with light, creativity and action. Awareness allows us to recognise what is emerging. Reflection helps us understand it. Intention gives it direction.
The Hazel New Moon Practice
The practice focuses on mobility through the thoracic spine, upper back and ribcage, alongside expansion through the chest. The movement feeling is open and purposeful.
Through movement, breath and awareness, the practice supports the flow of Qi while bringing Yin reflection and Yang action into balance.
During the reflection, consider what has become clearer during the previous lunar cycle. It may be something you have recently realised, an idea that keeps returning or knowledge you already possess but have not yet used.
Then choose one intention for the month ahead. Keep it clear enough to remember and practical enough to guide your actions.
You can watch the Hazel New Moon in Leo practice here:
Click Here to Join Me in this New Moon Practice
Please move within a comfortable range and choose the options that suit your body today. Stop if you experience pain, dizziness or discomfort. Seek advice from a qualified health professional if you are unsure whether this practice is suitable for you.
Find out more
International Meteor Organization (2025) 2026 Meteor Shower Calendar. Available at: https://www.imo.net/files/meteor-shower/cal2026.pdf.
NASA (2026) What’s Up: August 2026 Skywatching Tips. Available at: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/whats-up-august-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/.
Royal Museums Greenwich (2026) How to see the 12 August 2026 partial solar eclipse. Available at: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/space-astronomy/how-see-12-august-2026-partial-solar-eclipse.
Time and Date (2026) Moon Phases 2026: Lunar Calendar for London. Available at: https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/uk/london.
Trees for Life (n.d.) Hazel mythology and folklore. Available at: https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/trees/hazel/hazel-mythology-and-folklore/.
The Green Parent (2024) Celtic Tree Ogham: Hazel (The Knower). Available at: https://thegreenparent.co.uk/featured/celtic-tree-ogham-hazel-the-knower/.
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