New moon
The first glimpse of the new moon was a moment to greet in many old customs: Welsh women curtsied to it twelve times and Irish people crossed themselves. The true new moon is invisible, so spotting the first thin crescent takes a sharp eye.
What it may mean
Strictly speaking, nobody ever sees a new moon. At that point in the month the moon sits on the sun's side of Earth, as close to us as ever, with its lit side turned away from us and lost in the daytime glare. What people have always greeted as the new moon is the slim curve that appears a day or two later, low in the west after sunset. Old customs made a point of welcoming it: a curtsy in Wales, a short prayer in Ireland, a kiss for the first person you meet in New England. The moon never went anywhere; it was only facing away. Friendships and hopes can go through a dark phase like that, still present and on their usual path, only turned from view for a while. Spotting the crescent can be your cue to trust what you cannot see this week, and to welcome it warmly when it shows itself again.
Depending on how you saw it
The crescent with a faint glow inside
Look at a young crescent and you can often see the rest of the moon glowing dimly inside the curve. That ghostly light is earthshine, sunlight bouncing off Earth onto the moon and back again. Who has been lighting your darker side lately, without being the main source of light?
Kissing the first person you meet
A New England custom, recorded in 1903, promised whatever you wished for, or at least a handsome present, if you kissed the first person you met after your first glimpse of the new moon. Who would you be glad to greet first at the start of a new month?
Showing it to a child
Children love being shown the slim crescent, and once they know where to look, they often spot it before the adults do. Who first pointed the moon out to you, and have you passed the habit on?
Why it happens in nature
At new moon, the moon is on the same side of Earth as the sun, with its sunlit face turned away, so it cannot be seen. A day or two later a slim crescent appears low in the western sky after sunset and sets soon after. The dim glow on the rest of the disk is earthshine, sunlight reflected from Earth.
What folk beliefs say
Wales
In Wales it was the custom for women to make twelve reverential curtsies at their first sight of the new moon.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 958. View the page
Ireland
The Irish often crossed themselves at the sight of the new moon and said: "May thou leave us as safe as when thou foundest us."
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 959. View the page
England (Yorkshire)
In Yorkshire, on first seeing the new moon, people knelt on a ground-fast stone or ledge so that they might prosper.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 961. View the page
New England
In New England, you were to kiss the first person you met after seeing the new moon, and you would get whatever you wished for, or at least a handsome present before the month was out.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 957. View the page
To reflect on
What has gone quiet for a while in your days without actually going away?