The following is taken from the New Moon report in ECLIPSE Newsletter; to see the full report, please subscribe!

The 24th sees a New Moon at 2 Capricorn 34 at 10:06 AM PST. We’ll give ourselves slightly more than the usual two degree orb, which brings us a sextile to the Vesta/ Chiron conjunction, a square to Uranus, and a trine to Jupiter. A New Moon births new beginnings, and though we’ll feel the inception energy, it may have the character of stretching the new skin beneath a scar; we’re clearly exercising ‘new territory,’ but there is a painful feel under the surface of things.

The Sabian for the NM degree is, ‘A Human Soul, In Its Eagerness For New Experiences, Seeks Embodiment’ This, plus the above listed aspects, tells us that the unique thing we will be birthing or expressing, that may cause us to shield ourselves and contort ourselves in trying to present something that does not suit our true state, is really an attempt to express some eager newly discovered part of the Self. Because this is a new facet of our Beingness (at least in terms of our own familiarity with its qualities) we may fear that it will be mauled, protect it like a frail kitten, and try to gussy it up in an attempt to impress others, our assumptions about what will dazzle gleaned from our own insecurities and fears of ridicule.

What these New Moon symbolisms tell us is that we will discover and bring forth something new and fresh and wonderful from our Souls, and that we will be sorely tempted to respond in an immature way, to hide its true nature, essentially, because we will fear hurt, judgment, or other censure–but the symbols also assure us that this new facet of ourselves and our experience will be well received, welcomed by our circle–so that our response to this fresh part of us becomes dependent on our own ability to operate true to who we are, without Self-imposed distortions or ridicule.

A little on the Solstice and its meaning, in my opinion:

Solstice points are extremes of light and darkness in the physical world; it’s natural that we might see this as significant, and certainly, the symbology of it plays in to our own physical response to changes in light and the way this affects our physiology and the metabolic processes. The Solstices, though, are not astrological events, which is why I don’t usually write about them–in fact, I do not see them as astronomical events either, but an Earth-centered occurrence, since they are tilt-specific and seasonal far points, astronomical only in the way in which we are receiving the Sun’s light. Instead, I see human response to the Solstices as having a magical quality, and what I can only describe as a kind of religious significance–and this is a personal experience, felt if one has a reverence for nature. We are at an extreme point in one facet of our relationship to our environment, our earth, and the Universe, at the time of the Solstices–and of course, the extreme length of the darkness we undergo in the Northern hemisphere at this time suggests contemplation of the inner plane, while in the Southern realms the long day implies emphasis on the external, a revealing of what is and a chance to see surroundings as clearly as possible. We are brought to the farthest point where we as individuals will connect nature and our state of Being; it is symbolically the point of extremity where they interact, and the place from which we will then retreat, headed psychologically in the opposing direction. Differentiating the phenomena that are all around us is, I think, important–we shouldn’t think of the Aurora Borealis, for instance, in the same way we think of the astrological symbolism of Uranus–they meet in the way one is (likely) ruled by the other in astrological terms, but the nature of these is entirely different, with one a physical manifestation of nature, the other a component of a symbolic system that after millenia of observation offers us some correlation to energetic meanings in our own lives–if we confound the two, and start seeing the AB as heralding some Uranian significance, or as a transit of Uranus suggesting the AB will appear (though transits do alert us to possibilities, it is not the transit itself that makes something appear–that is the distinction), then we enter the realm of superstition–and nobody wants to go there, right? Thinking and seeing clearly are why we read astrology–and probably why we’re interested in the physical and the symbolic in the first place–and why we must honor the Solstices for the spiritual feeling they stir, rather than for any inherent meaning they carry.

To those who celebrate the varied holidays that fall this time of year, my very best wishes–and to all, a wonderful New Moon start!