The New Moon perfects at 10:21 PM PST of the 30th at 9 Sagittarius 32, forming a square to Saturn and a very loose Fire Grand Trine with the North Node and Mars–but what my attention is drawn to is something that doesn’t even figure in to the New Moon picture, but which I have the feeling will be the major influence behind anything that goes wrong: a Fire trine between retro Mercury and Chiron. This suggests that if we’re primed to receive hurtful information or communications, then that’s exactly what we’ll get; we won’t understand what’s actually being said, but we’ll overreact, blow our tops, get indignant, or lash out, trying to hurt others as they’ve hurt us. In the instant of decompression, we’ll forget that we should be listening for the meaning behind the words, the message buried in what we misread as a jab at us–and because this happens in Fire signs, we’re likely to act on it, way before we realize what it all means.

With that in mind, let’s look at what’s born with the New Moon: knowledge, a fresh life philosophy, a burgeoning belief, a desire to get the word out or share what we learn. The problem is that our impulse meets a difficult reality, one that we are bound to misinterpret, see as insurmountable, or that we imagine to be other than it is (Saturn in Pisces). We feel blocked creatively, and have an emotional reaction to it, one that we draw fundamentally incorrect conclusions from–and then we are prone to act on this (the Grand Trine) in ways that affect our path forward or our future prospects–so all in all, a precarious point when we’d do well to hesitate rather than leap.

There is a positive here, one that can light a fire under us, pulling best efforts out of us, if we formulated our plan well before Mercury went retrograde. If that’s the case, the Fire Grand Trine can assist us in moving forward under our own steam–but it won’t necessarily bring others to our aid, and still exists with all the caveats about perception and intention.

As with all things, this is a temporary condition, and will pass soon enough; it’s just holding ourselves together in the moment that’s required to keep from causing damage to ourselves or others. The Sabian for the New Moon is telling: ‘A Theatrical Representation Of A Golden-Haired Goddess Of Opportunity’. What we see play out before us looks like an opportunity, specifically to redress something unjust (the information or communication we find offensive or wrong), but what we’re seeing is a kind of illusion, a play, not reality, a fiction that tells us a story that exists in all its particulars only in our own minds–and those minds are under Merc retro at the moment, ready to innocently but significantly mislead us. Remember this and you’ll have little trouble using the New Moon energy to learn something important for later, once the influence to indulge temper or misunderstand passes.

If we need any confirmation about the nature of the New Moon, we note that Kassandra is sextile in Aquarius, suggesting that even accurate info won’t be believed–again, an inability to see reality as it genuinely exists. We also see a Mystic Rectangle at this time, made up of Jupiter, Chiron, Black Moon Lilith, and Mercury, that points out the possibilities of exaggerated perceptions, hurt, especially that arising from buried or denied material, and yet again, a mind susceptible to misperception. The New Moon is also widely conjoined Eros, implying misdirected passions, or a projection of desirability on a misperceived object. None of it’s your fault, but it is important to know.