‘Symbolist Landscape (The Pali Road by Moonlight)’ By Marguerite Louis Blasingame c1930 {{PD}}
Luna enters Libra at 7:09 AM PDT and makes a statement: it’s all about finding emotional balance. What we feel, whether or not we’re conscious of those feelings or our focus on them, becomes the whole enchilada. The reason for this is a (possible sudden, even surprising) awareness of our tender feelings around who and what we care about; these matters seem to be under stress, and that means they exert their influence even when we think we’re being practical, rational, logical (Venus at 29 degrees of Cancer), and the outlet is just naturally the emotional experience (Venus ruled by the Moon).
This reads as a pressured search for the stress points in relationships, partnerships, commitments, and in our artistic endeavors (Moon in Libra). Even if we don’t think we have issues, our emotional antennae will automatically start combing the airwaves for problems that need fixin’–and if we don’t have any, we may just cook some up, out of a need to exorcise that emotional tension.
The outlet comes through the Air sign Grand Trine of Libra Moon, Uranus in Gemini, and Pluto in Aquarius. The element of Air is our hint that taking a mental, rather than emotional, approach to what we see in partnerships and cooperative ventures today is the way to send those feelings and emotional perceptions (to include intuitions) in a positive direction. The way we feel in those relationships (Moon in Libra) will bring benefits and find constructive form if we take our most unique, individual, and inventive ideas (Uranus in Gemini) and look to the power structure accessible through Higher Mind, group involvement, and/ or by taking an innovative approach to what lies before us (Pluto in Aquarius). The potential trap is found in thinking rebellion or destruction will be the short-cut to relationship reform or change in cooperative circumstances; that’ll only bring forward more tension, and more discord, not less. Empowering ourselves without trashing anything or anyone else is the measure of whether the impulse to act on feelings is a good one or not.
The Daily Word Image is the final pieces of an enormous puzzle that are all the same color. That can be frustrating, and sometimes seems impossible to fit together, but it forces the puzzle-doer to look closely, at subtle detail, at shape, so that once one is attuned to taking that particular kind of care, completing the puzzle takes on a Zen-like sense of calm and introspection that focuses the doer in a way that didn’t seem likely just a short while before. Approach that task that seems at first glance undo-able with calm and focus, and watch the pieces fall into place.
‘Three Ghosts’ By Vishchun 2025 {{PD}} Thank you, Vishchun!
The Virgo Moon passes over the Virgo South Node today, and we connect emotionally and/ or intuitively with the past. Whether this comes in the form of memories, repercussions, persistent situations or circumstances, time travel, nostalgia, or hauntings, is an individual matter, but it will show up–but to what purpose? Possibly we visit the past because Mercury squares the Black Moon Lilith point and Jupiter closely trines it, making difficult matters foremost in our thoughts (whether we like it or not!) and easily showing us the ‘Big Picture’–so it’s all quite fortunate, as our perspective from 30,000 ft, and yesterday’s experience, show us exactly how to process, handle, confront, or modify it all. A very helpful day, if we don’t get too distracted by Memory Lane.
Please see previous posts for other still extant influences.
The Daily Word Image is Strawberries. I know, you may be saying, Get over your fruit obsession, lady! But for me strawberries are something I’m allergic to. Just the thought of them makes me itchy and uncomfortable, so I ask you to consider what comes to mind when you think of these berries. For me, it suggests there’s something currently in my world that I need to avoid–but for you, it might evoke very different references, and that’s the beauty of a symbol, isn’t it? Each of us has a particular relationship to the elements of the Universe, the combinations of which are what makes every individual amazingly unique.
‘Still Life With Strawberries in a Crystal Bowl’ By W.carter Thanks, W.!
Our attention’s still on the state of the world, on reality, how clearly we do or don’t comprehend it, and, most importantly, how we can facilitate change (Sun quincunx Saturn-Neptune sextile Pluto in a Finger of God), and this is mostly because we keep repeatedly being shocked, surprised, or suddenly realizing innovative or inventive approaches to what concerns us; we’re receiving one of the Universal forms of ‘higher education’, and we need to keep up, the best we can, to get the most out of it (Sun square Uranus). The distraction, though, is still the Venus-Chiron Cardinal square, with Venus ruling Mars in Libra and Mars ruling Chiron acting like a boomerang and exacerbating both the urge to act and the sense that we’re agitated, but can’t pinpoint exactly why (or perhaps more accurately, whom to blame!)
Answers may lie in a Water Grand Trine with Jupiter and the Black Moon Lilith and North Nodal point. Grand Trines offer an opportunity to create balance, outlining a graceful interaction among various components; here the idea seems to be that if we focus on expanding what we care about, either in some form having or investing in more of that, or in expanding our world so that we care more about the wider one that surrounds us (Jupiter in Cancer), and by accepting (if not embracing) those things we’d rather not acknowledge, see, or that enrage us, that we typically keep hidden or treat as secrets (BML in Scorpio), we can have a big, conscious say in creating our future–and who could want more than that?
The Daily Word Image is a tomato on the vine that from a distance looks beautifully ripe, perhaps left too long in place, as it proves to be rotted after a sudden summer rain. What looks perfect, mature, in your life that at this point really isn’t desirable at all? Or is it that you’ve left something too long, hoping to maximize its perfection, only to find that you missed its peak and it’s now no good? Missing the moment when something should be used, accessed, celebrated is one of life’s small tragedies–look around and make the most of things that are ready, ripe, before they’re irredeemable.
Engraving ‘Die Gartenlaube’ From a book published by Ernst Keil, 1859 {{PD}}
Late in the day, the New Moon perfects PDT at 11:05 PM at 00 Virgo 22 (so falls AM of the 23rd for everyone east of this zone), and the whole day/ 24 hours preceding it is a lead-up to this energy refresh. But, it’s a lead-up through the Dark, and after two days of this already, we may hit a bit of frustration, a mini-Dark Night of the Soul, as we look for, and likely fail to locate, why we are what we are, and want what we want (Moon in late Leo).
The New Moon is apex to a Finger of God with base of Saturn-Neptune in Aries and Pluto in Aquarius. That’s an emotionally charged divining rod, or maybe a lightning rod, attracting and concentrating the state of reality and its degree of conformity to our ideal/ degree of departure from our ideal, if we’re being misled or deceived (and we can fool ourselves if we’re not careful, Saturn-Neptune), and this combines with a Higher Mind desire to make change, or a rebellious urge to foster chaos through destruction or overturn the status quo, but all with an underlying desire to discover the Truth (Pluto in Aquarius), and the result is the New Moon=a sudden realization that the feelings are raw and intuition is stark and unavoidable (00 degrees). We perceive something new for the first time, and the first things we see are what’s wrong with our idea of reality and our desire to change it. Don’t let that be discouraging; having what isn’t working made apparent is much more useful than platitudes and reassurances that may only serve to take our attention away from problems.
The other major aspect is a square to Uranus, ruler of Pluto, which may say that what we discover at the New Moon could be upsetting; we want change (Pluto) because of what we see about our own uniqueness and/ or our relationship to the Group (Uranus). Notice too that the New Moon forms a novile with ruler of the other leg of the Finger, Mars, implying that the actions and choices prompted at this time will create an advantage for us; they’ll be rooted in a spark of genius we won’t necessarily see as such in the moment (as long as they won’t be made from a sense of hurt, see below).
Spanner in the works: Venus and Chiron are still in Cardinal square. Make sure wounded feelings aren’t the impetus behind current choices and decisions; that may infect things in a way that later can’t be easily undone.
The Sabian symbol for this New Moon is, ‘In A Portrait, The Significant Features Of A Man’s Head Are Artistically Emphasized’. The Uranian and Uranus-related elements of this New Moon are likely to make us hyper-aware of our most unusual and unique traits and abilities. We need to see them as ‘beautiful butterfly’ aspects of who we are, and not the unflattering or even shameful distortions of spirit that some others, looking to disempower us, might want us to believe.
We’re really feeling that Dark of the Moon at this point, and I think the little spark engendered by the New Moon will feel sharper than usual as the two will meet in Virgo, so that the first New Moon thought may be a critical one. Until then, the Moon most notably today makes contact, in the Dark, by square to the Black Moon Lilith point and by quincunx to the North Node. Luna, reflecting no light, contacts two points, rather than other bodies, so that the whole thing has a ‘feeling around in the dark’ quality. We may find ourselves groping for meaning, wrestling indirectly with what we’d rather bury or ignore, or with matters that enrage us (BML), all the while trying to adjust our efforts so they don’t conflict with the direction we want to go in life (NN). It’s a balancing act with no center, unless we consider ourselves and our feelings (Moon in Leo) as the fulcrum on which all this rests.
Meanwhile, Venus’ Cardinal square to Chiron suggests we may be caught up in wanting to do something about issues cropping up in relationships, over assets and earnings, and in matters where we’ve been hurt by anything and everything we care about. What we must remember is that the Dark of the Moon period is best used for inner work, not outer correction or confrontation. There can be an anxiousness generated within us by that lack of forward momentum provided by (or really, symbolized by) the cycles of the Moon; when we accept that actions right now will arise from anxiety rather than thoughtful assessment, we’ll see that a delay in addressing what’s bothering us will actually work in our favor, leaving hashing matters out for a time when we’ve got the light by which to see clearly. Instead, try to set aside problems and take some quiet time for yourself–not time that asks anything from you, but that offers you a chance to just be, without judgment or expectation.
See other influences extending into this period in previous posts.
Today’s Daily Word Image is a tsunami. That phenomenon has come to be code for being overwhelmed, but it also suggests the same wiping away and new start offered, usually much more gently, by the New Moon. Consider this upcoming Lunar event as a reset, perpetrated with a critical, Virgoan mindset, that will help make it much easier to navigate the eclipses that’re just around the corner.
The waves in this work are sometimes mistakenly referred to as tsunami (津波), but they are more accurately called okinami (沖波), great off-shore waves. Katsushika Hokusai 19th century {{PD}}
The Moon enters Leo Mid-afternoon PDT, on its way to conjoin the Sun and begin a new Moon cycle–but that new start isn’t just yet. And while it’s still in that tense final degree or three of Cancer, Luna moves from a square to Chiron to a semi-sextile to the Sun, setting off a mini crisis in identity or purpose. Just know not to take this too seriously; the upset brews in hurt (Chiron) aimed at the ego (Leo), so is seated more in susceptibility to manipulation by others than it is in reality.
Also of note: a semi-square between Uranus and Jupiter, suggesting the above crisis may be ‘fed’ by exaggeration, applied to a disparity between the way we see ourselves as individuals and the way others see us. This is likely related to our own idea of our uniqueness, of who we think we are (Uranus in Gemini); we assess ourselves in the light of how we believe (Jupiter) others see us: avant garde or freak? Innovative or chaotic? acting erratically or guided by Higher Mind? doing and being in the interests of ourselves alone, or in the interests of the group? Even the most together of us may feel a tremble in our confidence–but don’t let it get to you. Again, what others say or think about us not only isn’t under our control, it’s irrelevant to our existence. Does it close doors to us? Sometimes, but isn’t it most important to be ‘right’ with ourselves, to fit our own idea of who we want to be? Yes, yes it is.
Comments on assessing the meaning of retrograde Chiron, Ceres, etc.: in my view, this hasn’t been observed thoroughly enough over a long enough period to have clear meaning. The mere appearance of a body moving ‘backward’ isn’t necessarily significant, anyway, especially when we consider that movement is apparent motion, appearing so only because of our point of observation. I’m not big on investing retrogrades with lots of deep meaning, as I think that can be a distraction, a kind of justification for negative effects. News flash: those negative components are present no matter what, and they don’t particularly become more prominent just because it appears the body is moving backward from our spot, here. And that brings up another point: one of the things I’ve noticed is that some negatives associated with a body may be removed when the body appears retrograde–and that alone suggests that counting on retro status to explain certain things doesn’t, at least for me, really hold up.
The Daily Word Image is the satisfaction of a job well done. That sounds both nebulous and a little smug, until we think about it: when was the last time you felt that sense of happy completion, of making an impact that was genuinely positive, no matter how small the stage on which it occurred? It’s telling that so few of our efforts result in that sense of accomplishment, and maybe that should prompt two questions: do I want more of that kind of satisfaction in my life, and if so, how do I get it?
Please see previous posts for mentions of ongoing astro effects, and have a great day!
‘The Angel Troubling the Pool’ By William Turner 1845 Photo By Didier Descouens
There’s attention on that cluster of Love and reward matters and opportunities (or, for a few, the striving prompted by overweening ambition) as the Moon conjoins both Jupiter and Venus (see the 18th for details) and we focus more and more on personal assets and relationships, and how to increase them. What sings today, if we’ll just still the cry of our own desires, is a Sun-Chiron Fire trine=this is the passion that ignites from our own singed egos (Sun in Leo) and the hurt we’ve experienced dished out by the egos or aggressions of others (Chiron in Aries); this is fuel, both to pursue those Venus-Jupiter possibilities and to lose our heads (Aries) and hearts (Leo) in righteous outrage over the wrongs done us–either is easy to do (the trine). There’s also, though, a Mars-Mercury sextile, Mars in Libra, Merc in Leo=the saving grace is found here, if we can just remember that others’ actions and aggressions (Mars) have everything to do with them, and nothing to do with us–we just happen to be an available screen on which to project. Centering thoughts on who we are and how we’d like to shine (Leo), minus any plans for vengeance, comeuppance, or celebration of our own wounds, is the way to go today, as anything else is so subject to distortion that we’d best let it lie, for now.
The Daily Word Image is a pair of headphones where the left side goes out. Are you too much of this world, distracted by the material and so missing the spiritual or unseen message? Or does it seem like spiritual communication has been cut off, and you’re missing the guidance or even the assurance that you’re not alone, no matter your circumstances? Or are you communicating, but just realizing you’re only getting half the story? Mercury’s direct now–don’t be afraid to go after what you need to know.
The Moon is in Cancer today, just over a day from entering the Dark period, and as time passes we may find the emotional life front-and-center. Luna will move to conjoin first Jupiter and then Venus over the coming day+, and our awareness grows around the ‘caring component’–that is, we’ll keenly observe what moves the social order and our own relationships. We’ll notice what they invest in, what they value, what they are willing to pay for, sacrifice, or support–and we’ll have our emotional reactions to this. We may think our responses arise out of approval or outrage, but they’ll actually have origins in our own ideas of what kind of opportunities they might bring for us personally. We’re hoping for Love and reward, of course, but if we’re too eager to gain (if we leap at the chance without looking at all the circumstances) we could suffer a loss that will deliver a bigger emotional impact than we might expect. It’s a day to keep our heads even as we scan the horizon for our chance to bring good things our way. With Jupiter involved in a Water Grand Trine with the Black Moon Lilith point and the North Node, being honest with ourselves and keeping one eye on the future are the ways to measure those potential opportunities, and assess them for what they really are, and what they really offer.
Please see yesterday’s post for other influences still in effect.
Today’s Daily Word Image is making a ‘clean sweep’. Is there some part of your life that needs a fresh start, one where you know a refresh is needed, where you can also be sure that you won’t be sweeping away anything still important or useful? We all have an area or three that we know holds only the outmoded or the useless, at least to us; what we need to ask, just before we take up that broom, is why we held on so long. There might be something in that answer to help us move forward in other ways, as well.
‘Cupping the Bees’ By George Mulready c1830 {{PD}}
I think for a while I’m going to offer very short daily commentary on current astro conditions. That does mean no long New and Full Moon analyses to chew on–just a little once-a-day nectar to sip.Seems like time to change it up.
Three situations stand out to me today, and all of them have that sting of facing someone or something and catching a glimpse of ourselves in the encounter/ experience. Venus is just out of maximum range of Jupiter, so that’s not going to save us; instead, it removes emotion (Cancer) and the unspoken hope of reward and puts them where they belong, out in the open and at the forefront of our thinking (Moon in Gemini). Refusing to keep secrets from ourselves is the way to avoid conflict and any nasty surprises. The Sun Fire trine to Chiron over the coming few days says it’s easy to feel hurt, and easy to wound others through our actions–so the question becomes, how much responsibility do we bear for others’ responses?
Two oppositions describe the kinds of issues we may be faced with: Mercury in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius, the latter of which is trine Uranus in Gemini=ego based or Self-glorifying thinking will definitely draw out those who want to bring us down a peg or maybe even wipe us out–that’s where the shocks and surprises originate, especially as we may see our own insistence on flexing our muscles in those who oppose us–if you get that kind of reaction to Self-assertion, it might be time to check yourself for hidden motives and the taint of vanity. Honest and sincere motivations (those not focused on Self-promotion or the ‘humble brag’) can put you ahead of the crowd, lead to inspired and innovative ideas, and foster Higher Mind understanding. There’s also a loose Air Grand Trine (Mars, Pluto, Uranus) that features a still-barely-there opposition of Mars to Saturn-Neptune across the Libra-Aries axis. This suggests that power and innovation balances can be thrown off by actions and choices that don’t take into account the gap between reality and what we want it to be, and the gap between the possible and the delusional. Framing issues as ‘Us vs. Them’ doesn’t lead to answers, or harmony. Staying grounded in the real and its potentials to manifest the ideal should be a priority today, as that will help us avoid 99% of possible missteps.
Today’s word image is a bee. Are you busy as one, and if so, how does that make you feel? Like a Queen, calling the shots, like a worker plugging away and forever putting off fulfillment (or even simple enjoyment) into the future, or like a drone, desperate to take things off automatic?
‘Boys Flying Kites’ Attributed to Nicolaes Maes c1670 {{PD}}
The Full Moon peaks at 00:54 AM PDT of the 9th at 16 Aquarius 59, and the most striking thing might be the tidy Kite configuration that doesn’t involve the Moon, though Luna does share a sign with one of the components, and another of the components rules the sign the Moon is in. That’s a tenuous connection but not an insignificant one; it suggests oblique links where Full Moon emotional outcomes may funnel through the shared-sign factor (a sign being an expression attitude), which just so happens to hold Pluto. That’s a naturally intense planetary energy ripe for projection or overreaction even in its most positive forms, and so all the more susceptible to being swept up in prevailing emotion. The fact that ruler of Aquarius, Uranus, is also part of the Kite only reinforces the prominence of the Waterbearer’s energy, which can surprise, shock, or show us something completely new.
So if there’s a Lunar wind behind that Kite, of what does it consist? A Full Moon is a culmination of feelings and perceptions that cohere into an event, realization, or completion related to the sign in which the Full Moon occurs; this may also engage matters of the House in the personal nativity where this falls, and/ or in the House or other placements ruled by the Moon or matters related to the sign ruler, in this case, Uranus, so potentially the House where natal Uranus sits or aspects it makes or other energies it rules. That’s a lot of places the Lunar energy can touch and the Moon moves fast; that’s why tight aspect orbs and a clear picture of what it involves, and what it leaves out, is so important. You’ll notice many of those factors are personal ones, dependent on the Full Moon’s interaction with your chart. Here the focus is on what’s consistent for everyone, as far as possible.
Aquarius tells us the Lunar event delivers revelation or revolution, and with Pluto a conduit for the Moon energy to the Kite, that may consist of ‘the Truth’, of secrets dug up and revealed, or the dawning of the need for change (along with its commencement), not to mention the possibility of an event that removes something or someone from our world, abruptly, and we are left to pick up the pieces and sort out what it all means. Things may be ‘in the wind’, that is gone, beyond our control. What Aquarius/ Uranus offers will always be something that expands our sense of understanding or our mind, that is future-oriented and signals ‘the coming thing’. That’s the wind that propels the Kite–but what is the Kite?
The Kite energies are set to work very smoothly together, though they are offshoots of a difficult central theme, in this case, an opposition between Saturn-Neptune in Aries and Mars in Libra. That’s the fulcrum across which we try to balance the individual needs and wants and those demanded by partners and all others, whether we are in a cooperative relationship with them or not. Saturn-Neptune can suppress the dream or give it concrete manifestation, warts and all, and the Aries placement says each of us is dealing with defining what and who we are, the ‘I Am’ attempting to sort our potentials from our pipe dreams, and learning just what we must do to make those dreams happen. This is faced, so to speak, by Mars, ruler of Aries and so of the individual Will and ‘I Am’, specifically as this quest to define and pursue the expression of the individuality relates to the Arts, and to others: do we need their cooperation to make ‘it’ happen? will fulfillment of our dreams change our interaction or relationships? is our Art, whatever that may be, and our expression of it more important than our connection to others, or is it dependent on it, in the sense that we may need ‘an audience’ or others’ participation to complete the dream’s existence?
So, the ‘spine’ of the Kite is this broad question; now we look at the other influences. Saturn-Neptune is at the midpoint of a trine between Pluto and Uranus, with these trine Mars. That means each Kite holds a Grand Trine, this one in Air, suggesting that if we can find the balance within the I vs. Them equation, we can activate an equilibrium among the need for change/ discovery of Truth, our understanding of the new, and our own efforts and drives.
The Moon offers its influence more directly through a sesquiquadrate to Mars, and a square to the Black Moon Lilith point. These are difficult aspects and will probably be the first energies we encounter in this process, as we find the problems and inadequacies of our current methods and approaches (sesq. Mars) and how our buried, denied, or angry feelings are causing conflict, and realize we must deal with these before we can move forward.
Mercury is still retrograde, so despite the way the feelings are front and center, we need to remember that revisions to Higher Mind and Uranian understanding may still need review, even after this Full Moon. Also note that Venus and Jupiter meet in mid-Cancer from the 9th through the 15th, and offer a lovely, feeling-centered energy that implies if we always keep in mind what it is we genuinely care about, we won’t stray too far off our goals, or take a misstep, something I think all this Lunar energy can be overly fearful of.
The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Watchdog Stands Guard, Protecting His Master And His Possessions’. I think this is a little of that Martian energy, the watchdog that wants to guard what we already have–but recall that Pluto is in the mix, and that could mean the loss of things, no matter what. The best approach may be to embrace the impermanence of all things–and put our energy not in fretting over the present state of things and their potential loss, but in efforts to give the future the shape we desire, no matter what is delivered to or taken out of our grasp. The Sabian for the Sun, the ‘triggering’ energy that makes our waxing and waning Moon possible, is, ‘A Volunteer Church Choir Singing Religious Hymns’. This is a symbol of unity, of like-minded faith that unites people. It may speak to those Mars in Libra energies–for don’t we all seek our place in the larger community?
Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY 
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