Tag Archives: New Moon

New Moon 5 July 2024 Your Personal Banquet

02 Tuesday Jul 2024

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By Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop 1539 {{PD}}

The New Moon forms at 14 Cancer 2 at 3:57 PM PDT of the 5th, both Sun and Moon ostensibly on their way to meeting Venus, roughly 8.5 degrees ahead in Cancer. Within hours Luna will perfect conjunction to the goddess, but the Sun chases and chases her yet never arrives, their next meeting months away. So, can they be considered conjoined Venus for the purposes of understanding the New Moon? My vote is: yes and no.

A New Moon in Cancer is about discovering what we care for–but what comes is twofold: Luna meets Venus, reflecting back to us the emotional meanings behind relationships, assets, and issues of fairness or equity; but Sol doesn’t complete contact anytime near this New Moon, suggesting that we focus our attention on Venusian matters (Love, finances, who has what, with whom to partner) and yet we are distracted from realities by the pure feeling of Luna and Venus meeting. That is, we want to see Venus’ subjects in a clear, realistic light, but find our emotions overwhelm and even obscure the ‘What Is’ picture. The feeling nature overtakes and swamps our connection to the objective state of things, and so keeps us from applying mind adeptly to material matters (which it seems that we can, encouraged by the Sun’s rulership of Mercury, currently in Leo). We want to be rational, to use the mind to decide what we care about–but our intuitive and feeling nature has other plans, and the placement of Mercury (the mind) in Leo says we are likely to tailor our perceptions and thoughts to things that serve our ego or paint us in a positive, shining light–that’s not a bad thing, just one that may skew our interpretations and conclusions.

The answer, I think, is to see with feeling, to use the intuitive and emotional as senses, as information collectors–like we typically have to do during a Mercury retrograde (maybe this is practice for the next retro period, in August, in Virgo and back into Sun-ruled Leo, mimicking the clear sight vs. feeling conundrum we’re facing now). We must put out feelers, read the room, trust the intuition, trust ourselves, but still maintain a sense that the mind is not really equipped right now to put what we perceive into words–so that the more generally and nebulously and calmly we incorporate what we ‘know’ into the psyche, the more successful we’ll be at choosing and acting correctly, without surrendering to the ego traps the mentality might present at this time.

The New Moon is in wide sextile and trine, respectively, to Mars and Saturn, which are themselves in a close sextile. This adds stability to the emotional perceptions as we cross-check our feelings with the reality picture (how closely does this adhere to our idea of the ideal–Saturn in Pisces), and tells us to act with that same sense of connection to the reality picture and to the comfort and stability of the material–if it enhances our security, our enjoyment, our well-being, then it’s the right choice (Mars in Taurus).

The New Moon also forms a Cardinal T-square with the Nodal axis; think of this as offering an energy lightning rod, the actions (Cardinal) that connect past and future (Nodes) prompted by the feeling picture of the Now (New Moon). Add to this that Ceres opposes the New Moon from Capricorn, and we suddenly have a Cardinal Cross, with the bonus placement of asteroid Hades conjoined the New Moon. Ceres introduces the concepts of autonomy, responsibility, and our relationship to the natural world to the feeling perceptions of the New Moon–with our feelings juxtaposed this, we learn how suited our personal authority is to the world in which we operate–and Hades paired with the New Moon may have a special message for us: we make our own hell, perhaps by allowing feelings to dictate too much (or for some, too little). Balance, then, between our personal responsibility (Ceres) and the indulgence of our own preferences and feelings (NM conj Hades) is very likely the thing we must achieve.

The New Moon Sabian is, ‘In A Sumptuous Dining Hall Guests Relax After Partaking Of A Huge Banquet’. This brings to mind a quote from an old stage play: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” This suggests this Moon’s offering can clue us in to where our emotional abundance can be found. Do we really know where the potential satisfactions, the banquet in our own life, lies? Use our New Moon feelings to find it and partake; that’s what it’s there for.

New Moon 6 June 2024 In Love’s Pocket

04 Tuesday Jun 2024

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By Pieter Claesz c1632 {{PD}}

The New Moon occurs at 5:38 AM PDT at 16 Gemini 18 as the Moon, Sun, and Venus line up–and Venus is latest zodiacally, meaning the Moon and Sun have yet to perfect contact (though admittedly that will happen very soon after New Moon formation, as Venus is only 30 minutes ahead of the lights). The Sun in Gemini puts the spotlight on our thinking, on networking and the sharing and spread of information (or gossip), on the mentality with which we meet life, the messages we send and receive (as much below consciousness as overtly), and the lightning speed with which info is disseminated, including something that’s just ‘in the air’ or that dawns on us with a spark of recognition (whereas a lightning strike of revelation is Uranian, rather than Mercurial). The Moon introduces the emotions and intuition as conduits of this information, and Venus suggests either who’s involved (loved ones, partners, ‘the Other’) or what’s involved (assets, finances, values, treasured connections to others, Love itself). As the Sun and Moon move on, what we find is that Venus in some form is the subject of what we learn, communicate, or receive; in the best case scenario, we find ourselves in love’s pocket, soothed, appreciated, rewarded, the mind verifying what we feel under sunny emotional skies.

A square to Saturn in Pisces and a sesquiquadrate to Pluto in Aquarius may give us pause. In spite of that sunny atmosphere, we’re having a tough time getting a handle on reality and the consequences of current circumstances (Saturn, Pisces); we don’t see just how destructive things could be if they continue in their current form, or we may see that destructive potential but perceive it more as an intellectual exercise, something that won’t seriously affect our world (Pluto, Aquarius). That means we may not be as responsive as we need to be, and we may not take things as seriously as we should, lulled into complacency by the sparkling, love-enrobed energy of Venus, Sun, and Moon. The temptation is to embrace what feels good and ignore what doesn’t–and that’s never a good bet, especially when time is of the essence (Saturn square) and we may feel pressured to lash out and destroy (sesquiquadrate Pluto) trying to gain relief–and so miss that coming reward (Sun and Moon perfecting to Venus) as well as forgoing the power to make real change (Pluto). We can put the Saturn/ Pluto influences in a productive light if we are willing to acknowledge we can’t see everything clearly right now–that reality is unnerving, a little scary–but are still willing to go forward, trusting our ability to respond creatively (Pisces), aware that we can take that Plutonian upheaval and use it as transformative, rather than destructive, even though it’s bound to be difficult to handle (the sesquiquadrate).

So, we end up essentially with two flows of energy that may seem unrelated, but that actually connect through our emotional reality, our Venusian manifestations, and what currently draws our attention. It’s the loving emotions and feelings of prosperity, support, and emotional safety that allow us to tackle an uncertain present and attempt to transform it in positive, ‘modernizing’, even revolutionary ways. The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘The Head Of A Robust Youth Changes Into That Of A Mature Thinker’. Keeping our heads (in the sense that we don’t insist on either denial of negatives–unwilling to see the darker side of things–or immersion in negatives–being willingly deluded and destructive) will mature our approach to what’s around us and so insure the results of our thinking will bring positive and rewarding outcomes rather than chaotic, uninformed, or destructive ones.

New Moon 7 May 2024 Genie in a Bottle

06 Monday May 2024

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‘Stories from the Arabian Nights’ By Laurence Housman and Edmund Dulac 1911 {{PD}}

The New Moon perfects at 8:22 PDT at 18 Taurus 02, cupped by Venus on one side (at 10 degrees) and Jupiter and Uranus on the other (at 25 and 22 degrees respectively). Both Jupiter and Uranus can be considered conjoined, simply because the fast-moving Sun and even quicker Moon will relatively soon meet them–it’s a building energy–but what about Venus? 8 degrees past is a wide margin–and yet, with a chart that stars the Moon, we can look at this well-past aspect and know it describes the recent past, the time just before the New Moon. That suggests that we’ve been immersed in Venusian matters in Taurean form, which include issues of comfort, sustainability, security, artisanal efforts and aesthetics, stubbornness, loving nurture, as applied to relationships, finances, and/ or values. Our focus there led us to the New Moon beginning; that fresh beginning offers a different perspective on the involved energies, a new outlook that sends us in a new direction in seeking emotional fulfillment in Venus matters. It’s like letting the genie out of the bottle: it promises power, it’s magical and exciting, we see the potential to have exactly what we want, but there’s an awful lot that’s unpredictable and uncontrollable about the situation.

Now the spark of the New Moon presents to us something optimistic, exciting, shocking, unexpected, in the form of opportunities, prosperity, or startlingly inventive ways of looking at things, engaging the Higher Mind, or even asking us to embrace chaos or anarchy, in order to reap the benefits. It’s a scenario that may cause alarm, and certainly may exaggerate the reality picture, but it also confers a great deal of positive, looking-forward-to-the-future energy–and that can be a rocket engine to accomplishment or the securing of one’s place in the world.

There’s also a trine to Ceres and a sextile to Saturn formed by this New Moon, suggesting we can build real-world personal authority or negotiation power out of these circumstances, and Saturn further promises, along with Taurus, material impacts, ones that we can see around us, or hold in our hands. The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘A New Continent Rising Out Of The Ocean’. It’s an image of Taurean productivity–new land!–but it also prompts us toward the state of Neptune, which is at 29 degrees of its own sign of Pisces, and is sextile Sedna, another sea denizen, and in the other direction, Pluto. That implies that what’s birthed with the New Moon is a most basic kind of change, the creation of a new foothold, new territory (and this appearance was inevitable, pressured with that 29 degrees exclaiming how the energy must express), a kind of Truth or circumstance of Power that becomes visible and usable. And what accompanies, or even prompts, this? Emotion, the province of the Moon and every Water placement we have. Neptune says the dream, in some form, may be coming true, at last, and Sedna says that whatever appears to us, our instincts and what we ‘know but don’t know’ will tell us exactly what is happening, and more importantly, why it’s happening. We get the lay of the land through our own intuition and other senses–so we’ll understand, whether we’re truly open to, or happy about, what’s happening around us, or not.

Two other points: Jupiter-Uranus are trine the Black Moon Lilith point, and Chiron and Mercury are closely conjoined in Aries. With the first we may see New Moon energy arising at least in part from those matters we’ve ignored or denied, or that enrage us. Our optimism and the opportunities presented may stir up everything we’d hoped to forget–and yet, if we accept that even what we’re not proud of has had its role in making us who we are today, we’ll perhaps learn that to forgive ourselves is to free ourselves. With Chiron and Merc we see our biggest obstacle: a tendency to allow our hamster-wheel thoughts to wound us, to dig up those things we’ve buried and insist we must hurt over them. We don’t have to; that’s just our own aggressive energy looking for a place to light–and if we see that, we can refuse the Self-inflicted wound, and put that Aries pioneering energy to work for that Neptunian creative goal.

New Moon 10 March 2024: Receptive Waters

05 Tuesday Mar 2024

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‘Washerwomen on Lake Garda’ By Ettore Tito 1888 {{PD}}

The New Moon at 20 Pisces 16 on the 10th right at 2 AM PDT (when the clock moves forward one hour from 1 AM) presents a compelling dynamic: the receptive Waters of the imagination, the Cosmos, the All-That-Is are the inception point for a birth, a beginning, that is based in facing what we’ve been ignoring or denying about our reality or our environment. Ideals (Pisces ruler Neptune) fuel what starts at this time, with that sparking New Moon energy bouncing off of, or even caused by, the opposing Black Moon Lilith point, which is conjoined the Earth itself, and so describes how what we are ignoring or denying or enraged by in our material circumstances or in our environment is what drives our New Moon new beginning.

That suggests that the impetus for change is found in frustration or disappointment with our reality; there are several energy clusters extant in the event chart that clue us in to what’s not working. The North Node conjoined Chiron suggests we fear that if we don’t do something the future will be painful. Mars squares Uranus and widely trines Vesta, which itself trines Zeus, tells us that the results of our actions and choices have been a surprise, certainly not what we anticipated, and that though we based those choices on our highest values and life energy commitments, we didn’t account for the way desires, ambitions, and even animal lust got in the way. This all hooks into the New Moon with Mars’ semi-sextile to it, and the New Moon’s square to Vesta–and then we see that Ceres is novile Mars, hinting that it’s in pursuing expression of our personal authority, and trying to balance it with our responsibilities, that we’ll stumble upon a (relative to the circumstances) brilliant answer or approach.

So, it’s in facing our dissatisfaction or inadequacies, and embracing our duties, that we happen upon a rather perfect way to address what needs modification–and this is supported by other current contacts. Mercury has just entered Aries=taking both responsibility for ourselves and the initiative within the situation is the right thing to do–maybe a little awkward at first (00 placement) but effective nonetheless. The New Moon forms a septile to Pluto=there’s power to be found in that New Moon start, power that is seated in our own spirituality, in our awakened sensibilities; don’t underestimate the unseen (including intent and desire) in its ability to transform at this time. Juno in Virgo opposes Saturn in Pisces, perhaps shaping events in a man vs. woman mode, or status quo vs. the effectiveness of the empowered individual, or even in a power struggle between two, matched entities, one ensconced in the fantasy that their authority is supreme or forever-lasting, the other critiquing the situation from a point of personal facility that knows exactly how to bring change. One issue: Eris is sextile Vesta, alerting us to the need to be aware that others may be agitated by, or may not accept, what we choose to give our energy to–they’ll just have to get over it.

The New Moon Sabian is, ‘Under The Watchful And Kind Eye Of A Chinese Servant, A Girl Fondles A Little White Lamb’. I really don’t like having to deal with racist tropes that all too often figure in to the Sabian symbols, but it’s the only way to get past the outdated assumptions behind the images and land somewhere that makes sense today. The Chinese servant conveys the idea of the Selfless, all-sacrificing Being who lives to serve, who doesn’t just put others first, he or she has no needs of their own (or if they do, those needs are sacrificed on the altar of someone else’s needs–why would we ever see that as a good thing?) That idea is more unrealistic now than it’s ever been, as we recognize the fullness of each human being, the right to autonomy, and benefits to all of cooperative rather than one-sided effort. The girl and the lamb aren’t much better: two emblems of purity and innocence that carry the burdensome projections of an adult need to characterize certain states of Being as untouched by the world (in contrast to the projector, who sees themselves as very much of the world). Lamb and girl are seen as pristine, superior in their untouched state, and so in need of preservation in that state, which is characterized as somehow more worthy than a worldly one. In the images of the servant, the girl, and the lamb (which with this latter carries further implications in the Christian worldview, of both purity and sacrifice), we are offered the same idea: an entity that lives in a rarefied and elevated, and so very unrealistic, state–and further, they are all expected to stay in that state, so that the rest of us are either served or reassured that such purity exists in the world. Servants are entire human Beings, and girls and lambs grow up and experience the world–and their initial innocence is inappropriate when perpetuated for too long, just as a too-extreme dedication in service to others is unfair to the individual. Above all else, I see this image as one of unrealistic expectations of others. It’s up to us to ask ourselves who or what we may be insisting must live up to an image we want them to carry–one that makes us feel more worldly than they, more free than they, and that, one way or another, we benefit from, when they stick to their modest, serving role, or their status as icons of purity–which can translate as immature, unworldly, and so naive, allowing us to step in and be the opposite. In terms of the New Moon, this may be, at least in part, what we are in denial of, with the New Moon energies encouraging us to look at expectations and roles as we apply them to both ourselves and others, asking, ‘What’s appropriate?’ and ‘What’s our call to make?’

This just in: the RNC just installed two Trump loyalists to run the Republican party. Today is the 8th, less than 48 hours before a New Moon, a time known as the Dark. One of the best rules I’ve ever followed is to take no position and make no commitment during the Dark of the Moon; inevitably, the position or venture itself dissolves, circumstances change, or agreements and cooperative efforts just doesn’t go forward. Usually we’re riding the changing Lunar energy, which offers a certain flow and impetus, but this period of three days before a New Moon is a time for retreat, contemplation, and relaxation, not charging forward, especially with new duties or obligations. That suggests these appointments won’t last, possibly indicating a loosening of Trump’s hold on 30% of the populace. Stay tuned to find out.

New Moon 9 February 2024: A Measure of Grace

06 Tuesday Feb 2024

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‘The Wounded Angel’ By Hugo Simberg 1903 {{PD}}

The New Moon perfects at 2:59 PM PST on the 9th at 20 Aquarius 40. This also marks the start of the Lunar New Year as celebrated in a number of cultures (it’s the year of the Dragon in China, for those keeping score). A New Moon in Aquarius promises new beginnings, offering a blueprint to integrate feelings with understanding of the things that trigger those feelings. It’s a dawning within the human psyche, a point when Higher Mind can process reality in ways that will benefit us, if we can let go of preconceived notions and level up.

Three aspects stand out immediately: a square to Uranus, a trine to Vesta, and a quincunx to Juno. This is a tough picture, implying unexpected, spontaneous, and difficult, disorienting events. Chaos, revelation, or revolution may result, or we could find it’s the individual versus the group. What happens is measured against what we honor and find sacred–that will determine our reaction to what occurs, with adjustments needed on our part to gain or maintain empowerment. It could be a Uranian event that challenges us to respond, or it could be that the Uranian action is ours (and if so, we may not know it’s coming until it arrives), based on protecting what we honor, particularly in the way of partnership, but in any case our ability to answer from a position of personal strength will require modifications to our approach and/ or our behavior. The contact between the New Moon and its ruler suggests a tight relationship between Lunar events and the nature of the Moon in this sign–it all may seem random, haphazard, unpredictable, but it’s almost certain that we’ll look back on this as something we could’ve anticipated–we may even convince ourselves we did.

We’re offered a measure of grace, though, via a septile between the New Moon and Ceres, the latter newly arrived in Capricorn and still at the 00 degree. This suggests there’s a spiritual way to synthesize reality, what’s ‘natural’, our emotions, and our personal power and authority picture; we’ll see where and what we’re actually responsible for, and be given a grace period during which we can vet the situation and choose a way to meet it. This will be new to us and likely brings forward ‘fresh’ feelings; it almost certainly involves any position of responsibility we hold or may involve Nature in the form of natural disasters or events, our health, or inevitable changes such as aging. How we meet these will be paramount; it’s only in accessing our spiritual core that we’ll do our best when confronted.

The New Moon makes a semi-sextile to Venus, and I’m not comfortable claiming a sextile between the New Moon and either the North Node or Eris, both in Aries, but I am ready to say there’s a sextile to their midpoint, with a corresponding situation involving a trine to the midpoint of the South Node and Zeus in Libra. This is a mirror situation with a stand-off between energies of letting no stone go unturned (and so no issue not dredged up and flayed), and the elements of desire (lust, even!) and ambition, with these latter asking us to focus up on long-term goals and let go of distractions. We’re likely to be keenly aware of discord as distraction, even as we believe we must handle it in order to maintain control of our life direction, and there’s a corresponding sense that what we’ve done to fulfill ambitions and goals in the past should have pointed us to the right aesthetic choices and the right partners for our endeavors. Both sets of these perceptions are misleading: the very worth of working this out is highly questionable, with the apparent conundrum essentially one huge distraction. Our energy best goes toward in-the-moment responses to new developments (Uranus square), with our responses both keeping what we find important in mind (Vesta trine), and orienting any reaction toward amplifying our own empowerment within the situation (Juno quincunx).

The Sabian for this New Moon is, ‘A Disappointed And Disillusioned Woman Courageously Faces A Seemingly Empty Life’. This may speak of the anima, the receptive, ‘being’ energies in each of us, stirred by the cool Aquarian Moon to awareness of the clinical side of things, our losses and failures, the ways in which we have let ourselves down, and the reality of being existentially alone. Depressing, right? But the nature of an Aquarian New Moon is such that it offers fresh insight, even as it mercilessly reminds us in detail of the state of things. Notice use of the word ‘seemingly’. That implies the situation only appears to be without anything worthwhile, with the words ‘disappointed’ and ‘disillusioned’ suggesting that ideals have been pummeled, hopes dashed, but that courage is the secret ingredient for re-framing, and so taking both a more optimistic (that is, less negative) inventory, and a more accurate one.

New Moon 11 January 2024: The Devil’s In The Details

08 Monday Jan 2024

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‘The Devil’ by Photographer Jus De Citron 2013
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Two things immediately stand out with the New Moon in Capricorn (3:57 AM PST at 20 CAP 44): the way it and the opposing Earth form a crisp Cardinal Grand Cross with the Nodal axis (and as well with Zeus conjoined the South Node, and Eris conjoined the North, and these opposed each other at 24 degrees), and the Earth Grand Trine the New Moon forms with Uranus in Taurus and Juno in Virgo. These are dynamic energy patterns, promising action (Cardinals) and material impact (Earth signs), with the New Moon acting as trigger to both. So what does the New Moon itself promise?

A New Moon in Capricorn implies new beginnings in matters of status, social structure, constraints and rules, limits and requirements for achievement, so may feel a little like punishment; in reality, the form Capricorn imposes is for our benefit. The sign lets us know the limits, lets us know what we must do to get what we want and how to go about climbing the ladder, making an impact, building a place for ourselves in the wider world. We should welcome knowing the rules of the game–the alternative is a formless world where nothing can be built upon, everything dissolves in a mist, all is chaos, and as Gertrude Stein famously said, there’s no ‘there there’–and even worse, in a world without rules, there’s no way to instigate change. Without a system in place, we can’t create a better one. Essentially, all becomes meaningless.

So, Capricorn ‘gifts’ us with form, limits, and conditions for achievement, and expects us to follow the rules–and in this instance, the Cardinal Grand Cross tells us that taking heed of the new conditions and requirements, new forms and limits, will be instrumental in shaping our future, in the direction our lives take (the Nodes). The repercussions that ripple out like rings in the water are what we need to be as aware of as possible–and yet, it’s not possible to know all the consequences of our current choices and actions–and that’s where the Earth Grand Trine comes in.

We have Juno in Virgo (empowerment through discretion and critical assessment, and through productive labor that insures each harvests according to that invested labor) and Uranus in Taurus (impulses toward rebellion, innovation, and chaos in the material realm that can be channeled into unique creativity and choices that honor Higher Mind), and these potentials come within reach with the spark of the New Moon. Luna will show us how to balance empowerment generated by our efforts and discriminative faculties as they are applied taking smart creative risks and making smart, spiritually mature choices. The New Moon recruits the feeling nature and intuitive sensibilities as guides in shaping our choices and our path forward–and all while sorting the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, the relevant from the distracting and the confusing.

The presence with the Nodes of Eris opposed Zeus is a hint as to what’s at stake: our ambitions and desires must be measured in direct relation to those matters and individuals that harbor destructive or chaotic energy in response to our efforts. If it undermines your path it will show itself now–it can’t help it–and the New Moon in Capricorn will offer the conditions under which you will or won’t accept what’s in play. It’s useful in a thousand ways–the only danger is that sentiment (the Moon) may cloud our vision, may undermine us acting in our own best interests.

Less compelling but no less revealing aspects the New Moon makes include a semi-sextile to Ceres and a semi-square to Saturn. These suggest that our sense of personal power, and/ or our health, will figure in, and that the reality picture or our own internalized sense of ‘dos and don’ts’ may perpetuate emotional resistance. For best results, we must set these preconceived (and often Self-imposed and Self-generated) ‘limits’ aside, and go with the new, revised vision offered by the New Moon. There’s also a sextile to Pallas, which should set our minds at ease. Inner wisdom and practicality are available–all we have to do is call on them.

Within hours (for the Moon) and days (for the Sun) both will meet Pluto at 29 tense degrees of Capricorn. In fact, the Sun will meet and then travel into Aquarius with Pluto, so it’s really worth mentioning these upcoming encounters. The New Moon occurs in anticipation of its conjunction with the lord of the Underworld; that is, emotional revelations delivered by events of the New Moon lay the emotional groundwork for radical change, elimination, resurrection, or transformation (Moon conj Pluto), which is followed by our attention on that change (Sun conj Pluto), which will take us from spotlighting the re-making of the established systems/ reality (Capricorn) to innovations in replacement systems/ approaches that are keyed to Higher Mind (Aquarius).

Sabian for the new Moon is, ‘A Relay Race’. This may refer to the New Moon’s preparation of the way forward for the Sun/ Moon encounters with Pluto. A relay race features the passing of a baton from one participant to the next. The original runner doesn’t cross the finish line, nor do those that follow. It’s only the final runner, who benefits from the actions of all who came before, that actually engages in the end of the race. The big and often irrevocable changes Pluto represents are built on many small moments that lead up to that change; we’re in one of those periods now. This also hints at the importance of the past (SN) in creating the future (NN), with the contact to Saturn suggesting current reality isn’t necessarily easy to alter or deal with (semi-square), at least not directly or even consciously.

I’ve heard the phrase, ‘The devil’s in the details’ more times than I can count in the past week (call it our Weekly Word Image, if you like)–and I think it’s exactly what applies to the energies stirred by this New Moon. While we’re dealing with it all, our attention is taken for the most part by the minutiae of living, but it’s these small, sometimes barely noticed choices that shape and drive what’s to come–these are what occur all around, and connected to, this New Moon in Capricorn point.

Also of note: a very close trine between Venus in Sagittarius and Chiron in Aries. Be aware of the ease with which we may injure ourselves or others in trying to apply ‘the facts’ within relationships (or, in the way realities about money may affect relationships). We may try to reduce an interaction to a practical level, or to a handful of hard truths; don’t forget that it exists first and foremost because of feeling, and those need no justification or explanation.

New Moon in Scorpio 13 November 2023: Opposites Compel

11 Saturday Nov 2023

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Architechtural opposites By Paul Balfe Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

The New Moon perfects at 1:27 AM PST at 20 Scorpio 43 on the 13th, shortly to conjoin both Mars and Ceres, and to oppose Uranus. The Sun, Moon, Mars, and Ceres in Scorpio together shine a light on emotional depths, on personal power issues, on what action to take or choice to make, while this energy faces the Earth and Uranus in Taurus, a pairing that promises surprises or the unexpected in the material realm. Though Scorpio seems action-keyed with rulers Pluto and, secondarily, Mars, it’s actually a Water sign, and that’s what we need to remember: any shift, action, or change prompted by this New Moon will be fueled by feeling, even compulsion–and that means our most important efforts should be around understanding our own emotional reactions, and where they might lead–not easy to do, when Luna is New Moon fresh, with clear perceptions made even more difficult by Ceres, who quite naturally sees herself as an authority (even THE authority!) That can mean the new Moon atmosphere is infused with a sense of both urgency and willfulness, a push forward that at its heart remains mysterious–but only if we fail to examine our own motivations. It’s a situation where opposites compel–if by compel we mean the inner urges respond to the emotions as prompted by sudden and surprising material conditions, which call forward an emotional need to take action–but to do what?

There’s only one other aspect made by the New Moon: a semi-square to Venus. That’s about the farthest Venus ever gets from the Sun; it reflects the way consciousness (the Sun) can’t completely separate itself from the concept of Love (Venus)–but it does imply that the individual consciousness can be at war with Love, probably when it doesn’t recognize the form in which Love arrives–or fails to understand the need to reform its own ideas of Love and relationship. This may signal that the current environment calls for extra care in our approach, and perhaps calls for awareness that it’s all too easy to believe we’re acting out of Love, when our idea of what that entails differs drastically from our own forgotten or neglected ideal.

To sum it up, whatever shocks, surprises, radicalizes, innovates, or modernizes right in front of us is the thing we must approach with as much emotional intelligence and genuine Love as possible. If it pops out of the woodwork, you need to respond, with as much care, consistency, and awareness of your own feelings as is humanly available to you.

The Sabian says it perfectly: ‘Obeying His Conscience, A Soldier Resists Orders’. It’s in acute Self-awareness, coupled with a strong moral compass, that we make the right decisions in any situation. To do as we have always done won’t cut it; as necessary as it is to work in harmony with others within a larger framework (in this example, in the army and with one’s fellow soldiers), it’s important to recognize the circumstances under which it’s not just desirable, but necessary, to respond in accord with our own conscience, with what we know is right.

New Moon 17 July 2023: T’d-Off

15 Saturday Jul 2023

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Don’t look at where those arrows are landing, look at who’s shooting them. Sagittarius Weather Vane at the American Folk Art Museum, NYC {{PD}}

The Sun and Moon meet in Cancer, as they do once (rarely, twice) every year, at 11:31 AM PDT of the 17th at 24 Cancer 56, and this time form some tense, T-square energy across the Sun-Earth axis with Eris, a square to which is the next aspect both Sol and Luna will perfect. Eris is generally blamed for creating strife, but I see her more as bringing to the surface already extant tensions–she has the nature of a catalyst, facilitating the interaction of other factors. Eris gets blamed for causing trouble because no one wants to own something they’ve worked hard to ignore–and that means there may be lots of finger-pointing (or worse, sotto voce insinuations), all in the name of denial. Wherever the weather vane is pointing, look back in the direction that wind is coming from–that will tell you much more than will fixating on the direction it’s traveling.

What’s more, we’re talking about Cardinal energies, and that means stresses will prompt action–and it’s likely those choices won’t have been fully considered, there’ll be such pressure to do something about ‘it’, with the pressure to act coming as much from within us as from externals. Vesta semi-square the New Moon says our own highest values and deepest commitments will require we act. One way, though, to help us judge how accurate and/ or effective those impromptu moves might be is by examining what the Sun and Moon contacted just before their meeting (illustrating the time leading up to the New Moon) and what each will contact just after, before either leaves the sign of Cancer.

Both sextiled Uranus, and almost simultaneously squared Zeus. That suggests our attentions have been on deep desires, our passions stirred by want and ambition (and in both instances, these have our attention because we don’t have fulfillment there–the square) and surprise, shock, a sense of rebellion or revolution, sudden awareness or information gleaned through Higher Mind, or the effect of the group on individual autonomy or originality, figure in to the scenario that leads us up to the ‘now’ of the New Moon.

And what springs from the inception point of the New Moon, from the seminal energies of emotion, what we care about, what we nurture, ‘mother’, protect? Out of the stress of the Lunar event we see an enormous creative, imaginative, or spiritually-infused burst (trine to Neptune) and just after that, a scenario where we must choose, involving elimination, destruction, or transformation of a facet of surrounding structures, rules, disciplines, or frameworks upon which we have been reliant (opposition to Pluto in Capricorn–and note this occurs in the 29th degree, suggesting the choices we will have to make, even be forced to make, will in themselves be stressful).

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘A Willful Man Is Overshadowed By A Descent Of Superior Power’. That’s Cardinal energy, all right, describing a highly Arian sort of Being–and Mars at the time of the NM will be in Virgo, just moving out of conjunction with Pallas, telling of a recent point where we asserted ourselves based upon what was wise or practical–with the ruler of Mars, Mercury, in Leo, so ruled by the Sun, which is ruled by and conjoined the Moon, leading us back to the Lunar picture. So, the action we took then, or choice we made, is integral to the New Moon event–and likely affecting us much more emotionally than we realize (or care to admit). But, the image declares that whatever way in which we’ve made our Will known, by the New Moon, will be overtaken by a larger, more potent force–which suggests something about the Lunar event will show us not everything is within our power, under our control, or subject to our Will. A lesson in limits and modesty, that will serve our creative and transformative efforts that follow.

New Moon in Gemini 17 June 2023 New Assets, New Beliefs

15 Thursday Jun 2023

Posted by in astrology, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘Gypsy with a Cigarette’ By Édouard Manet 1864 {{PD}}

The Sun and Moon meet in the sign of the Twins less than a day before both conjoin Juno–and this, combined with a close square formed to Neptune In Pisces, suggests that our New Moon beginnings may in some form pit the world of words, thoughts, ideas against creative urges and ideals. The aspect formed says that what’s communicated, what we’re thinking, hearing, processing, and probably believing, somehow conflicts with what we consider perfection, in our creations, or in our beliefs. Recognizing this dissonance, though, will be empowering–for how can we create, true to our imaginings, if we don’t recognize the flaws in our thinking?

Of note in the struggle to make changes that align with our highest creative wishes is an Earth Grand Trine in affect right now, consisting of Vesta in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn and Ceres in Virgo, the latter two at 29 stressed degrees, implying they must express, and specifically that these energies must make a mark materially. We see what we honor or revere in surroundings, atmosphere, and material matters (Vesta in Taurus) meeting the energy of permanent change (Pluto) and Nature itself (Ceres). The result may be that many factors in what occurs may be outside our personal control, matters of nature or the power structure flexing their muscles–but it all hooks obliquely into the New Moon via its square to Ceres (which also creates a T-square with Neptune=in this instance the NM is likely to prompt exploration of what we hold dominion over creatively, what authority we hold to enact our vision) and via its wide quincunx to Pluto (suggesting what niggles at us or upsets us should draw our attention to needed change, especially that which can offer emotional peace, or at least a sense of satisfaction).

A sextile to Eris in Aries tells us we could be distracted by those who want to stir up trouble, merely for the satisfaction of their own egos–but that’s easy enough to avoid, if we don’t take the bait. There’s also a New Moon semi-square to Venus (it may be a difficulty, in relationships or finances, that makes us look at our resources or surroundings in the first place), and a septile to Jupiter in Taurus. A septile is one-seventh of the full flat chart, considered a minor aspect–but an aspect’s only minor until it supplies a vital part of the story. Here it tells us that if we can get these two, the New Moon and Jupiter, to work together, we can have minor magic arising from a sum that adds up to more than its parts. In this case it likely pertains to the facts, and our beliefs, about our material situation. This probably sparks new thinking along these lines, a new way of seeing our situation that allows a big leap forward, in terms of opportunity or optimism.

The Sabian is, ‘A Gypsy Emerging From The Forest Wherein Her Tribe Is Encamped’. Now we call them Romany, of course, but the itinerant lifestyle is still practiced all over the world, by Romany and other groups. This image suggests something representative of a much larger entity/ pool of knowledge/ resources or assets that makes itself visible or known–and this is something that has, until now, been somewhat obscured (by the forest), so that we haven’t been able to see or understand it clearly. The emergence of one figure is indicative of a larger ‘thing’ of this same nature. The New Moon brings this forward in our perceptions–recognize that ‘there’s a lot more where that came from’, talent or resource wise, that it’s unique, unconventional, even exotic–but available to you, now that you know it’s there.

What happens at the New Moon offers a new outlook, information useful in implementing our creativity, and perhaps inspiration, as long as we’re willing to sort fact from fiction, and to recognize what resources are truly available to us–and as an extension of that, who and what is genuinely helpful along the path.

‘Encampment of Gypsies with Caravans’ By Vincent van Gogh 1888 {{PD}}

Your Week Ahead + The New Moon in Taurus: The Right Magic

15 Monday May 2023

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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Ambigram Magic Dream – mirror symmetry with a handheld pattern giving a reversed shadow on a blue wall. Photo By Basile Morin Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

I don’t think we should be looking at the upcoming New Moon (perfecting 19 May at 8:53 AM PDT at 28 Taurus 25) as a singular event; instead I see it as a moment made possible by the way these next few days flow into it. I’m seeing a chance for some to make dreams come true (Neptune-Mars trine), particularly in an area where crisis seems to dominate at the moment; I’m also seeing the possibility that, with the right attitude and moves, we can create an outcome that is more than the sum of its parts, giving the whole thing an aura of rightness and magic. So where should we be looking on the way to the New Moon that will make the best of the current influences?

First we note some crisis energies in play: Sedna in Taurus, and Mars in Cancer, both at 29 degrees. Sedna will actually be conjoined by the New Moon, and with these four bodies in sextile we have the base for a Finger of God. Though one doesn’t exist in the current picture, it may in the individual one, for those with a natal placement at 27 Sagittarius to 1 Capricorn. The Lunar event may act as either trigger or a conclusion that opens the way for a new beginning around our ability to access instincts and to act or choose according to those instincts or things we ‘know but don’t know’–or it may force action around something in our ‘blind spot’ that simply can’t be ignored any longer (and this may be something we aren’t aware of, but once revealed, may feel we should have known about)–and this is a condition everyone may face. For those who have a natal point forming the apex to a temporary Finger, the resolution of these actions and choices will have the character of the natal planet, and will be acted out via some combination of point energies, point House placement, or matters of the House that body rules.

With a New Moon in Taurus the senses are heightened (and this can be both pleasurable and off-putting, as in, for example, the case of ‘bad odors’ either literal or psychic, or as when you partake of a tasting menu that you’ll swear is the ‘best food you’ve ever eaten’), and this Moon brings new starts by way of realizations around material resources, artisanal pursuits, comfort, security, stability, and in matters where persistence is a necessity. Apply this, then, to the aspects the New Moon makes: to the sextiles already mentioned, making for intuitively or emotionally informed action and choice, to the Finger, if applicable, to an out-of-element trine to Pluto in Aquarius (changes may be bigger or more permanent than we realize at the time, made at an intellectual level, or in the name of modernization or in order to take one’s place in the avant garde), a semi-square to Venus, which rules the New Moon (we enter NM territory with the negative facets of relationships, finances, or values emphasized in our worldview), and another sextile, this one to Neptune in Pisces (illusion, delusion, creativity, or idealism influences the new start–and this is part of a Water Grand Trine involving Mars and Earth=emotions find stability and possibly expression through needed action to take things from the creative imagination and materialize them).

Mercury just turned direct, and Jupiter just entered Taurus, meaning that our lead-up to the New Moon will be full of ‘new’ information, facts, or revelations about subjects we already thought we knew well. The atmosphere may be one where we ‘want more’ and think we know how to get it–but success must take into account material realities and real-world circumstances, and if those are missing our efforts may be less than effective. There’s also a Grand Square which applies to the Moon via involvement of the Lunar South Node, and also involving Pluto, Jupiter, and Mars=long-term conflicts from the past may feel unsolvable, but in taking action and making changes that align with the facts we can break the impasse and, if not solve all the conflicts, at least reconstitute the issues in new forms that may be less toxic or persistent.

So where does the magic come from? A Mystic Rectangle of Sun-Moon-Sedna, Mars, Pluto, and Earth. We can use that fresh New Moon energy to move some pretty big energies around, ones that under other circumstances may make us feel tired just thinking about trying to alter or manipulate–but for this occasion, we have that wonderful Mystic Rectangle synergy that does the heavy lifting for us–and can result in the re-making of our efforts in ways that use intuition, feeling, and the senses to create a much more potent ‘flow’ than we normally could. Be aware, though, that these changes, if not permanent, will be significant and serious, so proceed with a clear and honorable intent.

The Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘Two Cobblers Working At A Table’. The image suggests that our efforts might best be employed in areas where we already hold skills, especially ones that are practical and/ or call for cooperation. We also look at the Earth (it seems to flesh out the picture from its opposing viewpoint): ‘An Indian Squaw Pleading To The Chief For The Lives Of Her Children’. Here we see someone with less power pleading with someone who holds more power (maybe all power) not for sparing her own life but those of her offspring. It’s maternal altruism that may be in our DNA–imperative that our progeny survive, even if we don’t. And don’t mistake this for negotiation–for that both sides need to have some power–here only one does. This may suggest that the origins of our New Moon experience may lie in a situation where we either held all the power or none of it–and where one party or the other was hoping to further their cause, and perhaps to have an impact on the future. This symbol describes what leads us to the New Moon event–but it may have some long-ago origins, even in circumstances we’ve largely forgotten, until now.