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.
‘In the Luxembourg Gardens’ By John Singer Sargent 1879 {{PD}}
When the Full Moon perfects (the 23rd at 6:53 AM PDT at 2 Sagittarius 55) we see multiple energy streams ricocheting off one another, many of them in an unformed or newly formed state (those very early in a sign, including the Moon, Sun, Sedna, Pluto, and Earth) and others at the very end of a sign, fully developed and feeling strain, in crisis mode (Neptune, Venus, and Jupiter, the latter two close together in Taurus). These are all demanding our attention, and then along comes the Full Moon in Sagittarius, which says, “This is all we’re going to know! These are the (emotional) facts–and we need to accept them!” The Moon itself tells us (by being so early in the sign) that conclusions are premature, most especially those based on feeling or intuition–that sense may in the end be correct, but in the present we will inevitably miss something, our timing will be off, and so our awareness of what is and how we feel about it will suffer–and this is so despite the fact that a Full Moon carries the expectation of endgame, conclusion, completion.
Our emotions around knowledge, ‘the facts’, interests at a distance, beliefs, and other Sagittarius-flavored matters (Moon), our sense of purpose and identity, specifically the way we think about ourselves and our roles (Sun in Gemini), how we perceive and assess our instincts, ‘blind spots’, and what we know but don’t know (Sedna in Gemini), our feelings of power and deep perceptions, especially Truth, as seen through a very modern, even revolutionary lens (Pluto in Aquarius), and the way of knowledge and beliefs interact with our material circumstances (Earth) are all in need of guidance, shape, intention, and aim; they’re new to the energy in which they move, and that may leave us feeling unsure of how to handle them in the moment.
But Neptune, Venus, and Jupiter are all at 29 degrees, with the latter two both widely conjoined Uranus (and with Venus parallel Jupiter and Uranus–so, at the same declination on the same side of the ecliptic) reinforcing the idea of a sense of abundance, Love, and dreams working together, or melding or blending in such a way that one can’t be distinguished from the others. There’s electricity in the air, a sense of potentials and the unexpected, in terms of relationships, reward, and opportunity. That sounds lovely, but it also means we can’t tell where our own responsibility ends and the largesse of others and the Universe begins; it also implies we may see ourselves and our assets and relationships as at the mercy of larger trends or accident and chance–and so believe there’s nothing we can do to affect them. Voluntary helplessness is not the way to go–but what is?
Focus on the Moon gives us a much clearer picture. The Moon sits conjoined the Earth in Sagittarius, opposed the Sun, Sedna (both in Gemini), and the closely placed duo of Venus-Jupiter (Taurus). Luna is also sesquiquadrate Mars in his own sign of Aries, sextile Pluto in Aquarius, and trine that 29 degree Neptune. We see the dispersal of knowledge or the culmination of beliefs (Moon in Sag) illuminated by what we know instinctively, may have ignored until now, but have foreknowledge of deep within (Sun-Sedna), and this reveals how our thinking (Gemini) about relationships, assets, prosperity prospects, reward, and social position is challenged by what we learn at the Full Moon.It’s the facts (Sag Moon) versus fantasy (Neptune) and they go down much too easily (trine), especially those illusions or untruths that we thought we could embrace indefinitely–we likely find we just can’t–or at least, we’re presented with evidence that says we shouldn’t.
What we discover fosters some upset, some confusion, and makes it difficult to know exactly how we should respond or what we should do (Mars), but here’s the thing: if we can link informed, Higher Mind thinking (Moon plus Aquarius–the kind of thinking that keeps us aware of both the greater good and our own spiritual imperatives)with expressions of power (Pluto) and manifestations of creative energy (Neptune) aimed at garnering positive results (Venus-Jupiter), we should do very well indeed.
The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘Two Men Playing Chess’. The Sun sits at ‘The Garden Of The Tuileries In Paris’. Think strategically, look for the beauty that surrounds, and remember, it’s all just a game, in the end.
‘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.
The Full Moon perfects at 4:49 PM PDT at 4 Scorpio 18, trine Vesta, sextile Juno, semi-sextile Pallas, square Pluto (which happens to be conjoined the asteroid Kassandra, more on that later), and not touching much else. It’s a picture of deep change–things are either swept away forcibly or we are put in a position that leaves us little recourse but to eliminate, restructure, resurrect, or annihilate–and this occurs even as we witness our own positive control of our power (Juno), our effective dedication to what we care about (Vesta), and the benefits of our partnerships and cooperative efforts (this latter via Vesta and Juno energies as so often involving–even existing because of or in relation to–the Other, particularly our Significant Other). So, in many ways we are experiencing the harmonious impact of our own power expression, our effectiveness at impressing ourselves on others and our environment–and yet there’s a serious power matter or elimination (Pluto) to attend to, one that the Universe refuses to let us go forward without answering.
A Full Moon is an energy culmination, and presents the collective result of, in this case, efforts in Scorpionic areas or activities, and/ or in the subject areas of the House in the natal chart where the Full Moon falls. We get the results of previously ‘digging deep’; we may put the story together, discover something new that knits scattered evidence into a whole, or we may see the wisdom behind what was removed, destroyed, or forbidden and so understand why what’s happened has happened (the last a product of a loose semi-sextile of the Full Moon to Pallas).
Here’s the kicker: Pluto conjoined Kassandra suggests that the Universe delivers a tough (square to the Moon) moment or incident that offers Higher Mind understanding (Pluto-Kassandra in Aquarius), but we won’t believe what is revealed/ shared. Kassandra, you’ll recall, was a priestess with whom the Sun god Apollo fell in love (and the Sun is actually part of this equation, as it opposes the Moon-Earth and so fills in a T-square with Pluto-Kassandra). Apollo offered her the gift of prophecy, hoping to win her favor; she knew what he expected from this gift (so it wasn’t really a gift, right? It was payment), but once she received it she turned him down, incensing the god. What the gods confer they cannot take back–but they can affect the working of that gift. Outraged at her refusal of his suit, Apollo condemned Kassandra to be always right about what she foresaw, but never believed by others.
That’s a particularly bitter outcome, when we receive what we need to hear, know, or perceive, and yet we are unable to see the Truth of it; that’s exactly what we should expect here: deep, intense perceptions that we will judge to be incomplete or inaccurate. How do we answer that?
We may not accept the power situation and/ or knowledge presented, but we do have a clear, strong influence of Self-confidence and personal autonomy aligned with highest values and commitments (Juno, Vesta) that, if we’ll accept our own emotional Truth (those things we know because we feel their Truth deep within–Moon in Scorpio) we’ll be able to go round the misleading Pluto-Kassandra square and so effectively make the ‘right’ decision, do what needs to be done.
The Sabian for this Full Moon is, ‘A Massive Rocky Shore Resists The Pounding Of The Sea’. The reality of the moment is a rocky shore: ‘What Is’, heavily resistant to abundant and persistent emotional assault of waves of feeling and upset. This is the Full Moon square Pluto-Kassandra. The Sun, light-giver that we always examine at a Full Moon, has the Sabian, ‘A Widow At An Open Grave’. ‘Widow’ describes a particular status: receptive, anima energies without their balancing animus, doing energies. This implies our energies are lopsided: too receptive, too passive, too ready to accept the way things are, too accepting to demand answers, or to insist we must know what that grave is for (and note: there’s not necessarily any connection between the woman’s status and the fact that an empty grave is before her–if we find ourselves looking without and connecting externals to our own internal state, we may be drawing parallels where there are none).
The suggestion may be that, when it comes to the Full Moon scenario, we’re too likely to see ourselves as helpless in the face of greater forces (like death–and Pluto can certainly feel death-like), to perceive ourselves as all feeling, no action–which is never truly an accurate perception, is it? Abdicating our own part in things, remaining passive, is its own kind of action, its own choice. Maybe this reminds us that to see ourselves as subject to outside forces (even to see ourselves as victims) is to pretend we have no part in what’s happening, and that this perception denies our responsibility for our own lives, our own fates.
PS Though there’s been a lot written about this week’s Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, I thought it worth adding that this is an aspect of ‘The Big Big Picture’; that is, a coming together of immensities, of large groups or populations, of huge ideas and all-encompassing concepts, of philosophies and facts and urges toward independence, toward free thought and expansion, toward the kind of impetus for shifts and change that comes in surprising and overwhelming ways. We’re talking about societal moments, rather than individual ones–but we can’t over look the way the social order affects each of us, in uniquely individual ways. Look at the matters of the two Houses in the natal chart that are ruled by Jupiter and Uranus=that’s where you see personal movement, in a blending of their subjects, delivering a dynamic message. If the conjunction aspects something in the natal chart (no more than 3 degrees variation) that is likely to expand that energy and activate it in big, surprising, exciting ways. But of course, it won’t necessarily make a big splash in everyone’s week, or month, or year, and you shouldn’t feel badly if this week has been on the less revolutionary side for you. For many, it will be as if they’re riding a current that after this point flows, just slightly, in a new direction, with the energies acting as a background to more personal, more immediate, developments.
‘The Fate of Persephone’ By Walter Crane 1877 {{PD}}
A friend of mine is traveling from Seattle to Texas to observe the eclipse from the path of totality firsthand–and I can’t help but think it’s a pilgrimage, whether he’s conscious of it or not, meant to heal, with the meeting of Sun and Moon (at 19 Aries 23, 18:20 UT), the Moon throwing itself between us and the Sun, all bodies lined up along the plane of the ecliptic, also conjoined Chiron (only 1 minute apart), this body designating the primal wound, the deepest, farthest-from-consciousness hurt of all–and that says to me that we all may be engaged in a form of healing with this blending of Sol, Luna, and the Wounded Centaur, a chance through renewal of the ‘I Am’ and worth of Self (Aries) to restore at a personal level the vitality of the Sun, the unadulterated sensitivity of the Moon, and the sense of dedication and purpose behind both identity and the Soul’s intent. A resurrection for each of us, if you will.
It’s interesting that this eclipse wipe-out energy doesn’t involve the persistent, everyday obliterating energy of Pluto–there’s no Scorpio involved, and Pluto doesn’t hook in any way into the eclipse dynamic–and yet the event promises us a deep re-think about who we are and what we’re doing, courtesy of the wide conjunction to a retrograde Mercury in Aries (though Pluto is quincunx the Trans Neptunian Object (TNO) Chaos as well as major asteroid Vesta, suggesting anarchic upheaval in the home or in matters we are–or were, until the eclipse hit–dedicated to). The eclipse trines Persephone in Sagittarius, hinting at the journey to the Underworld we all, at least temporarily, must make, and emphasizing the way we will return to the light–even if it seems like we won’t. So, there’s plenty of dynamic (and potentially destructive, or maybe misleading) energy pinging around out there–and our job may be to know it when we see it, which can help us avoid responding unthinkingly, and so falling victim to it.
The eclipse energy represents a spiritual, rather than a cellular, anastasis–and as such may explain a sort of atmospheric fear swirling around right now–because who isn’t at least a little unsettled by the idea of death, or trepidatious confronting the unknown? And we are promised a surprise delivered by the vastness of the Universe, with the eclipse semi-sextile Jupiter in Taurus, which is itself conjoined by Uranus (though the eclipse is out of range). Jupiter is, among other things, a designator of that longest journey we take at the end of life, with Uranus introducing a version of the three-body problem, roughly explained as an inability to predict with any certainty the long-term path of any combination of objects. In Taurus this suggests material roots, and material effects, though it may manifest as changes in our sense of security, our comfort, or or our ability to provide for our own or others’ needs.
Do we even need to mention Black Moon Lilith in Virgo quincunx the eclipse? Something we’d rather ignore or deny, or that enrages us, is an uncomfortable trigger to events–and this discomfort is seated in criticism, or the need for an accounting, or perhaps is spurred by an unfair or inadequate sharing of ‘the harvest’. The Sabian for the eclipse is, ‘A Young Girl Feeding Birds In Winter’. A young girl is just beginning her life, while winter is the season of sleep, torpor, but a necessary step to renewal–and birds are wild things that struggle during periods of scarcity, suggesting that it’s the young, fresh, renewed part of us stimulated by the eclipse that can ‘feed’ those more spontaneous, wilder impulses within us that might not make it through tougher times without a little help. Self-help, then, in its most positive sense, an ability to act, but it’s important to note: timing tells us that winter comes at an expected time, and only lasts so long–remembering that this, too, shall pass, is an important part of dealing with what comes.
‘Portrait of Three Women’ By Charles Giron, before 1914 {{PD}}
The Lunar eclipse perfects just as the 24th becomes the 25th, 12 AM Pacific time (12:12:51, to be precise), but begins at 9:53 PM of the 24th and concludes at 2:32 AM. This is a penumbral eclipse, meaning the Earth, as it comes between the Moon and Sun, with all lined up on the ecliptic, will only block at portion of the Sun’s reflected light; that means the shadow itself may be hard to see, as the Moon will only appear dimmed from our vantage point here on Earth.
A Lunar eclipse is, always, a Full Moon, with eclipses occurring at points when the transiting lights are close to the Nodal axis points (the Nodes are determined by the points at which the Moon crosses the apparent path of the Sun). The opposition between Moon and Sun occurs at 5 Libra 07, with the Moon widely conjoined (but moving toward) the South Node and the Sun in Aries approaching conjunction with the North. There are only a few aspects to what I consider major bodies, so I played around with some of the named asteroids, a consequence of my computer failure and astro program then being unavailable, and my need to use other than my usual sources, a kind of serendipity, I suppose, that takes us on a female energy-oriented path expressed through this Lunar culmination.
Pallas in Sagittarius forms a sextile to the Lunar eclipse, suggesting that a matter of wisdom and/ or practicality will be part of what motivates our response to events; we find ways to answer what comes forward using our beliefs (which either shows their validity or shows their need for revision) or using our own knowledge and the facts at hand. The knowledge we have (or lack) is instrumental to both the source of the Full Moon event and its resolution. The opposing Sun is conjoined Hera (the Greek version of Juno) in Aries, suggesting a kind of Solar power (that is an animus-aligned, ‘doing’ power) displayed by the goddess, the queen of Mt. Olympus and all the gods–but a queen known for her response to being disrespected by her husband-king. She gained a reputation for enraged vengeance–but how can we blame her, as her actions arose from a sense of powerlessness within her particular situation? So perhaps we should ponder where in our own lives are we in a position where we should be able to exercise real power and choice, but are prevented from it, by uncooperative partners or others who don’t respect us.
The eclipse also forms a wide trine to Pluto in Aquarius, which itself happens to be conjoined Psyche. Again, we see a kind of victim motif, one where we’re being ‘kept in the dark’, as Psyche was by her husband Eros (Pluto as the dominating, ‘dark’ male, the one with the power to destroy, change, or control. See a theme here? I think it’s ‘The partner who exerts power by disregarding and disrespecting, with a little gaslighting thrown in!’ And with Pluto involved, this may feel like an intense, life or death situation). Eros is at 16 Taurus, conjoined Jupiter with both quincunx the South Node and sextile Venus in Pisces, forming a Finger of God–and Venus is Eros’ mother, the one who both instigated the string of events that inadvertently brought Psyche and Eros together, and the one who views Psyche as a rival, as she not only took away Eros’ attention, she was as beautiful as Venus, validated by Zeus when he made Psyche immortal and allowed her to taste the Ambrosia of the gods.
Add to this that Cupido–Cupid is the Roman name for Eros–is in Cancer, sextile Juno, quincunx Pallas, and square the Lunar eclipse, suggesting that how much the partner cares will figure in to how smart their response to the scenario will be. In this myth, Venus displayed some of those negative Venusian traits: jealousy, envy, vindictiveness, aimed at the mortal who dared to replace her (speaking from Venus’ viewpoint). So, we have a dynamic energy in play that mirrors at least some of the eclipse energy: exaggerated passions/ sense of ownership, control of the partner, ‘rights’ and privileges trampled and conferred, and secrecy (Jupiter-Eros) combines with jealousy or envy, or possibly beauty or reward/ value (Venus) to create a familiar partnership, relationship, or Arts-oriented situation from the past (South Node in Libra).
If an eclipse is a wipe-out energy, we may wonder why it’s returning us to something already lived. We can’t forget that Merc is due to retro on 1 April, with the Solar eclipse due a week later; the turnaround of Mercury will occur in Aries and remain there for the entire 3 weeks, and this happens to be the sign of the Lunar Sun and Solar eclipse. That points us toward a larger theme of reconsidering ourselves, our Self-image and Self-concept, our actions, choices, and motives, about who we are and how we think about ourselves, with the Lunar eclipse a kind of kick-off point for the journey, where we start by considering our partnerships or other alliances, and what they may impose on us.
A few more interesting tidbits: Sappho is conjoined Pallas and so sextile the Lunar event=passion, and passion for the Arts, align us with what’s wise at this point, though we can too easily tip into potential Self-sacrifice, if we take things at a dramatic (that is, exaggerated) level. Nobody needs to throw themselves off a cliff, no matter how nasty the relationship with the partner reveals itself to be. Circe is quincunx the eclipse from Pisces=Circe is the enchanter of men, who rather ruthlessly turned them to pigs, in a part-punishment, part humiliation that allowed her to keep total control. I think we need to see this not as a woman seeking power over men (though that’s definitely part of the context), but as someone in a traditionally disempowered role (that of a woman) calling the shots and then going a teensy bit overboard. This harks back to Hera, to the attempt to right wrongs (or at least to extract a measure of vengeance and satisfaction for oneself). I’m seeing this as a kind of warning, an admonition: extremes won’t give us the satisfaction we desire, and ultimately, won’t give us what we want (remember, Odysseus and at least some of his men escaped Circe’s domain). And we see Diana, Huntress and goddess of the Moon, sextile the Lunar eclipse from Leo=here’s an example of a woman empowered in herself, as an individual force. She’s a specific kind of Nature goddess, one who reigns over animals, the woodland, and fertility, with her Lunar association suggesting she is tuned in to the rhythms of both natural and planetary cycles. Her role here might be to remind us that our expressions of power are most effective in the right context–that is, in the areas and roles where we best ‘fit’ in life. That requires of us a good understanding of who we are, and what we are adept at–as always, knowing ourselves is more helpful than almost anything else.
A final contact, and maybe the most important one, is a sesquiquadrate of Uranus to the Lunar eclipse. Uranus rules the transiting Pluto position, that dynamic, dark force in the current Lunar equation, and promises the unexpected, the unanticipated, the shocking, the surprising, the revolutionary and revelatory, coming from difficult or unpleasant facets (the sesquiquadrate) of this event. Brace yourself for new, forward-oriented, innovative aspects to figure in, even to seemingly come out of nowhere, at this time.
The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Man Watches His Ideals Taking A Concrete Form Before His Inner Vision’. This is about seeing those vague spiritual and creative ideals we carry inside take on a physical form that we can then use to translate them into the world. If we can see it clearly with the inner eye, we can make it happen in a way that materially impacts the world, simple as that. The Sun Sabian is, ‘A Square, With One Of Its Sides Brightly Illumined’. The thing about squares is that each side is exactly the same as the others; it’s their sense of absolute equality among the parts that draws our attention–so what does it suggest when one side is illuminated? We might observe that some gain the spotlight even when they seem no different than anyone else–but we should look again; they are successfully ‘shining’, precisely because the role they are playing completely fits their assets, talents, and abilities. This harks back to our consideration of the ‘Diana’ energy, a knowing who we are that surpasses any ‘shape’ others may want us to take. This eclipse gives us myriad examples of power expression of the anima, ‘being’ energy–it’s up to us to choose carefully among them.
Sorry there’s no chart this time. I’m working on it!
‘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.
Inherent in any beginning is its ending, just as in any ending there are the seeds of a new beginning. We have to remember that, particularly when there is a New or Full Moon; the possibilities that live within the event stretch in both directions, with the Lunar occurrence merely a marker along the way. That’s especially important to keep in mind as we examine the Full Moon in Virgo, coming on the 24th at 5 Virgo 23 at 4:30 AM PST, as it can be seen as the opening salvo in an Earth Grand Trine that will reverberate, as Earth-Moon conjoined in Virgo and Ceres in Capricorn all move closer to aspect with Jupiter in Taurus.
Normally I wouldn’t include something 5 degrees outside of exact as part of a Lunar event configuration, but with all factors approaching I think we’re seeing one of those instances where what’s happening is resonating over a longer-than-usual window for a Full Moon. The idea is one of timing with material matters, something centered on the exercise of our own personal authority, probably over something we’re responsible for, and involving the public or some effort at expansion of our reach or our world. The Full Moon casts a critical, Virgoan eye on the situation, urging us toward personal expression that brings us closer to harmony (and therefore success) with the public role or interaction.
Other Full Moon contacts fill in the picture: a novile to the South Node suggests a potentially brilliant spark (of thought or action, with Cardinal Libra) arising through partnership or artistic activity; a septile to Zeus implies desire or ambition may act as a compass to guide us, as our wants subtly align with our spiritual needs; a square to Pallas creates a T-square across the Sun-Earth-Moon axis, promising tension around what’s seen as wise or practical–if it also serves our ambitions or desires, it’s likely the right thing; an opposition to Mercury is technically in the past–and so suggests we’ve been thinking on what to do in this Full Moon area for awhile (and it’s slated to conjoin the Sun in Superior Conjunction in the next couple of days, so should reveal an ending of its own)–and an opposition to Saturn is in the near future, implying real-world results are on the horizon.
The only other thing I’m concerned with right now is the Nodal axis, with the South Node previously discussed, and the North Node conjoined Chiron and both quincunx the Black Moon Lilith point and Juno in Virgo. Out of fear that the future will be painful, we may make adjustments to our own empowerment situation–but even these will be chosen from fear, or heavily influenced by those things we are enraged over or in denial about, and so may not be as carefully thought out as need be. There may be a certain panic setting quietly in over material circumstances (Sedna at 29 Taurus) that’s fueling it all–so be aware that injury may permeate choice, and so send it in a less than desirable direction.
The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘A Merry-Go-Round’. It may feel like we’re getting nowhere, right now–but that’s an illusion, as progress aligns out of our sight, reveals itself as a fait accompli only later. We also look at the Sun: ‘A Parade of Army Officers In Full Dress’. Uniformity and conformity may seem overwhelming, as if we have no other choice–look how organized, how unified, everyone else seems to be!–but ‘parade’ is our clue that what we’re seeing is a show, not the real thing as it exists in the real world.
It seems to me that distraction, our attention drawn by energetic noise generated by those who traffic in misleading and confusing in order to profit, is our biggest challenge. Use that compass of desire, the inspiration offered within genuine partnership, to guide you, and just let the sound and the fury, signifying nothing, go on by.
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.
First a word about Pluto, which has just entered Aquarius. The thing about the ‘heavy’ planets is that they act more as background than foreground material the majority of the time. Pluto’s change of sign brings a shift, yes, but one that, if we’re distracted by the everyday, we might not feel for some time. We should expect tonal variation, rather than a big splash, though one reason people may be so focused on this sign change could be due to the shift in element: we see Plutonian matters that for so long carried the density, physicality, and real-life ground-beneath-your-feet quality of Earth take on a mental essence of Air, which likely sharpens awareness, even as it alleviates what for so long felt like a continual onslaught of Plutonian threats to our very existence. It can lead to a series of pretty grim thoughts, even mental breakdown and despair, before resurrecting the thinking in new ways that are more effectively responsive to circumstances, especially those that feel life-threatening, than our ways of thinking before. Attitudes about death, change, renewal (including 2nd chances and new ‘lease on life’ possibilities), and what needs to be eliminated will, through Pluto’s transit of Aquarius, become different, and will likely continue to re-make themselves until Pluto finally enters Pisces for good, almost 20 years from now.
With Pluto in Aquarius the perceptual challenges center on both Higher Mind and the thinking around the frameworks we use to elaborate on and explain various life areas, what we might label the impersonal academics of What Is. One of the Aquarian keywords is ‘Understanding’, so that this period may usher in breakdowns in our ideas around methods of destruction, transformation, and renewal, may completely re-formulate our ideas around the sciences, as well as sparking new, innovative approaches to ‘old’ problems, especially ones like climate change and ‘progress’ in tech and AI that once appeared to seriously threaten our own obliteration.
Big effects for individuals emerge with Pluto contacts to the natal planets and points, so will be felt, though the sweeping changes the lord of the Underworld brings with changes in sign are more an experience of societies as a whole, rather than as personal ones for each of us. That said, we can’t help but be affected by what goes on in the wider world, and of course, when we do experience Pluto on an individual level it feels like the most personal of experiences, which are almost guaranteed to emphasize our own powerlessness in the face of the inevitable: aging and death, entropy, permanent loss, transformation, rebirth–in short, the Truth of the Universe. The thing about a Pluto transit to a natal placement, especially to the personal planets and points like the Ascendant, is that it changes us in large and permanent ways that feel like they’re happening only to us. During a Plutonian experience the best thing we can do is take a step back and acknowledge the Universality of the experience, beyond our own personal loss or trauma.
The Full Moon perfects on the 25th just before 9:54 AM PST at 5 Leo 14, with both Earth and Moon recently opposing Pluto, newly arrived in Aquarius. A Full Moon in Leo puts emotional focus on the Self, on something discovered or coming to light about ourselves that we didn’t know before. In this case, the conclusions reached can’t be separated from the effects of Pluto contact; that is, the change, transformation, elimination, or destruction wrought by Pluto is now processed by us emotionally. We see what that change really means to us, with the nature of the change or loss related in some way either to matters of the House(s) that hold Capricorn (most likely), Aquarius (less likely), Scorpio (possibly), and/ or the House where natal Pluto is located (this most likely if transiting Pluto or another body is currently aspecting it).
The Sabian symbol for the Full Moon is, ‘A Conservative, Old-Fashioned Lady Is Confronted By A “Hippie” Girl’. The new meets the old. What we need to remember is that the new isn’t necessarily better, just different–and the same can be said for the old. The kind of discrimination Earth placements offer us may be what needs following here, in order to determine what to keep, what to change. That suggests both Venus and Juno in the current scenario–Love and Empowerment. Keep those in the forefront, and you’ll discriminate correctly.
We also look at the Sun for a Full Moon: ‘A Masked Figure Performs Ritualistic Acts In A Mystery Play’. What’s shrouded in mystery and ritual isn’t really mysterious at all when we come to understand the symbolisms involved–it’s instead a shorthand of sorts for a means to enlightenment. Is anything really hidden from us? I don’t believe it is, if we have the courage to genuinely look at what’s before us. It’s true of the world, and it’s true in our relationships. With the Leo Full Moon, what’s on offer is emotional revelation about ourselves. Don’t be afraid of what you’ll see–it’s truly for the best.
There’s a T-square formed by the Full Moon axis which squares Jupiter in Taurus=this suggests our own experience of the Full Moon will be strongly colored by ‘the facts’ around material matters or in our experience of some larger social condition that affects our material well-being. It’s a distraction, in terms of the eternal; it as well represents a potential overindulgence engaged in as we attempt to cope. It could stand for an emotional disappointment–we expected too much–or the realization that all that glitters isn’t emotional gold. There’s also a square between Vesta and Juno, with the Full Moon at the midpoint, making it semi-square each=what we truly care about, and our own empowerment, are at odds. Taking emotional inventory, weighing what matters most, will be vital to resolving the tension. Surely there’s a way to honor what’s important and still feel we are effective–your job is to find it.
The final aspect that stands out to me is a loose Finger of God, with base of Venus, fairly new in Capricorn, sextile Saturn in Pisces, apex the Full Moon=we may be hit with the realities behind love, assets, relationships, or rivalries, and they hold a paradox: the realities of the situation feel somehow unreal, maybe ideal, or promise to hold creative potential, while our impulse to love and relate is taking a practical tack, wanting to stay grounded in reality (the last thing Venus wants to do right now is go overboard, or assume a potential that doesn’t really exist). The balance between these two attitudes, between the unrealness of the real and the desire to stay grounded in what we’re sure of in relationships, is key to understanding our emotional reactions and reality at this time. It may be a ‘feels too good to be true’ scenario–but for once I’d say, it’s not only true, it’s the beginning of something really rewarding. Trust yourself and your intuition, and enjoy.
Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY 
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