Pisces New Moon

February 19, 2023February 19, 2023 / grayastrology / 1 Comment

Coin depicting fish-bodied Atargatis holding egg, flanked by barley stalks.

Audio recording of Pisces New Moon article

Pisces New Moon

The New Moon in Pisces on 20 February signals a shift from the airy abstractions of Aquarius into the dissolving waters and imaginal potency of Pisces. Not only does the New Moon at 1°22’ Pisces amplify the watery regeneration of the Sun moving from Aquarius into Pisces, but it also heralds the movement of Saturn from Aquarius into Pisces that will take place on 7 March during the forthcoming lunar cycle. While Saturn leaving its domicile of Aquarius to enter Pisces will mark a pivotal turning point in personal and world events, the liminal quality of the Pisces New Moon is even further magnified by the fact that Pluto will be passing over the final degree of Capricorn during the coming lunar cycle. Pisces is the mutable water sign that marks the end and beginning of seasons, and so the New Moon in Pisces is well suited to usher us across a major month of transitions that will involve Saturn leaving Aquarius to enter Pisces for the first time since 1993, and Pluto leaving Capricorn to enter Aquarius on 23 March for the first time since 1777. The darkness of the Pisces New Moon invites descent into realms of feeling and intuition, allowing self-created obstructions to dissolve within inner tide pools so that new creative solutions can begin to take shape.

The New Moon in Pisces is applying to a conjunction with the projected degree of the fixed star Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish (Piscis Austrinus) who drinks from the celestial water poured by the Aquarius constellation. Although not the same constellation as the Pisces constellation of two fish bound together, some ancient star-lore viewed the Southern Fish as the mother of the two fish who form the image of Pisces. Similar to Pisces, Fomalhaut as the mouth of the fish has significations for aquatic life and the life giving nature of the oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams essential for our survival. Combined with the hard lessons that Saturn will bring to Pisces, the New Moon in Pisces will deepen awareness for corruption of water in current events, including the many stories connected with droughts, diseases, and toxic pollution that have been intensifying in concern recently such as the explosion of hazardous chemicals caused by the recent train wreck in east Ohio in the United States.

Yet during a time of collective uncertainty that has the potential to increase fear of the future, the Pisces New Moon aligning with Fomalhaut also contains a magical antidote from the realm of dream and imagination. Fomalhaut has long been considered to be one of the four royal stars that serve as guardians of the sky and hold tremendous power for both good and ill (along with Regulus, Aldebaran, and Antares). Amongst the royal stars, Fomalhaut is the most magical and otherworldly, the most powerful in terms of enhancing capacity for moving between dreaming and waking reality to give birth to new forms of vision, imagination, and hope for the future. Ptolemy connected Fomalhaut with Venus and Mercury, fitting its nature as a poetic, visionary, and mystical star. Bernadette Brady has described Fomalhaut as possessing the “nature of enchantment, wherein one accomplishes things through a deep natural understanding of the nature of relationship, rather than the use of will power.”

Bernadette Brady additionally wrote that Fomalhaut is not only associated with “charisma . . . beauty or perfect harmony,” but also “high ideals or lofty visions” that force individuals under its influence “to clash with mainstream thought in order to achieve these ideals.” Brady further noted that the gift of charisma brought by Fomalhaut is also its nemesis, as Fomalhaut can bring a downfall of fortune “if the ideals or dreams are corrupt in any way.” As a result, it will be important to explore the shadow side of dreams within the darkness of the Pisces New Moon, exploring the ways in which the manifestation of visions will impact the wider web of relationships in the world. It will also be imperative to resist fear and the obstruction of uncertainty, instead discovering sustenance and support through your inner capacity to re-dream the way forward. Practices of active imagination can have heightened capacity for revealing new paths of discovery that have been previously hidden from awareness, using methods that bridge the essential creativity of the unconscious with conscious awareness.

While the Pisces New Moon will take place in the first two degrees of Pisces, Venus will be in the final degree of Pisces when the Sun and Moon form their rejuvenating conjunction. Venus in her exaltation of Pisces has further connection with Fomalhaut, as many strands of mythology have linked the starry mouth of the Southern Fish with great goddesses from Syria such as Atargatis and Derceto. In one version documented by Eratosthenes, a Greek polymath from the third century B.C. who was chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria, the Southern Fish rescued the Syrian goddess Derceto after she fell into a lake. In another version, Derceto flung herself into a lake after falling in love with a beautiful mortal who she gave birth to a daughter with, surviving by changing into the form of a fish with a human head. Another version has the Southern Fish rescuing Isis, the great Egyptian goddess.

Gavin White in his book on ancient Babylonian star-lore wrote that “The Fish” containing Fomalhaut was considered to be sacred to the water god Enki who dwells in the watery Abyss beneath the earth. White wrote that since the Southern Fish would have previously been a marker of the Winter Solstice period, the Greek star-lore portraying the Fish as a protector of the Syrian goddess Derceto has similar symbolism to stories of the Pisces constellation in which two fish rescue a golden egg in the Euphrates river which they roll onto dry land where a dove then sits on top of the egg to hatch the Syrian goddess. White wrote that since these are constellations associated with the time between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, they portray “the fish as benevolent creatures of the watery depths, which rescued the stricken sun from the waters of darkness and guided it back to safety” and “its ascending path that leads towards the springtime.”

These mythic links between Fomalhaut with protection of the life-giving Sun and goddesses symbolize its strength for protecting our inner capacity for imagining and manifesting our creative potential. The 1st Century A.D. Roman poet and astrologer Manilius described the Southern Fish in association with diving into hidden depths to gather pearls. Yet Manilius further emphasized that “the diver who has plunged into the depths becomes, like the booty, the object of recovery.” As we come to the end of Pluto’s first pass through Capricorn, after dealing with five years of Saturn occupying its homes of Capricorn and Aquarius, we’ve all become more acutely aware of the toxic, oppressive aspects of societal power structures and the difficulty in effecting change and holding those in power accountable for reform and reparation. Fomalhaut’s presence with the Pisces New Moon is an invitation to seek answers from within the realm of dreams and imagination, utilizing fantasy as an inner respite from external stressors rather than as a distracting disconnection from reality. The New Moon in Pisces will offer opportunities for discovering solutions from internal sources of imaginal insight and within relational exchanges with the living enchantment of the world.

Dragonfly, plate 1 from Le Fleuve (1874) by Édouard Mane

Jupiter in Aries rules the Pisces New Moon while applying toward a conjunction with Chiron that will become exact on 12 March during the waning half of the forthcoming lunar cycle. While Jupiter in Aries can supply an underlying boldness of fiery assertion in pursuing larger goals and visions, its proximity with Chiron will put us into deeper touch with any past wounds and issues of identity and alienation that are reemerging to be faced again within current developments. As a result, the lunar cycle flowing forth from the New Moon in Pisces will bring opportunities for integrating parts of ourselves that have become wayward, repressed, or denied. While we often cast away parts of ourselves for protective reasons, the coherence of Jupiter and Chiron will create opportunities to foster a stronger sense of self value and inner security that can ultimately help us in achieving our most prioritized goals in the future. There is an excellent article written by Brian Clark about the Jupiter-Chiron cycle and their conjunction you can read here. Amongst many other themes, Brian Clark deduced that the start of a new cycle between Jupiter and Chiron in 2023 will highlight mundane issues centered around educational changes, medicinal wisdom, indigenous reconciliation, refuge for the displaced, and natural and psychic wilderness.

Mercury in Aquarius will weave connections between Jupiter and Chiron more closely together, as Mercury will be separating from a collaborative sextile with Jupiter in Aries while applying to a sextile with Chiron in Aries. Mercury in Aquarius is incredibly active during the lunation, as it will also be applying toward a catalytic square with Uranus in Taurus and a flowing trine with Mars in Gemini. Mercury is moving fast as a morning star and in strong position to translate and transmit informational exchanges amongst Jupiter, Chiron, Uranus, and Mars. While the square between Mercury and Uranus that will become exact on 21 February could bring jarring, unexpected news or twists in storylines, within the bigger picture the harmonious trine between Mercury and Mars will bring a helpful boost of clarity regarding whatever plans of action we have been developing and implementing. As the trine between Mercury and Mars becomes exact on 22 February, listen for insights being revealed about how to adjust plans, modulate your use of energy, and reframe your relationship with the larger goals in life you have been focusing on achieving.

The aspects Mercury will pass through following the Pisces New Moon can facilitate important dialogue within your relationships in order to gain insight for the changing nature of desires and needs for both individuals. Mercury clashing with Uranus may lead to impulsive thoughts of freedom and rebelling against restrictions, yet Mercury in Aquarius can listen with the degree of detachment needed to step back from emotional engulfment in order to discern the most beneficial path forward for everyone involved. Mercury in Aquarius is also in a strong position for brainstorming new ideas and innovative solutions, taking account of a multitude of competing factors, and bringing discerning analysis to any difficulties in need of being worked out. After Mercury forms its flowing trine with Mars on 22 February it will apply toward a sobering and grounding conjunction with Saturn in Aquarius that will become exact on 2 March. With Saturn at the final degree of Aquarius and on the precipice of entering Pisces, the union between Mercury with Saturn will help in letting go of what needs to be released, cutting away excesses and distractions, and realizing the central heart of issues that need to be focused on. Thus while there is a dreamy quality to the Pisces New Moon, the many important aspects that Mercury will make during the waxing half of the lunar cycle can lead to the formation of practical strategies, insights into problem solving, and effective adjustments to longterm plans so that there is greater alignment between your authentic desires and your use of time and energy.

Venus will be at the final degree of Pisces when the Sun and Moon unite on 20 February. The star of Aphrodite will then exit her exaltation of Pisces in order to enter her inversion of Aries less than an hour after the lunation. The shift of Venus from Pisces to Aries brings a loss of essential dignity to Venus that could correlate with a need to let go of expectations in order to adjust to changing circumstances. Yet there is an important mediating factor at play when Venus enters Aries: the presence of Jupiter. Once Venus enters Aries she will begin applying toward a conjunction with Jupiter that will become exact on 2 March, the same day that Mercury will also form a conjunction with Saturn. Venus will stoke the flames of passion and inspiration while building toward her union with Jupiter, supplying a wave of uplifting support for goals and ambition. With Mercury conjoining Saturn in Aquarius on the same day, the grandiose plans of Venus and Jupiter will be tempered by a pragmatic grounding energy, which will necessitate being realistic with goals. The following day on 3 March, Venus will move into a conjunction with Chiron in Aries that will deepen awareness of any internal issues intersecting with your capacity to claim greater personal agency.

In addition, during the waxing half of the lunar cycle Mars in Gemini will move increasingly closer to forming a square aspect with Neptune in Pisces. Mars will not form an exact square aspect with Neptune until 14 March which will link to the timing of the last quarter phase of the lunar cycle. However, at the upcoming Full Moon in Virgo on 7 March, Mars will be within three degrees of a square with Neptune giving the clash between Mars and Neptune a powerful influence within the upcoming Virgo Full Moon. The square between Mars and Neptune is significant for many reasons, chiefly due to the fact that it was a major aspect embedded within the early stages of the Mars retrograde period last October and November. Mars previously formed a square aspect with Neptune on 12 October when direct and again on 19 November when retrograde, and so there may be issues re-emerging from last October and November to be worked out and resolved.

During the waxing half of the lunar cycle Mars will move within an orb of influence with Neptune on 24 February with their tension continuing to build with intensity as the Moon waxes toward fullness. Mars and Neptune are commonly viewed in astrology as difficult archetypal forces to bring together in combination, as the boundless and unifying imaginal force of Neptune brings obscuring fog to the focusing of Mars. Neptune can make it trickier for Mars to cut through options into focalized action in some cases, over inflating the hubris of Mars in other cases through dogmatic perspectives and self-righteous actions. Yet we can utilize the friction between Mars and Neptune to cut through the places we have deluded ourselves, allowing our experiences to reveal insights that can bring about a reorientation to our reality. Those experiencing a dissolution of longstanding beliefs will likely need to pass through a disorienting phase of fluidity before being able to gain clarity. With new storylines ready to leap into effect in the month ahead due to Saturn and Pluto changing signs, the square between Mars and Neptune will reveal ways in which the flux of change is showing up within both personal and collective events.

Pisces 1 Decan

The Pisces New Moon will activate the first decan of Pisces associated with the Eight of Cups card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image contains a figure retreating into a watery, island realm of caves and seclusion ideal for contemplation. With their staff planted in the earth, the red cape and boots of the figure symbolize the inner vitality they may utilize in discerning deeper understanding for their reality. T. Susan Chang in her book 36 Secrets wrote that the Eight of Cups teaches us how to face our fears of the unknown, bringing “realization in the realm of emotions” that reveals when “it’s time to move on.” The first decan of Pisces is the face of Saturn, a symbolism that aligns perfectly with the image of a hermit turning away from the accepted and familiar in order to receive new visions of depth and penetrating insight. Within the triplicity rulership scheme it is also the face of Jupiter, bringing a devotional quality to the soul searching enacted here that can nurture new perspectives by facing uncertainties and abandoning past assumptions. T. Susan Chang made the insightful point that within the “amniotic darkness” of the Eight of Cups, we can “let go of the fear that anything could happen, and open up to wonder and to awe: indeed, anything could happen!“

In Henrich Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, a “well-dressed man” emerges in the first decan of Pisces who is “carrying a burden on his back.” Agrippa mentions that this decan signifies “journeys, changing one’s place, and an attentiveness for seeking substance, and nourishment.” There is a subtle emphasis in this wording upon the “seeking” of substance rather than possession. Like in the image of the Eight of Cups, there is also a necessity for travel and change, journeying away from the familiar into the unfamiliar in search of what is being sought. Indeed, the Brihat Jataka gave the image of “a man decked with ornaments, holding in hand sacrificial vessels, pearls, gems, and conchshells and crossing the ocean in a boat in search of jewels for his wife.” Yet, the Yavanajātaka described an image of a completed journey: “a woman with a beautiful body whose eyes are expansive and long. Her body is adorned with silk and gold. She stands by the Great Sea, which she has crossed in a boat for the sake of a heap of jewels.”

Austin Coppock ascribed the image of “The Labyrinth” to the first face of Pisces in 36 Faces, writing that it signifies “a quest to map invisible walls of reality,” “the subtle structures which guide human life,” as well as the realization that our own unconscious is a primal progenitor of our current reality. Coppock wrote that the first decan of Pisces holds “the convergence point of perception and reality,” a place where we “recognize our imprisonment in our own reality construct” as well as “the possibility of liberation” from moving beyond our former boundaries into “a world as yet uncorrupted by our assumptions.” Coppock wrote “liberation is achieved here through insight alone,” as the discovery that our soul can be the designer and builder of our reality is the realization that can “transforms the structure itself from a prison to a palace.” Yet Coppock also warned of the dangers of becoming lost within the labyrinth found within this decan, writing that “much depends upon if the seeker knows what is sought.”

The link between the primal, fertile potency of the unconscious with the first face of Pisces is interesting considering that the Hellenistic text The 36 Airs linked the first decan of Pisces with the Titan Okeanos. More of a primal sea divinity than Poseidon, Okeanos was the great river encircling the world where the Sun rose from at dawn and returned to at sunset. Yet in keeping with the fecund nature of Pisces, the binding quality of Okeanos is also incredibly fertile. Okeanos and his divine wife Tethys, goddess of the sea, gave birth to the three thousand river gods and the innumerable Oceanid nymphs, creating aquatic life forms that bring divine purification and nourishment to our human realm. Carl Kerenyi wrote that Okeanos “possessed inexhaustible powers of begetting,” with the “rivers, springs and fountains – indeed, the whole sea – issue[ing] from his broad, mighty stream.”

Fitting for a decan that can place us in contact with the creator of our reality structure, it has also been suggested based upon lines from Homer that there may be an alternative tradition in which Okeanos and Tethys are the primeval parents of the gods rather than Gaia and Uranus. Kerenyi wrote that “ever since the time when everything originated from [Okeanos] he has continued to flow to the outermost edge of the earth, flowing back upon himself in a circle.” Kerenyi wrote that when the new order of Zeus was established, only Okeanos “was permitted to remain in his former place- which is really not a place, but only a flux, a boundary and barrier between the world and the Beyond.” Okeanos inhabiting the nexus between the known world and the Otherworld makes him a fitting divinity for the first decan of Pisces.

It’s further fitting that with precession, the tropical zodiac degree of the fixed star Fomalhaut is now found within the first decan of Pisces. With the Pisces New Moon conjoining Fomalhaut, we will have enhanced opportunity to encounter the meeting ground between dreaming and waking reality, leaving the illusions of consensus reality for the wisdom that can be found within imaginal depths. May you dream well with the New Moon in Pisces.

If you enjoy my writing please consider supporting my work through a monthly subscription on my Patreon page. Take a look to see the benefits you will receive as a patron, and the learning opportunities available on the Cedar and Oak tiers. On the Oak tier in our monthly classes we are currently exploring the fixed stars, including the mythology of the stars and how to work with them not only in natal and mundane astrology but also how to develop relationships with them through ritual.

References

Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. (2021). Three Occult Books of Philosophy. Translated by Eric Purdue. Inner Traditions.

Brady, Bernadette. (1998). Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars. Weiser.

Brady, Bernadette. (2008). Star and Planet Combinations. The Wessex Astrologer.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Eratosthenes and Hyginus ; translated with an introduction and notes by Robin Hard. (2015). Constellation myths : with Aratus’s ‘Phaenomena’. Oxford University Press,

Kerenyi, Carl. (1951). The Gods of the Greeks. Thames and Hudson.

White, Gavin. (2014). Babylonian Star-Lore: An Illustrated Guide to the Star-Lore and Constellations of Ancient Babylonia. 3rd Edition. Solaria Publications.

Capricorn New Moon

January 2, 2022 / grayastrology / Leave a comment

Nereid riding a Sea Goat, Greek bronze from 4th Century B.C.

Capricorn New Moon

Though the beginning of every lunar cycle is a cyclical cusp of renewal to cross, the New Moon in Capricorn on January 2 is more transitional than normal as it will announce the beginning of a new year as well as new cycles with both the Moon and Venus. The threshold guardian Janus with his two faces simultaneously looking forwards and backwards will be strongly felt within the darkness of the lunation, as old memories and patterns will become deeply felt at the same time that new desires for future growth contend with the familiarity of the past. The presence of Pluto has been radically reshaping the landscape of Capricorn ever since 2008, with the more recent alignment of Saturn, Jupiter, and the South Node of the Moon with Pluto during 2020 bringing about a total reshaping of global civilization at the same time we experienced our own individual transfiguration. With Venus presently retrograde in Capricorn and applying toward a conjunction with the Capricorn New Moon, there will be a need to embrace nonlinear perceptions and feelings, reaching back into the depths of our past at the same time as we envision a more authentically creative direction forward.

The dark forests and alpine terrain of Capricorn encourages the development of strategies to deal with the challenges of life as well as the mental fortitude to bear suffering while persevering toward goals. Yet its living image of the Sea Goat speaks to the more complex capacities of Capricorn for entering the dissolution of chaotic processes at the heart of creation, as the Sea Goat’s watery tail can draw vision from imaginal sources that bring about a necessary renewal and reordering of material being reshaped on the dry land of everyday life. The strength of Capricorn for constructing effective boundaries can be utilized for creating space to deepen into a letting go of old forms of identity and security, allowing whatever wild off shoots from inner fertility need to emerge. Due to the interplay between the lunation with the present state of Venus retrograde in Capricorn, it will be necessary to accept the mystery of present emotions and events rather than insisting on gaining certainty or a quick fix. Venus has much more to reveal in the coming weeks.

Venus stationed retrograde within close range of Pluto on December 19, forming her second conjunction with Pluto within two weeks on December 25. Since then Venus has been slowly moving away from Pluto and towards the flames of the Sun, intensifying the presence of the star of Aphrodite in our lives. You may be simultaneously experiencing inner desires lit by the approaching heat of the Sun while also undergoing a purgation of what needs to be burned off from the past. Venus is still only three degrees away from Pluto during the Capricorn New Moon, and so while Venus may still be hearing the chthonic siren songs of underworld desires within the darkness of the lunation, her approaching union with the Sun on January 8 will demarcate a slow shift away from the pull of old relational patterns stirred up by her close proximity with Pluto. During the waxing half of the forthcoming lunar cycle, the sensual sultriness and inner wildness of Capricorn will be available to explore as part of coming into relationship with the new desires and values that we will be continuing to develop in the months ahead.

The Capricorn New Moon is closely separating from an invigorating trine aspect with Uranus retrograde in Taurus and applying toward a sextile with Neptune in Pisces and a conjunction with Venus and Pluto in Capricorn; these aspects amplify the breakthrough quality of the lunation, whether in relation to old memories and patterns or becoming more deeply stirred by present desires emerging. The harmonious aspect between the Capricorn New Moon with Neptune can facilitate imaginative engagement with the flux of desires, using the felt sense of images, films, music, and other artistic or creative processes to deepen into awareness of what needs to be let go from the past to clear space for new growth to take root. The strange, magical quality of time that can be experienced during Venus retrograde will be bringing opportunities to make foundational alterations in your relationship with Capricorn, eventually bringing awareness for how to claim greater authority and agency in creatively reshaping your direction in the year ahead. Yet within the coming weeks we may first need to confront the challenges to our future growth lurking within the shadows, necessitating a descent into whatever material within our interior depths needs our attention.

The Sibyl and a Child Bearing a Torch (1520-40) unknown artist after Ugo da Carpi

Less than a week after the Capricorn New Moon on January 8 we will experience a rebirth of Venus, as she will be reanimated by her union with the Sun at 18º43′ Capricorn. Demetra George in Ancient Astrology wrote that “the protected space at the heart of the Sun is the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost holy chamber of the mystery initiations,” symbolizing the felt sense of mystery and revelation that may be felt when the Sun and Venus come together. Venus will be enthroned within solar light, bringing about a purification that can help in receiving greater clarity regarding the inner metamorphosis of Venus that has been in process. It will be worthwhile to reflect upon the placement of 18º43′ Capricorn in your natal chart to gain a sense of what areas of your life may be especially impacted by the renewal of Venus on January 8.

The inferior conjunction of Venus with the Sun on January 8 demarcates the shift from Venus away from being in her Evening Star phase into entering her Morning Star phase. Her inferior conjunction also places Venus upon one point of the five pointed star pattern that Venus forms within the five inferior conjunctions she forms every eight years while retrograde in between our orbit with the Sun, as well as within the five superior conjunctions she forms every eight years while moving direct on the other side of our orbit around the Sun. The nonlinear nature of the solar conjunctions formed by Venus can often resurrect memories and patterns associated with the stories taking shape in our lives during previous alignments of Venus with the Sun. For example, it will be helpful to reflect upon whatever storylines were taking shape when the present Evening Star phase of Venus was seeded at the superior conjunction of Venus on March 25, 2021 at 5º50’ Aries; these storylines in particular will be experiencing significant developments. It will also be important to contemplate the storylines taking shape during the previous inferior conjunction of Venus with the Sun on June 3, 2020 at 13º35’ Gemini, as this was the last time that Venus united with the Sun while retrograde. The last time there was a conjunction of Venus with the Sun in Capricorn was the superior conjunction of Venus on January 8, 2018 at 18º57’ Capricorn; this solar conjunction was additionally relevant due to it occurring near Pluto. Moreover, the last time that Venus was retrograde and conjoining the Sun in Capricorn was eight years ago on January 11, 2014 at 21º11’ Capricorn; this previous Venus retrograde phase in Capricorn was additionally significant due to Venus stationing direct while forming a conjunction with Pluto on January 31, 2014.

Fortunately, the inferior conjunction of Venus with the Sun on January 8 is taking place within a section of Capricorn that pleases Venus: her own bounds. The bounds or terms of each zodiacal sign are sections in which planets have greater agency to express their nature even if they are not the domicile ruler of the sign. For example, Demetra George has compared a planet being in its own bounds to being like a classroom that the planet can manage within the larger context of the zodiacal sign. Since Venus has her bounds from fourteen to twenty-two degrees of Capricorn, she will begin operating from her own terms beginning on January 3 and will remain within her own terms until January 17. The presence of Venus within her own bounds during her inferior conjunction as well as the surrounding time period will enhance our capacity for deepening into whatever changes in our values and desires are taking shape and being able to experience the pleasures of Venus in the process.

The deep alterations to inner values we experience on personal levels will be taking place within a larger context of disruptive societal change due to the final exact square aspect that formed between Saturn in Aquarius with Uranus in Taurus on December 23. Indeed, Saturn in Aquarius rules the New Moon in Capricorn while beginning to separate from its exact square aspect with Uranus. Due to the recent entrance of Jupiter into Pisces, Saturn will no longer be sharing space with the cohering and uplifting presence of Jupiter. Instead, Saturn will be sharing space with Mercury in the coming weeks. Mercury recently entered the sign of Aquarius on January 1 within his curiously explorative Morning Star phase, full of questions and new ideas to develop that can be strengthened and deepened by the influence from Saturn.

During the end of the previous lunar cycle, Mercury swiftly moved through the end of Capricorn and formed conjunctions with Venus retrograde on December 29 and Pluto on December 30, picking up important messages and insights regarding our experience of the present Venus retrograde phase. With Mercury in Aquarius along with Saturn and applying toward a square aspect with Uranus in Taurus, the star of Hermes will be in position to help us adjust our inner changes taking shape in correspondence with the larger shifts erupting in the surrounding world. Mercury and Saturn together in Aquarius can be extremely effective in the development of intellectual research and ideas, and so it will be worthwhile to create space for focused work on projects, with the influence from Uranus enhancing our capacity for being experimental with new approaches that can lead to revelatory insights.

Capricorn 2 Decan

The Capricorn New Moon will emerge within the second decan of Capricorn associated with the Three of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image we see a skilled sculptor in process of creating a divinely inspired masterwork in stone. There is a consultation taking place between the artisan and authorities associated with the institution, with carefully drawn plans for the masterpiece on display. Fittingly, Mars and Venus are the co-rulers of the second decan of Capricorn, as it is a face in which great works can be created through collaboration, careful planning, and incredible effort bonded with artistic vision. With the inferior conjunction of Venus on January 8 also occurring within the second decan of Capricorn, the visionary blueprints of this decan are in the process of experiencing major renovations.

Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Pyramid” to the second decan of Capricorn, noting it is a place where sublime works of material manifestation are completed. Coppock described this face as showing “visions of what might be wrought upon the earth, blueprints as a type of revelation.” There is not only a necessity for blueprints but also disciplined, hard work in collaboration with numerous resources in order to complete the grand visions that emerge in this face. Coppock wrote that while it is necessary to bind effort to accomplishing ambitious goals, he also cautioned to take care in the “enduring consequences” created by becoming consumed by the creation of a grand magnum opus. Images in both the Picatrix as well as Three Occult Books of Philosophy speak to this face inspiring a search for what cannot be known and seeking what cannot be done, leading Coppock to note the importance of finding a balance between having enough ambition to envision worthy goals while refraining from the kind of hubris that can envision “impossible or ill fated projects.”

Thus with the Capricorn New Moon on January 2 and the inferior conjunction of Venus on January 8 both taking place within the second face of Capricorn, we can explore if we need to release ourselves from past ambitious goals that are no longer aligned with the emerging values we are coming into relationship with. The revelations from the retrograde phase of Venus may also bring realization that continuing to purse a particular vision will make you complicit in a pyramidal hierarchy of power you no longer wish to be involved with. While some may link the symbol of pyramids with problematic hierarchies, pyramids were also associated in ancient Egyptian culture with creation itself, as they represented the mounds of earth that would arise out of the fertility of water. Within the darkness of the New Moon in Capricorn, let the Sea Goat of Capricorn lead you into the depths of your inner fertility in order to contact the vibrant visions ready to emerge through your work and planning in the year ahead.

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References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Scorpio New Moon

November 4, 2021November 4, 2021 / grayastrology / 1 Comment

Scorpio New Moon

Ancient astrology texts give the fixed, watery sign of Scorpio a special status due to being the place where the Moon experiences her fall. Being the place where Fortune has her fall, Scorpio is considered zodiacal terrain where nothing can be exalted. When planets are considered to be exalted, they are elevated into the highest strata of fame and status within the dominant culture. Considering the current state of those in hierarchical positions of power and the value to be found by playing into the games of present political and popular power structures, the fallen quality of the Moon in Scorpio deserves honoring and embrace. Scorpio penetrates through the false gloss of superficial interactions, cuts through appearances, demands the honesty of the depths and the desire to go there. During a period in which people all around the world are simultaneously poised on the precipice of an enormous threshold, when the structures of civilization are being challenged and torn asunder when incapable of enduring, we need to drink deeply from the dark well of Scorpio.

The New Moon at 12º40′ Scorpio is exactly opposite Uranus retrograde at 12º47′ Taurus. The Sun in opposition with Uranus is the heart of the Uranus retrograde passage, when Uranus is as close to Earth in orbit as possible within its cycle and can be more intensely felt than normal. Uranus stationed retrograde on August 19 at 14º48′ Taurus and will eventually station direct on January 18, 2022 at 10º49′ Taurus, demarcating the lunation as dead center on whatever internal journey Uranus has been calling you to fully commit to. The tension between the Scorpio New Moon with Uranus in Taurus can be released suddenly, striking with revelatory force into a moment in which a completely new understanding or path forward becomes revealed. Uranus electrifies the fallen quality of the Scorpio New Moon, like an otherworldly vision of healing and mystery received while laying low, incubating.

In addition to activating Uranus, in the bigger picture the Scorpio New Moon is triggering whatever tension has been building up between the ongoing square aspect between Saturn and Uranus. The Scorpio Sun recently formed a square aspect with Saturn in Aquarius on October 30, and in the week following the lunation both Mercury and Mars in Scorpio will form a clashing square aspect with Saturn on November 10. The speed of change and dismantling within collective events has been feeling overwhelming and anxiety provoking to many, yet in keeping with the mythic connection many astrologers make between Uranus and Prometheus, within the suffering can also be found the seeds of liberation. Prometheus brought the creative potency of fire, the arts, and sciences to humanity, yet his story also necessitates a confrontation with hubris and questioning of what kind of civilization has been constructed by humanity with the gifts of Prometheus.

Indeed, Tim Addey in Seven Myths of the Soul wrote that Prometheus requires the soul to ask, “what am I not?” Addey stated that “the mystic’s initiation into the mysteries of Prometheus is the voluntary acceptance of the limitations of matter, not its rejection.” Like Prometheus, integrating and embodying the radical awakening of Uranus necessitates a voluntary sacrifice to bring its emancipatory vision into the incarnated world of limitation, suffering, and death. Within the shattering to collective systems wrought by Uranus in Taurus, by going within and finding our center amidst the chaotic tumult we may liberate our authentic values from their concealment within cultural conditioning. To follow one’s true path in the face of consensus conditioning necessitates the risk of abandonment and fears of experiencing shame and betrayal.

With Mars ruling the New Moon while at full strength within its watery home of Scorpio, there is enduring courage waiting to be seized like an ancestral sword long bound by stone, awaiting release. Make the space and time needed, no matter how painstakingly slow it seems to be taking, to allow the decomposition and putrefaction of Scorpio to work its magic on the ways in which the conditioning of consensus culture has led you to believe you need to live your life. Ask yourself what you wish to awaken in yourself and others, and what you want to bring to civilization from the soulfulness of your own inner depths. We are in a crucial time full of crucial choices that deserve the thought and contemplation needed to align our actions with our essential integrity.

Egyptian Scarab inscribed with hieroglyphs (ca. 1479–1458 B.C.)

Mars is as strong as possible at the degree he is inhabiting during the Scorpio New Moon, as he is in his own domicile, bounds, decan, and triplicity. Meanwhile, Saturn is also especially strong due to being in his own domicile and triplicity. The fact that both Mars and Saturn are so powerfully positioned amplifies the tidal force of the tension building between them as they prepare to clash on November 10. Mars and Saturn are the planets most associated with being tested and learning how to traverse periods of difficulty and strife. While Mars can incite pushing forward with passion and making things happen with direct action, Saturn can push back through restraint, slowing things down with contemplative containment, and erecting boundaries and defensives to keep the red hot heat of Mars at bay. Yet Mars in Scorpio is in the dominant position by being in the tenth place from Saturn, the first time all year that Mars has been engaged with Saturn through being in a superior square. Thus while Saturn may attempt to clamp down on Mars, the propulsive force of Mars will topple the towers of Saturn, especially those systemic structures which lack a strong foundation and capacity for flexibly adjusting to changing conditions.

Adding to the intense, explosive quality of the conflict brewing between Mars and Saturn will be Mercury, as the star of Hermes will enter Scorpio on November 5, the day after the Scorpio New Moon. Mercury will form a conjunction with Mars in Scorpio on November 10, with both Mars and Mercury simultaneously forming an intensifying square aspect with Saturn in Aquarius. As a result the days leading up to November 10 may feel especially charged, with an extended release in the following week. Mercury will form a tense opposition with Uranus in Taurus on November 13, followed by Mars forming an opposition with Uranus on November 17.

The union of Mercury and Mars can weaponize language as well as increase the capacity of Mars for being cunning and tricky when implementing strategy. It will be wise to avoid unnecessary conflicts and walk away when possible to avoid escalation. Yet when brought to bear on one’s inner depths, the penetrative force of Mercury and Mars in Scorpio can dislodge potent desires to express through creativity as well as through protective support of one another within community.

While Saturn in Aquarius will be extremely activated with all of its defenses by the charge from Mercury and Mars in Scorpio, the star of Cronus will also be applying toward a potentially integrative sextile aspect with Chiron, who is retrograde in Aries and mutually applying with Saturn. Saturn will not complete his sextile aspect with Chiron until November 26, allowing for an extended period of time to explore what sort of dialogue and relationship can be bridged between Chiron and Saturn. Adding to the complexity, Ceres retrograde in Gemini is also involved in the dynamic between Saturn and Chiron, as Ceres is applying toward a trine with Saturn and a sextile with Chiron (Ceres will sextile Chiron on November 8 and trine Saturn on November 14).

Thus both Chiron and Ceres are available for tending to whatever wounds and burdens we have been experiencing related to Saturn. We may need to make space for grief related to loss, issues of identity, and feelings of alienation or dislocation that we have been experiencing. Yet the harmonious aspects between Ceres and Chiron with Saturn can also help retrieve a deep sense of the inner treasure we may find within ourselves, buried underneath the accumulation of so much stress circulating within collective crises and personal difficulties. Relationships we may turn to involving secure bonds of attachment can be particularly helpful in exploring whatever medicine can be alchemized between Ceres, Saturn, and Chiron.

We can expect the unexpected in the weeks following the Scorpio New Moon not only because of the activation of both Uranus and Saturn by transit, but also because we will be entering an eclipse season. Indeed, the lunar cycle beginning with the Scorpio New Moon will reach peak light with a Lunar Eclipse on November 19 at 27º14′ Taurus. Since this will be the first eclipse to occur in the fixed signs of Taurus or Scorpio, there will likely be important endings and beginnings in storylines taking shape in correspondence as we get closer to the eclipse. Pay attention for signs of what new stories may emerge in correspondence with eclipses in Taurus and Scorpio.

Another sign of changing narratives will be the entrance of Venus into Capricorn on November 5, the day after the Scorpio New Moon. Venus in Capricorn will begin activating a storyline that will have a long arc, extending across the threshold between 2021 and 2022. Venus will remain in Capricorn from November 5, 2021 until March 5, 2022 due to stationing retrograde in Capricorn on December 19, 2021. Tellingly, the first major aspect that Venus in Capricorn will complete with a planet besides the Moon will be a harmonious sextile aspect with Uranus in Taurus on November 18. Since Venus will be receiving Uranus into her earthy home of Taurus, their contact on the day before the Lunar Eclipse can help us find ways to relate and be more creative with the more explosive tension that will be released by the opposition between Mars in Scorpio with Uranus in Taurus on November 17. Venus in Capricorn knows how to play the long game, and while Venus can enjoy the lust of earthly delights in Capricorn she can also utilize boundaries to create the space needed for whatever she desires to gestate and birth.

Scorpio 2 Decan

The New Moon in Scorpio is in the second decan of Scorpio associated with the Six of Cups card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image reveals the virtuous innocence of receiving through giving, which connects with the Sun and Jupiter being the rulers of the second face of Scorpio. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “An Apparatus for Mutual Distillation” to the second decan of Scorpio, describing it as a face in which mutual distillation within relationship allows for matters to be passed back and forth as in an alembic, “growing increasingly rarefied and potent.” Coppock wrote that while “it is easy to imagine these dynamics between romantic partners, all relationships which rely on trust and continuous exchange generate such circuits.”

Coppock’s description of ideal relational exchanges rooted in trust also brings to mind its antithesis of broken trust that unleashes overwhelming emotions and catalyzes separations and letting go. Twelfth century astrologer Ibn Ezra in The Beginning of Wisdom wrote that within the second face of Scorpio there “ascends a woman who has left her house; she is naked and has nothing on and she is entering the sea.” Austin Coppock described the second decan of Scorpio as warning that we need to be careful to whom we bare ourselves to, because the “virtuous circuit of exchange can become vicious in this face . . . the process of dual cultivation becomes one of mutual degradation, each destroying the quality of the other with each pass.”

Further showing the importance of separating from degrading relationships in the second decan of Scorpio, the Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the Titan goddess Leto to the second face of Scorpio. Sister to the starry, divinatory goddess Asteria and mother to the twin lights of Artemis and Apollo, Leto’s presence in the face where the Scorpio New Moon will darken reveals the need to protectively nurture and cultivate whatever we hold most dear and wish to bring into the world. Leto had to flee and take refuge on an isolated island unattached to the ocean floor in order to escape the wrath of Hera, who had made all lands exclude Leto from entry due to her anger over the affair between Leto and Zeus. It was said that the twin offspring of Leto would stabilize the new order of Olympian deities, and so her persistence in nurturing the birth of Apollo and Artemis was additionally a birth of a new collective age. In this time of great global shifts and collective thresholds, Leto is a fitting symbol for taking the necessary steps to give birth to the world you wish yourself and the generations to follow to inhabit.

As the power found in the second face of Scorpio involves distillation and cultivation from intimate exchanges, the closeness of our relationships and the mutual support and love found within them will be the vessel to tend and drink from in the coming weeks. Let the darkness of the Scorpio New Moon bring you closer to the community and relationships needed to help bring forth the blessings and beauty of your lineages more brightly into the world.

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References

Addey, Tim. (2000). The Seven Myths of the Soul. The Prometheus Trust.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

New Moon in Taurus

May 11, 2021May 12, 2021 / grayastrology / 2 Comments

Iris by Kate Flückinger Petty

New Moon in Taurus

The darkness of the Moon in Taurus has a richness like none other, its subterranean soil serving as a gestating matrix within which desires may take root and receive the inner nourishment needed to emerge vibrantly into the world. The New Moon in Taurus on May 11 holds a pulsating potency underneath the pleasing astrological aspects it is forming, including a creative sextile with Neptune in Pisces, an empowering trine with Pluto in Capricorn, and a catalyzing square with Jupiter in Aquarius. As the lunation is happening within the exaltation of the Moon, the slow and steady processes favored by the living image of Taurus can cultivate and nurture new growth that can endure with resiliency and long lasting effects. The atmosphere of the New Moon in Taurus does not foster rushing forth like a charging Bull, but rather slowing down to sink and deepen into what’s emerging within and being present to listen to new developments within our myriad relationships.

Although a New Moon in Taurus can be helpful for finding greater stability, the upcoming astrology will in fact be quite volatile. The lunar cycle beginning with the Taurus New Moon will wax into a total Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius that will reflect its blood red light on May 25, signaling endings and beginnings in storylines. Mercury will then facilitate further twists and turns in stories by stationing retrograde on May 29, followed by a Solar Eclipse in Gemini on June 10 and then the second exact square aspect of the year between Uranus in Taurus and Saturn in Aquarius on June 14. Knowing that numerous astrological events are coming that can deeply reshape and alter structures and relationships, the Taurus New Moon is an ideal time for inner reflection and examination of how your desires and priorities have been changing so you may better navigate the approaching astrological volatility in better alignment with what you wish to create and cultivate.

At the center of the disruptive and change inducing astrological transits that will be occurring in the next month is the square aspect between Saturn and Uranus that will be increasingly swelling with intensity. Previously we experienced the first exact square aspect between Saturn and Uranus on February 17, a period in which the influence of Saturn in Aquarius was being amplified due to it being engaged in numerous astrological aspects. In contrast, during the past month there has been an intensification of the influence of Uranus in Taurus, with Mercury, Venus, and the Sun all forming conjunctions with Uranus. While you may already be aware of numerous elements of your life that have completely changed since February 17, the recent stoking of Uranus suggests that an even deeper level of change is presently taking shape. The impact of Uranus will unleash feelings and visions beyond the present boundaries and borders of circumstances, bringing inspiration that can help guide the way forward as long as we do not neglect the reality of Saturn that will require patience and building things one step at a time.

Yet being mindful of Saturn does not mean limiting your sense of what will be possible to create, change, and bring together, for the square between Saturn and Uranus means that we must necessarily come to terms with ways we perceive unnecessary limitations as we simultaneously open to a more enlivening and expansive sense of reality. It may not be clear yet how you will go about creating, establishing, or developing the new desires that have been stirred into stable forms, but not knowing how it will happen is less important at the moment than gaining a deeper sense for what you do want to have happen, which directions you want to move in, which relationships you wish to further develop, and which interests and skills you wish to cultivate and pursue. As we transition in the coming lunar cycle from the fertile solidity of Taurus into the diverse multiplicity of Gemini, remember to make space and time to continually come back to center, sifting through the parts of your inner multiplicity ready to emerge so you may better integrate and embody the authentic new desires you want to reshape your life with.

Hellebore by Kate Flückinger Petty

The New Moon in Taurus is ruled by Venus in Gemini as the star of Aphrodite is finally re-emerging into visible light as an Evening Star following sunset. Venus has been veiled from view under the beams of the Sun since the beginning of February, and after being reanimated by the noetic potency of the Sun on March 25 she will now be bringing her dazzling presence to the shifting hues of twilight every sunset. There are different gods and goddesses syncretized with Venus in different cultures, but no matter your cultural background the divine being of Venus will have an intensified presence in our lives during the waxing half of the forthcoming lunar cycle as the star of Aphrodite is reborn into the world again. As the waxing Moon in Gemini will unite with Venus on May 12, we may become more deeply attuned with the desires that have been forming within hidden recesses of our senses within the past month and a half.

Although Venus is not at home in Gemini, she will be benefitting from Mercury also being present in its airy home of the Twins. As a result, Venus will have access to the full resources of Mercury and we may discover greater capacity to give voice to and communicate the new ideas and desires that have been taking shape within during the past month. Venus combined with Mercury in Gemini can blend aesthetic sense and design with intellectual analysis and flowing fluency in communication, making it a powerful period for any form of creativity especially in the realms of writing, music, art, and crafts. Due to Mercury stationing retrograde on May 29, we will be able to enjoy the social and creative atmosphere fostered by Venus and Mercury being together in Gemini from now until June 2 when Venus enters Cancer. It will be a potent time for making connections with those who share our interests, as well as for sustaining dialogue and listening to those who have different viewpoints and perspectives from our own.

Just like Mercury and Venus can be fruitful for aesthetically arranging colors, words, and sounds, so can they also help us explore what aspects of our changing desires to pursue as we experience many collective and personal shifts during the coming season of eclipses. Significantly, Mercury is forming a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon during the time of the Taurus New Moon, followed by Venus forming a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon a week later on May 18. With Mercury in Gemini ruling the North Node of the Moon as we approach a Lunar Eclipse on May 25 and a Solar Eclipse on June 10, the presence of Venus in Gemini can help us hold the tension of opposing desires until giving birth to something that transcends the polarity, not unlike the Hermaphrodite Rebis (res bina) found in alchemical text that reconciles the spiritual and material (1).

Venus being under the influence of Mercury in Gemini for an extended period of time will create a more fluid and adaptable atmosphere for Venus that can lead to dispersing energy in multiple directions while multitasking between numerous projects and goals. Mercury and Venus together in Gemini will also draw us into a deeper search for meaning and connections, curiously questioning and synthesizing meaning within the myriad relationships that interconnect us within reality. Moreover, the living image of the Twins conjures the relationship between our mortal and immortal sides, the illuminated spark of vision and the darkness of the shadow it casts, our felt sense of soulfulness we may idealize as a soul mate yet ultimately returns us to a stronger awareness of our own deep material we need to integrate and embody.

Bacchae by Kate Flückinger Petty

The New Moon in Taurus is applying to a jolting square aspect with Jupiter in Aquarius that it will complete on May 12, a day before Jupiter enters Pisces on May 13. The return of Jupiter to its own sign adds an additional vivifying influence to the beginning of the lunar cycle, further amplifying potential for deepening into desires and coalescing ideas and inspiration in the process. Jupiter entering Pisces will bring a boost toward new desires because the sovereignty Jupiter possesses in Pisces allows it to express its significations for prosperity, growth, and fertile creativity with fullness and directness. While Jupiter has been sharing the sign of Aquarius with Saturn we may have found ways of being more expansive within present life structures or renovated systems to allow for greater vision and progress, but with Jupiter occupying its own sign we may experience leaps of imagination that stretch and elevate our sense of what will be possible to create with our life. With regard to the square aspect between Saturn and Uranus, it is further significant that Jupiter will no longer be in the home of Saturn and will instead be out of aspect to Saturn and instead forming a creative sextile aspect with Uranus in Taurus.

In contrast to Sagittarius, the fiery and diurnal home of Jupiter where it accelerates the speed of events and reaches outward to new vistas beckoning over the horizon, Pisces is the watery, nocturnal home of Jupiter that facilitates descent into the boundless, oceanic realm of desires within our bodily senses and unconscious. Jupiter in Pisces will support slowing down to sink into fuller sensations regarding our circumstances, letting the waves of Pisces wash over the parts of ourselves that have become fragmented or disconnected, dissolving places that have become stuck or hardened. Jupiter in Pisces is magnetically receptive, drawing new sources of inspiration to itself and synthesizing insight through assembling and unifying separate influences into new forms of vital meaning. Like soaking in a hot spring overlooking a sweeping view of breathtaking nature, Jupiter in Pisces can allow for a release of stress and tension so we may immerse ourselves in whatever brings a stronger sense of soulfulness and passion. By taking our time and letting the intuitive strength of Jupiter in Pisces guide us in the direction of inner promptings, we can ultimately discover a more productive and flowing path forward than if we try to rush ahead and force things to happen.

It’s further important that as soon as Jupiter enters Pisces it will be present within the same sign as Neptune. Although Jupiter will not form its conjunction with Neptune in Pisces until April 12, 2022 we will begin to gain a foreshadowing sense of the meaning that Jupiter and Neptune will be bringing into our lives. Jupiter and Neptune have one of the most important cycles to consider within astrology, forming a conjunction roughly every thirteen years in typically a successive sign of the zodiac. Due to there being two straight conjunctions of Jupiter and Neptune in Capricorn in 1984 and 1997 followed by a conjunction in Aquarius in 2009, we have lived through three straight cycles of Jupiter and Neptune being initiated in a domicile of Saturn. Their conjunction in Pisces in 2022 will be the first conjunction between Jupiter and Neptune in a domicile of Jupiter since the three conjunctions they formed in Sagittarius in 1971, and we can therefore expect to catch a powerful wave of imaginal force in the year ahead.

Jupiter and Neptune in many ways have a meaning that is diametrically opposed and in stark contrast to the meaning of Saturn and Pluto that held significant influence over the events of 2020. While mundane astrologers such as Andre Barbault have recognized it as a combination that incites waves of liberal and progressive movements within global politics, other astrologers such as Dane Rudhyar have found it to be a disorienting yet extremely powerful impetus for letting go of desires to conform to societal expectations of success in favor of following an unorthodox and untrodden path illuminated by the inner light of imaginal, unconscious sources. Due to the illusory impact of Neptune, however, we will also need to be mindful of how we are navigating the way forward so that we are not swept out to sea. Since Jupiter is only going to be occupying the first three degrees of Pisces from now until July 28, however, we will only be gaining an initial taste of the otherworldly fruit that will be offered to us by Jupiter and Neptune. For now, let your mind open to new stories, mythos, muses, and founts of inspiration that can disintegrate the ways you have kept yourself controlled or bound to old storylines that no longer serve your best interests and highest good.

Twist by Kate Flückinger Petty

Within the darkness of the Taurus New Moon is another aspect that deserves attention: Mars in Cancer receiving Chiron in Aries through a square aspect. We may notice that some of the new desires forming within and beginning to emerge not only feel exciting and inspired but also make us feel vulnerable due to them testing the ground of past wounds and insecurities. Indeed, the tension between Mars and Chiron is also playing a role in the ways our conception of past forms of stability have been disrupted by the square between Saturn and Uranus, as Mars is additionally forming a sextile aspect with Uranus and Chiron is forming a sextile aspect with Saturn. Since Chiron has a primal role in astrology of mediating and bridging the realms of Saturn with Uranus, the square between Mars and Chiron is leading us to encounter emotional material and relational issues that necessarily must be confronted if we wish to step into more of the liberating impact of Saturn and Uranus.

It’s often the case that as we prepare to cross the threshold of breakthrough experiences or significant alterations of old patterns we with to reshape, for one reason or another we get pulled back to face old issues connected to the old stories we have emerged from. Chiron in Aries can help instill the sense of agency we need to make empowering choices that align with our core purpose and desires, while Mars in Cancer can propel us to take action toward cultivating the relationships and experiences that will fulfill our emotional needs, courageously protecting whatever is most important for us to nurture. Be tender with yourself if you need to create space to process, release, or come into deeper relationship with old emotional material that has caused pain in the past. The more we can release and empty of what needs to be let go, the better we will be able to move through the accelerated pace of change that will be coming with the eclipses at the end of May and beginning of June.

7 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus 3 Decan

The New Moon in Taurus is arising in the third decan of Taurus associated with the Seven of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. An image of a farmer or gardener carefully watching over the growth of green foliage he hopes will ultimately ripen into a bountiful harvest, it is a card of delayed gratification that necessitates patiently cultivating the process at work so that a savory climax of fulfilling ripeness can later be enjoyed. Fittingly, Saturn rules the third face of Taurus as it is zodiacal terrain where the calm, prudent, and attentive countenance of the farmer in the image of the Seven of Pentacles is needed to make sure all of the necessary planning and responsibilities will be completed even when facing adversity. Similarly, we will need to integrate the new desires being formed within the darkness of the New Moon into a long range perspective that will be capable of carefully tending to and nurturing the needs of our relationships and endeavors so that they may ultimately bloom in healthy wholeness.

The fact that the New Moon in the third face of Taurus is leading us into the destabilizing storms of an eclipse season aligns well with the meaning that Austin Coppock gave to the third face of Taurus in his book 36 Faces. Coppock ascribed the image of “A String of Prayer Beads” to this face, stating that it “represents a confrontation with destructive factors which impede completion,” as well as the need to enact remediation and “make plans to accommodate the unforeseen.” While Coppock acknowledged that we must face toil and difficulty at times in this decan due to everything that can go wrong in between the germination of a seed and its ultimate flowering and fruiting, he also listed virtues such as “wisdom, patience, humility, and foresight” as being “the unexpected fruits of the destructive forces which prowl this face.” Indeed, Coppock concluded that while this face may make us confront potential disaster, it is also a place from which we can call for support from higher powers and worthy allies while developing the remedies needed to overcome threats.

T. Susan Chang in her book 36 Secrets made the astute observation that it is important to “consider the nature of boundaries” in all of the decans ruled by Saturn, as “freedom depends on its limits.” Chang also noted that the image of the farmer staring into space in the Seven of Pentacles image suggests “a sort of timelessness” inherent in the card’s meaning, not unlike the role Saturn plays in astrology as the threshold guardian between time and timelessness. To Chang there is a lesson in this face found within the relationship between our finite perception of time and the truly infinite nature of time. Indeed, by patiently attending to what needs to be completed or cared for in accordance with the finiteness of time, we may also gain wisdom from and find strength within the infiniteness of time in ways that can help us withstand hardship and toil.

As the lunar cycle initiated by the New Moon in Taurus will culminate with a total Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius, we have forewarning that unexpected changes will be coming that may involve difficulty as well as exciting inspiration. The wisdom of the third decan of Taurus suggests we may prepare through patient attention to whatever needs attending to, as well as by reaching out for support from those who will be able to assist us through whatever transitions we will be moving through in the next couple of months. Since Jupiter in Pisces will be ruling the Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse, we can also have faith that support will be available from the unseen realm of spirit. While we may need to temporarily navigate through a period of volatility in the month ahead, the New Moon in Taurus points us toward the enduring new forms and relationships we will be able to cultivate and develop that will continue to support us for a long time beyond the present.

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References

(1) Caton, Gary. (2017). Hermetica Triptycha: the Mercury Elemental Year. Rubedo Press.

Chang, T. Susan. (2021). 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. Anima Mundi Press.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

New Moon in Libra

October 16, 2020 / grayastrology / Leave a comment

ca 1st – 2nd Century

New Moon in Libra

Darkness surrounds every New Moon, as the Moon withdraws its reflected light to be reseeded by the Sun. With the Moon shrouded in black each month as it approaches its revivifying solar union, we are invited to silently recenter within the mysterious liminality of an old cycle ending while another begins anew. It’s a time fit for feeding ancestors and engaging in cleaning and clearing, opening awareness to whatever next wants to emerge while we tend to what came before. A sense of initiatory descent will be especially palpable during the New Moon in Libra on October 16, as we will need to incubate our knowing intuition to navigate through the rocks and hard places surrounding the lunation.

The New Moon is separating from an opposition with Mars retrograde in Aries and applying toward a demanding square aspect with Saturn in Capricorn, with the Sun in its fall in Libra. The New Moon is also separating from a catalyzing square with Pluto in Capricorn and applying toward a discordant opposition with Eris in Aries. The syzygy in the sign of the Scales will be measuring how we have been impacted by the weight and gravity of the past year that began with the conjunction between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, as well as the disorienting eruptions that have shattered expectations during the past couple months of Mars volatilizing Saturn and Pluto.

The Libra New Moon demarcates our movement beyond the midpoint of the Mars retrograde period as well as Saturn slowly beginning to separate from Pluto for good, yet simultaneously brings us down into the depths of all the trouble they have stirred up. Innumerable injustices and instances of oppression and corruption have been exposed creating an impossibly large list of problems in need of solutions. Rather than exhausting yourself by spinning out in too many directions at once, the New Moon in Libra beckons to find nurturance in chthonic caves where wells of restorative cleansing may quench excessive inflammation. Necessity demands cultivating a strength that will sustain instead of drain.

The New Moon is near the degree of the fixed star Spica, the Spike of the Virgin whose light represents the wheat held by the Winged Goddess of the Virgo constellation. Bernadette Brady wrote that the wheat sheaf symbolism of Spica “can be considered a symbol of her [the Goddess] gifts to humankind,” as Spica is a source of brilliant, extraordinary talents and skills. The Coptic people of Egypt named Spica as “Solitary,” which goes well with the New Moon being in the exaltation of Saturn. Though the lunation is surrounded by difficulty on every side, by engaging with the slow, thorough contemplation of Saturn we may receive the gift of realizing the circumstances we need to separate ourselves from and the hardships we need to endure that will be worth it in the end.

Spica is not the only sign of a goddess speaking, however, as Ceres in Aquarius is stationing direct in Aquarius in a flowing trine aspect with the New Moon. Ceres will station direct on October 18 at 28°36′ Aquarius after having been retrograde since it previously stationed on July 6 at 12º49′ Pisces. Ceres in Aquarius will form a supportive air triangle with the New Moon in Libra and the North Node in Gemini that can facilitate vital guidance emerging from purging what needs to be released. Ceres in Aquarius grieves and rages against all the oppression within societal systems she perceives with her piercing intellect. As Ceres stations and speaks out, we can realize essential aspects of our soulfulness through the purgation of emotions that can be likened to the threshing of grain governed by Ceres that reveals the essential vitality hidden in the shedded husk.

Tim Addey in The Seven Myths of the Soul wrote that as goddess of fruitfulness, Demeter (aka Ceres) is most closely aligned with the phase of the hero’s journey in which the hero returns from the other world with the elixir to bring into their home community. To Addey, the hero under the influence of Demeter “is no longer serving his own perfection but the universe’s perfection,” operating “essentially” and “from his very being” rather than out “of mundane conquest.” Spend time listening during the Libra New Moon as Ceres stations, so you may discover what elixir you are gathering to ultimately return with from the sequence of intensifying transits that will bring 2020 to a close.

Justice from the Pagan Otherworlds Tarot

Venus in Virgo rules the New Moon while applying to an opposition with Neptune in Pisces and a trine with Jupiter in Capricorn. The benefics, Venus and Jupiter, being in trine yet each also being in its own fall is a telling signature for the lunation requiring descent into a deeper sense of whatever circumstances you find yourself within. Venus in Virgo is also heading toward forming a square with the transiting lunar nodes, bringing her critical eye to the northern bending of the lunar nodes where she can survey whatever is out of balance and in need of repair. Exalted status symbols are no concern for the star of Aphrodite during the Libra New Moon, as she will be bringing her attention to those in marginalized communities and those in need who have been neglected or ignored.

Neptune in Pisces is casting a mystifying fog over the Libra New Moon through which Venus in Virgo may discern the path we need to take. The false glamorizing of celebrities, hypnotic manipulation of social media, and all the rest of the inessential dross spilling out from the culture of the times will need to be filtered and processed by Venus so we do not become distracted from the heart of the matter at hand. Venus in Virgo may also transmit imaginal insights through its interfacing with Neptune that may surface in dreams or the emergence of omens on our daily path, since Venus is in the domicile of Mercury and Mercury recently stationed retrograde while forming a harmonizing sextile in Scorpio.

Sibylle (1934) by Paul Klee

The other major source of propulsive volatility underlying the Libra New Moon comes from Mercury retrograde in Scorpio applying to an opposition with Uranus in Taurus that will become exact on October 19. The oscillating wattage between Mercury and Uranus will not be new, for Mercury first formed an opposition with Uranus on October 7 after having spent a week building up tension with Uranus before that. We can expect more unexpected announcements and events that radically upturn narratives and plans as they finally complete their opposition. Yet we can prepare by remaining open to the kind of jolting awareness Uranus can bring to longstanding patterns that allows us to finally break free from their grip on us.

Since Mercury stationed retrograde only three days before the lunation, the star of Hermes is full of mischievous tricks to play and oracular messages to deliver. The first waxing crescent light of the forthcoming lunar cycle will unite with Mercury in Scorpio on October 17, bringing greater clarity for what needs to be emptied and shed with intention during the following week when Mercury will enter its invisible, underworld phase of putrefaction. The closer Mercury comes to uniting with the Sun on October 25, the more Mercury will take on the quality of the Sun’s calcining fire that dissolves what is stuck and opens deeper attuning with needed messages from our unconscious.

Whatever messages we receive from the opposition between Mercury and Uranus will be important to pay attention to, for the Moon in the forthcoming lunar cycle will wax into fullness on October 31 during a Full Moon in Taurus that will be conjoining Uranus.

4 of Swords by Pamela Colman Smith

Libra 3 Decan

The New Moon is in the third decan of Libra associated with the Four of Swords tarot card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image above we see what looks to be a funerary knight in prayer under a stained glass window of “PAX.” This image also evokes balancing through meditative silence within a sacred space of solace. Johannes Fiebig and Evelin Burger in their book on the tarot noted symbols in the image that contrast “inner and outer issues, the abstract world and daily life, perfect ideals and limited reality.” Within the balance of these dualities, we can sense how the figure is in position of re-balancing body and mind like someone laying down to incubate. The funeral atmosphere with the single sword below the figure also evokes cutting away the inessential and false so we may embody more fully the genuine legacy we are meant to leave behind once we depart to the ancestral realm. Fittingly, the stabilizing and providential presence of Jupiter and the psychopomp nature of Mercury are the rulers of the third face of Libra.

Austin Coppock ascribed the image of “A Gyroscope” to the third face of Libra in his book on the decans 36 Faces. Coppock equated the third face of Libra with the “gyroscopic stability” of “equilibrating movement through a chaotic universe,” as “its secret resides in the eye of the storm, calm and clear as the chaos of desire and fear whirl about.” Coppock notably pointed out that earlier images associated with the third decan of Libra as found in such text as the Picatrix and Three Books of Occult Philosophy featured images of “furious indulgence” and “extremes of revelry” that co-exist in the third face of Libra along with the equipoise of the Four of Swords image. Coppock suggested this face reveals the lesson that “the center of balance is always moving, and those who would walk this face must follow the center, however erratic its motion may seem.” Ultimately, Coppock concluded that those who properly traverse the third decan of Libra can “see through the eye of the storm,” discovering equilibrium and sanctuary in even the most chaotic of circumstances.

The Hellenistic text the 36 Airs linked Nemesis to the third face of Libra. Known as a goddess who enacts retribution upon those full of hubris, there are diverse stories of her origin that place the parentage of Nemesis in the primordial (Oceanus as her father in some stories, Nyx as her mother in others) as well as her being a sister to the Fates. Nemesis is a divine force of restorative balance, redistributing fortune to correct for what has come disproportionally out of balance and punishing those who arrogantly act out of balance with natural forces of change. Her presence in the decan of the Libra New Moon is a warning that repercussions may be striking those who have been hubristically acting out, while also emphasizing the need to tend to whatever has become out of proportion in your life. Let the Libra New Moon guide you to the excess that needs to be trimmed and the outworn parts of yourself ready to be molted and shed. You will want to lighten your load to be more responsive to the many momentous events that will be erupting during the lunar cycle ahead.

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References

Addey, Tim. (2000). The Seven Myths of the Soul. The Prometheus Trust.

Brady, Bernadette. (1998). Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars. Weiser.

Burger, Evelin & Fiebig, Johannes. (2013). The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot. Llewellyn Publications.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Spica. Constellation of Words.

Warnock, Christopher. (2010). Mansions of the Moon: A Lunar Zodiac for Astrology and Magic. Renaissance Astrology.

New Moon in Libra

September 28, 2019 / grayastrology / 3 Comments

Judy Chicago (1979) Hrosvitha Test Plate

New Moon in Libra

The New Moon on September 28 arises in Libra, the airy home of Venus, the exaltation of Saturn, and the living image of the Scales. When gazing at scales, even if they appear to be still their form suggests the ceaseless, endless calibration going on within everyone, everything, in every moment. Libra as the sign of the scales is a place of perpetual balancing within all of our personal relationships as well as how we relate to our environment and arrange elements of time and space to meet our own needs as well as the needs of others. The Libra New Moon comes at a pivotal juncture of 2019, as the lunar cycle it initiates is at the northern bending of the lunar nodes, forming a catalyzing square aspect with the transiting lunar nodes as well as the zodiacal degrees of the solar eclipse and the lunar eclipse that occurred in July. As a result, numerous strands of stories that have been stirred up in recent months will become activated, and as we sense how things are settling and coalescing we will have the opportunity to make a measured response. Traditional Libra keywords such as rebalancing and recalibrating elements that are in a volatile state of oscillation will be needed.

The symbol of the scales also conjures the Egyptian imagery of Maat and the weighing of souls after death, at which time the heart would ideally be as light as a feather instead of heavy with the gravitas of unresolved issues. Maat is also the balancing of natural, terrestrial, and cosmic order arising from the field of chaos and its constant flux. From this comes a sense of social justice felt by a heart aligned with natural order, as well as the social conventions of how a society ascribes judgment to what is appropriate or inappropriate behavior. As the Libra New Moon is separating from a tense opposition with Chiron retrograde in Aries, while also applying toward a harmonizing sextile with Jupiter in Sagittarius, focus will be brought to how the societal conventions and laws created by humanity can often be at odds with natural law and order. For example, it was estimated that approximately six million people around our planet took part in protests over the impact of human pollution on climate change in the week before the Libra New Moon as the Libra Sun formed an opposition with Chiron.

Fittingly for a Libra New Moon, both sides of the scales balancing benefic and malefic astrological influences are fully loaded. On one side, Pluto is in the process of stationing direct within the darkness of the Libra New Moon while Saturn is forming an exact conjunction with the true South Node of the Moon, bringing focus to whatever needs to be shed and released. On the other side, both the New Moon as well as Venus in Libra are applying to a harmonious aspect with Jupiter, inciting visions of how to address whatever has come out of balance in order to fertilize and nurture productive growth forward. It will also be important to not only find balance in our external work in the world however, but to also descend within one’s inner darkness to discover what is in need of mending within our psyche.

Enantiodromia is a term from ancient Greek meaning “to run counter to,” that was unearthed in the work of Carl Jung to demonstrate his understanding that anything at an extreme state will turn into its opposite quality. The concept of a unity found in oppositions goes at least as far back as the time of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, whose famous statement that no one steps in the same river twice was embedded within a philosophy of flux that saw that everything in existence contains and turns into its opposite state. Jung brought this concept into his theories about the interplay between our conscious and unconscious, and how what we repress in our subconscious can erupt in polarity through our shadow. The inherent restoration of balance to our system that results from this process will be important to pay attention to in the forthcoming lunar cycle. Insight will be gained by paying attention to signs indicating how our unconscious is mediating what we have been consciously attempting to achieve, such as drawing us to focus on an area of life we had been neglecting.

15th Century brass Pelican plate from Netherlands

Venus in Libra rules the New Moon while forming an exact sextile aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius. Moreover, within a day of the lunation the waxing Moon will form a creative sextile with Jupiter followed by a potent conjunction with Venus. At the same time, Venus is also in the middle of a process of separating from a catalyzing square aspect with Saturn and the lunar nodes while applying toward an intense square aspect with Pluto that will complete on September 30. Venus is sovereign and securely at home in Libra and so can draw on the strength of her own resources to mediate and mend the complicated dynamics she is engaging. While in some areas of life we will need to realize that we need to let go of our attachment to things working out a certain way and instead surrender to the process of change at work, in other areas of life it will be possible to initiate important new stages of development. Instead of resisting whatever change is being demanded from the stationing of Pluto on October 2, see how you can integrate the deep shifting into your creative engagement with the world.

In the week leading into the Libra New Moon, Mercury re-emerged into visibility as an Evening Star and brought numerous significant announcements in collective events. At the time of the Libra New Moon, Mercury is forming a conjunction with the zodiacal degree of the fixed star Spica. Across diverse cultures, Spica is universally known as a supremely positive fixed star and marks the ear of wheat in the left hand of the Winged Goddess in the Virgo constellation. Spica has also been connected with images of lamps, pearls and other symbols of bringing knowledge like the wheat cultivating Ceres. Known as the Spike of the Virgin, it has been said that the light of Spica which symbolizes the wheat held by the Winged Goddess is a source of cultivating knowledge and bountiful gifts. Bernadette Brady wrote that Spica brings “a gift of brilliance, an innate talent, skill or ability which is out of the ordinary,” a “symbol of knowledge and insight.” Brady wrote that the wheat sheaf symbolism of Spica “can be considered a symbol of her [the Goddess] gifts to humankind.”

Traditionally both Mercury and Venus have been associated with the nature of Spica, and so it is compelling that not only is Mercury forming a conjunction with Spica but also that in the following week Venus will form a conjunction with Spica on October 3 as she is finally re-emerging into visibility as an Evening Star. Doubling down on the symbolism of the goddess bearing the gift of wheat for humanity, the dwarf planet Ceres is applying toward a conjunction with Jupiter in Sagittarius at the same time. While the transits of 2019 have been difficult, they will not be getting any easier in 2020 and in fact will bring increased levels of volatility into collective events. As a result, it will be vital for each and everyone of us to reach into our depths to bring out the gifts and talents we possess to share with others who are in need of what we have to offer. As the Libra New Moon waxes into light, as Mercury and then Venus forms a conjunction with Spica, make a commitment to cultivating the skills you have to offer than can help shape the world to come for the highest good of all.

judy-chicago-in-the-shadow-of-death_8x10-at-300-dpi-jpg

Judy Chicago (2015) In the Shadow of Death

2019 has been dominated by the movement of Saturn, Pluto, and the South Node of the Moon in Capricorn, and so it is not a surprise that they are also a primal influence upon the forthcoming lunar cycle. Since Pluto will station direct a few days after the Libra New Moon on October 2, its stillness will saturate the astrological atmosphere with its significations of being initiated into an underworld process of transformation. Furthermore, since Saturn is forming its final exact conjunction with the true South Node of the Moon in Capricorn, the Libra New Moon also serves as a threshold to cross of Saturn finally beginning to separate from the transiting South Node of the Moon. While the influence of Saturn combined with the South Node of the Moon will persist in the month ahead, and the influence of Saturn and Pluto coming together in a new cycle will be intensifying in the year ahead, the influence of Ketu upon Saturn and Pluto will finally begin to lessen.

As a result, within the darkness of the Libra New Moon take the time to reflect upon what has needed to be released and what has been honed to a more essential form in your life during the past six months of Saturn traveling close together with the South Node of the Moon in Capricorn. In the past year of eclipses setting off the combination of Saturn and Pluto uniting with the South Node of the Moon, what can you now see more clearly has coalesced out of the dissolution that came with their influence? While Saturn in Capricorn promotes hard work, it will also be necessary to simply sit and reflect upon all of the destabilizing changes that have happened in correspondence. If things have felt too overwhelming to handle, as Saturn begins to separate from the South Node you will likely gain increased clarity for how to best respond.

2 of Swords by Pamela Colman Smith

Libra 1 Decan

The New Moon arises in the first face of Libra associated with the Two of Swords card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image a blindfolded woman sits in front of an oceanic expanse while crossing two swords in front of her. The blindfold and ocean suggest contact with the instinctual inner realm and unconscious, and indeed this card in tarot has a meaning of mediating between opposing forces to find equipoise, resolving conflicts within a protected space of exploring internal balance. Austin Coppock in 36 Faces referenced Smith’s illustration by ascribing the image of “A Blind Fold and a Sword” to the first face of Libra, describing it as a place which awakens awareness to injustice and disequilibrium within both societal and personal levels of interaction.

Since the Moon is the ruler of the first decan of Libra and the Moon is being regenerated in its own face, the meaning of the first decan of Libra will be amplified. Austin Coppock described the meaning of this face as not only illuminating dynamics of “fairness and reciprocity” based upon “core principles of ethical interaction with other beings,” but also inciting assertive attempts to address injustice. It is further notable that the Hellenistic text The 36 Airs of the Zodiac ascribed the Erinyes (also known as the Furies) to the first face of Libra. As the Erinyes are chthonic goddesses who serve natural law and punish transgressors, the first face of Libra is a place of becoming aware of previously hidden evidence that reveals inequities. Thus it is likely that those who have been extremely out of balance will be facing a karmic reckoning.

As a result, it will be important to reflect upon levels of equity within your interactions with others in the forthcoming lunar cycle and making sure you are acting with integrity. As the Moon waxes in light, Mercury will enter Scorpio on October 3 followed by Venus on October 8, with both immediately forming an opposition with Uranus in Taurus. Meanwhile, Mars will enter Libra and begin heading toward harsh aspects with Saturn and Pluto as the upcoming Full Moon in Aries on October 13 forms a catalytic square aspect with the lunar nodes, Saturn, and Pluto. The combination of these aspects means that hidden dynamics within relationship are likely to be exposed. While there are supportive aspects in the coming lunar cycle for cultivating growth and making progress on goals, it will be necessary to make an honest appraisal and adjustment to the balance of giving and receiving in relationship.

References

Brady, Bernadette. (1998). Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars. Weiser.

Brady, Bernadette. (2008). Star and Planet Combinations. The Wessex Astrologer.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Virgo New Moon

August 30, 2019September 5, 2019 / grayastrology / Leave a comment

Virgo 1 decan-Agosto,_cosmè_tura_e_maestro_di_ercole,_03

Virgo 1 Decan image by Cosimo Tura from Allegory of August: Triumph of Ceres fresco in the Palazzo Schifanoia (1476-84)

Virgo New Moon

Following the radiant and raging fire set by the Leo Sun during August in which the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars were all occupying the sign of the Lion, the New Moon in Virgo on August 30 initiates us into a month dominated by the cool calculations of Virgo. As the Moon unites in darkness with the Sun in Virgo, they are joined by the co-presence of Mercury, Venus, and Mars in the sign of the Winged Maiden. It was written long ago that the lack of bright stars in the head of Her constellation is why so many various figures have been identified as the starry Virgin with Wings, including Demeter, Isis, Fortuna/Tyche, Justice/Dike, and Erigone. Mythic themes shared by these figures include facing the grief of loss, whether over the loss of a beloved or the loss of justice, ideals, and integrity within humanity. Mercury joins the Sun and Moon in Virgo, the home and exaltation of Mercury, saturating the lunation with its capacity for weaving in between and bridging polarities such as spirit and matter, the rational and the emotional. In the forthcoming lunar cycle we will need to rely on the ability of Mercury to serve as a psychopomp guiding us into and out of underworld experiences, gathering the meaning found within the dark.

Underlying all of the changes in 2019 has been the pivotal relationship between Jupiter in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces. Jupiter and Neptune are at the waning square aspect of their cycle that began in 2009 and have been calling us to deeply question the beliefs, philosophy, and vision of meaning we have been living life from. Within the waning square of Jupiter and Neptune we can experience a harvesting of wisdom, a gathering and sifting through of ideas and experiences from their cycle through which we can discern meaning and resources to share with others. Yet the final square of their cycle can also incite a dramatic confrontation with how we have been shaped and conditioned by the surrounding culture, realizing where we have been led astray by illusory ideals or beliefs. Though disillusionment brings difficulties, it ultimately guides us to realization of what needs to be released and let go. The Virgo New Moon brings an influx of planets in Virgo that will volatilize Jupiter and Neptune, as the Moon, Venus, Mercury, Sun, and Mars will be forming a catalytic square aspect with Jupiter in the coming month followed by a tense opposition with Neptune.

The Virgo New Moon setting off the charged dynamic between Jupiter and Neptune is an invitation to make time and space for inner contemplation, digesting and processing the changes that have been taking shape within personal and collective spheres during the past year. Vitally, the Virgo New Moon is forming a square aspect with Ceres in Sagittarius and a flowing trine with Uranus in Taurus. There may be loss to process, anger over acts of injustice, frustration over plans not working out as had been hoped, yet it is only through descending into the depths of inner sensation that we will unearth the necessary insight that will lead to making substantial changes. The Virgo New Moon in Virgo brings gifts for finding solutions that will be wasted by attempting to deny or escape from whatever has been happening. Since Mercury, Mars, and Venus are invisible in transition from old and new cycles with the Sun, the lunation brings the opportunity to descend into inner darkness in order to bring about a metamorphosis of our presence in the months ahead. Yet as part of this process we will need to make space for mending and nurturance, keeping in mind that visible results may take time to form.

In addition to the influx of archetypal forces in Virgo mediating the dynamic between Jupiter and Neptune, the waxing Virgo Moon as well as Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Sun will be forming a trine aspect with Saturn, the South Node of the Moon, and Pluto in Capricorn in the month ahead. This means that the Virgo stellium is forming whole sign aspects with all of the other planets as well as the lunar nodes, bringing the focused gaze of the Winged Maiden into analysis of whatever has been working effectively as well as ineffectively. The New Moon will promote taking action and doing the necessary work, being in service to whatever needs to be taken care of as well as whatever inspiration strikes. In the midst of handling daily responsibilities, set aside some personal time in which to open your imagination towards new ways to approach old issues as well as reception of inner vision and purpose that can guide you toward the next steps to take.

Hexagonal tile with Sphinx (1160-70)

Mercury in Virgo rules the New Moon while applying to a flowing trine aspect with Uranus in Taurus. Mercury is in both its home and exaltation of Virgo, but is also in its invisible and regenerative phase of transitioning from being a Morning Star to an Evening Star. Since Mercury is at the end of its cycle it amplifies the capacity of the Virgo New Moon to transition us from old endings toward new beginnings, yet patience will be needed regarding the seeds we plant. During its present phase Mercury is moving at its fastest speed toward a solar conjunction on the other side of the Sun from us in orbit. The speed of Mercury during this phase can bring an overwhelming sense of needing to sift through an overabundance of ideas, yet since Mercury is in its home and exaltation we have enhanced capacity to shed the inessential in the days following the Virgo New Moon. As Mercury unites with the Sun a few days after the New Moon on September 3 at 11º16′ Virgo, we can experience a regeneration of clarity and insight that will help with discernment as well as synthesizing meaning. This is a powerful day to meditate, reflect, and seek inner guidance for not only the beginning of new cycles for the Moon and Mercury, but also for a new Mars cycle.

Indeed, Mars is being regenerated by the creative potency of the Virgo Sun at the same time as Mercury. Mars will enter the heart of the Virgo Sun on September 2 at 9º39′ Virgo, and so the Virgo New Moon occurs during the final days of the Mars synodic cycle which began at 4º12′ Leo on 25 July 2017. Mars holds a strong influence over the Virgo New Moon in the archetypal form of the blacksmith who can melt down old martial patterns while reforging our relationship with Mars for the cycle ahead. In contrast to Mercury and Venus being in transition toward their Evening Star phases, Mars is in transition to being seen again as a Morning Star in mid October. Take time to reflect upon the past two years of themes in your life related to Mars, while simultaneously revisioning how you would like to change and evolve the expression of Mars in your life. Consider what is worth fighting for or protecting, areas you need to be more courageous and assertive, places you feel pulled toward directing your passions and vigor.

With Mercury and Venus also beginning new cycles at the same time as Mars, the month of September will be a powerful period of revivification regarding the values and ideas we wish to embody and express in the world. Mercury will unite with Mars on September 3 about ten hours before it forms its exact conjunction with the Sun, bringing the guidance of psychopomp Mercury into the underworld rebirth of Mars. Mercury will then quickly begin to separate from Mars and the Sun into forming a flowing trine with Saturn in Capricorn on September 5, a catalytic square aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius on September 6, followed by an opposition with Neptune in Pisces on September 7 and a trine with Pluto in Capricorn on September 8. Since all of these connections being made by Mercury will occur while it is still in its invisible phase, Mercury’s sequence of aspects could help in becoming aware of hidden dynamics that have been impacting us without our conscious awareness; yet there will also likely be a powerful unconscious shaping force due to Mercury, Venus, and Mars remaining invisible.

Gustave Courbet (1865) Girl with Seagulls

While Mercury and Mars are at the end of cycles with the Sun during the Virgo New Moon, Venus is at the start of a new cycle with the Sun and is beginning to return from being in the depths of the underworld. Not only is Venus in an underworld solar phase, it is also in a place of underworld initiation due to Venus being in its fall of Virgo. Venus in Virgo calls for descent into inner senses and discernment, a willingness to be brought down low to the ground rather than struggling to ascend to exalted heights. While dwelling in low lying places Venus can incubate insight from within, inspecting the foundations and the underbelly with a willingness to get dirty and get to the root of the matter. Under rulership of the psychopomp Mercury, Venus can gather resources from subterranean places like Persephone. Although in its fall of Virgo, Venus has essential dignity at the time of the New Moon due to being in its own bounds, decan, and triplicity and so can use its critical eye to ascertain what needs our focus for reform and improvement.

As the Virgo New Moon begins waxing towards its first crescent light, Venus in Virgo is applying closely to a catalytic square aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius and a flowing trine with Saturn in Capricorn and the South Node of the Moon. Venus will trine Saturn on September 1, form a square aspect with Jupiter on September 2, and then form a pivotal opposition with Neptune in Pisces on September 4. As a result our newly revivified relationship with Venus will be shaped by the two major planetary cycles of 2019, the Saturn and Pluto cycle and the Jupiter and Neptune cycle. We may feel stress and anxiety within relationships or have to deal with difficulties in other Venus related areas of life, yet there is a necessity in Venus in Virgo taking us down to confront the underlying factors at play in our present circumstances. Venus and Virgo brings a gift for analysis, details, and craft with a magical capacity for productive distribution of whatever can be harvested from experiences. In particular the opposition between Venus with Neptune can be useful in stripping away illusions and utilizing the strength of Venus in Virgo for unifying and weaving together meaning from disparate threads of experience.

8 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 1 Decan

The New Moon arises in first face of Virgo, associated with the Eight of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image of the Eight of Pentacles we see a craftsman fully engrossed in the moment with his art, concentrating with full attention to one direct focus in the moment. This image evokes the importance of taking things step by step, one task at a time, completing each aspect of the process with loving care and attention. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Tree Bearing Fruit” to this face, noting the prevalence of images associated with “fruitful works” developed through “humble observation of, and careful tending to, the created world” in ancient texts. Coppock wrote that the first face of Virgo inmates us “into the mysteries of incarnation . . . the prudence of postponing delight until the fruit is ripe.” While Coppock noted the first decan of Virgo involves “humility” at a core level, “it results in works of surprising glory.”

A maiden is seen in the images for the first face of Virgo in several ancient texts, wearing an old dress while holding a pomegranate in the Picatrix, holding a jug while standing in myrtle in The Beginning of Wisdom by Ibn Ezra. The 36 Airs ascribed the ancient goddess Themis to the first decan of Virgo, a Titaness of divine law and order who was present at oracles to have her voice transmitted to querents for divine guidance. The chthonic wisdom and divination of this decan is further revealed in the image appearing in Liber Hermetis: “a serpent put together awry,” whose “head is the likeness of the Moon.” There is a unique quality of inducing growth in the first face of Virgo which has resonance with its description in the Picatrix of being a place of “sowing, plowing, the germination of plants, of gathering grapes, and of good living.”

The Sun is the ruler of the first face of Virgo, and so since the Sun is in its own face it will seed the New Moon with the creative potency and symbolism of this decan. There is a grounding and self-assured humility that is part of the solar quality to embody in this face, and as the Sun continues to move through the rest of Virgo in the month ahead there will be ample amounts of creative potency to harness into our work. As the Moon waxes in light we will be able to receive a more realistic perspective regarding the deep seated changes happening as well as configuring ways to find solutions to dilemmas. It’s especially notable that the forthcoming Full Moon in Pisces on September 13 will be conjoining Neptune and opening awareness to potential directions we had not previously considered. With Mercury also co-present in Virgo, remember that Virgo is not only a place of analysis and organization but also a lucid transmitter of imaginal revelations.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Eratosthenes and Hyginus. (2015). Constellation Myths. A new translation by Robin Hard. Oxford World’s Classics.

New Moon in Leo: Tending the Forge’s Fire

July 31, 2019 / grayastrology / 2 Comments

Kay Nielsen illustration for “The Overseer’s Tale” from 1001 Arabian Nights

New Moon in Leo

The New Moon in Leo on July 31 seeds solar fire illuminating the dawn of a new lunar cycle, bringing an end to a month of eclipses and the strange descent into soul making and twists of fate that occur when our luminaries become devoured in shadow. Though the Leo New Moon officially marks the end of eclipse season, its fiery light will be casting shadows full of revelations from the eclipses that will continue to foment change. Whatever came through during the Solar Eclipse in Cancer on July 2 and the Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn on July 16 will be cohering into new forms during August, bringing the potential to gain clarity regarding whatever shifts in storylines emerged in the past month. There is also a liberating quality to the lunation that can help in making creative breakthroughs, as the Leo Moon is separating from a square with Uranus and applying to a trine with Jupiter. Just in time, the ever nimble Mercury will be making sure we get the message we need to receive as it will be stationing direct as the Moon and Sun unite in Leo.

Not only is the Moon in Leo being reseeded with solar light in darkness, Venus in Leo has also descended into her invisible phase of dark initiation, death and rebirth. While star power radiates from Venus in Leo when in her visible phase, in her current solar phase she has turned away from external pursuits in order to experience an inner rapture and epiphany. Venus is at the end of her cycle which will ultimately transition her from being the glorious Morning Star role she played previously during 2019 into the Evening Star role she will take on toward the end of September into October when she becomes visible again in the twilight of sunset. As the Moon waxes toward fullness, Venus will be experiencing a period of regeneration and purification as she races toward her sacred union in the heart of the Sun at 21º11′ Leo on August 13 or 14, depending upon your time zone. Venus will be encountered in hidden realms and in the shared secrecy of intimacy during August.

For the rest of the month, Venus will be inviting you to ponder the mystery of the past month of eclipse season, letting whatever has been stirred up to settle, giving yourself time and space to integrate the changes in feeling and desire. Venus in Leo is calling us to reconsider the values we have been living by as well as the style and aesthetics we express ourselves through and utilize to magnetize and attract what we want to create. It may be necessary to surrender to a metamorphosis of identity, with old layers of our persona peeling away to reveal a new sense of self ready to begin emerging. There could be difficulties and doubts swirling around us as we recover from an intense eclipse season that was aligned with Saturn and Pluto, but if we are willing to let Venus lead us into our inner depths there will be passion, power, and purpose for us to discover alongside the vulnerability that comes within liminal states of change.

Moreover, the Leo New Moon also marks the entrance of Mars into its invisible phase of darkness at the end of its synodic cycle that began on 25 July 2017 at 4º12′ Leo. Mars is also calling us to regenerate our desires and will-force as it undergoes a period of purging and purification until it is reborn in the heart of the Sun on September 2 at 9º41′ Virgo. Allow yourself to consider in the darkness of the Moon the trajectory of your life in the last two years, which desires you were able to achieve with satisfaction, which ones led you astray, and the wisdom you have gathered from all of the martial adventures you have undertaken. If you feel anger and frustration over unfulfilled ambitions or barriers that have obstructed you while Mars is in the process of burning up in the Sun, look for healthy physical outlets to transmit the energy through. Mars in Leo has the fiery heart of the lion and the courage we need to descend with the star of Ares into the underworld to experience a rebirth of how we wish to wield the force of Mars in its forthcoming cycle.

nielsen_1001-nights_tale of the third dervish

Kay Nielsen illustration for “The Tale of the Third Dervish” from 1001 Arabian Nights

As the Leo Moon waxes towards its first crescent light it will pass through a flowing trine aspect with Jupiter retrograde in Sagittarius that will aid in elevating vision from the watery depths of July into conception of how the volatility of eclipse season is coagulating into new forms. Furthermore, Venus and the Sun in Leo will both be applying toward a trine with Jupiter which the Sun will complete on August 7 and Venus on August 8. While Jupiter in Sagittarius was out of aspect with the eclipses in July, the star of Zeus will dramatically come back into prominence during August. Jupiter will station direct on August 11 on the same day that Uranus in Taurus will station retrograde, which is notable due to Venus applying to a catalyzing square aspect with Uranus during the New Moon, with the Sun and Moon beginning to separate from a square with Uranus. As a result, the first couple of weeks of August will be full of the emancipatory influence of Jupiter and Uranus, inciting flights of inspiration and vision.

Jupiter has been retrograde since April 10 when it stood still at 24º21′ Sagittarius in order to turn backward toward its direct stationing point at 14º30′ Sagittarius. For four months Jupiter has been glowing bright in night skies asking us to integrate and make meaning from our myriad experiences. As Jupiter stations while forming a flowing trine with the Sun and Venus in Leo, we have an opportune period to take stock of whatever we have been working on, the ideas for what we want to conceive and create, as well as the current state of our relationships and how to adjust our co-participation based upon the inner changes that have been brewing in recent months. Meanwhile, the square between Venus and Uranus will shake up whatever has become stuck or stagnant in the way we have been relating with others or expressing ourselves. August begs us to invite eros into our psyche and let the fires of our imagination guide us forward.

Amazingly, just as Jupiter is beginning to slow down to station direct on August 11, it is entering into an antiscia aspect with Saturn in Capricorn that will extend all the way through September 21. This means that while Saturn and Jupiter are not in a traditional aspect, they can still see one another through being equidistant to 0º Cancer, mirroring each other across the solstice axis at places that share the same amount of daylight. Reinhold Ebertin noted that “patience and perseverance” comes with Jupiter and Saturn in a planetary picture, a worthy attitude to bring toward whatever material and events have been stirred up by the recent eclipse season, especially since the transiting South Node of the Moon will also be traveling with Saturn and making its antiscia with Jupiter more deeply karmic.

Jupiter has been in balsamic relationship with Saturn during 2019, bringing the revisioning and karmic release that always comes at the ending of their cycle. Jupiter and Saturn began their current cycle on 28 May 2000 at 22º42′ Taurus, and their forthcoming union at the end of 2020 in Aquarius is the great conjunction that will launch us into a new astrological era centered around the element of air. After Jupiter enters Capricorn on 2 December 2019 we will have an intensification of the reseeding and release that comes at the end of any cycle, but from now through September the mirroring of Jupiter and Saturn through antiscia can give us an early start on conceptualizing how to begin adjusting our long-term plans to align with the wider collective shifts emerging as we enter the new decade. The 2020s will be initiated by the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius that also forms a catalyzing square aspect with Uranus in Taurus, and so it will be worth considering what direction you want your life to go and what you want to create in the next couple of years as both Jupiter and Uranus station simultaneously this month.

Kay Nielsen illustration from The Three Princesses in the Blue Mountain

While the Moon, Venus, and Mars will all be invisible, overwhelmed by proximity to the indomitable flames of the Sun in Leo, Mercury is making a dramatic appearance and announcement at the same time the New Moon in Leo is reseeded. Mercury is stationing direct at 23º56′ Cancer while forming an opposition with Pluto in Capricorn, as well as becoming visible again as a Morning Star. Thus as the Moon in Leo waxes into its first crescent light of a new cycle, we have a potent opportunity to deepen the understanding and revelation we have gathered during Mercury’s retrograde phase that began July 7 at 4º27′ Leo. We can expect an upsurge of information to enter our awareness from subconscious depths and unexpected sources, or a new insight into whatever material was stirred up by the Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn on July 16. The tension between Mercury and Pluto can facilitate penetrating underneath the surface of conventions, probing beyond societal boundaries to understand the essence of whatever you have been exploring.

As the Moon waxes in light, Mercury will reach maximum elongation as a Morning Star on August 9 at 29º Cancer, and then will return to Leo on August 11 and begin applying toward a harmonious trine with Jupiter as the star of Zeus stations direct in Sagittarius. However, before we get to mid August when Mercury is picking up speed and creative potency, we need to make the space to integrate the revelations brought by Mercury stationing direct during the darkness of the Leo New Moon. It’s always necessary to maintain sharp focus toward picking up whatever signs and omens cross our path when Mercury is stationing direct, but this is especially the case this time round with Mercury forming an opposition to the degree of the recent Lunar Eclipse. Let the cunning tricks and deft mixing of Mercury work itself on your mind, loosening plans and preconceived notions in order to open awareness to what your soul is guiding you to receive from within.

5 of Wands by Pamela Colman Smith

Leo 1 Decan

The New Moon in Leo strides forward in the first face of Leo, associated with the Five of Wands card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. A tarot card associated with conflict and competition, the strife in the image suggests a need to stand ground and fight to achieve a desired position, or could instead be viewed as an inner battle of different aspects of one’s personality contending for control. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Spotlight” to the first face of Leo, describing its power as focusing “a mass of attention on one point or person,” while bringing karmic consequences to the role or mask one bears in public performance for an audience. Coppock in particular noted the importance of aligning one’s public persona with one’s inner authenticity so that we do not become trapped in a public role ill-suited to our nature.

Saturn rules the first face of Leo, suggesting the necessity of putting time and concerted effort into constructing an effective vehicle to broadcast our work and connect with a receptive audience. The past month of eclipses were difficult for many in part due to the fact that Saturn was playing an integral role in both, with Mercury retrograde at the same time. Use the gift for slow and steady contemplation that Saturn offers toward considering whatever has been feeling inauthentic regarding the persona through which you have been engaging the world. As Saturn in Capricorn will be continuing to plod along backwards in alignment with the South Node of the Moon for the rest of the month, there are aspects of your old identity and ambition to shed in order to make space for a more vital passion to follow forward.

While the New Moon in Leo is in the first decan of Leo, it is also within the Egyptian bounds of Venus, meaning that Venus will be setting the terms of the lunation while in process of being burned up and regenerated by the flames of the Leo Sun. Thus Venus can help guide us in remaking the mask we wear in public, drawing us into interior depths to discover inspiration attuned to our soul. Fittingly, the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs ascribed Hephaistos to the first face of Leo, the greek god of artisans, craftsman, sculptors, blacksmiths, and all manner of fire. Like Hephaistos, we may transfigure the pain of wounds and rejection into artistic forms, tending the fire of the forge as we melt down old structures that can be refashioned anew. The work of Hephaistos is not about speed and making something happen fast, but rather taking the necessary time to work and rework the matter into rarified manifestation. Similarly, we need to take our time and not demand quick results in August, letting our creative process align with the changes of nature taking shape within us and outside us.

Strong, mighty Hephaistos, bearing splendid light, unweary’d fire, with flaming torrents bright: / Strong-handed, deathless, and of art divine, pure element, a portion of the world is thine: / All-taming artist, all-diffusive pow’r, ’tis thine supreme, all substance to devour: Æther, Sun, Moon, and Stars, light pure and clear, for these thy lucid parts to men appear. / To thee, all dwellings, cities, tribes belong, diffus’d thro’ mortal bodies bright and strong. / Hear, blessed power, to holy rites incline, and all propitious on the incense shine: / Suppress the rage of fires unweary’d frame, and still preserve our nature’s vital flame.

Orphic Hymn to Hephaistos, translated by Thomas Taylor

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Aquarius New Moon & Mercury

February 4, 2019February 4, 2019 / grayastrology / 5 Comments

from the Clavis Artis

New Moon in Aquarius

The Aquarius New Moon on February 4, 2019 lifts us out of the strange vortex of eclipse season for a breath of fresh air that can help us reorient our life in accordance with whatever material has been stirred up since the Capricorn Solar Eclipse on January 5. The New Moon is at 15º43′ degrees of Aquarius, placing it at the cross quarter point midway between the solstice and equinox. This period is associated with the goddess Brigid in Celtic mythology who signifies the returning healing light of spring, fertility, poetry, and the arts forged through smithcraft. Fittingly, the New Moon is applying to a harmonizing sextile aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius, ideal for finding a new form of stability to manage following the changes of the past month, forging art out of our experiences, as well as integrating the important lessons that have been revealed about ourselves.

Vitally, Mercury in Aquarius is separating from a sextile with Jupiter in Sagittarius and applying tightly toward a conjunction with Black Moon Lilith in Aquarius at the time of the Aquarius New Moon. Mercury was recently reborn at its celestial cazimi in Aquarius, and similar to the darkened moon that we cannot see at the lunation, Mercury also remains within its invisible phase of forging new meaning for us to interpret and express. We truly are in the dark at the Aquarius New Moon, but as the night gives birth to Mercury a week or so after the lunation, with Mercury emerging in light again as an Evening Star in twilight, we will gain greater clarity. Mercury has been working within hidden places during the entire eclipse season, as it first disappeared under the beams of the sun as the solar rays were partially eclipsed on January 5. Applying to Black Moon Lilith, Mercury is highlighting parts of ourselves we had previously cast off that the recent eclipse season have indicated we now need to integrate and express.

In 20th century astrology Uranus became the dominant ruler of Aquarius, and it thus fascinating that Uranus is carrying perhaps the biggest story of the forthcoming lunation cycle. Just before the moon emerges into visible crescent form it will pass through a sextile with Uranus in Aries, highlighting that we have entered the final month of Uranus being in Aries. Uranus first entered Aries in 2010, immediately intensifying a catalytic square aspect with Pluto in Capricorn that dominated astrology through 2016. Richard Tarnas in Cosmos and Psyche described the Uranus and Pluto cycle as inciting “radical social and political change and often destructive upheaval, massive empowerment of revolutionary and rebellious impulses . . . intensified artistic and intellectual creativity . . . unusually rapid technological advance, an underlying spirit of restless experiment, drive for innovation, urge for freedom in many realms, revolt against oppression, embrace of radical political philosophies, and intensified collective will to bring forth a new world.” We will still be within the influence of the Uranus-Pluto square, but after Uranus enters Taurus and is no longer in a sign-based square with Pluto its edge will be less sharp.

Yet, since Uranus is separating away from Pluto while Saturn is applying to Pluto, the influence of the Saturn and Pluto cycle has been more viscerally felt. Richard Tarnas in Cosmos and Psyche described the Saturn and Pluto cycle as being about “conservative empowerment,” as its cycle aligns with “eras of international crisis and conflict, empowerment of reactionary forces and totalitarian impulses, organized violence and oppression . . . An atmosphere of gravity and tension.” Significantly, Mars in Aries has moved through a square aspect with both Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn and is now applying toward a conjunction with Uranus, bringing both cycles together on personal and societal levels.

Mars will complete is union with Uranus in Aries on February 12, and so there will be a great amount of tension building from the Aquarius New Moon to be released at that time. While collective events will reverberate with the changes that have been in process since 2010, on personal levels we will also be coming to terms with our own process of growth. The union of Mars with Uranus in Aries is impulsive and headstrong, and while difficult to restrain we will want to do our best to align the forceful fire of their conjunction with our inner values and integrity. It will be best to not incite conflict where it is not necessary, but in any circumstance in which we need to stand up for ourselves it will bring an assertive, liberating, propulsive push.

The forthcoming lunation cycle also brings the end of Chiron’s time in Pisces, as Chiron will enter Aries as the moon is waxing into fullness on February 18. Chiron will then remain in the fiery home of Mars until 2027. Chiron first entered Pisces in April 2010 during the time period that the Uranus-Pluto square was beginning to intensify, and so has been with us in the watery home of Jupiter the entire time we have been dealing with the epochal eruptions of Uranus and Pluto throughout our global collective. Considering whatever house in your natal chart belongs to Pisces, in particular if the final degree of Pisces is significant by aspect in your natal chart, you can expect a final lesson of resolution relating to Chiron in the sign of Fishes as the light of the moon grows each day toward fullness.

In Pisces, Chiron has oftentimes needed to lead us into the innermost depths of his cave in order to nurture wounds, integrate lessons, and intuitively attune ourselves to changing currents through his vast array of hermetic medicines. We are now at the final weeks of receiving healing from the inner waters of Chiron before we will need to strike out on a fiery quest as Chiron enters Aries on February 18. Just as Chiron brought us resources from Pisces during the square between Uranus and Pluto, Chiron will now be bringing resources from Aries to assert ourselves during the coming union of Saturn and Pluto. Since the Saturn and Pluto cycle is oftentimes associated with oppressive, reactionary forces, we can link the square formed to Capricorn from Chiron in Aries with freedom fighters and social justice activists, as well as consequences of conflict brought by protest and revolutionary movements.

Michael Maier, Emblem 12 from Atalanta Fugiens

The way we work with and become impacted by Jupiter is often tied to the familial, cultural, and societal traditions that have been surrounding and influencing us. There is currently a strong influence of Neptune in Pisces on all of this, as Neptune is in a change inducing square aspect with Jupiter, and Neptune is also in a harmonious sextile aspect with Saturn in Capricorn, the ruler of the Aquarius New Moon. Jupiter will expand within the skeletal structures we have erected with Saturn, and so for many Jupiter could be expanding self centered and overly materialistic tendencies, or a nationalistic emphasis that neglects alternative viewpoints as well as more far reaching, global consequences of putting one’s own interests above others. The influence of Neptune is multivalent, in some cases keeping people wrapped up in illusions of belief, in other cases dissolving old belief structures through disillusioning experiences that reveal new awareness of personal truth. Aquarius is zodiacal terrain ruled by Saturn that promotes the heretic willing to cut ties with corrosive cultural patterns, contemplating a new path to follow aligned in greater accord with inner integrity.

The work of C.G. Jung is interesting in connection with Saturn’s rulership of Aquarius, not only because Jung had both his ascendant and Saturn in Aquarius, but also due to many of his ideas in late 20th century astrology becoming associated with the Uranus rulership of Aquarius. It has been fascinating for me to read the two volumes written by Liz Greene thoroughly researching Jung’s work with astrology, as she revealed that Jung in fact not only emphasized the Saturn rulership of Aquarius, but also that he connected Saturn with “the unconscious darkness within the human being: that which is most despised and ‘inferior’ . . .” Saturn to Jung leads us to confront “the darkness of the unconscious,” a necessity for “any integration of the personality to occur.”

Jung also noted the important alchemical link between Mercury and Saturn, synthesizing it into his astrological interpretation of them- meaning which connects to the proximity of Mercury in Aquarius to the new moon. Greene described his interpretation as revealing that the “shadowy, potentially destructive prima materia of the unconscious, represented by Saturn, bears a secret unity with the mysterious mediating agency in the psyche, represented by Mercury, that fosters the conscious recognition of meaning and teleology.” In a similar way, all of the unconscious material that emerged into awareness during the past month of eclipses now needs to be sifted, mediated, and mixed into our actual daily presence, rather than splitting it off or dissociating.

C.G. Jung’s work is also resonant with our historical era of Saturn and Pluto coming together in Capricorn because Jung was born with an almost exact square aspect between his natal Saturn in Aquarius and Pluto in Taurus. Richard Tarnas in Cosmos and Psyche brilliantly summarized the connection between Jung’s work with the meaning of the Saturn-Pluto cycle:

Throughout his life, Jung stressed the critical need for the modern self to become aware of its shadow, which he named, recognized as an archetypal principle, and examined in the traumas of twentieth-century history: the shadow of European civilization, the shadow of modern man, the shadow of modern technology, the shadow of patriarchy and masculine one-sidedness, the shadow of Christianity, the shadow of the conscious ego, the shadow within each individual. “It is indeed no small matter to know of one’s own guilt and one’s own evil, and there is certainly nothing to be gained by losing sight of one’s shadow . . . Without guilt, unfortunately there can be no psychic maturation and no widening of the spiritual horizon.”

. . . The very notion of the shadow as Jung conceived it represents an intricate synthesis of the two planetary principles: from Saturn, the motifs of judgment, guilt and shame, suppression and repression, splitting and separation, denial, the inferior, that which is regretted and negated; and from Pluto, those aspects of the self that constitute its “underworld,” the instincts, the dark depths of the personality, the animal-like, the often ruthless and ugly, serving impulses for power, domination, lust, and other drives yet also representing that healthy instinctuality from which healing, wholeness, and a higher consciousness can ultimately emerge.

— Richard Tarnas, Cosmos and Psyche

Meret Oppenheim Stone Woman

Venus enters Capricorn the day before the Aquarius New Moon, and then moves toward a conjunction with Saturn as the moon waxes full in the forthcoming lunar cycle. By the end of the lunar cycle, Venus will have moved through unions with Pluto and the South Node of the Moon in Capricorn, as well as a catalytic square aspect with Uranus in the final degree of Aries. There are a couple of ways to view this journey of Venus in her bright Morning Star phase: on one hand, it can be seen as a rough, restraining passage for Venus necessitating focused hard work. This time period is in stark contrast to last month when Venus was uniting with Jupiter in Sagittarius while aspecting Neptune in Pisces, as it brings Venus back to earth in a way that will force us to mediate the limitations of current circumstances as well as the underlying, unconscious depths of our shadow.

On the other hand, an important viewpoint is that Venus is bringing her unifying significations to mediate the building tension between Saturn and Pluto. Capricorn is a sensual and tactile placement for Venus, and her movement through aspects with Saturn, Pluto, the South Node of the Moon, and Uranus means that we will be deeply feeling all of the associated material within ourselves and within our relational dynamics. Though difficult feelings may come during this transit, the passage of Venus during the forthcoming lunar cycle will help us to orient ourselves toward however the myriad aspects of our lives are taking shape in accordance with the coming union of Saturn and Pluto. As Capricorn is a cardinal sign of initiation, Venus can help guide us toward places we need to make adjustments within our relationships.

As the Moon waxes toward fullness, there will be a major astrological shift away from externally directed signs toward receptive, internally directed signs. Mars will shift from Aries into the inner, earthy sign of Taurus on February 14 where the red planet will look to Venus for guidance. Mercury will enter the inner, watery sign of Pisces a week after the Aquarius New Moon, as it also reemerges into visibility as an Evening Star with a significant Neptunian message for us to receive. As a result the week following the Aquarius New Moon will feel active with an accelerated pace that will begin to slow down in the days leading into the Full Moon in Virgo on February 19.

6 of Swords by Pamela Colman Smith

Aquarius 2 Decan

The New Moon in Aquarius falls in the second decan of Aquarius associated with the Six of Swords card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The Swords in the image are anchored, suggesting firm resolve and grounding, yet staked into a boat journeying through watery, liminal space. There is a vision behind the image, a bold determination to follow foresight into foreign territory, with the ferryman in a role of guidance not unlike the psychopomp Mercury. The destination on the far shore is not capable of being reached by the passengers without the utility of the boat and the labor of the ferryman, and so there is a letting go in needing to be along for the ride. The image also reveals three of the swords staked into the dark void at the front of the boat, while the other three are placed in protection around the mother and child.

The second face of Aquarius is ruled by Mercury, found in the image of the Six of Swords as the ferryman creating a network between shores. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces ascribed the image of “Heaven and Earth” to this face, writing that it connects multiple territories with a sense of “principled but fierce wisdom” that utilizes the independence of Aquarius to stabilize “commerce between heaven and earth.” Coppock described it as a place to “connect worlds without becoming beholden to them,” acting in accordance with “one’s principles” in a way that allows for the mediation and forging of “the orthodox and unorthodox, the known and the unknown.” Coppock also noted the link of Phobos to this face in the Hellenistic text 36 Airs, signifying the terror and fear many feel when encountering the unknown and alien.

Interestingly, Mercury is barely present within the second face of Aquarius it rules at the exact moment the New Moon aligns, on the threshold of leaving the second decan of Aquarius to cross into the third decan of Aquarius. In the month of February, all of the planets are direct and after Mercury becomes visible again in the week after the lunation, all of the planets will also be visible. If you are being compelled to take a risk of entering unknown territory, leaving a familiar situation for the unfamiliar, there is plenty of planetary impetus to support getting the work done. Moreover, since the month of March will be dominated by Mercury retrograde in Pisces, the month ahead is opportune for taking strides to make progress and solidify structures in preparation for the mercurial shifting that will be coming in March. Since we can expect the unexpected manifestations of Uranus, the more we embrace change and coming up with new solutions, the better. Heed the ancient words of Heraclitus: “Whoever cannot seek / the unforeseen sees nothing, / for the known way / is an impasse.”

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Greene, Liz. (2018). Jung’s Studies in Astrology: Prophecy, Magic, and the Qualities of Time. Routledge.

Greene, Liz. (2018). The Astrological World of Jung’s Liber Novus: Daimons, Gods, and the Planetary Journey. Routledge.

Haxton, Brooks. (2001). Fragments: The Collected Wisdom of Heraclitus. Viking.

Tarnas, Richard. (2007). Cosmos and Psyche. Plume.

Sagittarius New Moon of Changes

December 5, 2018December 5, 2018 / grayastrology / 1 Comment

Dionysus Ear by Vera Berdich

Sagittarius New Moon

The fertile darkness of the New Moon in Sagittarius on December 7 pulsates with imaginal and visionary undercurrents. There is a powerful interplay between the signs of Sagittarius and Pisces, as the New Moon and Jupiter in Sagittarius are in a catalyzing square aspect with Mars and Neptune in Pisces. While Mars uniting with Neptune brings creative willpower to the lunation, the fiery force of Jupiter behind the New Moon ignites determination for expansive goals which flow from a sharpened focus toward the sparked inspiration. While Sagittarius and Pisces are signs that promote far reaching dreams that go far beyond present circumstances, neither sign is known for taking the time to build stalwart foundations to launch endeavors from. As the Sagittarius Moon darkens and is reborn in solar light, survey the roots of burgeoning plans in order to redirect imaginative problem solving toward any underlying aspects in need of tending.

Mercury takes center stage at the New Moon, as it is stationing direct at 28° Scorpio and saturating the astrological atmosphere with its tricky nature of curious questioning, contesting, and interconnection. Thus the New Moon brings to a close the transit of Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius and Scorpio that began November 16, and so just as the meaning of the forthcoming lunar cycle begins to take form we will also be integrating the insights gleaned from Mercury’s liminal retrograde passage. This past Mercury retrograde has been especially otherworldly and at odds with focused diligence at times, yet within the underworld path blazed by the star of Hermes we have been given opportunities for dissolving old patterns and opening to new purposeful paths to follow forward. With Mercury stationing it is imperative to maintain awareness of whatever details demand our attention and any signs indicating shifts of shapes to come.

Since the recent Mercury retrograde began in strong aspect with Neptune it may have brought some communication mishaps, but it has also been powerful for revisioning life and dreaming up new plans for the future. Mercury returning to predawn skies as a Morning Star while shifting direct provides impetus for making the preparations and finding the resources to embark in a new direction. Because Mercury in Scorpio is ruled by Mars as it applies to Neptune in conjunction, it suggests we can now take determined action toward manifesting whatever ingenious ideas began brewing in the time surrounding November 16. Mercury in Scorpio brings the resolve to push through unforeseen obstacles and the penetrating determination necessary for persisting along a path that shakes up whatever had become status quo.

The Alchemical Manual by Ulrich Ruosch

Jupiter in Sagittarius rules the New Moon at the beginning of a new cycle with the Sun. Although Jupiter remains invisible during the New Moon, as the Moon waxes in light one week later Jupiter will become visible for the first time in Sagittarius as a Morning Star. Ever since Jupiter has been in Sagittarius it has been undergoing the regenerative purification it experiences in the weeks surrounding its solar conjunction. Similar to how New Moons are effective for inner visioning and intention more so than projecting willpower in action, so has the new synodic phase of Jupiter we have been experiencing so far in Sagittarius been ideal for letting go of outdated beliefs and kindling a more authentic inner purpose to bring into life.

Due to the close co-presence of Jupiter with the New Moon, the darkness of the Sagittarius lunation nurtures with an uplifting quality that restores enthusiasm for engaging inner desire and directing energy toward whatever cultivates intrinsic motivation. If you can create time for reflection it is a beautiful lunation for allowing yourself to imagine new possibilities without constraints and negation. After you allow yourself to fully visualize the essential meaning you wish to bring into the world, you can then reorient your ideal image with the reality of what you can currently begin working on in your present circumstances.

At the same time, the mutable nature of the Sagittarius New Moon and Jupiter clashing with Mars and Neptune in Pisces also indicates a great deal of volatile conflict in collective events, in particular within polarizing disputes in which each side is engaging from separate realities and dogmatic beliefs making mediation near impossible. We are entering the last quarter, waning square aspect between Jupiter in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces which will be one of the major aspects of 2019. The last quarter square between Jupiter and Neptune signifies a collective shift in consciousness stemming from the beginning of the current Jupiter and Neptune cycle in 2009 in Aquarius. Though conflicts may intensify, the deeper meaning of the Jupiter and Neptune cycle indicates that the repercussions from the discord will bring the disillusionment needed to reorient beliefs around new knowledge gained from the experience.

The Alchemical Manual by Ulrich Ruosch

Though the signs of Sagittarius and Pisces share the mutable modality and the rulership of Jupiter, their core friction comes from a dissimilarity in elemental nature. While Sagittarius is an outwardly projected, swift and spirited fire sign stimulating change, in contrast Pisces is an inwardly directed, receptive and soulful water sign that dissolves and coheres new forms. Mars and Neptune in Pisces slow down our driving will force so as to allow events to take more of their own shape rather than the rapid, visionary trail blazing preferred by Jupiter and the New Moon in Sagittarius. The fires of the martial forge may be brought under the surface to spark self realization regarding the irrational depth of our inner nature and motivation. Since Jupiter is receiving Mars and Neptune through an inciting square aspect, it’s likely that the matrix of the lunation will seed a crucial change in the purpose we live life from and the inspirational sources spurring us forward.

There is a large influence from water signs within the lunation: Mars, Neptune, and Chiron occupying Pisces, Venus, Ceres, and Mercury inhabiting Scorpio, and the North Node of the Moon transiting Cancer. Moreover, there is also a water triangle formed by Mercury stationing direct in Scorpio, Chiron stationing direct in Pisces, and the North Node of the Moon in Cancer. These aspects will draw us even deeper into the roots of present circumstances, probing to uncover previously hidden factors and absorbing emotional poisons for purification. Emotions may be deeply stirred and felt, and so making space to simply be present with feelings or sharing feelings with others will help in moving through this period rather than becoming stuck in emotive stagnation.

The return of Venus to the first decan of Scorpio means we are finally entering the final phase of the recent Venus retrograde, bringing to a close whatever tales of Venus began to take shape toward the end of September. Venus is direct as a Morning Star having been purified and regenerated during its underworld passage, and so its watery relationship with Mars in Pisces will aid in integrating the essential lessons gathered over the past few months. Venus in Scorpio is finally moving away from its opposition with Uranus, bringing whatever breakthrough ideas emerged forward into its intuitive, emotive association with Mars and Neptune. We may find healing from wounds that first became tender back in June when Mars stationed retrograde, healing from whatever was torn asunder in 2018.

After Mercury stations direct on the same day as the Sagittarius New Moon, Mercury will remain in watery Scorpio until December 12 when it will return to the mutable fire of Sagittarius. Just as we are taking in the final lessons of the recent Venus retrograde, in the week after the New Moon we will also want to integrate whatever lessons we learned through the course of the Mercury retrograde that has been going on for the past three weeks. Venus and Mercury moving direct as Morning Stars in Scorpio will demand honest exchanges and appraisals, and are perfect placements for being uncompromising in manifesting whatever new creation is ready to emerge.

Sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysus and the Seasons

The Full Moon in Cancer that follows the New Moon in Sagittarius will ripen in full light only a day after the Capricorn Solstice on December 21. The time of peak darkness in the northern hemisphere that heralds the return of solar light (while the time of peak light in the southern hemisphere initiating summer), the solstice this year will host the magical convergence of a fully waxing Moon combined with the final conjunction between Mercury and Jupiter in Sagittarius. Interestingly, while the union of Mercury and Jupiter at the solstice speaks of soaring vision and songs of muses, the Cancer Full Moon that follows will be applying to an opposition with Saturn in Capricorn and thus involves serious, determined gravitas. There is enormous potential within the surrounding aspects of the solstice for birthing forms and ideas that combine inspiring imagination with the sturdy structure and foundation of Saturn.

In particular, the union of Mercury and Jupiter at the solstice will bring to a close a complex process that has been taking shape since October 29 when Mercury and Jupiter first united at 28° Scorpio, the same degree that Mercury stations direct at during the Sagittarius New Moon. As the Sun stands still at the solstice, with Mercury and Jupiter uniting in predawn skies, we can receive an expansive flowering of whatever seeds we nurture at the New Moon in Sagittarius.

9 of Wands by Pamela Colman Smith

Sagittarius 2 Decan

The New Moon arises in the second face of Sagittarius associated with the Nine of Wands card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image a bandaged and alert figure stands with his chosen staff planted firmly in the ground, with eight other wands of varying size rooted behind him. There is a resilient strength and courage to persist in the face of opposition found here that resonates with the meaning of the second face of Sagittarius. It is significant that the figure has been wounded at the top of his head, as a modus operandi of Sagittarius is the unification of fiery spirit with the will of the body.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Bridle” to the second face of Sagittarius, stating that the battles and conflicts pictured in the Nine of Wands card “are necessary to inflame the will and provide the heat necessary for the fusion of the mind and body.” Coppock praised the capacity of the second face of Sagittarius “to keep the body and mind in line with intention, despite contrary forces,” but cautioned against bringing “fierce resistance” to all opposition as the decan also holds a lesson of learning when “to yield in order to gain mastery.”

The Moon (descending rulership scheme) and Mars (triplicity rulership scheme) are the co-rulers of the second face of Sagittarius, more deeply unlocking the fertile friction between the Sagittarius New Moon forming a square with Mars and Neptune in Pisces. This tense aspect between Mars and the Moon at the heart of the lunation echoes the core meaning of the second face of Sagittarius described by Austin Coppock in 36 Faces. While the lunation can promote unifying assets around a targeted goal, it is vital that we also deeply consider the underlying motivation and ethical considerations of our quest and its rippling impact in the wider world. Rather than stubbornly maintaining defensive attitudes, we need to remain open to being wrong and having the willingness to modify and reorient vision as necessary.

The dichotomy of fighting to protect a vision, whether it is securing a boon through victory or bewailing the loss of defeat, is found in ancient textual images of the second decan of Sagittarius. In the Birhat Jakarta a golden woman of grace picks up gems from the ocean, while in The Beginning of Wisdom by Ibn Ezra as well as the Yavanajataka there is a chest of golden ornaments and jewels set before a beautiful woman. These images are in contrast to images in other tomes signifying sadness and fear, such as a “lamenting woman” in Three Books of Occult Philosophy. These images of mourning and unearthed treasure are also curiously resonant with the figure of Kore (aka Persephone) who was ascribed to the second face of Sagittarius by the Hellenistic text the 36 Airs. Austin Coppock linked Kore’s presence here with her form as Persephone Praxidike, mistress of the furies and the forces of nemesis that create the adversarial force necessary to bring forth our most heroic qualities.

Kore, daughter of the sky god and earth goddess, queen of the underworld, is interesting to consider in relation to the Sagittarius New Moon coinciding with the conclusion of our experience of the recent Venus retrograde. Venus has now returned to Scorpio having completed her underworld journey, and is applying to a conjunction with Ceres, the dwarf planet named after the mother of Kore. Venus stationed retrograde on October 5 while conjoining the Persephone asteroid, and when Venus re-entered Libra at the end of October after being reborn in the heart of the Sun, Ceres was waiting to unite with her at the end of Libra. Venus journeying with Ceres now in Scorpio is seasoned and savvy, bearing a penetrative eye and productive spirit similar to the mature Kore who returns to the side of her goddess mother above ground.

When Kore ascends to the upper world she retains connection with her presence in the underworld where she is a mediatrix of soul. While Kore conducts work and connects in relationship above ground, she remembers her role underground guiding souls. The repeated retrograde, underworld transits we have been experiencing since June 2018 may have brought dark nights of the soul, yet as we come to the ending of the year we can sense the renewed strength, talent, and understanding we have been able to harvest from inner landscapes. In the blackness of the Sagittarius New Moon, feel the fire of electrifying, animating creative vision rising from within, allowing yourself the freedom of taking in a widening of potential possibilities.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

New Moon in Virgo

September 9, 2018September 10, 2018 / grayastrology / Leave a comment

Winged Sphinx from Petra, Jordan

New Moon in Virgo

Virgo is a mutable sign of seasonal transition, as in the northern hemisphere we shift from Summer into Fall, while in the southern hemisphere we complete Winter in turn for Spring. The New Moon in Virgo on September 9 similarly serves as a bridge between distinct astrological seasons. Previously, we experienced a volatile series of eclipses with numerous planets in retrograde, most notably Mars and Mercury. Now within the darkness of the Virgo New Moon we are experiencing the gravitas of Saturn having stationed direct a few days before the syzygy, bringing us into a lunar cycle ideal for generating forward momentum and taking care of whatever responsibilities need our attention following a season of volatility. Within a month, however, Venus will station retrograde and by the time the star of Aphrodite has completed her backward motion in November we will also have experienced the lunar nodes moving into Cancer and Capricorn, Uranus moving back into Aries, and Jupiter entering its domicile of Sagittarius. The Virgo New Moon thus connects two distinct periods of change inducing astrological influences.

The recent stationing of Saturn makes the ringed planet’s significations take precedence, and with Saturn in Capricorn in range of creating an earthy triangle with Mercury in Virgo and Uranus in Taurus, there is great potential for clarifying goals and the priorities and tasks necessary for effective manifestation. Yet the Virgo New Moon is separating from an opposition with Neptune in Pisces, an aspect which lends itself more so to simply enjoying the presence of being rather than diligently taking care of work details. As I wrote about recently, the planetary nodes of Neptune were strongly activated in recent months, and transiting Neptune in Pisces has likewise been an important influence. If we have been able to take time for imaginal exploration of whatever we most want to bring into the world, the Virgo New Moon is perfect for discerning choices and following through on action for development.

The Virgo New Moon is full of resilient, visionary aspects as it is applying to a harmonious sextile with Jupiter in Scorpio and an empowering trine with Pluto in Capricorn. Rather than being lost in a cloud of Neptunian fog, the Virgo New Moon can aid in recovering from disillusionment with the state of the world in order to invest energy in our own personal projects or in helping others in collective efforts toward the greater needs of our surrounding community. Jupiter in Scorpio has completed its final exact trine with Neptune in Pisces and is applying tightly toward its final exact sextile with Pluto in Capricorn. We’ve been experiencing Jupiter in Scorpio since 10 October 2017, and the Virgo New Moon signals the time to make a final push to complete or make significant progress in realizing whatever growth opportunities have coincided with Jupiter’s time in the fixed sign of the Scorpion.

Arnold Bocklin The Sacred Wood

Mercury rules the New Moon from its home and exaltation of Virgo, separating from an earth triangle with Saturn in Capricorn and Uranus in Taurus. Mercury is experiencing a phase change during the New Moon, heading under the beams of the Sun and disappearing from view on its way toward a union with the Sun in Virgo on September 20. This means we have come to the end of the synodic cycle of Mercury that began with its superior conjunction on June 5, which was interestingly in square to Neptune in Pisces. With the ruler of the New Moon at home in Virgo, it amplifies the potential of the New Moon to help us recover and move forward from all of the change that has occurred since the beginning of June. Mercury in Virgo is ideal for analysis, organization, and clarifying decision making.

As Mercury moves toward its rebirth with the Sun on September 20 at 28º02′ Virgo, it will recreate the same aspects with Neptune, Pluto, and Jupiter that the New Moon possesses. On September 13 Mercury will form an opposition to Neptune in Pisces, then on September 15 Mercury will form a trine with Pluto in Capricorn, and then on September 16 Mercury will form a sextile with Jupiter in Scorpio. All of this will occur in the build-up not only to the superior conjunction of Mercury on September 20, but also to the Aries Full Moon on September 24. Thus during the week of September 13 through the 20 we can experience a manifestation or significant development toward whatever we set in motion at the Virgo New Moon.

Arnold Bocklin Schwanengrotte

One of the most significant elements of the Virgo New Moon is the entrance of Venus into Scorpio that coincides with the lunation. One reason is that as soon as Venus enters Scorpio, it instantly begins to tightly form an opposition with Uranus in Taurus. The tension of the polarity between Uranus and Venus is somewhat mitigated due to Venus receiving Uranus, but it is likely to coincide with sudden and rapid developments in associated areas of life (for example whatever places in your natal chart are occupied by Scorpio and Taurus). Most importantly, this is the first of three oppositions that will be formed by Venus and Uranus in the coming months. This is due to the fact that after Venus completes the opposition with Uranus on September 12, it will be slowing down as it approaches its retrograde station on October 5 which will lead it to forming two more oppositions with Uranus on October 31 and November 30. Thus more so than a temporary activation of Venus and Uranus, the Virgo New Moon launches us into an extended process of change we will not fully have understood until December. For now, it will be helpful to begin taking note of whatever changes arise in storylines while also realizing we are only at the beginning of navigating the corresponding developments.

Venus remains a bright evening star during the night of the Virgo New Moon, so enjoy her luminescence as each subsequent evening she will be descending lower and lower during twilight as she approaches her retrograde in October when she will disappear from visibility. Venus is also forming harmonious, pivotal aspects as not only is she opposing Uranus in Taurus, but also forming harmonious sextile aspects with both Saturn in Capricorn and Mercury in Virgo. In addition, Venus completed a catalytic square aspect with Mars the day before the New Moon on September 8, an aspect which stirred up all of the material that has been in a process of change over the course of the past few months. Due to Venus stationing retrograde at the beginning of October, it means that Venus and Mars will form another exact square on October 10. Therefore, similar to the opposition formed by Venus with Uranus, its square aspect with Mars also takes us into an extended process of change rather than a temporary impetus.

Mars returns to Aquarius on September 10, a day after the Virgo New Moon, meaning that it will basically be sustaining tension with Venus over the course of the next month. Mars will be approaching its final conjunction with the South Node of the Moon in Aquarius during the waxing cycle of the Moon, forming its exact conjunction with the South Node on September 25, a day after the Aries Full Moon. Taking all of this into account, it means the lunar cycle we begin with the Virgo New Moon will not only bring significant developments, but also deeper understanding regarding whatever changes we have been experiencing, or however we have been feeling stuck or obstructed. The forthcoming lunar cycle demands clear thinking bound with decisive action and a willingness to confront whatever is not working, devising solutions as needed. We will need the resilient desire of Venus in Scorpio that will penetrate to the depths of dilemmas, and with Jupiter co-present in Scorpio there is strength to be found in taking a stand and persisting in the face of opposition.

9 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Virgo 2 Decan

The New Moon in Virgo falls in the third face of Virgo associated with the Nine of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The image is resplendent with a golden aura surrounding a Venusian figure, and fittingly Venus is the ruler of the second face of Virgo. On her hand sits a bird of prey ready to strike out for resources, while ripening grapevines surround her. This tarot card is traditionally associated with gains in wealth, and Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces analyzed how the hooded falcon (a symbol of spirit enclosed in matter) is a protector of the grapevine resources linked to her wealth since it feeds on the creatures who would damage the growth of the grapes. Coppock found a theme of continual reshaping and refinement of matter in this decan that unveils the diverse extremes of experiences that unite within the final form of a created work that contains spirit: “Alchemically, this face provides understanding of the many beautiful and repulsive states the matter attains throughout the Magnum Opus . . . . [and] brings one to inspect material processes and note the efficiency or lack thereof” (p. 146).

Interestingly, the fragmentary Hellenistic text the 36 Airs linked the Moirai to the second face of Virgo. These are the daughters of Necessity, the goddesses of fate: Clotho the spinner of the threads of life, Lachesis the measurer of fateful threads, and Atropos who cuts the threads. These goddesses of fate appearing in this decan remind us to center within the actual currents of life so that choices can be discerned that will allow one to navigate accordingly. In Plato’s Myth of Er, the Moriai not only ascribe ones destiny but also the guardian daimon who can bring guidance in accordance with virtue and authentic character. While there are many upsetting events occurring in collective events we cannot change, we do possess the inherent character to respond with responsible virtue rather than in a way that goes against the nature of our higher self. The current shift toward a time of Venus retrograde will bring tests and events saturated with the feel of destiny, bringing forth deeper aspects of our Self and realizations of purpose and potential. To paraphrase Carl Jung, free will is doing that which one must do.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.

Leo New Moon & Mars

July 22, 2017July 23, 2017 / grayastrology / 3 Comments

Paul Klee (1924) A Pride of Lions (Take Note!)

New Moon in Leo

The Leo New Moon on July 23 is united with Mars, bringing primal intensity and vigor to the lunation. New Moons are a time to set intentions, yet the symbolism of the Moon being invisible correlates with the necessity of embracing the unknown for no matter how much passion we invest into our intentions, we must ultimately surrender when forces out of our control emerge to contend with. This is especially important to keep in mind at this martial New Moon in Leo, for the coming astrology suggests that unexpected elements are likely to emerge in the weeks ahead. The influence of Mars on the New Moon points to the vital importance of standing up for yourself and reasserting your energy toward the role you wish to play within our global collective. There will be challenges to face in the lunar cycle ahead that are capable of reshaping the course your life trajectory is taking, and so it will be imperative to boldly flow with the changes with courage and a presence ready to respond responsibly in accordance with the vision you wish to manifest.

The Leo New Moon escorts us into the most impactful period of astrological aspects in 2017. The darkness of the New Moon will ripen into a Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius, to be followed by a Total Solar Eclipse in Leo. The Leo Solar Eclipse will be followed by a Pisces Full Moon united with Neptune, and in between the Aquarius Lunar Eclipse and the Pisces Full Moon we will experience Mercury moving retrograde from Virgo back into the same area of Leo as the Total Solar Eclipse on August 21. Interestingly, Mercury is in Leo at the time of the Leo New Moon very close to the same degree it will later station direct on September 5. Mercury is furthermore separating from a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon while forming a fiery triangle with Uranus in Aries and Saturn in Sagittarius. As a result the Leo New Moon is opportune for going over the plans you wish to initiate in the coming months and strengthening their structural foundations.

from the Clavis Artis

Rebirth of Mars in Leo

The New Moon in Leo arrives at the very, very end of the synodic cycle of Mars that goes back two years. The last time that Mars was regenerated in the heart of the Sun was on 14 June 2015 at 23º15′ of Gemini, and so it will be fruitful to reflect upon this two year period and the desires that you manifested as well as those that remained dormant. Since we have been at the close of the Mars and Sun cycle in the past weeks, its important to realize that if you have felt a lack of energy or a need to rest as part of a feeling of something being reborn, that you have likely been tapped into the current Mars cycle. Mars will unite with our Sun on July 26 at 4º12′ of Leo, and so this is a beautiful time period to ritualize a rebirth of Mars in your life and reinvest your passions toward whatever you most desire to create or whoever you want to be in our world. Since the Sun will be receiving Mars in its home, there is enormous creative potency available in their union.

The Hellenistic text the 36 Airs ascribed the god Hephaistos to the first face of Leo where Mars will be reborn in the heart of the Sun. Hephaistos is another aspect of Mars associated with smiths and artists who at heart is an embodiment of the primal potency of fire. The Orphic hymn to Hephaistos calls the fiery artist to “suppress the rage of fire’s unwearied frame, and still preserve our nature’s vital flame.” Hephaistos carried wounds of abandonment and rejection he transmuted into a creative process of fire that burned up the old to manifest his new inventions. Similarly, as we have been facing old wounds and emotional issues through the course of Mars closing its past cycle with the Sun in Cancer, we are now given the opportunity to transmute the pain of the past into beautiful works of artistry and tools we can wield in the journey ahead.

Hephaistos created both the chariot of Helios as well as the winged sandals and helmet of Hermes. What heroic role do you wish to play in the forthcoming two year cycle of Mars, and what symbolic or literal tool can you now forge in the solar fires to support the talents and skills you wish to share? How do you want to direct the ambition, aggression, and courage of Mars being consumed and reborn in the Sun? The mythic figure of Hephaistos is also fitting for the fiery triangle being formed by Mercury and the North Node in Leo, Uranus in Aries, and Saturn in Sagittarius. Hephaistos can forge and create whatever image we desire, yet to succeed in our endeavors we will also need a level of courage that knows when it is necessary to fight as well as let go. The Leo New Moon is perfect for discerning the inner principles that align with our authenticity and whatever we wish to creatively actualize, and then assertively pushing forward with our work in accordance.

by Pamela Colman Smith

Venus opposing Saturn

The other major aspect of the Leo New Moon finds Venus in Gemini applying to an opposition with Saturn in Sagittarius. This takes us back to the Venus retrograde in Aries and Pisces in which Venus stationed direct in Pisces in a square with Saturn. Now Venus has moved forward into her first opposition with Saturn since their long engagement during her retrograde cycle. Whatever shifting began happening in our life during February, March, April, and May as we entered and left the Venus retrograde period has now in hindsight become clear, and we can now witness and evaluate how the elements of our life have been rearranged. Similar to the fiery triangle of Mercury, Uranus, and Saturn, the opposition between Venus and Saturn is also opportune for strengthening the foundations of the plans we wish to enact as we enter into eclipse season. In fact, Venus is strongly activating the aforementioned fiery triangle, as she is in sextile to both Mercury and Uranus at the same time she is in opposition to Saturn. The opposition between Venus and Saturn can not only help us figure out what aspects of our life and relationships need to be modified, but how exactly they need to be altered.

During the waxing lunar cycle Venus will move from her opposition with Saturn toward a trine with Neptune in Pisces following her ingress into Cancer. At the same time Mercury will leave the creative fires of Leo for its home and exaltation of Virgo during the waxing of the Moon, toward an opposition with Neptune that does not perfect due to Mercury stationing retrograde. Neptune in Pisces is veiled in the background of the Leo New Moon but does form the shadowy aspect of antiscia with Jupiter in Libra for the remainder of July. The more we can effectively work with Neptune in Pisces at this time, such as shedding the illusions of the past and opening our imaginations in our creative process, the better we will be able to enter the flow of the coming eclipse season. It will be helpful in working with Neptune to create some sort of daily spiritual practice for yourself, however you connect with Spirit.

5 of Wands by Pamela Colman Smith

Leo 1 Decan

The New Moon falls in the first face of Leo associated with the Five of Wands card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The Five of Wands is associated with conflict and competition, and though its meaning could be linked to an inner battle of different aspects of one’s personality contending for control, oftentimes the strife among competing external interests is literal. In one way or another it suggests a need to stand ground and fight to achieve a desired, prominent position. Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “The Spotlight” to the first face of Leo which can be connected to the imagery of the Five of Wands through the five youth battling for the attention of the starring role of the spotlight. Coppock wrote that the “power of this decan is to focus a mass of attention on one point or person” (p. 122), and analyzed that the decan’s rulership by Saturn signifies the ability to direct the spotlight in order to both reveal as well as conceal, binding the attention, and projection, of an audience to one’s performing image.

Importantly, Coppock also noted that Saturn’s influence can be found in that the performer can become bound to their public image to such an extent that it can drain their energy and betray their inner authenticity. Keeping all this in mind, remember at the Leo New Moon to make sure that the image you desire to project into our world aligns strongly with your essential authenticity. Saturn in Sagittarius in trine with Mercury, Uranus, and the North Node of the Moon is available to assist with the discipline and integrity necessary to separate and sever whatever does not align with our inner values, and bind oneself with commitment to whatever does align. Within the catalytic atmosphere of the coming eclipse season, there will be found a fertile matrix through which to embark in creative directions attuned to the passions arising from within.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Cancer New Moon & Mercury

June 23, 2017 / grayastrology / 7 Comments

by Marc Chagall

New Moon in Cancer

The New Moon in Cancer on June 23 follows closely behind the Cancer Solstice in which our Sun stands still, as well as the rebirth of Mercury within the heart of the Sun. The solstice in Cancer is one of the peak moments of the year, the beginning of Summer in our northern hemisphere and the beginning of Winter in our southern hemisphere. This year as our Sun stood still at the pinnacle of its furthest northerly reach, Mercury united within its fiery rays for an extremely powerful superior conjunction of the Star of Hermes with our Light of Spirit. The longest day in our northern hemisphere and the longest night in our southern hemisphere, the Cancer Solstice pulls us within to explore the deepest desires of our heart, while also calling us to express our feelings and visions in our wider community, finding appropriate forms and mediums through which to communicate our message.

The last time Mercury formed a superior conjunction with our Sun was in March at the beginning of the Venus retrograde in Aries. Following Mercury’s union with the Sun during its retrograde in April, Mercury spent an extended period of time moving backward and the forward again in union with Uranus. The first half of 2017 has brought significant shifts, some unexpected and all necessary, as we moved from a period of eclipses into extremely volatile phases of Venus and Mercury retrogrades. The Cancer New Moon comes at the perfect time to look backward to the first half of the year and what has and has not come into manifestation, while looking forward with focus on configuring what we need to shift and restructure in order to bring more of our desires into form and expression. The second half of 2017 will continue to bring volatility and immense change. As a result, the Cancer New Moon is ideal for centering within and nurturing ourselves and loved ones with intimate attention. Tenderness and gentle strength that calms and soothes volatilized nerves will be important medicine in the lunar cycle ahead.

by Hilma af Klint

Cancer is the home of the Moon, and so the New Moon in Cancer is always an especially powerful moment for setting intention. Cancer is a cardinal sign of initiation and leadership that simultaneously connects with the emotional realm within as well as the emotions of those we meet in relationship. Cancer holds our memories and in the reflection of its waters we catch glimpses of our essential nature and most cherished desires. While the season of Cancer may make us think of ruminating over past memories, the current New Moon in Cancer is most vital in terms of making new memories that will enliven our passion for life and bring sustenance to our sense of soul. This is a New Moon with which to launch yourself into living life fully in the moment, seizing the opportunities brought by day and night to receive the pleasure of being alive. Humanity on our planet has been going through a difficult time of immense suffering on many levels, and the amount of change and reform in need of being enacted can feel overwhelming to achieve on an individual level. The Cancer New Moon will support expressing yourself into your wider community and in so doing discovering collaborators who possess a sense of mutual purpose.

Mercury separating from the Sun while applying toward a conjunction with Mars is an important aspect of the New Moon, for in the lunar cycle ahead Mercury will unite with Mars in opposition to Pluto while both are invisible under the beams of the Sun, and then as Mercury emerges as an Evening Star around July 4 it will form a catalyzing square with Uranus in Aries. Allow Mercury to soothe and open up whatever defense mechanisms have been internally preventing you from risking your heart in action. As Mercury gets closer and closer to Mars, look for remediation outlets to express passions through so that they are less likely to become bottled up and unleashed in anger. Its likely that many aspects of collective current events will incite anger and inspire action, and so this is also an excellent New Moon to look around your community for volunteer, service, or organizing opportunities. Mercury combined with Mars can be volatile, yet in the end Mercury loves to connect and bridge and so by taking action there can be significant new connections made linked with purpose.

Birch (1922) by Hilma af Klint

Mars is playing a leading role in the New Moon as it is applying closely to a square with Jupiter in Libra. Mars is currently invisible under the beams of the Sun, undergoing a period of purification and regeneration that will not complete until the Sun unites with Mars in Leo on July 26. As a result the Mars square with Jupiter is potent and will dredge up deep issues of ambition and desire, some of which is in need of shedding while other aspects can be returned to our inner soil to reseed future visions. Mars in Cancer is known as being in its “fall” since it is the opposite sign of its exaltation in Capricorn, and yet there is an interesting aspect in which Jupiter is receiving Mars through the square since Mars being in Cancer means it is in the exaltation of Jupiter. An empowering interpretation can be found through realizing the wisdom we can gain when pursuing passionate desires even when we do not achieve our intended success. The importance is in taking action and risking our emotional involvement and full presence. It will be important to not become overly critical of ourselves for not having already achieved certain grand ambitions, but rather acknowledge and find value in whatever point of our journey we find ourselves within.

Mars in Cancer can bring about emotional outbursts and so it will be vital to find appropriate outlets for our feelings and focus on the relationships that can offer us nurturance and support. The period from June 28 through July 4 is important to be aware of, as Mercury will unite with Mars and then oppose Pluto as Mars also forms an opposition with Pluto, followed by Mercury forming a challenging square with Uranus in Aries. Further interesting is that just before Mars and Mercury enter into these intense aspects, they will have recently formed a supportive trine with Neptune in Pisces. It will help to find work and projects you can pour your heart and energy into without become overly upset if the results do not match your idealized expectations. There is tremendous power and inspiration found within these aspects, and we will gain strength through courageously engaging life fully rather than withdrawing through fear or defense mechanisms.

Another significant intersection between personal planets with the transpersonal at the Cancer New Moon is Venus in Taurus applying closely to a trine with Pluto in Capricorn. At the previous New Moon in Gemini, Venus was in a square with Pluto that brought up some deep issues we can now integrate and find deeper stability around. The trine from Venus to Pluto can also help us deepen intimacy with both ourselves and others through opening ourselves to the sort of full emotional involvement that facilitates buried issues reemerging into the light of conscious awareness. Venus in Taurus can help stabilize and harmonize whatever has become out of balance, so look for ways to embrace Venus in your life in whatever forms bring you pleasure and comfort. While opening ourselves to deep emotions may not always feel pleasurable, significations of Venus such as music, color, food, and intimacy can be a balm that helps us cross over the threshold of old inner obstacles.

2 of Cups by Pamela Colman Smith

Cancer 1 Decan

The New Moon falls in the first face of Cancer associated with the Two of Cups card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image we find two lovers coming together with shared passion on an equal level, with a caduceus of intertwining snakes and a winged lion arising in the space between their merging desire. Fittingly for the erotic reciprocity found in the symbolism of this image, the first face of Cancer is ruled by Venus. Yet Venus is not only about the romanticism of Eros and Psyche. We can also find a connection between Venus with the first face of Cancer and the Two of Cups through the inner values that underlie all of our relationship dynamics with others, a source that can alchemize magical healing and power within the relationships that resonate with our essence. The New Moon in Cancer is ideal for honoring the relationships that receive, support, and protect our unique expression and presence.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Mother and Child” to the first face of Cancer, as he wrote that the face holds the hungers of our emotions and biology, the womb that gives birth to us and all of our resulting needs. Coppock further connected the themes of mother and child to the pursuit of romantic love found in the Two of Cups since “it is the perfect support, half-remembered from the womb, that gives rise to the human dream of similarly nursing bonds between committed partners” (p. 104). Coppock wrote that idealized unions can be realized in the first decan of Cancer, the type of relationships that seem “as if the two reside in each other’s wombs, simultaneously devouring and being devoured, yet neither is depleted” (p. 105).

As the lovers in the image of the Two of Cups are greeting one another with chalices, consider at the Cancer New Moon what sort of chalice you are carrying into your relationships. Who are you willing to share your chalice with and why, for what reasons. The relationships in which equity and reciprocity coexist naturally will emerge with magnetic force in the lunar cycle ahead and will feel most deserving to share in mutual nurturance. Remember to also pour an offering to the Earth and Spirit, and set intention to manifest your most cherished desires in the season ahead.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Cancer New Moon

June 30, 2016August 3, 2016 / grayastrology / 5 Comments

Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Der_Mönch_am_Meer_-_Google_Art_Project

Caspar David Friedrich (1810) The Monk by the Sea

New Moon in Cancer

Memories envelope the New Moon in Cancer on 4 July 2016, memories which nourish as well as memories which torment with the pang of loss. The Moon is home in Cancer, and the blackness of the New Moon lacking solar light signifies the pure, raw emotions of the lunar realm. The Moon’s constant waxing and waning, reflecting and holding the light of the Sun, illustrates why we associate Cancer and the Moon with the ebb and flow of our moods and the ever present influence of our memories. We hold memories of past loves and peak emotions in Cancer and the Moon, as well as remembrances of family, cultural, and ancestral origins. While memories bring sustenance and source our flights of imaginative vision, the reminiscences of our most blissful times can also become torturous in the pain of losing their source. Attachments to memory can overburden us when grieving what we have lost, and can also be sources of disruptive illusions in those attached to sentimental nostalgia rather than the arising change of the moment. In collective events there has been a Nationalistic, xenophobic, homophobic, and bigoted monstrosity raging that has its roots in a nostalgia for cultural illusions of the past. The positive message found in the Cancer New Moon is resolution through reconciling the past with the present, and in the stillness of a reflective moment experiencing the flowering of grace.

The New Moon in Cancer brings a cathartic release through its opposition to Pluto. Instead of a soft and supple lunar goddess we will feel more in the protective presence of a hard and skeletal Santa Muerte. Pluto has been associated with Shiva and his fierce destructive aspects by many astrologers, as the experience of a hard aspect from Pluto can not only feel like a complete destruction of one’s personality, but also be experienced through devastating losses of structures and relationships we had been attached to. When we stop resisting, denying, or being overly defensive, allowing our ego to be destroyed in the quakes of Pluto, in the resulting dismemberment we are given the opportunity to reassemble ourselves into a more authentic presence, remembering our essentiality through the dismembering.

Richard Tarnas in Cosmos and Psyche associated Pluto with Dionysus because it shatters and brings forth new forms in transit, and dismemberment also circulates through the stories involving Dionysus. James Hillman in Mythic Figures wrote that the dismemberment of Dionysus is “necessary for awakening the consciousness of the body,” because the loss of central control resurrects the light of each separate organ making up the whole. Hillman saw this alchemical dismemberment as an awareness that can cut through the “habitual ways we have ‘grown up’ and ‘grown together,’” by making us aware of the light found within each distinct part of our body- so it is not really a process, and “not a movement from integration to dis-integration to re-integration.” It is more of a loosening that “results in the activation of the psychic life of the organs.” Similarly, within the chaos of recent collective events that has caused fear and destruction in multitudes, the Cancer New Moon brings an opportunity to reawaken from within, impacting the external world through healing and vivifying internal fractures.

J.M.W. Turner (1844) Sunrise with Sea Monsters

Modern astrology associates Cancer with mothers, the womb, and birth, and in ancient astrology Cancer was noted as the rising sign and first house of the thema mundi, the birth of the universe. The New Moon occurs in the second decan of Cancer, and Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces noted that the fragmentary Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the figure of Heracles to this decan, the legendary hero who was tormented from birth by his stepmother Hera. My good friend Jason Holley gave a brilliant talk linking Cancer and the Moon with Heracles at the recent Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC) of 2016. In the Greek myth connected with the constellation of Cancer, a crab was sent by Hera to attack Heracles as he was engaged in battle with the Hydra. After the armored crustacean emerged from the watery depths and charged, sideways, toward Heracles as its claws protruded into the ankles of the hero, Heracles obliterated the crab with his foot. From the shattering of the crab, Hera thus placed it into the sky as a constellation rewarding its service to her.

In his talk “Exquisite Attunement: the Moon and Empathy,” Jason Holley described lunar material as being emotional openings to the fertile void, a realm of memories that is nonlinear, somatic, and implicitly pulls things into its own rhythm. Hera’s wrath stems from her being betrayed and abandoned, similar to a devaluing of the lunar realm that sees the fertile void as valueless. Hera nurtured the Hydra to destroy Heracles, and the Nemean Lion has been said to have fallen from the Moon, sprung from Selene and brought forth at the bidding of Hera. Holley interpreted Hera’s desire to attack Heracles as an undermining of the solar self that seeks to bring the self back down into the unconscious and the emotional body. The crab emerging from the lake has come ashore from the undifferentiated unconscious, yet as Heracles shows is vulnerable to attack. Holley noted that when our internal world lacks a sense of structure and order it leads to reliance on external sources for a sense of stability and safety. If one’s capacity to contain emotional experience internally is not developed, it will be delegated to others rather than claimed from one’s own sense of inner authority.

The Cancer New Moon is fruitful in terms of regaining inner security and authority following a period of loss and disillusionment that has caused deep questioning of one’s value and how it is accepted and nurtured by others. The New Moon is separating from a trine with Neptune and therefore pulling away from the square between Saturn and Neptune, applying toward harmonious aspects with its own lunar nodes. Following its opposition to Pluto, the waning Moon will form an exact sextile with Jupiter and conjunction with Venus. The embrace of loved ones will be a balm that calms, but the true potency of this New Moon is found through genuine self love and discovering security that is not dependent upon approval or admiration from others.

Georgia O’Keefe (1927) Black Abstraction

The New Moon is also notable for intention setting related to all things Mars, as Mars is finally direct in Scorpio and beginning to slowly generate momentum in the black of the Moon. The opposition between Pluto and the New Moon reinforces the slow metamorphic feeling, akin to the tension of a butterfly wing struggling against the confines of the releasing chrysalis. Mars moving forward again in the final decan of Scorpio is a slow inferno burning off desires needed to be laid to rest, a funeral pyre releasing and transfiguring what has passed away.

Those who have felt confused or thwarted in action during the Mars retrograde, or hung up on past pain that continued to poison rather than purify, will now be able to feel greater capacity to navigate into favorable currents of change and forward momentum. Laying desires to rest is never easy, and when dealing with heartbreak or mourning the pain may never be fully released. With Mars beginning to move direct again, however, there is powerful support to commit to a path and the practical actions and steps in need of the zealous force of Mars. The quincunx from Uranus and trine to Chiron are further indications of the depth of material being purged and purified in the forward crawl of Mars.

Paul Klee (1937) The Rhine at Duisburg

my way is in the sand flowing
between the shingle and the dune
the summer rain rains on my life
on me my life harrying fleeing
to its beginning to its end

my peace is there in the receding mist
when I may cease from treading these long shifting
thresholds
and live the space of a door
that opens and shuts

— Samuel Beckett

Mercury is applying to a conjunction with the New Moon, approaching its superior conjunction with the Sun in which it is on the far side of the Sun in orbit from Earth. Mercury reaches its Superior Conjunction a couple days after the New Moon on July 6, where Mercury rules from the throne at the heart of the Sun and is strengthened in all of its significations. At the time of the New Moon, Mercury is combust meaning it is undergoing a period of purification and regeneration in the flames of the Sun. With Mercury in Cancer it is possible moods, memories, emotions, or fears circulating could overwhelm capacity to maintain centered focus, especially within a tumultuous environment of chaotic collective events stirring up hysteria.

Although this phase of Mercury can feel overwhelming, the surrounding potent aspects to Mercury suggest epiphanies can be unveiled. The Mercurial atmosphere will contain moments to soak within the elements of our past whose memories will nourish us going forward, while simultaneously opening to a regenerated presence. Insights into one’s family or ancestral karma and influences can be found, as well as greater awareness of relational patterns and emotional dynamics we have been constellating. As a result, the New Moon supports intention setting for a strengthened sense of inner security less needful of external attachments to feel stable.

3 of Cups by Pamela Colman Smith

Cancer 2 Decan

The second face of Cancer where the New Moon occurs is associated with the 3 of Cups card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. The mirthful image of merriment radiates mellifluous metaphors, a tarot card that signifies harmonious collaborations of inspired thought and creativity. Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “a walled garden in which something precious is kept” to this face, adding an element not obvious from the above image: the need of protection and nurturing to allow for an incubating space that can bring forth joy, beauty, and abundance. A glance through images of this face from ancient texts reveal a profusion of beautiful women of melodious voice, some “seated on a snake-throne” (Yavanajataka) and all adorned with flowers or wreathed in myrtle (Picatrix, The Beginning of Wisdom, 777). A man appears in Three Books of Occult Philosophy in this decan, dressed elegantly in style and engrossed in play.

The second decan of Cancer is ruled by Mercury. Mercury at the moment of the New Moon is applying to a trine with Neptune as well as a conjunction with the Sun and Moon. After Mercury separates from its conjunction with the Sun, it will be opposing Pluto and then receiving a sextile from Jupiter in Virgo. Mercury is in position to mediate the fracturing and ruptures created by the last quarter squares between Saturn and Neptune, and Saturn and Jupiter. Though current events are rife with destruction, murder, and desperation, though many are wrestling with struggles and fears over poverty, if one can enter into a protected space of nourishment the astrological aspects of this New Moon can also foster enlivening creativity and collaboration. Joining with others to create structured and protective spaces that filter out the mayhem of the surrounding world can help to circulate and amplify the potential for shared fulfillment and beauty. This can be a beautiful time to share your own precious gifts with others while being emotionally present to receive the inspiriting blessings of what others have to share.

Fig-tree, for such a long time now, there has been meaning for me,
in the way you almost wholly omit to flower
and urge your pure secret, unheralded,
into the early, resolute fruit.
Like the jet of a fountain, your arched bough
drives the sap downward, then up: and it leaps from its sleep
barely waking, into the bliss of its sweetest achievement.
See: like the god into the swan
……….We, though, linger,
ah, our pride is in flowering, and, already betrayed,
we reach the late core of our final fruit.
In a few the urge to action rises so powerfully,
that they are already waiting and glowing with their heart’s fullness
when the temptation to flower, like the mild night air,
touches their tender mouths, touches their eyelids:
heroes perhaps, and those chosen to vanish prematurely,
in whom Death the gardener wove different veins.
These plunge ahead: they go before their own smile,
like the team of horses in the slightly
hollowed-out relief of Karnak’s victorious pharaoh.

The hero is strangely close to those who died young. Lasting
doesn’t contain him. Being is his ascent: he moves on,
time and again, to enter the changed constellation
his risk entails. Few could find him there. But
Destiny, that darkly hides us, suddenly inspired,
sings him into the tempest of his onrushing world.
I hear no one like him. All at once I am pierced
by his darkened sound carried on streaming air.

Then, how gladly I would hide from the yearning: O if I,
if I were a boy, and might come to it still, and sit,
propped on the future’s arms, and reading about Samson,
how his mother first bore nothing, and then all.

Was he not a hero already, O mother, in you, did not
his imperious choice begin inside you?
Thousands seethed in the womb and willed to be him,
but see: he grasped and let go, chose and achieved.
And if he shattered pillars, it was when he burst
out of the world of your flesh into the narrower world,
where he went on choosing, achieving. O mothers of heroes,
O sources of ravening rivers! Ravines into which
weeping girls have plunged
from the high heart’s edge, future offerings to the son.
Because, whenever the hero stormed through the stations of love,
each heartbeat, meant for him, lifting him onward,
he turned away, stood at the end of the smiles, someone other.

–Rainer Maria Rilke, The Sixth Elegy, Duino Elegies

References

Beckett, Samuel. (1977). Collected Poems in English and French. Grove Press.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Hillman, James. (2007). Mythic Figures. Spring Publications, Inc.

Pisces New Moon

Pisces 1 Decan

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Capricorn New Moon

Capricorn 2 Decan

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Scorpio New Moon

Scorpio 2 Decan

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New Moon in Taurus

Taurus 3 Decan

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New Moon in Libra

Libra 3 Decan

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New Moon in Libra

Libra 1 Decan

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Virgo New Moon

Virgo 1 Decan

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New Moon in Leo

Leo 1 Decan

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New Moon in Aquarius

Aquarius 2 Decan

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Sagittarius New Moon

Sagittarius 2 Decan

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New Moon in Virgo

Virgo 2 Decan

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New Moon in Leo

Rebirth of Mars in Leo

Venus opposing Saturn

Leo 1 Decan

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New Moon in Cancer

Cancer 1 Decan

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New Moon in Cancer

Cancer 2 Decan

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