In the year 691 the emperor Justinian II convoked what has come to be known as the Quinsext Council.

Bishops from all over the Christian world gathered near Constantinople to pass 85 different canons, mostly of a disciplinary nature.

A clergyman may not own a tavern. No one may have a Jewish doctor or “consort with Jews in the baths.” It is forbidden to give communion to the dead.

Of special interest to pagans is Canon 65: It is prohibited to build New Moon bonfires.

New Moon bonfires.

In “a world lit only by fire,” the Moon is important. Nights are dark without the Moon. So when she comes back from her three-nights' sojourn in the Underworld, what you do?

The archetypes of the Warrior, the Pioneer, and the Hunter are highlighted this month by the Aries New Moon. In addition, three powerful planets in Capricorn will highlight the archetypes of the Builder, the Ruler (read: any governing authority), and the Elder.  It’s an active chart that presages shocks, surprises, profound shifts and changes in authority structures, extreme risk-taking, and conflicting agendas.

What do we need? What shall we seed?

Hindsight, foresight,  20/20 vision.

“I’d hammer out danger
I’d hammer out a warning
I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land”
from If I Had a Hammer 

Pisces Solar Eclipse

Solar eclipses reveal a blank slate for us to explore. Open the nooks and crannies of our inner selves, revealing our deepest wishes and darkest desires. Pisces is queen of going "far out" into the astral realms. Eclipses tend to reveal sudden imbalances and creates a hyper-awareness of the world around us. Trust your gut instinct during this time as it is flooded with insight. Pisces offers guidance and curiosity into these spiritual corners. Take note of your dreams and manifest them into reality! Swim on into the rivers of these changes!

Happy New Moon!

Tonight's New Moon is in Sagittarius. Archer energy is always fun -- Sagittarius, while the philosopher's sign, is also always up for anything. As a Sag myself, I often say my philosophy of life is, "What? I'm too busy dancing!" When the New Moon is in Sagittarius, we're invited to look at our Shadow side and discover what spark of light we can generate or find to illuminate the darkness. Coming as it does in the darkening days before Winter Solstice, the Sagittarius New Moon also reminds us that there is always dawning after the night, and also that night will inevitably follow day. We need to ride the tides of this cycle, trusting that all darkness will eventually be dispelled by light -- even if it means that darkness must come again eventually.

The focus this new moon is on relationships -- with each other, with the world, with our communities, and with ourselves. Awakenings happening to us and around us as well -- some of these are painful, some are jarring, but all are necessary. There is a sense that the world is waking up from a long sleep, or shaking itself out of complacency. 

"Teachers need to be comfortable talking about feelings. This is part of teaching emotional literacy – a set of skills we can all develop, including the ability to read, understand, and respond appropriately to one’s own emotions and the emotions of others."—Daniel Goleman

This New Moon in Cancer brings a chart of deep emotion, with a strong undercurrent of power being used effectively in the material world. True power, like a sun, radiates outward from an inner core. Control that is seized or imposed is not power, though it is often mistaken for such. Control ties you to what you are controlling. Power lets you take action in freedom and create what you will.

We’ll see a lot of attempts at grabbing power this month, but hopefully we will also see people of wisdom stepping into their own power and making changes in the world. Like you, perhaps.