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"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."  ~ Thomas Merton

The August New Moon, in fun-loving, generous, heart- (and sometimes self-) centered Leo, forms a threesome with Venus, planet of relationships. This configuration tends to turn astrologer’s minds to hearts and flowers and “Love Is in the Air” . But a closer look at the chart reveals that you won’t be able to get away with a saccharine and shallow approach to relationships this month. (Though by all means, feel free to drag out the disco music. Someday I’ll do an astrological study of the disco scene in the 70s and will, I have no doubt, find a prominent Leo signature in the charts).

The New Moon this month occurs on Wednesday, February 18^th, at 3:47 pm (PST) on the cusp of Aquarius and Pisces (at 29°Aquarius 59.9' to be exact!)  I talked about Aquarius in my last month’s New Moon post, so this month, although technically the New Moon is in the last gasps of Aquarius, I want to focus on Pisces.  This is also my last in a year long series of New Moon blog posts which started with Aries, and naturally, should conclude with the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces, bringing us full circle.   

Pisces is a Mutable Water sign, meaning that it is a threshold sign that bridges one season into the next – in this case winter giving way to spring in the Northern hemisphere.  It also resonates with the emotional and subjective element of Water.  Pisces is the Shapeshifter, the compassionate one, and sometimes, the escape artist.  It is a sign that is tuned in to the intuitive realm, and often has psychic flashes and uncanny ways of knowing.  As the last sign of the zodiac, Pisces often has a sense of somehow having been down that road before.  Pisces' compassion comes from knowing what it's like to walk in someone elses shoes.  Neptune rules this Water sign, and resonates with themes of the Rescuer/Victim archetype.  Neptune symbolizes our urge to merge, and sometimes those with Pisces strong in their chart have difficulty with boundaries.  Pisces must learn the art of not giving away the Self, at expense of the Other.   Under the guise of being altruistic, giving, and endlessly in service, there is a darker current that can run through the shadow of this sign, and sometimes there are threads of the martyr sewn into Pisces' apparent selflessness.  Some individuals with this sign or Neptune aspecting a personal planet or angle, identify with the archetype of the Saviour to the point where it is unhealthy, and they are in fact, giving for the glory of being the Redeemer.  This is a tricky one, and is often unconscious, and can show up as co dependence to the outside observer.  Pisces' task is to not become too identified with either the Redeemer or Victim end of the spectrum, and instead find a mindful balance of compassion for others and self care.

The New Moon this month occurs in the sign of Scorpio (0°) on Thursday October 23^rd, at 2:57 pm (PDT) and is accompanied by a potent partial Solar Eclipse at 2:46 pm.  Depending on your weather, this eclipse will be visible in most of North America.  Scorpio is the archetype of the Mysteries of sex, death, regeneration and rebirth, and is associated with the planet Pluto.  Scorpio is a Fixed Water sign;“Fixed” meaning it is a sign that resonates with the heart of the season.

Death and rebirth can be a messy, cathartic, moving experience.  Allow yourself to ride high on the currents of your emotion during this New Moon.  Let the currents take you and rock you and leave you a blithering mess, fetal on the floor if it feels right.  Scorpio, amongst other things, is about death and grieving.  Whether that be the death of a part of ourselves, a relationship that you know its time to release, or remembering and missing a loved one that is no longer on this plane.  Resist the temptation to make it all neat and dignified, and by the book.  Let’s face it, Scorpio is the shadow realm, don’t be afraid of the dark.  Scorpio is a witchy, freaky, down and dirty archetype that invites us to shed our skin, dig into the dirt with our hands, and release whatever is keeping us from growing.  We then come up on the other side, revivified, regenerated and yes, reborn.  Don’t fight the shadow; move into it.  Open yourself to Ereshkigal and surrender, because it’s futile to fight when it’s time for something to die.  It is simply another part of the cycle.  No new life can come unless you allow yourself to dissolve into the comforting womb of the Dark Mother.

Take your ordination in the rains from heaven and the winds of change that have gathered around us. Let it come, this new world. As I have written before–these are the times we are made for.
~ Byron Ballard
 
The Virgo New Moon happens tomorrow, August 25th — you can find the chart here. Before I get into the analysis, I want to emphasize again that lunation (New and Full Moon) charts can be worked with on an individual level to bring out the most positive characteristics of the planetary alignments, even if the chart has numerous difficult aspects. On a wider, country-wide level, however, on the larger social/political/economic stage, we are likely to see the difficult aspects manifesting in difficult ways more often than not. When a chart is cast for an entire country — as I do with these lunation charts, which are cast for the USA — you’ll see the issues highlighted in the chart reflected in the news, in the national conversations, in your life and the lives of those around you, but in differing degrees and in different ways.

Obviously, not everyone is going to be equally affected. For instance, in my post on the recent Full Moon, I said there would be widespread flooding in the country, as indeed, there has been — widespread and record-setting. But not everyone has been flooded out, and some people are more strongly affected by these events than others. I also spoke of the need to deal with anger in that same post, and you may have experienced feelings and/or incidents  of anger in your life, or seen it manifest in the lives of those around you. Certainly anger has been at the center of the national conversation around Ferguson, MO, entrenched racism, and the militarization of the police. Much depends on the birth chart of a person, or even a town. (The incorporation chart of Ferguson, MO, for instance, is being strongly aspected by current transits and lunations.)

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of my brand new weekly Sun-Sign column, that will be posted to this blog - beginning this weekend, on the New Moon!

The New Moon this month occurs in the sign of Leo (3’ 52) on Saturday, July 26th, at 2:41 pm (PDT).  Leo is the archetype of the Queen/King and embodies the principle of Sovereignty – the entitlement to freely express one’s unique personality with radiant confidence and self-possession.  Leo has faith in the abundance of life, and is associated with the heart center, echoing themes of love, courage, affection, and luminous warmth.  Leo is also associated with the pleasure principle: living with intent, and luxuriating in the fruits of life with unshakable joie de vivre.  The Arts, entertainment, recreation, creative expression and romance all fall under the sign of the Lion.  Creativity in all its forms, including our children, is also Leo terrain.  Leo is radical self-expression, and delights in dramatic displays of personal adornment.  Leo loves to play dress up, and is usually not shy about flaunting their personal style, whatever his or her personal tastes.  This doesn’t mean that every Leo is a fashionista; you’re just as apt to see the characteristic Leo flair for costuming fun at Burning Man as on the catwalk.  It’s all about playing with possibilities.

The New Moon occurs in its own sign – Cancer - at 1:08 am (PDT) on Friday June 27.  Cancer is the archetype of the Great Mother, and shelters within its embrace comfort, sustenance, security, family, empathy, and tradition.  Cancer energy prompts us to explore our roots, unearthing cues and clues to our own emotional nature and psychic foundation.  Where do we come from? What is our inheritance from our family, the lost homeland, the tribe?  The closest aspect to this New Moon is an ethereal Trine to mystical Neptune in Pisces at 4:53 am.  Here we have both the Moon in its own sign, and Neptune in its own sign, underlining the intuitive, romantic, and yes, otherworldly pull of the subjective.  This is a wildly potent and fertile combination of energies; a deep meeting of body, spirit and extra sensory perception.  Whether you are a writer, artist, lover, or magic-maker, this is the current you want to dive into to bathe in divine inspiration.

Cancer is a Cardinal Water sign, meaning that it is a sign that begins a season, and resonates with the emotionally receptive element of Water.  Cancer is the only sign associated with the Moon.  It is changeable, and like the tides, moves in and out of waxing and waning cycles from receptivity and emotional fullness to introspective retreat.  Cancer is a sign of intuition, empathy, and inner knowing. It resonates with ancestral memory, shifting internal currents, and the unfathomable depths of the psyche.  When Cancer is out of balance or acting from its shadow, it can become entangled in subtle emotional undercurrents, arising in deep melancholic un-nameable longings, strange compulsions and inward vision, which has come to be known as infamous Cancerian “moodiness”.

This morning, May 28^th at 11:40 am (PDT) the New Moon in Gemini occurs, hovering for less than a moment in that space between breaths, and begins waxing even before she is visible in the heavens.  Gemini energy encourages us toward radical experimentation and wild imaginings.   We have the urge to get up and go, and explore new ideas, terrains, and paradigms.

Gemini is a mutable air sign, and as such is connected to the realm of the mind.  Gemini is associated with imagination, communication, language, culture, the Internet, and study. Because it is a mutable sign, it bridges one season into the next, and connects ideas, people, and things.