Aquarius full moon / Venus in Libra / Cardinal Grand Cross

Moon in Sagittarius today (August 16^th): emotional buoyancy! But can you feel the foreshadowing as it moves toward conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn tomorrow? The sense of something dark up ahead? There are some rough seas coming up, and tomorrow we get a feel for what’s involved for us as the moon hits Pluto and activates the cardinal t-square between Pluto, Uranus and Jupiter. The second half of August is intense!

What themes opened up for you at the Leo new moon two weeks ago? What traps did you recognise you needed to be free of? Where did you decide to direct your creative energies?

Now we see a culmination: what was only felt and known internally then is all out in the open now. Full moon in Aquarius on the 20^th. Moon conjunct Neptune in Pisces, opposite the Sun and Mercury in late Leo. This looks like some emotional drama to me. Great, MORE emotional drama! As if this summer hasn’t been emotionally dramatic enough already. Sigh.

Big egos and over-the-top pronouncements courtesy of the Leo stuff, emotional withdrawal and befuddlement courtesy of the moon-Neptune Aquarius/Pisces stuff. Let’s see how it pans out. It could also be wonderful and magical: great for creativity and artistic work in particular.

Pretty, right? But jellies STING! See, even as we're getting all this dreamy luminescent creative stuff, Venus is moving into a world of hurt in Libra.

 

Venus in Libra—finally a bit of air! All this water & fire feels like being a firefly in the rain. And Venus is happy in Libra--it's her own domain.

 

But Venus in Libra is not easy this time around—nothing in Libra or the other cardinal signs will be easy or harmonious for the next few years. It all gets hit by the stressful, transformative Uranus-Pluto square, forcing adjustment, purgation, action.  

This time around we have Jupiter in Cancer in the mix, so it’s a cardinal grand cross: Jupiter opposite Pluto squaring Uranus opposite Venus, active August 23 to 27th. The moon in Aries gets involved on the 23^rd, setting the tone for the proceedings: emotional freedom and authenticity, at any cost. LIBERATION.

But it’s painful. Do you think it hurts a butterfly to force its way out of its chrysalis; do you remember whether it hurt to be born? I guess it did; I guess it was terrifying. You know the one about having to break a few eggs to make an omlette? Every birth involves a death: there is no going back to the way things were.

Anyway, this cardinal cross is ugly… but I think it could be worse. The two benefics (Jupiter and Venus) are involved, and Uranus-Pluto gives the potential for sudden lightning change, deep transformation. Also relational ruptures that need to happen. Jupiter is happy and exalted in Cancer, and Venus is in her own sign of Libra. So the things that need to be changed, can be. And there is emotional healing and backup provided courtesy of the still-active grand water trine. 

But no question, it’s tense. Poor Venus in Libra. She just wants everything to be lovely and for everybody to get along. Everybody can’t get along, though.

Venus opposite Uranus (and the moon) in Aries: enough of covert or not-so covert manipulation and control, people aren’t going to be having it. 

Jupiter opposite Pluto: power struggles, yeah.

Ugh, it looks like the ‘Get-Along’ shirt.

 

Ha! Venus in Libra at her most insane, squaring Jupiter in Cancer (family fun). And Venus squaring Pluto: controlling love. And an opposition to Uranus--what a shockingly brilliant idea this 'get along' shirt thing is! I wish I had one to put my ENTIRE FAMILY in!

Aaargh.

On a personal or familial level, this stuff can (hopefully) be funny. But you take these energies and apply them to a collective and you are looking at explosive tension (Uranus-Pluto). Over economic issues (Venus), justice (Libra) and notions of 'home' & 'country' (Jupiter in Cancer). The current crisis in Egypt illustrates these themes pretty well. It will be interesting to see what happens there in the weeks ahead as the cardinal cross comes into full force.

Tense as it is, three days into the cardinal cross we get a little dose of magic. From the evening of the 25^th August to the morning of the 26th we have, holy crap, another grand sextile. Brought to you by the moon in Taurus and the sun and Mercury in early Virgo. And this is a beautiful, very welcome thing: it grounds the dissonant, difficult energies of the cardinal grand cross. It's like, in the midst of all the conflict, there is this magical calm; this great potential space to breathe in; to process the changes or to lick our wounds in.

 

So, maybe we’re not out of the woods yet; maybe there is no ‘out of the woods’, ever. But there are great gifts mixed in with the difficulties, always. As with the last grand sextile, the message here seems to me to be about engagement. The sun and Mercury will be in Virgo: self-improvement, a focus on the little details of earthly existence. There is no getting out of the necessity of working with the difficulties as they present themselves.  Assimilating the lessons, figuring out how to use them.

 

New Moon in Leo / Cardinal T-square / Jupiter opposition Pluto

Well, Jupiter’s still hanging out in cardinal t-square land—Mars is moving out of the assemblage. Thank gods. Because last weekend, for shocking, emotionally-driven, manipulative nastiness, was really quite enough.

That’s not to say it’s over—there are reckonings coming due when the moon hits mid-Libra on the 11^th August and briefly activates a cardinal grand cross. There are decisions to be made as to how you will deal with the fallout. Some veils were dropped last week…with luck (Jupiter) you know what’s underneath them now. You know there are people and dynamics that feel harmful and hurtful to you, and violently constraining. It’s up to you to decide (Libra) how you’re going to deal with this gut knowledge—do you put up and shut up, do you try to fit in with the rules and impossible expectations other people set for you? Do you try to shift the dynamic? Or rebel? Or simply walk away?

The new moon in fiery, self-concerned Leo today gives a clue as to the kind of response the skies are supporting. How it plays out in your life is a matter of how it hits your chart, but the overall theme is AUTONOMY. Being your own source of light, your own eccentric, shiny self. Valuing the truth of your own being and your own emotions, no matter how weird you may seem to others. Valuing yourself.

The sun and moon both trine Uranus—so being a free spirit, detaching from imprisoning internal and external dynamics, flying your own personal freak flag—these things are supported. And with the grand water trine still in effect and Mercury still in Cancer, you can trust your deepest feelings and intuitions. You will not go wrong if you honour your own emotional truth. 

But there is also an exact opposition between Jupiter in Cancer and Pluto in Capricorn, so this is not going to be conflict free: there are definitely power struggles involved. There are some rotten old structures here (Pluto in Capricorn) that must be confronted with emotional truth (Jupiter in Cancer). Speaking out may or may not be an option for you: with Mercury in Cancer, it can be hard to say what you feel or intuit.

But knowing what’s right and true within yourself, FOR yourself—is of the utmost importance. Honouring your own truth and your own values. Being your own authority. Creativity can be part of this: Leo is all about creativity. So find ways to creatively address the situation at hand, to express yourself, to express your feelings.

New moons are a good time to set your intention for the month ahead. If you set an intention having to do with personal freedom, autonomy and creativity, things should go swimmingly.