This is tomorrow, the 29th December, around 7 am GMT.
We have a lot going on in the sky heading into this new moon. Today (the 28th) in particular, is an important day. Today Uranus stations direct in Aries in exact opposition to Jupiter in Libra, and in tight trine to Saturn in Sagittarius. Plus Saturn squares Chiron in Pisces. Plus retrograde Mercury conjuncts the sun in Capricorn.
This symbolism here is of illumination – hidden truth coming to light, or a flash of insight that lights up the road ahead. As Mercury is retrograde, you will not have all the information, so don't make the mistake of thinking you do. (That will come later, as Mercury stations direct and moves to conjunct Pluto in January.)
What you will have is something solid to go on – a hunch that'll lead in the right direction. There will be practical things you can do with it, and your next steps will probably be quite clear.
Because this Mercury retrograde is so tied up with Pluto, what's revealed might be uncomfortable and ugly. With Saturn squaring Chiron, it could bring hopelessness and a painful awareness of limitation. And with Mars conjunct Neptune on the south node, it might feel easier to get drunk or take refuge in fantasy than to deal with what's happening. This is not exactly a feel-good new moon.
But it's better to know the reality than to be left in the dark – because then you can start taking practical steps and figuring out how to work with the situation. We are not eating pie in the sky in cloud cuckoo land here. It's just a shit sandwich on Planet Earth and we have to try to make the best of it.
As Mercury is retrograde in cautious, sober Capricorn, the appropriate response to new ideas or information right now is not a headlong rush to action. It is calm and quiet and industrious – focused on pragmatic, strategic structural changes and adjustments.
The new moon trines the north node in Virgo, which helps! Rome wasn't built in a day – it took a lot of little steps. Virgo is all about the little steps.
Here is hexagram 53 from the I Ching – it feels relevant to this new moon. It concerns the need for gradual progress in order to build something of lasting value.
Please don't be discouraged if the road ahead looks long and hard! “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”, per Martin Luther King. It's a very Jupiter in Libra sentiment – faith (Jupiter) in balance and justice (Libra) – and it's the way to go right now.
We will need more than faith though; we will need effort. I think this new moon looks fantastic as a scenario where faith and committed effort come together, along with righteous anger and the desire for change.
We do have a Mars-Neptune conjunction at this new moon, exact on New Year's Day and very close to the south node. So discouragement is definitely an option – dissolution of energy and will. This can be about illness, exhaustion and vulnerability to drugs, alcohol and delusion. Careful with all these things, please. The boundary-dissolving substances are especially dangerous this month.
That said, the Mars-Neptune conjunction beneficially aspects this new moon. What this says to me is that disillusion and disappointment can act as a spur here, and not as a swamp you get stuck in. It's when our illusions drop away that we're most capable of working with reality as it is.
I think the key to this new moon – and to the month ahead – is Uranus, planet of shock and revolution, stationing direct NOW in Aries, sign of anger and individual will.
Change is demanded. We are not going back to the old realities; we are creating radically new ones. New models of relating, new ways of making a living, new values, new visions of the future, new political groupings, new modes of protest and collective action – everything has to change, and all the old tried-and-true stuff we took for granted is just not gonna work anymore.
This kind of structural change is not going to happen overnight. But here at this coldly realistic new moon in Capricorn is where we get a sense of the road ahead - an intuition of what's possible - and start plotting our next moves.
The time to start implementing changes will come soon, as Mercury stations direct on the 8th January.
We'll have a stomach-churning full moon in Cancer on the 12th January. It looks tense, and I'll write about it closer to the time. I don't think the month ahead looks emotionally easy at all! But it does look great for gaining clarity about the road ahead, putting necessary changes in place, and getting things done.
It's a good time to make your New Year's resolutions. I think, make them wilder and stranger this year than you've ever dared. Why the hell not? Happy new year to all!
This is tonight, the 14th November, around 12:05 am GMT.
The moon in Gemini will be facing off against the sun and Saturn in Sagittarius. Both these poles will be squaring Chiron in Pisces.
As Chiron is about wounding, this looks painful. As Saturn is involved, it looks harsh. As Gemini and Sagittarius are involved, this has to do with thought, information, communication and truth vs. fiction.
What do you really know? What's true? “Post-truth” has entered the lexicon this year. The idea that news is faked is no longer a conspiracy theory – it has become the news. People cherry-pick their sources to support their established opinions, social media has enabled us all to block out voices we don't agree with, and reality TV has supplanted reality.
Where do we go from here? The future looks grim. How does collective life operate, post truth? Is reality to be controlled by whoever or whatever we feel like believing (facts be damned)?
Joseph Goebbels:
“It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle. They are mere words, and words can be molded until they clothe ideas and disguise.”
In a way I think it's a heartening development that the concept of “fake news” has become real news. At least we're all aware we're being flagrantly lied to.
The problem is, where do we go from here? What stories can we actually have faith in, when our sense of collective reality has been wounded to this extent? Planning for the future requires knowing where you're standing now – but who knows that anymore?
Leaving aside the collective, what does this dynamic look like in your own life? Where have you lost faith in the future, where do you no longer believe the story you're telling yourself or being told?
It's likely something will come to light at this full moon – some new information or revelation that helps you put things in proper perspective. Expect it to be a harsh reality check. Truth is not exactly a feel-good element in this scenario – it is sobering and painful.
Mercury (thought, information, communication) is the ruler of Gemini and dispositor of this full moon. He is currently in cold, sober, reality-based Capricorn, and edging toward Pluto – and this speaks of a drive to get to the bottom of things; to face the unvarnished truth.
Mercury is stationing retrograde on the 19th December - as if to underscore this theme of analysing the facts and getting the story straight. The retrograde runs till the 8th January and brings him back to the late degrees of Sagittarius, which is all about the stories we tell to make sense of the world. He will station direct as the sun conjuncts Pluto in Capricorn. Some harsh truths – especially relating to corrupt power dynamics in the collective, and in your own life – are likely to be illuminated.
It's not all grim though. We have Mars in Aquarius (the will to try something different) and Uranus in Aries (a fiery drive to be true to ourselves) in mutual reception, and helpfully aspecting each other right now. Both are also beneficially aspecting the sun, moon and Saturn this full moon. This speaks of paradigm shifts and revolutions - energy, anger and will being directed toward progressive channels. It's not a time for sitting on your hands and isolating yourself – there are new associations and realities to be built, to replace the stuff that is no longer credible. It's exciting and unpredictable!
Also, we have Venus in Aquarius, which is a drive for freedom and novelty in relationships. With Jupiter in Libra, relationships are a theme, but Venus in Aquarius abhors staying stuck in the same old relational ruts. She wants space, candour and equality, and she's into unusual, improbable pairings.
So we have a lot of Aquarian influences pushing us to find new modes of inhabiting reality, relating to others and envisioning the future right now. Be ready to embrace shock and upheaval this holiday season – change is in the air, and it's necessary.
Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, stations direct on the 28th December, in exact opposition to Jupiter in Libra and sextiling Venus in Aquarius. This is a big zap to relationships of all kinds – obviously we can't keep doing the same old shit and replaying the same old dynamics. This is about clearing the air, being radically honest and objective, striving to find a new kind of balance.
To sum up: this full moon looks like a bit of a drag – a bubble-burster for sure. You'd do well to work with this. Let your bubble be burst. Reality has to be faced, and there is work to be done to create the kind of future you want. That involves dropping your illusions and self-pity and getting out there, joining with others, forming new associations and embracing change. We are not really “post-truth” - but the old realities are torched and it's time to try something new.
Please be aware that the north node is still in Virgo – keep your focus on what's practical and realistic. The south node is still conjunct Neptune in Pisces, and Mars will be moving to conjunct Neptune by the end of the month. I've been talking about the difficulty of knowing what's true these days – well it's sure to be extra-difficult for the rest of the month. So please try to stay grounded and be aware of the possibility of deception. That includes self-deception.
Plus: big substance alert! Take care with drink and drugs. Also with romantic idealism, delusion, self-pity, nostalgia, despair... All poisons under these circumstances. We are not going backward to the way things were - we are trying to forge a new paradigm here. Facing harsh reality is a necessary step toward this.
This is later today, the 29th November, around 12:15 GMT.
Sagittarius is about hope, optimism, open vistas, new possibilities. Moving forward, basically.
And moving forward looks like the theme of this new moon all right. Getting on with life and moving into the future with a renewed sense of purpose, even though you're still reeling and you'd rather lie in bed with the covers over your head.
I think this past November has ripped our faith in business-as-usual from us. Everything has changed, right? There are new realities to be attended to now, and there's no going back.
Helpfully, the way forward and the way backward are clearly mapped out for us here. This new moon tightly squares the north and south nodes, which are about the path of growth (north node) vs. the path of stagnation (south node).
The north node has been in Virgo for the past year. This means the path forward is about intense pragmatism. Attending to daily reality and doing what needs doing, however routine and mundane it may feel. Staying grounded and focused on the little tasks and details.
The south node is conjunct Neptune in Pisces. This means the path backward is toward delusion, fantasy, misguided romanticism, self pity, addiction, emotional ungroundedness. Drowning your sorrows or trying to evade reality.
It's easy to illustrate! Way forward:
Way backward:
Easy to illustrate, but maybe not so clear-cut in reality. Having Neptune on the south node means we are all dealing with some level of delusion these days. It's easy to think you're on the right track when you're actually on the exact wrong one. There is a lot of misinformation and self-deception swirling around.
This is where Saturn in Sagittarius can help us. At best, this is about honesty, integrity, walking your talk and having a solid plan. It's about having a moral compass that helps you distinguish right from wrong, truth from falsity.
Saturn is loosely conjunct Mercury in Sagittarius for this new moon, which will hopefully be a sobering influence on our minds and speech. Sagittarius can be bombastic and rigidly ideological – and that's a danger here. And it's something we've all had enough of at this point, lord knows.
Luckily though, the dispositor of all these planets in Sagittarius is Jupiter in Libra – sign of balance, fairness, social grace and seeing the other's point of view.
What this means is, reciprocity and moderation are favoured. Fact-checking and thinking before you rush to judgement are favoured. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is favoured. Tact and peacemaking are favoured.
These Libran qualities will be severely tested, though. Jupiter in Libra is involved in a cardinal t-square right now: squaring Venus and Pluto in Capricorn, opposing Uranus in Aries. Aaargh.
With this, you can expect shake-ups and power struggles, in relationships especially – and abrupt endings in some cases. Things are not going to stay static, no matter how hard we try to maintain the status quo. Deep-seated issues will be brought to the surface – and this is not a comfortable process. Arrangements that have outlived their usefulness will be battered at till they break.
This is in effect for the rest of the year, so it's a good idea to drop your cherished notions of how things ought to be, and focus instead on working with what's at hand.
It isn't about resignation and despair though - that is Neptune-south node swamp stuff. Sagittarius is about hope and enthusiasm, and new moons are about beginnings. So this new moon in Sagittarius is a great time to begin something you find inspiring and uplifting, or to seize a new opportunity.
But as this sky is also relentlessly practical, your dreams must be able to work in the real world. No pie-in-the-sky stuff here, no escapist bullshit. There are big possibilities, but you have to keep your head screwed on and be willing to put the boring work in to make things happen. Nothing is just going to be magically handed to you. You have to keep on being a grown-up and doing your Virgo.
The nice thing is, you'll be a lot happier these days if you do your Virgo. It's not drudgery at all. Focusing on routine, boring, everyday tasks is how you get to feel like a functional human being instead of a confused mess.
And we are all a bit of a confused mess right now. This is a crazy time, and it won't be getting any less crazy for a while. So please try to remember your Virgo (humility and attention to reality). And your Jupiter in Libra (civility, fairness, ability to compromise) to boot.
This is tomorrow, the 14th November, around 2 pm GMT.
It's a supermoon, as I'm sure everyone has heard. The biggest one since 1948 apparently – and we won't see another this big and bright till 2034.
Given the societal tensions we've been seeing and the way full moons amp up people's passions, I'd be kinda nervous about this...except this full moon is in settled, stable, reality-based Taurus. That should calm the emotional tone down a bit and make the tension easier to manage.
The story the sky is telling right now is one of tension, though. Go figure. Basically, everybody is angry, people are taking extreme stances and it has become very hard to know what's true. Talk about politics at your peril - firefights are the norm now.
--We have the sun in extremist, polarizing Scorpio, and this is intense by definition. Plus we have Uranus in Aries (populist rage) sending an edgy inconjunct to the Scorpio sun, triggering bursts of destructive collective anger.
--We have Mars (aggression, drive) in the revolutionary sign of Aquarius, in mutual reception with Uranus (shock, revolution) in Aries, a sign which is all about individual will - and this is about popular rage in action. People out on the streets demanding change.
--We have Mercury (speech, communication) newly in Sagittarius, where he is prone to ideological ranting. He is aspecting Mars in Aquarius. This fires up the rage and the potential for wounding, crude, shocking (and/or incisively insightful) communication.
--We have Neptune in Pisces stationing direct on the 19th November, nearly exactly conjunct the south node. This is a swamp of confusion, delusion, lies, inertia and stagnation. Destructive nostalgia; the pull of old addictions, utter head-fuckery and bewilderment.
--We have Jupiter in Libra getting set to square Pluto in Capricorn (exact 24th November) and oppose Uranus in Aries (exact 26th December). This is a test of our civility, our tolerance, our ability to find common ground in the midst of disagreement. It is also a painful magnification of the sense of a corrupt power hierarchy (Pluto in Capricorn) and individual rage against it (Uranus in Aries).
In short, we have not seen an end to populist rage, or to duelling ideologies, or to polarized discourse. Or to the reign of utter crazy bullshit and delusion. Or to the dissolution of everything we thought to be true and stable...
We are still dealing with the aftermath of the transformative, destructive Uranus-Pluto squares (2012-2015), and we will be dealing with this for a long time. Recall that the last time we had a series of squares between these two planets was the 1930s, during the run-up to World War II. This is similar.
Pluto (toxicity, corruption and transformation) entered Capricorn, sign of the establishment, in 2008. That was the year the banking system fell apart. It was propped up at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.
Then Uranus (shock, revolution) entered Aries, sign of individual will and combativeness, in 2011, and collective anger erupted. That's when we watched the birth of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which demanded accountability from governments and the financial system. That's also when we saw the Arab Spring explode all over the Middle East, as people took to the streets to demand change.
Pluto and Uranus squared each other seven times between 2012 and 2015, and they hit like a wrecking ball, reducing a lot of lives to ruins. Populist revolt and shocking violence (Uranus in Aries) vs. extreme efforts on the part of authorities to maintain control, though the systemic rot could no longer be hidden (Pluto in Capricorn). Syria is a perfect example of how this sort of thing plays out on a collective scale - and with Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, the horror of that war can't be contained to just Syria; it is a contagion affecting the entire world.
But on the individual level, plenty of people have been through their own private apocalypses these past few years. Much of this (job and home loss and financial difficulty especially) is tied to the collective catastrophe - the failure of governments and the financial system to provide stability.
This year, to top it all off, we had three squares between Saturn (structure, order, reality) and Neptune (dissolution) – and this has dissolved the scorched earth right out from under people's feet. We no longer know what to expect. The future has always been uncertain, but this is something else entirely. None of it makes sense. And this uncertainty fuels more extremism – people retreat to polarized viewpoints when their sense of stable reality is threatened.
So here we are, at this supermoon in Taurus, and I hope it brings some calm and pragmatism, because we all have to figure out how to move on from here. New foundations have to be constructed; new realities have to be attended to. The old ones are torched.
The sky offers some clues as to how to move forward. Chiron in Pisces (a sense of existential woundedness) supports the full moon, and this says to me that compassion is the right response to turmoil – hard as it may be to come by. Compassion for the oppressed, and for the suffering that underlies the rage of the oppressors. We are all in this planet-sized shit show together.
Chiron is also about healing, and I hope some of that will be on offer. Because the collective polarization and savagery have grown hard to bear.
Another way forward is highlighted by the north node in Virgo, now exactly opposing Neptune and the south node in Pisces. I have been harping on about this for ages, but it bears repeating: pay attention to reality, to the bedrock facts of your everyday life. Attend to the little details of what needs doing. Stay grounded, serve others, help whenever you can, keep to your routines. Do not get stuck in the swamp of your own inertia or delusion or emotional ungroundedness.
All this is easy to say, but it will be pretty damn hard to do. Especially as Neptune stations direct later this week conjunct the south node, and in square to Mercury. It will feel like a complete headfuck, and the temptation will be to retreat into cloud-cuckoo land or a bottle of gin. Try to stay anchored in reality, one mundane task at a time. This has been important all year, with the north node transiting Virgo. But it is absolutely imperative now.
There is a yuuuuge need to accept and be willing to work with reality at this full moon - we must get down to business. We have Venus newly in security-seeking Capricorn, moving to conjunct Pluto on the 25th November - and this, along with the Scorpio-Taurus stuff, is about a fairly ruthless, realistic assessment of the bottom line in relationship and money matters. What you give vs. what you get back.
And by “bottom line”, I don't just mean money – I mean energy, though money and energy are often interchangeable. With Jupiter in balance-minded Libra, exchanges have to be fair, above-board and equal. The energy drains have got to go. This may entail getting rid of things you're quite attached to, and it will hurt.
But you have to drop the dead weight in order to move forward - and the dead weight in this case may be your dreams and illusions about how life should be. We have to work with what life IS.
This is not a time for burying our heads in the sand - this full moon is all about accepting reality, working with it and striving for fairness and balance in the face of conflict, delusion, polarization, shock and instability.
A new moon in Scorpio is always witchy – the dark of the moon is a time of powerful, shadowy inceptions, and Scorpio is a forceful and covert sign, having to do with sex, death, the taboo, regeneration and transformation.
But this new moon is especially witchy. It falls nearly on Samhain (now Halloween), the pagan festival of the dead – the time of year when darkness is in ascendancy and life retreats underground. Traditionally, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thought to be most porous right now.
And this new moon reinforces the Samhain theme of the thinning of the veil. It is conjunct Mercury in Scorpio (deep, incisive, instinctual thought and communication) and trining Neptune in Pisces (dreams, dissolutions, spirituality, art).
Mercury and Neptune together mean magical communication. So this is about messages from the depths – our minds will be open to the Otherworld / the collective unconscious /the great beyond – or the will of God, if you like. The lunar cycle this new moon opens looks very deep and quiet and full of inward revelation to me. Intuitive in a shadowy, instinctive way.
But the new moon also sextiles the north node in Virgo, which is about humility, realism, routine and systematic work. So this is deep intuition that can be put to everyday use – practical magic.
In short, it's powerfully magical, full of the potential for healing and regeneration. It's the exact right time for doing magical rituals, channeling messages from the beyond, making art and music, committing to a spiritual practice. (Or having lots of sex. There is a big relationship slant to all this, which I'll get to – and Scorpio requires intense merger, ahem.)
I think it looks great. It doesn't make any harsh aspects. Very like last year's new moon in Scorpio, really - a serpent's egg, full of coiled-up power and depth.
You can trust your gut and your intuition here – there is solid guidance at hand. There will be something to build on. A a new idea or revelation, a new possibility, a dream with solid potential.
--And maybe a decisive ending. What is no longer viable will have to fall away so that something new can take shape.
Mercury-Neptune contacts can be flaky and ethereal to the point of incoherence and delusion. But because this is a new moon in unsentimental, no-bullshit Scorpio - and because we have the pragmatic north node in Virgo involved - we are not talking half-baked New Age nostrums here. Quite the opposite. This is about grounding the otherworldly and ethereal in the here-and-now, putting it to work.
The point is regeneration and healing. Virgo and Scorpio both have an association with healing: Virgo is good at identifying problems and crafting solutions in a detail-oriented, systematic way. And Scorpio weeds out energy drains. It zeroes in on whatever is diseased, rotten, false; and it does all the life-or-death, disgusting work no one else wants to do – it drains out the pus, amputates the gangrenous limb, sews in the sutures.
So you put these energies together and you have a very unsentimental, surgical kind of vibe, focused on survival and regeneration.
Reinforcing this theme, we have the rulers of Scorpio (Mars and Pluto) both in Capricorn, sign of work and structured achievement. They are still loosely conjunct for this new moon, and Pluto is beneficially aspecting the Virgo north node.
Mars and Pluto together do not make for the most fun influence – this combination is known for killer rage and eruptive violence. And though Mars is moving out of the conjunction, he'll be squaring Uranus this new moon – an influence that magnifies the potential for shocking violence and accidents. So be careful driving and operating machinery this month, please! And avoid rage zombies.
In spite of this potential violence, I'm inclined to see the Mars-Pluto stuff as beneficial here. It means there is vast energy and drive to put toward whatever needs fixing or (re)building in your life.
With the current Mars-Pluto stuff, if poison bubbles up out of the depths - it is a symptom of a larger problem, and you can potentially address the problem at its roots right now. It is not a time for ignoring the ugly stuff - you have to be willing to dig deep and get your hands dirty.
So I think it's beneficial overall, even if it manifests as some kind of eruptive ugliness.
Another beneficial influence: we have love and money planet Venus now in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is an optimistic, free-spirited sign; Venus in Sagittarius is tolerant and happy-go-lucky. So this is great!
Plus she is in mutual reception with Jupiter in Libra – ie, Venus is in the sign Jupiter rules, and Jupiter is in the sign Venus rules. And these two lucky, traditionally “benefic” planets are also in beneficial aspect.
This is really lovely and bouyant, especially for relationships. A bit of fun and lightness in an otherwise very heavy and serious sky.
But it's not all kittens and ice cream. Venus is also conjunct Saturn, and this is exact the day before the new moon. This conjunction can represent some form of limitation, delay, blockage or fear - especially re. relationships. But it also denotes great seriousness about the future, and a willingness to commit to a vision of what's actually possible. And to work for it..
So there are limits and boundaries here, and maybe endings – what's not actually possible or workable will have to fall away, so that something real can take its place. Trust your gut on this. You will know what cords have to be cut.
At the same time, there is a future for the building here. There are dreams that can come true, given a bit of work.
All in all it looks very positive to me. Jupiter in Libra, remember, is about balance and fairness, being able to see the other's point of view and to compromise... also big love and luck in relationships. And paired up with Venus and Saturn in Sagittarius, this is about realistic plans re. partnerships and money.
It looks like love that can go the distance, or a solid new direction, or a grounded and sincere kind of happiness. You just have to trust in it and be willing to put a bit of work in. Jupiter and Venus together denote a gift, but this is the kind of gift that takes good faith and commitment to secure - and time, and patience. It's not just going to fall into your lap.
Luckily, the Mars-Pluto conjunction will supply the necessary stamina and drive.
--All that said, we are still dealing with the north node in Virgo opposing Neptune and the south node in Pisces. This is a slough of despond – a real swamp of fantasy, delusion, addiction and escapism. So please keep in mind, you have to keep moving past the pull of destructive nostalgia and addiction. There is really no going back; you know that. And no running away either.
The north node in Virgo dictates the way forward: humble, systematic work. Don't let your emotional ungroundedness or moodiness get the better of you. Just focus on the day-to-day details and keep dealing with what needs doing as it comes up. If you start freaking out about the future or obsessing about the past, try to do something grounding and healthy. Or focus on how you can serve others.
This is early tomorrow morning, the 16th October. 5:23 am GMT. Maybe you're already feeling it! This is a big one - violent and explosive, with long-lasting effect. It's a turning point and it involves shock. If you can stay out of fights, listen to opposing points of view and mind your manners, you'll be doing well.
This full moon is a supermoon, which means it's closer to earth than usual and will appear larger. It's in Aries, a warlike, impulsive sign. It's conjunct Uranus, an explosive, shocking influence. And it squares the extremely violent and transformative Mars-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn (which is exact the 19th October).
Mercury (mind, communication) in Libra is involved, also in square to the Mars-Pluto conjunction. So there's the possibility for deep mental change and transformative communication – or deeply hurtful exchanges fuelled by eruptive rage.
Expect shocking news and fraught exchanges. Also shake-ups in relationships – the need for partnership and co-operation coming up against deep anger, rebellion and the demand for personal autonomy and space. Manipulation and shitty covert power dynamics are likely to be exposed.
This looks like Jupiter in Libra's first big test to me. Jupiter is about luck and blessing; Libra is about civility, harmony, balance and partnership. For the next year, as Jupiter transits Libra, your happiness and luck depend on being polite, diplomatic and able to see all sides of a situation – not just your own point of view.
Under this full moon, we are likely to see people acting out like big, moody, self-absorbed babies, spewing vitriol and aggression. It'll be too easy to lash out from a sense of wounded ego or personal grievance; also too easy to overreact to insults and imagined slights.
But with Jupiter in Libra and the north node in humble, pragmatic Virgo, that kind of behaviour is absolutely not going to do you any favors. Blessed are the peacemakers under this sky - the coalition-builders, the patient workers for equality and constructive change, the upholders of public decency and civility.
Peacemaking is easier said than done - there's a lot of provocative idiocy and outright delusion flying around right now. But you're sure not going to get anywhere by yelling about it. Jupiter in Libra is not a fan of crudeness, rudeness or people who make scenes - so please try to take the high road.
Michelle Obama's "when they go low, we go high" is actually a really good slogan for this full moon, and her recent speech on sexual harassment represents a productive use of shock and rage, in the interests of justice and deep, progressive social change. That's the sort of balancing act that's called for here, though knee-jerk rage is the simpler option.
This is our first new moon with Jupiter in Libra - a sign he'll be moving through for the next year. And it just happens to be a new moon in Libra, conjunct Jupiter. So clearly, this is Jupiter in Libra's big inauguration party. The month ahead will bring the themes of this transit into focus.
Jupiter is about luck, expansion, opportunity. And Libra has to do with relationship, beauty, harmony; enacting and maintaining a balance between self and other. Also fairness and justice.
So with Jupiter in Libra, Libran themes are emphasised. Luck this year is on the side of manners, diplomacy, balance, fairness and peace-making. Working with others instead of shooting off on your own, being able to see all sides of a situation and to find compromise.
Libra is also about romance, and that's a big emphasis at this new moon: solid, lovely new beginnings in relationships. We are definitely not talking flings - this is a very deep and serious vibe. Big love!
I say this because the dispositor of the new moon is Libra's ruler, Venus... and Venus is currently in Scorpio, a sign of emotional extremes and psychological depth. So the new beginnings here are very intense and all-or-nothing - there is no room for wishy-washiness or frivolity. What cannot go the distance will fall away.
Venus also trines Neptune in Pisces and sextiles Pluto in Capricorn. This is dreamily romantic but also very solid and grounded and deep. It's a beautiful combination.
But there are hints of conflict implicit in the promise of this new moon. Pluto and Mars in Capricorn are squaring Jupiter and the sun and moon - and this is pretty fighty. A lot of potential for crappy power plays and hotheadedness here.
And keep in mind: we are dealing with cardinal signs, which are about initiating things. So it looks like a big conflict is at its inception here. I think it'll come to a head at the full moon on the 16th October, which looks violent and difficult.
So lovely as the new moon is, the month ahead is not going to be stress-free. Sometimes peace and harmony require conflict - and conflict appears to be what's coming. The danger at the full moon is of conflict escalating out-of-hand.
But I guess we'll burn that bridge when we get to it...
It's fitting that Jupiter's inauguration party at this new moon in Libra should be so big and lovely, but also so full of the potential for violence. Jupiter's transit of Libra is going to be marked by the same themes, as he gets himself tangled up with the lingering Uranus-Pluto square later this year. There will be no more exact squares between Uranus (revolution) and Pluto (destruction), but these planets are still in aspect, and Jupiter's transit of Libra is going to magnify the potential for violence and destruction implicit in their interaction.
But with Jupiter in Libra, please remember peacemaking and diplomacy are favoured. There is really no such thing as going it alone - we all have to interact with others and try to respect divergent view-points. Civility is favoured, whether or not you agree with someone's ideology.
And the north node is still in Virgo, meaning the way forward is still about humility and quiet, patient, systematic work...and pragmatism. Grounding yourself in everyday reality instead of escapism, delusion and emotionally-driven fantasy.
This is tonight, Friday the 16th September at 8 pm GMT.
It's a penumbral (partial) lunar eclipse in the final sign of the zodiac: Pisces, which is concerned with the dissolution of form and of ego. Also sacrifice, faith, magic, art, drugs, delusion - whatever dissolves the boundaries between this world and the Otherworld, or between the self and the larger cosmos.
Full moons symbolise culminations or endings, and Pisces is the final sign of the zodiac. And eclipses are supercharged. So the symbolism here is definitely of an ending.
Potentially a painful one: a Pisces moon is sensitive, idealistic and emotionally porous, and for the eclipse she will be conjunct Chiron. Chiron signifies a wound that will not heal, but can become a source of knowledge. In Pisces, the wound can be to our faith in life; our sense of a transcendent, guiding purpose. Or to our ideals, illusions and romantic fantasies.
So basically we are looking at a very thin-skinned, vulnerable emotional tone. This is aggravated by a square to Mars in Sagittarius, which can be a bombastic, aggressive, impulsive influence – like someone who insists on pushing their agenda without any sense of tact or emotional subtlety.
Extreme emotional sensitivity vs. tactless aggression - someone is likely to get hurt here.
--But there is also the potential to transcend your sense of injury by focusing on the larger picture, having faith in the grand design, serving others. Some kind of sacrifice might be called for - of ego, maybe.
The moon opposes the sun and retrograde Mercury in matter-of-fact Virgo, and Mars squares them. The Virgo stuff, especially with Mercury retrograde, is about caution, humility, getting your facts straight, thinking and rethinking before you open your mouth. A focus on the small, mundane, practical details; also a need to serve others.
With the north node in Virgo (and tied into this eclipse) - this is the way through. I've been harping on about this for months, but it bears repeating: do not let a mood of hopelessness or despair get the better of you. Keep attending to the small, practical stuff. One foot in front of the other, one mundane task after another – keep your mind on the little daily tasks at hand and don't look too far ahead, because the road ahead is unclear at present.
We had the final pass of the Saturn-Neptune square on the 10th September, and it's still very tight – so basically the future is all up in the air. Worrying about it and allowing yourself to get depressed is counterproductive. So is indulging the longing to escape your present circumstances – and that includes drowning your sorrows or succumbing to your addictions. You have to keep dealing with what's in front of you in a systematic, practical, organized manner, because there is really no other way out. “The best way out is always through” - per Frost.
The poem that quote is taken from illustrates the mood of this full moon pretty well...it's about a woman going crazy (moon in Pisces) under the weight of her domestic duties (Virgo), and telling a traveler (Mars in Sagittarius) her story.
The poem is ambivalent as to her fate – but this sky is not so ambivalent. Virgo is definitely the way through, so keep doing what has to be done. Despite broken illusions, hopelessness, dreams of escape, despairing moods and the sense of the ultimate futility of existence – just keep doing your Virgo.
It is likely that the issues we are dealing with under this full moon have to do with relationships. Jupiter (as of the 9th September) is in Libra, sign of marriage and close partnership. And Venus in Libra has been tangled up with Pluto and Uranus – gods of transformation and shock - this past week, sparking off big, abrupt shifts in relationships. Venus squared Pluto on the 11th September and she opposes Uranus, planet of revolution and disruption, for this eclipse...the exact opposition is on the 18th September.
With Venus opposite Uranus, the relational shifts we're looking at may be abrupt endings – but this can also be about radically transforming the way you relate, giving people the space they need to be themselves, detaching from drama and shitty old power dynamics, examining and transforming your patterns and your unconscious control issues re. relationships...
So it doesn't have to be about endings! But if you are facing the end of something, please keep in mind that every ending is also a new beginning. Mars is beneficially aspecting Uranus, and this is about freedom, personal authenticity and new vistas opening up. As Jupiter (travel, luck, expansion) is now in Libra, these new vistas are likely to be about relationships.
(Urgh, sorry. SO cheesy. But it fits.)
I think things will be easing up and feeling more dynamic in the weeks ahead. We will be past the intensity of eclipse season. Then our nerve-frazzling Mercury retrograde ends on the 22nd September, a few hours before the autumn equinox.
At the equinox, the sun moves into Libra – and this year the sun will be conjunct Jupiter in Libra. This is a big, happy, creative influence, especially re. relationships. Maybe a little over the top, but exuberant and hopeful!
The next day, Venus changes signs – from Libra to all-or-nothing Scorpio. Venus in Scorpio has her issues (drama, power games, obsession, jealousy, betrayal), but in this case she's well-aspected. So I would read this as being about great intensity and depth in relationships: true love. To the death.
Then Pluto resumes direct motion on the 25th September, in beneficial aspect to Mercury and the north node in Virgo – practical restructuring is underway! Earth-shifting life changes become workable.
We have a new moon in Libra the 1st October – the sun, moon, Jupiter will be conjunct in the sign of relationship, marriage, harmony, balance and justice. This opens a new chapter where Libra matters are concerned – or a whole new book altogether. I think it looks like a really solid new start.
It's all pretty exciting. So if you feel low at this full moon, don't fret, and try not to act out. Have faith. It's just a mood; better days are ahead.
This is tomorrow morning, the 1st September, at about 10 am GMT.
We have a lot going on in the sky this month, ushered in by this harsh and intense solar eclipse in Virgo. I think September will ask a lot of us. It looks stressful, weird, anxious, head-melting. Things are in flux in a big way. People with a lot of planets in the mutable signs (Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius) will be especially hard hit.
The good thing is, there is a very clear and defined way through, and it is built into the chart of this new moon: keep doing your Virgo. Keep doing the jobs that need doing, quietly and humbly. Keep fine-tuning your routines, keep adapting to change in a simple, straightforward, constructive way. If you're having an existential crisis, do the dishes or mop the floor or walk the dog. There is always something (or someone) that needs taking care of.
Keep your focus on the humble, the everyday, the functional...even (or especially) in the midst of chaos and uncertainty about the future. If you try to think too far ahead these days, or on too large a scale, you're liable to get depressed or overwhelmed – or to be flat-out deluding yourself. So just attend to the boring, everyday, small stuff as it comes up, however fucking irritating it may be. Boring and mundane is the way to go here.
Also, we are dealing with a lot of mutable energy here – so adaptability and flexibility are important. If you hit roadblocks, delays and annoyances this month (which you will!), try to accept them with humility and grace. Find a way around them; be willing to alter your plans. And have some faith that the fog will dissipate sometime, and the road ahead will become clearer.
The other thing I'd say is – try to have a sense of perspective (Saturn in Sagittarius) about your anxieties (Virgo). I know that people are facing difficulties at this time – but there are problems and PROBLEMS. If you are not fleeing a war zone right now or holding onto your kids in an overcrowded dingy in the Mediterranean, you're relatively lucky.
Remember your situation is probably workable no matter how hard it feels. It's important to try to find a way to work with it, because running away from difficulties or trying to ignore them is not going to go so well under this sky. Throwing up your hands in despair and giving up is also not really an option. I mean, you could do that, but it will only lead you into worse trouble. You have got to deal with the choices you've made and the messes that need clearing up.
This new moon eclipse opposes Neptune and the south node in Pisces, so escapism will pull at us. (Beware drink, drugs and romantic delusion.) It also squares the Saturn-Mars conjunction in Sagittarius, meaning we'll likely be feeling like miserable, frustrated, angry shit on a stick.
Keeping the focus practical and reality-based under this kind of moody cosmic weather will be hard, but very beneficial.
Big stuff this month:
We have a Mercury retrograde through Virgo that started yesterday (August 30th) and will go on till the 22nd September. Expect the usual Mercury retrograde stuff: jangled nerves, jumbled-up communication, information overload, glitches in devices and travel plans. Plus brain fog, anxiety and distraction courtesy of the Saturn-Neptune square. Fun stuff!
We have Jupiter ending his yearlong residency in Virgo on the 9th of September, and entering Libra. This is a big shift, and it actually looks like a nice one. Jupiter in Libra will be about balance, justice and harmony, especially in close relationships.
This new moon is Jupiter in Virgo's last big party – and he exits the sign conjunct Venus and Mercury, which is great for cleaning up your relationship messes via precise, effective communication before he enters Libra. If you've been doing your Virgo work, you'll benefit from this.
The next day, we'll have the third and final Saturn-Neptune square, exact on the 10th of September. This is a reality (Saturn) dissolving (Neptune) influence – potentially very disillusioning and disorienting. It looks like it could involve some relationship nastiness and power plays – Venus squares Pluto the next day. So be warned.
Saturn square Neptune is really the event of the month - the aspect that colors everything. Truth, clarity, rules and limits (Saturn) vs. bullshit, dreams, addiction and escapism (Neptune) - and I've already told you ad nauseam which side of the equation you want to be on, with the north node in reality-based Virgo.
Then we have a full moon eclipse in Pisces on the 16th September, and it looks fairly emotionally wounding. Painful stuff. I'll get to that closer to the time.
Finally, we have Pluto stationing direct in Capricorn on the 25th September. This looks OK! It's about deep structural change though, which is never exactly comfortable.
The upshot is, we don't come out of September the same as we went in. This month, is a scene-changer, and maybe you'll find yourself in a different play altogether by the end of it.
Keep in mind, plenty of people are not going to be in their right minds this month. Maybe cut them some slack unless they're going around shooting people. And if it's you that's going crazy - focus on the practical, and please get some kind of help if things are really bad. Your issues are workable, and they're not unique to you - other people can help! But it'll be easy to lose sight of that fact.
This is tomorrow, the 18th
August, at 10:26 am (GMT). It is – very marginally – an eclipse,
which ramps up the usual full moon intensity a bit.
It doesn't need to be any more intense
– this looks like a zinger. Aquarius is about shock,
novelty, upheaval. For this full moon, the sign's ruler, Uranus, is beneficially
aspecting the sun and moon, meaning the shocks involved may be
liberating. You might just go off in an entirely new direction; you might just take a big gamble, and it might just work out.
But it looks very crazy and
unpredictable. All bets are off! This full moon is part of a yod –
a tense, weird aspect pattern. This one looks like it's about a need for personal
freedom and authenticity (moon in Aquarius sextile Uranus in Aries), conflicting very uncomfortably with dutiful, routine-bound Mercury and
Jupiter in Virgo. It's nervous breakdown stuff.
If that were the only nervous breakdown
stuff we were dealing with, it'd be enough. But there's more! There's
Neptune on the south node, pulling us backward into utter escapist
madness and addiction. There's Mars conjunct Saturn in Sagittarius:
truth, consequences and inescapable, harsh realities re. the road ahead. There's Venus
in Virgo harshly aspecting all these planets, making relationship and
money issues feel simultaneously delusive, unreal, constraining and
inescapable. There's Chiron in Pisces opposing Mercury and Jupiter in
Virgo – a big existential wound to our minds and capacity to find
meaning in existence.
All in all, a total headfuck – and
it's not going to just disappear. This is some heavy mental shit and
it will get heavier as we move toward the new moon eclipse in Virgo
on the 1st September, which looks frankly awful for anyone of a sensitive or nervous disposition.
That eclipse ushers in a month of
mental health weirdness, but the next couple of weeks are no picnic
either. We have a Mars-Saturn conjunction on the 24th
August, which will feel like hitting a wall of karma – lies and
hype will be exposed. We have Mars squaring Neptune, exact on the
26th August, which will make heroin addiction seem like a
viable life option. We have a Mercury retrograde through Virgo
starting the 31st August, which will probably feel like this:
only even less comprehensible.
And then after the new moon eclipse, we
will have Saturn squaring Neptune on the 10th September –
a profoundly disillusioning (and disorienting, and depressing)
influence.
I know I am being very dire. I could
try to put a positive spin on it all, but I don't see what good
that'd do anyone. This stuff looks very painful and disturbing, and
it is in play till the end of the year – and people should be aware
of it.
Mutable sign people especially (Gemini,
Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) – please don't commit suicide. Try to
ride the next few months out, one day at a time. One foot in front of
the other; one small, mundane, routine task after the other – even
when your brain is a mess and you can't see the purpose of any of it.
If you try to look too far ahead you're liable to get dizzy and lose
your footing – so keep the focus narrow, on what needs doing in the
here-and-now.
And if you need some outside help, please GET
IT. From friends, therapists, religion, meds, the suicide hotline -
whatever works. Don't try to keep your craziness all bottled up and
expect it will just disappear. If you start to feel the walls closing in on
you, talk to someone. You are not the only fuck-up on planet Earth.
OK, having said all that – it's not
all bad. I wrote at the new moon in Leo a couple weeks ago that our
theme this month was new beginnings beset by roadblocks.
Those new beginnings are still pretty
solid! Just we are hitting the roadblocks about now, and they are
considerable. And some karmic backlash is hitting, for those
who've been pretending to be what they're not. It's a shock allright.
The important thing is to follow your
personal truth, your vision for the future – YOURS, not anyone
else's. And to keep on truckin', even if your onward progress is
stalled for now. Keep the faith – small, careful steps will carry you toward
the goal, even if you can barely make out your own feet through the
fog.
This is later today, the 2nd August, at 9:45 pm GMT.
New moons represent beginnings. Leo is about creativity, pride, self-expression, bling, romance, childlike enthusiasm, look-at-me DRAMA, ego! And hair, of course. Leo people work very hard on their manes. If you know one who claims not to care about their hair or isn't using it to make some kind of statement - well something is off.
(Leo rising)
Leo people can also be very childishly thin-skinned, highly sensitive to criticism and perceived slights. Best not to disrespect the hair.
OK, but more abstractly - and seriously - Leo is about the divine, radiating through the medium of individual personality. It is associated with the heart – the core of who we are. Everyone is the star of their own show, and has to express their core essence.
The sign is ruled by the sun, which can't help but radiate. And in doing so, it keeps life as we know it going – it is the star of the whole melodrama. The boss, the central heavyweight every entity in the solar system orbits around and relies upon.
So in addition to being about creativity and showmanship and personal expression, Leo stands for boss-energy, inherently organizational and entrepreneurial.
Anyway, a new moon in Leo signifies a new beginning in creative / romantic / business endeavours. It's a great time to start a new artistic, romantic, or entrepreneurial project.
This new moon will prove especially good for initiating new projects: the sun and moon will beneficially aspect Saturn in Sagittarius. This gives whatever you begin this month weight, staying power, and a realistic sense of the road ahead.
It doesn't mean it's all going to be smooth sailing. It's not, needless to say. The sky is setting up some major roadblocks this month – there will be a need for sustained effort, even when things look hopeless, confusing and stuck.
All in all, though, there is great promise and potential here. But the future will have to be worked for. Saturn is involved, and Saturn is about karma and hard work. You'll get back what you put in. If you aren't willing to put in sustained work toward making something real, don't be surprised when your dreams turn out to be substanceless.
Reinforcing the theme of new beginnings in creative / romantic / money-related endeavours, Venus in Leo is beneficially aspecting Uranus in Aries (exact 1st August). This is a fiery, impulsive influence – it has to do with going after what we really want.
But here is the roadblock part: Uranus stationed retrograde on the 29th July. So bear in mind that the new beginnings being considered here may be stalled / under reconsideration till the direct station in late December. A seed has been planted, but it might take a while to germinate.
Also reinforcing the theme of new beginnings (and roadblocks), Mars moves from Scorpio into Sagittarius a few hours before the new moon. This is a big deal! It marks the end of a long and difficult transit recapitulating Saturn's transit through Scorpio from 2012-2015.
--Think back to where you were psychologically this time last summer, with Saturn grinding his way through the last degrees of Scorpio. Plenty of people were dealing with some fairly nasty crap. Plenty of toxicity was erupting from the depths. Saturn in Scorpio was some ugly, karmic stuff, and the difficulty of the transit was heightened by the Uranus-Pluto squares during the same period – the whole setup was like a wrecking ball.
Anyway, Mars has spent much of the past year going over the still-raw wounds of the Saturn transit through Scorpio, squeezing out the last of the pus, cutting away the dead flesh, putting in the sutures. It has not exactly been pleasant. Surgical procedures aren't meant to be.
But on the day of this new moon in Leo, Mars moves from deep, dark, psychologically intense Scorpio to Sagittarius – a sign which is all about new vistas, exploration and enthusiasm. Meaning: it's time to leave the past behind and move on. There is no longer anything to be gained in revisiting it. What could be repaired – has been. What was broken will remain broken, and it might just be a blessing. (The word “blessing”, incidentally, comes from the French for “wound”.)
It doesn't mean that the losses disappear. An amputee can learn to function just fine in her new reality, but still feel the ghost of the missing limb.
It also doesn't mean the consequences of past actions can be evaded - and in fact Mars is going to hit a wall of heavy consequences later this month. (I'll get to that in a minute.)
But losses and consequences aside, you have a life to be getting on with and new things are happening. Remember that, please, when you feel like wallowing in nostalgia or self-pity. There is no going back to the way things were; you are here in your life now, and it is never going to be perfect (and it never WAS, however ideal the rear-view mirror makes it seem). But there is still plenty to be done.
I feel obliged to say that, because this new moon is hit hard by an inconjunct to Neptune in Pisces. And Neptune – planet of idealisation, delusion and fog – will be close to the south node in Pisces for the rest of the year. So it'll be easy to get pulled backward into dreams of what might have been; romantic fantasy; poisonous nostalgia; idealisation of scenarios and people that are, in fact, not so ideal...
So Neptune is another of our roadblocks under this sky - or more like a swamp you'll get stuck in. Beware of escapism and self-serving fantasy. (Plus - substance alert, in effect now and for the rest of the year. Drink and drugs are more dangerous than usual these days. You'll need to keep your wits about you and your boundaries intact, so please be careful with the boundary-dissolving substances.)
OK, re. roadblocks - this is important. Mars, planet of will, desire and forward drive, is going to hit a huge one later this month as I've said. Saturn, lord of consequences, resumes direct motion in Sagittarius on the 13th August – and then Mars runs smack into him on the 24th August. This is likely to feel like hitting a big wall of karma at high speed. It will hurt.
I think people who've been insulated against the consequences of their crappy behavior under Saturn in Scorpio are going to feel this more than most – they will have to pay the piper here. Also, inflated ego types who do not walk their talk are likely to be exposed as frauds. (This is a Saturn in Sagittarius theme.)
But really everyone will be affected. Please take blockages and delays as a matter of course, because it's unlikely that forward motion will be easy over the next month. It's important to try to stay calm and humble and keep working toward your goals even if progress seems impossible. Getting angry over it will only make things worse. This stuff looks intensely frustrating; there is plenty of potential for violence and cruelty. People will be lashing out.
And it won't help that we'll have a nervewracking mutable t-square in effect again (as in June), involving Mars, Saturn, Neptune and a succession of planets in Virgo. Or that Mercury (mind and communication) will be right in the crossfire of this mutable t-square for much of August, before retrograding back into it in September. (Head-wrecking!)
--Or that we are headed into eclipse season, with an extremely uncomfortable-looking solar eclipse in Virgo on the 1st September.
--Or that we are approaching the third (and final) pass of the Saturn-Neptune square, exact on the 10th September. Saturn is about structure, Neptune is about dissolution – and with these planets squaring each other over the past year, we have been seeing instability, uncertainty about the future and terror spreading like contagion.
I think things are set to get worse this month and into September. Nice as this new moon looks, we are not headed into a nice stretch of time – we are headed into more crazy / violent, and I think everybody can feel it. It's frightening.
My take on getting through all this is the same as it's been all year: the important thing is to keep doing your Virgo. The north node and Jupiter in Virgo point the way forward.
And after Venus moves into Virgo on the 5th August, we'll be looking at a stellium in this sign for the rest of the month. So Virgo is extra-highlighted.
In many ways this Virgo party will be Jupiter in Virgo's last hurrah – he moves from Virgo to Libra on the 9th of September, having spent a year in the sign of humility, detail work and service.
Jupiter is about what enriches and blesses us - where our luck comes from. From now till the 9th September, our luck and blessings are in Virgo.
So however crazy things get and however crazy and powerless you may feel, keep doing your Virgo. Keep your head down and your mind on the everyday tasks at hand. Clean the house, weed the garden, walk the dog, go to work, stay humble and grounded and focused on the small stuff. Restrain your ego and serve others as much as you can.
And clean up your relationship karma – make sure your relationships are clear and balanced and fair. Pay attention to the details and clear up the misunderstandings and injustices. Because Jupiter in Libra is going to be all about relationships... and justice.
It's hard to avoid the feeling that a lot of karma will be coming due over the next few months. We'll see what happens. It is sure to be interesting, anyway - as in the curse "may you live in interesting times". We do!
This is exact tonight, the 20th July, at midnight (GMT). The sun in Cancer opposes the moon in Capricorn.
Cancer is private, moody, domestic, emotional, creative; Capricorn is status-oriented, focused on outer achievement, authority and public persona. So a full moon across the Cancer-Capricorn axis will tend to highlight issues of inner life vs. outer life:
-inner self vs. public persona
-home and family vs. work life
-emotional truth vs. money / career / status
-feelings and needs vs. responsibilities
-nurturance and gentleness vs. order and discipline
Because these signs have to do with matriarchal (Cancer) and patriarchal (Capricorn) values, family issues are likely to be highlighted.
So how do you, personally, navigate this stuff and integrate these polarities? That's the question this full moon shines a bright light on. The odds are, something in your work-life / public-private balance is changing pretty rapidly right now, or has to change. Or your family dynamics may be shifting in unexpected ways.
Full moons are always a bit fraught, and this one is no exception. The sun and moon are in cardinal (initiatory, action-oriented) signs, and both square Uranus in Aries, which is an explosive, impatient, erratic influence. It looks frustrating – Uranus wants to rebel and break free, but Cancer and Capricorn are quite conservative and attached to the status quo.
Emotional control and pragmatism will be pretty important in dealing with this kind of energy. I think these will be on hand, courtesy of the moon in Capricorn. This influence can be repressive and depressing, but it is also very sober, grown-up, grounded and realistic.
We have seen plenty of eruptive violence on the collective level in the past few weeks. Much of it relates to Cancer-Capricorn themes: homeland (Cancer) and order (Capricorn).
I hope we don't see more violence this full moon – hopefully having the moon in Capricorn will lend a bit of stability and sobriety. It does look violent though – like a crackdown.
(human kindness)
Collectively and personally, we are dealing with the aftermath of the transformative Uranus-Pluto squares of 2012-2015. These set populist anger and desire for change against a rigid and corrupt status quo, with very unpredictable results. The landscape has altered - often in shocking and disturbing ways - over the past few years. The dust hasn't settled yet.
Compounding the confusion, we have a Saturn-Neptune square now – and this is about the dissolution of whatever we took to be stable and secure. Also, a corresponding mood of unease and free-floating dread.
Fragmentation and chaos are the order of the day, the future is lost in fog, and people are scared – and angry. Under these circumstances, extremist and reactionary movements gain traction. I think things will get worse before they get better, and it will take a good while.
It's not a cheery prospect, but it is what it is.
Some Yeats:
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.”
Anyway, how do we deal with this frightening collective stuff, and with the smaller-scale ways these influences play out in our everyday lives? The sky does indicate a way through.
1. Jupiter and the north node are in Virgo, and have been for the past year. This is about a humble, service-oriented, systematic focus on the details of everyday life.
-So: you could take out the garbage, walk the dog, cook the dinner, clean the house, honor your commitments, do the small stuff that needs doing. Keep your head down and your mind on the task at hand. This sort of thing is very beneficial and grounding right now.
2. Venus and Mercury are in Leo, just past an exact conjunction but still conjunct for the full moon. This is a beautiful, loving, heart-centered influence on our minds, communication and relationships. Both planets are beneficially aspecting Saturn in Sagittarius, which, at best, is about realistic vision, taking the long view and having a sense of proportion.
-So: you could let your words and actions be governed by kindness, generosity and faith in the future, not hatred, cynicism and reactionary fear. There isn't going to be much of a future otherwise.
3. Finally, Mars (now direct in Scorpio) is beneficially aspecting the full moon, and we still have a grand water trine in effect, involving Mars, the sun in Cancer and Chiron in Pisces. This is painful emotional force and insight that can be easily directed toward compassion, forgiveness and healing.
-So: you could let pain and frustration open you up to the world instead of closing you off.
I think what we do and how we behave in our small lives has a huge ripple effect on the collective. It's the only real influence we have. So this stuff is very important.
Anyway, it's a well-balanced full moon overall – harsh, angry, childish and emotionally reactive on the one hand; but steady, realistic, kind and grown-up on the other. You can pick which side of the equation you want to be on.
We have a big stellium in Cancer for
this new moon: sun, moon, Mercury and Venus. So this is a heavy dose
of Cancer energy.
I think it's much-needed after the
crazy mutable intensity of the past month. This is like a big
soothing duvet over our frayed nerves and minds. It's a bit of a
break – a chance to retreat, regroup, lounge around at home eating
nice food and rebuilding our reserves.
Cancer is about home, family, our
roots, motherhood, nurturance, emotion. It is ruled by the moon, and
can be as changeable – it is a moody sign, with a lot of
fast-shifting emotional intensity.
Our Cancer stellium this new moon
opposes Pluto in Capricorn. So expect the emotional intensities this
Cancer season to be a bit amped-up. Please cut yourself and others
some slack if things get kind of PMS-y and hormonal... It's probably
not a big deal, and not worth starting WW3 over. It's just a mood
that will pass. Maybe it's a mood that you need to examine and go
deeper into, instead of acting it out with others or trying to block
it out.
Despite the Pluto opposition, the new
moon is well aspected overall. It looks good for emotional catharsis
- Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter and the north node in Virgo send
support. Maybe there's some emotional processing to be done after all
the shifts and WTF moments of June. Things have changed pretty
drastically – we are all trying to get our heads around the changes
and what they'll mean in a practical sense. (And with Saturn squaring
Neptune, this is extremely hard – the road ahead is lost in fog.)
This month looks like a good time to
let our hearts catch up with our heads. There are probably a lot of
pent-up feelings we haven't had time to look at, busy and buzzing as
things have been. I think it's a chance to focus inward and let
those feelings come up and be acknowledged.
Not in a melodramatic way
– with Jupiter and the north node in Virgo, the point of this kind
of emotional processing is very practical and sensible. It's about
reaching a point of calm in ourselves, because what's ahead will not
be this calm again for a good while.
So please use this month to be
kind and motherly to yourself and others. Eat well, rest and focus on
healthy, practical things. There are more intensities ahead –
August looks quite cruel, as the t-square across mutable signs
regroups and tightens, and Mars (now direct in Scorpio) catches up
with Saturn in Sagittarius.
I think retreating a
bit now in order to rebuild the reserves is not a bad idea.
Neptune is very close to the south
node, so beware of using drink and substances to blot out stress. The
hangover will be pretty swampy. (This is a good influence for anyone who wants to make art, though. This month is full of creative potential.)
And please remember you can't go far wrong if you focus
on the Virgo stuff: health, everyday routine, humility, order,
service to others.
The current Cancer stellium - which is all about emotional nurturance - supports this focus
on Virgo themes. So taking care of ourselves and others in a very
practical, gentle way is what the sky is asking us
to do this month.
That includes letting yourself feel what you feel - not beating yourself up over it, suppressing it, or using it to construct a sob-story that perpetuates your suffering. Pluto is about purgation and clearing-out of old gunk. So Pluto's involvement with this new moon indicates it's time to let whatever's emotionally dammed up or stagnant in you start flowing and moving again. You're allowed to feel what you feel and to let it flow through you.
You don't have to use it against anyone - please don't! But it's important to honour your own feelings, and make the space and time for them to come up out of the watery depths. It's healthy and pragmatic, irrational as it may feel.
It's our second full moon in Sagittarius this year – the first was on the 21st May, at the early degrees of the sign. This one is at the final degree. The final, or anarectic, degree of a sign is where all its energy is concentrated. So this thing is fraught to begin with. Plus a moon in Sagittarius inflates emotion, for good or ill.
Plus it's a full moon, and those are intense. Plus it falls at the summer solstice, the height of summer. Plus we are looking at a nerve-wracking mutable grand cross during this, and Saturn squaring Neptune, which is all about reality dissolving under our feet.
All in all, it looks extremely tense – the culmination of a crazy, jangled-up month. Mental concerns are highlighted. Issues around communication, mental overload, truth vs. falsity, manipulation of reality, and reliability of information take center stage.
How fried do you feel right now? Do you feel like you're tripping?
How mentally exhausted are you? How much of a mess is your brain? How many little irritations are being thrown at you? How crazy are the people around you acting? How crazy are you feeling? How hard is it to know true from false or even what the hell is actually going on anymore?
There is so much stressful stuff happening in the sky right now, and our minds especially are under fire. And under this full moon, the mental strain and information overload are coming to a head. If you can avoid nervous exhaustion / collapse, you're doing well.
I think the key to getting through this lies with Jupiter conjunct the north node in Virgo. This conjunction will be exact for the full moon and solstice. It is all about keeping a grip on humble, everyday reality and the tasks that must be done. This focus on small stuff, necessary details, health, routine and service to others is immensely beneficial and grounding right now.
Another key is Mars in Scorpio, retrograde till the 30th June. This is a very sharp knife, in terms of intuition. Also the ability to cut ties that are energetically harmful or toxic. It can be pretty ruthless - but if you feel drained and depleted by certain interactions, or you have a sense of being lied to, trust your gut instinct.
