So eclipse season is now upon us, starting off with this new moon which is also a partial solar eclipse. Eclipse season is an intense time of accelerated change with long-lasting effect. We have two eclipses this month so what's happening in your life this July is super-important. Long-term shifts are kicking off NOW, at this emotional pressure cooker of a new moon.
Cancer is a cardinal water sign. Cardinal signs are initiatory and forceful, and water signs are concerned with emotion. Cancer is about your roots – the deepest part of you, where you draw your emotional sustenance. It's about where you come from and what you call “home” in this world, so it's associated with childhood, mother, family, nostalgia and memories.
So a new moon in Cancer is about a new emotional start, bound up with issues relating to home and family and your roots. The fact that this is an eclipse gives it an added intensity.
But what amps the intensity up to 11 is that the sun and moon will exactly oppose Pluto. And Pluto is all about intensity and deep, gut-wrenching transformation. Pluto heaves everything we're ashamed or afraid of, the Shadow stuff we'd prefer not to look at, into the light of day. The process is analogous to pus coming out of a boil, and unpleasant as it may be, the purpose is purgation and healing. What's rotten has to come to the surface to be released.
So you can expect long-buried emotions to erupt this month, especially stuff connected with home and family and mom. Formative patterns that have been deeply unconscious may become conscious. Situations may come up that radically alter your notion of “home”, or painfully expose your vulnerability. Your feelings may seem overwhelming.
I'd say, don't attempt to shut them down – it won't work, they'll just manifest in destructive ways. Welcome them and let them wash through you like water, flushing out the pent-up toxicity.
Cancer is good at hiding and defensiveness and clinging to the past, but the point here is emotional catharsis and release. Pluto is retrograde at the moment, so it's all about going inward and facing your demons. With Pluto, there's also a theme of ruthless amputation of what's no longer viable, be it an attitude, a habit, or a relationship. So this is a great time to extricate yourself from toxic family dynamics or to deal with an addiction. This is potentially a powerfully healing new moon, despite the intensity and discomfort. You can't expect to get through it without some kind of drama, but overall it looks very beneficial.
There's a lot of nice stuff happening in the sky around it. Jupiter, the “great benefic”, stations direct in Pluto's home sign of Scorpio on the 10th July. This is some very helpful backup for the process of dealing with our Shadow stuff. Jupiter will also be in beneficial aspect to Neptune in Pisces, and forming a grand water trine with the sun, moon and Neptune at the time of the new moon – more backup for letting emotions flow and trusting your intuition and your gut.
We also have a grounding and stabilising grand earth trine in effect at this time, involving Venus in Virgo, Saturn in Capricorn and Uranus in Taurus. This is great for radical yet practical new approaches to money, work and relationships.
Mars is retrograde in Aquarius until the end of August. Traditionally, it's not advised to begin new ventures until he resumes direct motion. You may run into blockages and frustration despite your best efforts. It doesn't matter – things are developing all the same and you don't have to bang your head against walls in the effort to push forward. Refine your plans and wait it out.
Mars will be tangoing with the south node for the next three months, passing over it in his retrograde on the 20th July, and then passing over it again on the 26th September in direct motion. What this means is it's a fateful time. There's an imperative to act from creativity, generosity and heart, but also a greater potential for getting stuck in violent, reactive rage. This potential is really intensified at the time of the full moon on the 27th July, a total lunar eclipse which is just a doozy.
It's a blood moon, so-called because the eclipsed moon will glow a dark red. And it looks raw, emotionally super-heated and shocking – a blood moon indeed. It's a game-changer.
This will be the longest lunar eclipse of this century and also a supermoon, meaning it'll be closer to Earth than usual. And it'll be tightly conjunct Mars, who will be at his closest point to Earth in 15 years - so the bloody moon and the red planet will both appear uncannily bright. Uranus in Taurus will be involved, forming a t-square with the sun, moon and Mars. Uranus in Taurus, recall, is a force shaking up the stable structures of our lives, altering the ground beneath our feet.
Beyond the potential for political upheaval, I'm thinking of climate change in relation to this hotted-up eclipse. There is an unprecedented global heatwave going on right now. No question, the planet frying has long-term, serious effects for all of us.
I will write more about the full moon closer to the time, but I think as this is happening during Cancer lunar cycle, we are being given an opportunity at this new moon to release our toxic emotions and unconscious patterns. There is an angry flashpoint coming, but pain is at the root of anger. If you can allow yourself to feel your pain and flush it through, you can hopefully avoid acting it out unconsciously and destructively.
We are also getting a Mercury retrograde this month, starting on the day before the full moon, the 26th July. He'll be retrograding through Leo till the 18th August. Expect the usual issues with communications and travel, and hold off on signing major documents until the retrograde ends.
This is tomorrow morning: Sunday the 9th July, around 5 am GMT.
It's a tough one - brutal, actually. There is bound to be conflict with this, and it could get violent. See the picture above: dragons, volcanoes. Something's about to spew fire, so please be careful.
The moon in Capricorn signifies a guarded, fearful, security-seeking emotional tone – quite cold and authoritarian really. And this full moon will also be conjunct Pluto, which adds an undertone of deep compulsion and hellish intensity.
Basically this denotes an obsessive, emotionally driven need for power, control and security. And on the other side, we have the sun and Mars in Cancer, which is about fired-up emotions, defensiveness and rage – especially concerning family stuff and primal needs.
Also we also have Jupiter in Libra aspecting the sun, moon, Mars and Pluto in a cardinal t-square. Jupiter can be protective and beneficial, but he also inflates everything he touches. Needless to say, we don't need any inflation of the emotionally-driven ugliness.
Mars opposite Pluto is not a nice aspect, and we have it here. It has to do with killer aggression, fights to the death, extreme competitiveness, brutality. As this is an opposition, the vibe is likely to play out interpersonally. As this is a full moon, we are dealing with high drama, culminations and endings.
People get killed under a sky like this. Don't be ashamed to back down from a fight – it isn't worth it. With Jupiter in Libra, blessed are the peacemakers and those who can see the opposite point of view. And with Neptune beneficially aspecting the full moon, compassion, forgiveness and acceptance will be helpful.
This is the culmination of Cancer lunar phase, which began with the emotionally-charged new moon in Cancer two weeks ago. Look to the issues you were dealing with at that time, as they are likely to intensify now. This full moon is a flashpoint, and the point is resolution and justice. It can either be an eruption of atavistic brutality and a fight to the death, or a catharsis that shifts a compulsive, ossified situation.
Because Pluto is involved, there is an imperative for deep transformation, and you would do well to obey this imperative. There's really no resisting it – resistance is useless with Pluto. Pay attention to what makes you feel most uncomfortable, and get to the root of it. Look at your addictions and compulsions – what are you using them to avoid? You are not going to be able to avoid it so easily, this full moon. Your most fucked-up shit will be all lit-up – and as we are dealing with a cardinal t-square, change is required.
On the plus side, this is a great opportunity for healing. Things fester when they're hidden away; they can only heal if they're exposed to light and air. If the fierceness of this full moon takes the form of ripping some putrid psychological band-aid off a festering wound, it could be a very good thing.
If it all feels overly uncomfortable and violent, please keep in mind that in two weeks' time, the cardinal t-square will have broken up and we'll have a new moon in Leo, and it looks a lot less harsh and a lot more fun. So hang in there! Deal with the discomfort, make the required changes, and have faith that things will feel less shitty soon.
Scorpio is a depth sign, concerned with the “ugly” stuff hidden under the surface – the taboo, the Shadow. So a full moon in this sign will tend to shine a bright light on some kind of ugliness we'd rather remain ignorant of.
There's no looking away with this one, though. Full moons are about culminations and/or endings, and Scorpio is very extreme and all-or-nothing, ruthlessly cutting away what is no longer viable – so clearly, something rotten in your life has to be excised here. (And with Mercury conjunct Uranus, this is likely to be made clear in a blazing flash of clarity.)
The nice thing is, this imperative for elimination has a lot of coiled up power behind it. Scorpio's ruler Pluto harmoniously aspects the full moon, lending a deep sub-surface intensity and force. And Pluto is retrograde, meaning whatever crazy stuff is coming to light now, it's only the tip of the iceberg – there are yuuuge implications that will take time to come to fruition. But they will – slowly and inexorably.
It's a moon for deep restructuring. With the north node's move into Leo and the final Mercury-Uranus conjunction (both yesterday!), our grand fire trine is now in full effect. New ideas and creative visions are buzzing away like mad - it's a hopeful time, full of energy and promise. But before you can embark upon the new, be sure you've cleared out what's dead and rotten.
This is today, the 7th April, around 12:20 pm GMT.
Oh man. It's such a zinger. Just in time, too.
Our last new moon, in Pisces, ushered in a swampy, drunk kind of 28-day lunar cycle – quite dank and depressing really.
Well this new moon is the antidote. It's a powerful, charged-up new start.
A new moon in Aries is the start of the whole astrological year. It signifies beginnings in all their rawness and urgency. And this one is a bit more raw and urgent than usual!
The sun and moon will be conjunct Uranus in Aries, planet of shock and rebellion. They'll also be squaring Pluto in Capricorn, which is about restructuring, hidden corruption coming to light, death and transformation.
We are past the historic, transformative series of exact squares between Uranus and Pluto (2012-2015), but those heavies are still in square aspect, and this new moon sparks it off again.
Under the Uranus-Pluto square over the past few years, a lot has changed. For better or worse. Think of your life, your self, in 2012 – and now look at you, four years later. Did you ever think you'd be this person?
A lot has been absolutely blown to bits; a lot has been re-built from the scorched earth. And the restructuring process is ongoing – the future isn't what it used to be, and we all have some adaptation to do.
Anyway, whatever way you look at it, this new moon will be a deep jolt. Especially if you have planets or chart angles in the cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn) - something is going to shift in a lasting way.
A deep jolt, and possibly nasty – Aries is warlike, and with Pluto involved, things can get pretty dark. I guess it won't be the calmest month on the world stage – but that's the norm now.
But nevermind the world stage. We are dealing with Aries, sign of the self – so this is all about YOU.
What do you want for your life? Not for anyone else, not for the planet, not for your highfalutin' ideals. For YOURSELF. What do you really, actually WANT? What kind of future do you envision?
Because by now you must know: nothing is going to go according to plan! Nothing is going to be quite what you'd expected.
Maybe you need a new M.O., because the one you had pre-Uranus square Pluto just doesn't cut it anymore. You don't believe the same things as you did, you don't want the same things. You're not the same person.
This new moon looks like a really good time to look at what you really, truly, deep-down want, going forward – and to set your intentions toward that end.
New moons are magical. Setting intentions at a new moon is a powerful thing. This is when you plant your seeds. The act of clarifying and articulating a desire is like planting a seed – something is bound to come of it.
But Aries new moons are super-special, because they set the tone for the entire year ahead. Meaning today at the new moon, you can set your intentions for the year ahead and expect them to carry a charge.
Ask yourself: what do I want for ME? What do I need? What has to change completely? What baggage do I have to drop?
Aries has an association with selfishness, but this is really not about being selfish. It's about being true to yourself. Your deepest desires are in you for a reason, and it's bigger than just you. Desire is how destiny manifests itself. What you want, what you're drawn to, what you value, what you love – that stuff creates the shape of your life.
This lunar cycle really does look to be about desire. We have Venus (love and money planet) in Aries, where she is a total warrior for what she wants. She's beneficially aspecting the new moon's dispositor, Mars in Sagittarius. There is a lot of sparky desire-driven energy here.
Mercury (mind and communication) has just moved into Taurus, where he is preoccupied with practical, earthbound reality – and also matters of pleasure, desire, contentment, self-esteem, ownership. This is a calming, stabilising influence on our minds and communication – useful when we are dealing with so much fire and drive. It'll help us to look at what we want in the light of reality, and see what is actually possible (and healthy) vs. what is not.
Plus Saturn in Sagittarius beneficially aspects the new moon – and this is about having a vision for the future.
Clearly, this is not about short term anything. It's about the long haul. That's why I think this is a really good time to set intentions for the future – with Saturn involved, your intentions will carry weight. Maybe write them down. Jupiter and the north node are in systematic Virgo, so list-making is favoured!
It can be pretty difficult to clarify what we actually, deep-down want. It can involve some psychological excavation. You have to cut through layers of things you think you want, that were programmed into you by your culture or family or social circle.
We are looking to get down to the core of what actually drives us here. What lights you up, engages you, makes life vital and meaningful for you? It's different for everyone.
But this is not about superficial desire. It's about the deepest levels, and it may involve stuff that is buried or taboo for you. There's a need to excavate – who are you really? What are you really about?
And to purge all the stuff you're carrying that isn't really yours and has nothing to do with what you actually want out of life. No more distractions, no more drama.
Sing it Mary J!
This emphasis on depth work has to do with Pluto's involvement – now at the new moon, and also at the full, which will be on the 22nd April, in Pluto-ruled Scorpio.
Scorpio is about psychological depth, the taboo, the Shadow. Also, desire in its most primal, compulsive form.
Driving home this focus on the depth stuff, we'll have the sign's two rulers, Pluto and Mars, both stationing retrograde just a few days prior to the full moon in Scorpio. There is a deep inward focus here, and it will be in effect all through the summer, as Mars retrogrades through Scorpio.
So yeah – this month definitely looks like it's about focusing True Will.
Aleister Crowley was an unsavoury human being and largely full of shit, but I think he was right on this score: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”.
But first you have to dig out what it is you really want – not what you think you ought to want. Not what would please your parents or your friends or even your ego.
If you can identify what really drives you and be drawn by that lodestone, provided you're not harming anyone, you can't go far wrong.
Anyway, I really like the look of this month, though it's quite violent and intense! And fraught. The usual cautions apply. Expect some kind of depth charge / jolt this new moon, especially if you have planets or angles in mid-degree Cardinal signs. Something is going to shift in a lasting way, and it's likely to be uncomfortable. Don't be surprised if it's nasty - there are some hidden agendas at work here. But whatever hits you or erupts out of you, it won't really be out of the blue. This has been building for some time.
Mind yourself and don't fight anything out to the death please. Don't blow yourself up, or anyone else. It'll be easy to overdose on rage.
Also, we are dealing with a mutable t-square now, involving Neptune in Pisces, Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius, and Jupiter and the north node in Virgo. This influence will be in play for nearly the rest of the year. It looks pretty jangled and confusing to me – like it'll be hard to know what's true.
I guess this makes it all the more important to clarify your deepest intentions and desires now. Like, now. TODAY.
But first I want to talk about Pluto, everybody's favorite sex-dwarf fascist power planet.
I've written before about how the conditions under which a planet is discovered connect up synchronistically to the meanings assigned to it in astrology. (Here and here.)
Pluto, which signifies the Shadow – the darkness everyone is afraid to look at in themselves and would prefer to project outside – was discovered in 1930, during the run-up to World War 2 and the rise of fascism.
Fascism is about the union of corporate/business interests and government. Money and politics in alliance. It's a relatively new word for a dynamic as old as civilization – but it's basically about power being concentrated in a very small circle.
Fascism, in the 20th century, has also been about scapegoating in order to promote a perfect facade of order and control. The people turned into scapegoats are always the ones whose presence undermines the state ideology of order/purity – anyone with a bit of ambiguity to their identity is targeted for extermination, because they become the repository for the collective Shadow.
So the meaning of Pluto in astrology has to do with death, ruthless elimination, and power in its most brutal form. It is about the ugliness in ourselves that we are afraid to come to terms with – it is more easily projected outside ourselves and disowned.
As lord of death and the underworld in classical mythology, Pluto also has an association with transformation and wealth. Death is a transformation. And precious stones and metals are usually found deep underground, where heat and pressure transform ordinary minerals into something rare and valuable. (And psychologically, the greatest treasures are often found in the deepest, darkest parts of our psyches – the places we're most afraid to go.)
Pluto is also about extremes: the controlled and orderly surface reality vs. the rot at the core. The death drive (Thanatos) hidden in all life.
It's no accident that the 20th century's fascist societies were outwardly focused on creating a vision of peaceful utopia...but to live within them was to know the reality of hell.
Anyway, in light of the intensity and ugliness associated with Pluto, it's ironic that he has been demoted from planetary status in recent years, to dwarf planet. This is exactly what we do with the Shadow – we minimise and deny it. It seems like what this planet represents is too scary to include in the established representation of our solar system!
But psychological growth, per Jung, depends on a reckoning with the Shadow in ourselves – the internal acceptance of our submerged power drives, our socially unacceptable behaviours and ideas, our own darkness. Everything in us that is the opposite of what we'd like to believe we are, or be seen to be by others.
Pluto, in this respect, is one of the most psychologically important of archetypes. It is the descent into hell, into our unconscious darkness, that allows us to become conscious human beings (which just means being capable of acting outside of our unconscious conditioning – a monumental and unending task).
Reckoning with the Shadow involves a kind of dying: the destruction of what we thought we were, the acceptance as part of us of all we'd like to pretend we are not.
It can feel like an abduction. In the mythology, Pluto was an abductor and rapist. He kidnapped Persephone (symbolic of spring or the life force) and took her down to hell to be his queen, holding her there without her consent.
Anyone who has dealt with an addiction, a destructive obsession or an abusive relationship will be able to understand the symbolism of this myth at a deep level. Being in the grip of a compulsion can feel like being at the mercy of something much larger and stronger than you - something intent on your destruction.
In the myth, Persephone doesn't get free of Death – she has to spend half the year in hell for eternity. It's winter on earth while she's down there, summer when she returns. So she is a liminal figure. She doesn't belong completely to the light or the dark, but to both. She has to live with her knowledge of hell in the middle of summer – but she knows summer is coming, even when she's in the depths of hell.
In psychological terms, this is like owning your shadow – your darkness, your 'badness', your destructive compulsions – your death-drive. Your devil, whatever form he takes.
You don't defeat the devil. You learn to look at him, and to live with him, in yourself – and you stop projecting him outside. But this is enough work for most people's lifetimes.
--Anyway, I'm writing about this now because our little downgraded Shadow dwarf planet Pluto has recently come under scientific scrutiny! The NASA New Horizons probe approached Pluto in mid-January of this year, and did a close flyby on the 14th July – just before a very Pluto-influenced new moon, with Pluto opposite Mars and Mercury.
So we now have detailed pictures of Pluto. It's a strange place! There's a heart-shaped plain of moving ice (!), there's apparent volcanic activity, there are 11,000 foot high mountains, there is a methane atmosphere that may be on the verge of collapse – all on a world smaller than our moon.
The heart-shaped glacial plain is symbolically kind of amazing, considering Pluto's rulership of Scorpio, a sign concerned with deep, intense emotion buried under an icy facade. In fact, all the features seem symbolically amazing to me – there are such extremes at work on this tiny world.
So our unknown Shadow-planet turns out to be a very interesting place, and worthy of deep examination!
The New Horizon probe's timing is synchronistic - Pluto is important right now. We are just past the historic Uranus-Pluto square series, which was about radical change on the collective and individual levels. That was some fairly intense and gut-wrenching Pluto action.
And right now we have Saturn in Pluto's sign (Scorpio), and Pluto in Saturn's sign (Capricorn). This is called a mutual reception, and is about an easy dialogue between these two planets. The theme here is deep psychological excavation and restructuring. Unearthing the deep rot beneath the facade of 'normality' or respectability.
We had a Pluto-themed new moon in Cancer on the 16th July, and if anybody has gotten through the past few weeks without some sort of poisonous emotional or psychological vomit coming out of them or being spewed at them – well lucky you! At the very least, we are looking at deep, seismic shifts in family and relational structures and power dynamics at this time. And a reckoning with old hurts and grievances, old pain – our ghosts and demons.
We have a full moon in Aquarius on the 31st July (around 11:15 am GMT) – and this should be the culmination of this process, and a big shift. It looks like relief and a breath of fresh air to me!
It's a blue moon, meaning it's the second full moon in the same calendar month. Astrologically this doesn't mean much. But you can take it as symbolic, especially as the moon will be in Aquarius, a freaky oddball sign: this is something a bit weird and special.
There'll be some drama, no doubt – full moons are good for drama, and for this one, the sun is in proud, shiny, dramatic Leo. But the moon (emotional tone) is in cool, emotionally distanced Aquarius – and this puts a lid on the emotionality.
As full moons signify endings, I think we are seeing the tail-end of the emotional upheavals of the past few weeks. So maybe your pride (Leo) got wounded...who cares? Fundamentally, you are free (Aquarius).
Saturn resumes direct motion in Scorpio the day after the full moon, as if to underline the theme of “job done”. We have gone back into the hellish wreckage since Saturn re-entered Scorpio in mid-June. Hopefully we have wrestled with our demons and stood for our emotional truths and done the deep work. Anything rotten that wasn't dealt with during Saturn's initial transit of Scorpio (2012-2014) will have come up for revision – and hopefully, it is being dealt with now. At this point we know what's viable and what's not in our lives and our psyches – we have sifted through the garbage and know what has to go.
I think the hardest part of this transit will be completed as Saturn resumes direct motion after this full moon. From now until the 18th September, when Saturn re-enters Sagittarius – we are moving forward, amputating what needs to be amputated, clearing out the psychic debris.
The point of all this psychological purgation and energetic re-balancing is, we are clearing space for new things to happen – especially in the realm of money and relationships.
Venus (love and money planet) entered nit-picky, analytical, perfectionist Virgo on the 18th July, stationing retrograde at 0 degrees Virgo on the 25th July. She re-enters Leo on the day of this full moon, and she will be hanging out there until the 8th of October, after stationing direct on the 6th September.
Venus in Virgo is about having high standards in love and money matters, and Venus retrogrades are about relational and financial reconsiderations, recalibrations and fine-tunings. So the fact that Venus stationed retrograde in Virgo, a very picky, pragmatic and detail-oriented sign, is pretty significant here.
The next five weeks of this Venus retrograde are about laying new foundations in love and money matters. Reading the fine print, getting the details right, figuring out what works in the real world, having exacting standards and sticking to them.
With Venus retrograde in heart-centered Leo, this is also about our personal pride and happiness. Figuring out what really makes us happy without compromising our pride and integrity.
In other words, if you are putting energy into loving someone or pursuing some project that is actually detrimental to your happiness and self-esteem, it's time to pause and take a good hard look at what you're doing.
This Venus retrograde is about tempering our love and our creative/entreprenurial endeavours with realism. Laying the groundwork, making sure the opportunities coming our way now can translate into viable relationships and livelihoods. Something or someone might make you happy in the short term – but will it stick? Is it healthy? Is it in accord with your values? Can you bank on it?
If you answer "no" to these questions – well all the love in the world is not going to be enough, and you should be careful of how far you involve yourself.
Venus is currently retrograding in conjunction to Jupiter and in square to Saturn in Scorpio – and this is also significant. There is tremendous luck and opportunity here, but there are also huge, karmic blockages and restraints. You can take the blockages as a signal to slow down, look deeper and be super-realistic about what you're getting into. What's going on under the surface? What do you really want from this – what do you really need? What's it going to cost you, energetically / psychologically / monetarily? What is the actual state of your resources - can you afford this?
Mercury (mind and communication) moves into Virgo on the 7th August, and Jupiter (luck, expansion, blessing) follows on the 11th. This will definitely help us to be super-practical and realistic, to analyse all our options carefully and to come up with ideas that will help us to flourish in the real world.
I'll write more about Jupiter in Virgo another time, because this will be a big shift. We've had him in big, shiny Leo for a year now, meaning our luck this past year was tied up with exuberance, drama and creativity.
But Jupiter in Virgo will be the opposite! Virgo is systematic, analytical, humble and detail-oriented – so this will probably feel like cleaning up after a big yearlong party, sorting the empty bottles for recycling, doing the dishes. Back to reality.
I think this shift of Jupiter (and Mercury) from fiery Leo to rational Virgo is a blessing - because for the first half of August, we are looking at a lot of planets in Leo squaring Saturn in Scorpio, and this looks frustrating as all hell. Big, open-hearted exuberance and passion – shackled by the full weight of reality and the past.
Remember, all the love and passion in the world is not going to be enough if the thing doesn't work in the real, everyday world. Passion is fine for writing songs or making art or starting new endeavours or being Elvis... but it isn't something you can live on, anymore than you can live on a diet of ice cream sundaes. Eventually you are going to find yourself really run-down and sick. (Poor Elvis.)
If we want to be happy, going forward, we'll need to be a lot more grounded, finicky and focused on what works in reality – and on what is healthy. I think August will be a good month for learning about this!
*** Forgot to mention: Uranus in Aries (dispositor of this full moon) stationed retrograde on the same day as Venus: the 25th July. These two retrograde planets will be trining each other later in August (the 19th August) and trining each other again after Venus goes direct (23rd September).
The theme here is the overall theme of the Venus retrograde: we are blazing new trails in relationship stuff and money stuff. We're not doing the same old stuff again or replaying the same old patterns. And we have to insist upon absolute personal authenticity in these matters.
Basically, we are opening up a new cycle here - but it's tricky territory, and full of blockages and delays. Quite frustrating really. There's nothing to be done but bear with it, and don't compromise on your values or on what's really important to you.
I think come mid-September, we'll gain a much clearer view of where this story is going. It might seem like a long way away, but it's only a month and a half.
This is on the 18th April, around 8 pm GMT. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, so a new moon in Aries is like the real New Year. So happy New Year!
The sun and moon will be conjunct at 28 degrees Aries, and they will be pretty much un-aspected by everything else in the sky. This is self-contained and intense - a big burst of fiery will, courage and absolutely self-focused energy.
Mars (will, drive, energy) - the dispositor of the new moon - is now in slow, steady, realistic Taurus. He is conjunct Mercury (mental energy) and squaring Jupiter (expansion, enthusiasm). He is also in harmonious aspect with Pluto.
This is the will and energy to get a job done, and to get it done properly. Bravery and energy combined with realistic thinking and unswerving will.
I like this a lot. New moons are about new beginnings, and whatever you initiate at this new moon – be it a new project, a situation, an intention – it will have real sticking-power and force behind it. The force that through the green fuse drives the flower.
Appropriately, the poem linked above is about the life force containing a death drive as well. Pluto – which symbolises death, rebirth, metamorphosis and transformation - goes retrograde the day before the new moon (17th April). This is about a deep, relentless and internal process of transformation. Self-transformation - as we are dealing with Aries, the sign of ME! in all its raw urgency.
It's not pretty - it's actually kind of nauseating.
“First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze out.”
Did you think metamorphosis was supposed to be all adorable and sweet, like in a children's book? Ha!
Transformation on this order is not a 'nice' process. It's primal, disgusting, gruelling – also relentless and intense. This is Plutonic depth-work. Self-digestion.
Like the phoenix, which resurrects itself by destroying itself...
(by FJ Bertuch)
On a psychological level, this is like the Dark Night of the Soul, or the Nigredo in alchemy – the place you come to when you've burnt out on what you used to believe in and are forced to look into the darkness and unknown in yourself – because there's nowhere else to look, everything external has broken down as a source of meaning.
This kind of breakdown is necessary for growth (see here), but it's about as pleasant as the caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation detailed above.
OK, I don't mean that we're all gonna be digested alive or have to go through the Dark Night of the Soul...though plenty of people will need that kind of inwardness, pressure and darkness for their further growth.
But I do think some kind of internal reckoning is required, for just about everyone - and that's what this Pluto retrograde is about.
We've come through a very trying time over the past few years - the Uranus square Pluto years (2012-2015). The pressure for deep, systemic change in our lives has been intense. Many of us have been through some crazy shit, and things will never be the same again. It's like the aftermath of a natural disaster. The scales have fallen from our eyes in potentially traumatic ways...and we may have lost things we thought we couldn't live without.
And here we are, still alive! And what was strong enough to survive has survived. Look around you – look at what in your life is still standing, still functional, still sustaining you. Of course nothing is permanent, but whatever has stood the test for you over the past few years has to be pretty damn strong. Whatever wasn't strong enough will be gone.
I think externally, things will be settling now. We will not be dealing with the same levels of external shock and urgency.
But internally, there is a need to process the changes we've been through – to come to terms with all this upheaval on a personal level. And to not slack off in our efforts to get clear of old conditioning.
It's like, you have a house that's been half-destroyed by a tornado, and it's looking pretty bad. You are not gonna be able to do a patch-up job here. You will probably have to strip it down to the foundations, and then assess the stability of the foundations before you rebuild – maybe even re-cast the foundations. And what you build will be entirely new. Even if you re-use old materials, you're not going to build the same house.
Or you may have found yourself in a new world, building a new life. And maybe structurally, this new life is sound! I hope it is. Because you are going to have to be looking at the structural integrity of it – all the stuff you mightn't have wanted to think about, in the initial euphoria of newness and change – till the early autumn of this year. It's not as easy to establish the new as we might like. It can take a lot longer than we thought it would.
But we have Pluto retrograding through Capricorn till September 2015, through territory he was in during the final Uranus-Pluto square...and we also have Saturn (karmic necessity) grinding backward through Sagittarius and into Scorpio, sign of psychological depth and healing. Pluto and Saturn will be in mutual reception again (each in the others' sign, fostering an easy dialogue between these energies) from mid-June to mid September.
Saturn will finally leave Scorpio (till 2041!) on the 18th September, a few days ahead of Pluto stationing direct on the 25th September.
So basically, these two heavyweights will be working in concert to facilitate psychological depth work, restructuring and processing – it's very important this summer. Especially coming as it does after the revolutionary and historic Uranus-Pluto squares.
Remember external change is just not good enough. More than that will be demanded of us. There is a level of deep psychological insight and realism demanded, before you can fully inhabit the place you're standing now – and before you can move forward.
Reinforcing the "reality check" theme, we'll also have Venus (now in sparkly, hyperactive Gemini) involved in a fairly painful t-square with Neptune in Pisces and Saturn in Sagittarius for the new moon. With Venus involved, this has to do with relationship and money matters especially – but also self-esteem and values. We are looking at dreams vs. realities in these areas – longings and delusions (Neptune) vs. pragmatism and boundaries (Saturn). And some potentially painful disillusion and loss.
“In a relationship, whenever we sense unease -that point where it doesn't suit us - a big question mark should shoot up as to what is going on with us. How we can practice with the unease? I am not saying that all relationships should be continued forever, because the point of a relationship has nothing to do with the relationship itself. The point of relationship is the added power that life gets in working with it as a channel. A good relationship gives life more power. If two people are strong together, then life has a more powerful channel than it has with two single people. It's almost as though a third and larger channel has been formed. That is what life is looking for.It doesn't care about whether you are "happy" in your relationship. What it is looking for is a channel, and it wants that channel to be powerful. If it's not powerful life would just as soon discard it. Life doesn't care about your relationship. It is looking for channels for its power so it can function maximally. That functioning is what you are all about; all this drama about you and him or her is of no interest to life. Life is looking for a channel and, like a strong wind, it will beat on a relationship to test it. If the relationship can't take the testing, then either the relationship needs to grow in strength so that it can take it, or it may need to dissolve so something new and fresh can emerge from the ruins. Whether it crashes or not is less important than what is learned.Many people marry, for instance, when nothing is being served by their relationship. I am not advocating that people dissolve their marriages, of course. I simply mean that we often misinterpret what marriage is about. When a relationship isn't working, it means that the partners are preoccupied with "I": "What I want is . . ." or "This isn't right for me." If there is little wanting, then the relationship is strong and it will function. That's all life is interested in. As a separate ego with your separate desires, you are of no importance to life. And all weak relationships reflect the fact that somebody wants something for himself or herself.”
Remember the north node is in Libra, sign of balance, harmony and right relationship - so relational issues are highlighted. I think the above passage is one of the most useful and interesting perspectives on relationships I've read, and it's directly relevant to the themes of the new moon - so I'll leave you with it.
This is on the 24th Sept around 7 am (GMT). The sun and moon will be conjunct at 1 degree Libra.
Libra is about balancing multiple perspectives; creating a harmony between different viewpoints. It's an inherently social sign – it has to do with the relationship between self and other. Specifically one-on-one relationships, partnerships, marriages. It's an air sign: concerned with thinky stuff, not particularly emotional. Which comes in handy when you're trying to balance different viewpoints in the interests of keeping the party polite. It's about diplomacy.
Here's Frank Sinatra on how to be a lady. He's talking about luck, but this song is very Libra:
"A lady never leaves her escort It isn't fair, it isn't nice A lady doesn't wander all over the room And blow on some other guys dice"
Social decorum and politeness are pretty important in Libra-land. It can get kinda Jane Austen. There is a big drive to be 'fair' and 'nice' – even to one's own detriment.
That said, Libra has been particularly stressed under the Uranus-Pluto squares of the past few years, and a lot of people with planets or chart angles in this sign may be feeling pretty shook up, and disinclined to be 'nice' where it isn't being reciprocated. The famous Libran composure and tolerance and civility may be just about at breaking point.
There are more rapids ahead in October as the moon, sun, Venus, retrograde Mercury and the north node swing into cardinal t-square zone with Uranus and Pluto. It is likely to be stressful.
So if you should meet formerly polite and civilised Librans running around acting like the zombies from “28 Days Later”... well please try to remember that these people are getting hit by stressors you wouldn't believe, and they probably no longer give a fuck. The same goes for the other cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer and Capricorn.
Actually, the same kinda goes for everyone. The Uranus-Pluto squares are about intense collective change, and no one comes out of this period the same as they went in. But people with planets or angles in the cardinal signs are more likely to be hit in a personal way – right where they live.
OK, so the day before this new moon (September 23rd) is a very big day. Two important things happen. First we have Pluto, King of Hell, going direct after a retrograde period that started in April of this year. Then a few hours later, we have the autumn equinox as the sun enters Libra. This is the start of autumn in the Northern hemisphere and spring in the Southern – the day when daylight and dark hours are equal.
With Pluto direct, it's time to let go of whatever rotten bullshit you're still hanging onto. Your pathology, your addictions, your ideology, your ego...whatever. Just drop it if you can. Pluto will now be moving into the 6th square with Uranus, exact on the 15th December – more shock and awe ahead for the rest of this year, and you'd better be getting ready to turn on a dime.
Which means... stop maintaining your ossified stance toward existence, whatever form it may take. Take that pole OUT of your ass already. Get loose.
Can you dance? No?! Why not?!
Who told you you couldn't?
Lao Tzu:
“A man is born gentle and weak; at his death he is hard and stiff. All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life; dry and brittle in death. Stiffness is thus a companion of death; flexibility a companion of life. An army that cannot yield will be defeated. A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind. The hard and stiff will be broken; the soft and supple will prevail.”
Well I don't know about 'prevailing' under these skies, but you can hopefully avoid getting your head beaten in... by being ready for change, and embracing it. However upsetting the change may be. Remember, you do not get to 'manage' the way this stuff goes down: these are outer planet transits, and the most you can do is be prepared for change, and ready to shift with it.
And as for the equinox, this is a time of eerie balance...light and dark in accord, like a yin-yang symbol.
Polarities creating a whole, requiring each other... accommodating each other. It's a tango, which we all know takes two.
It makes perfect sense that the very next day, we have the new moon in Libra: sun and moon (which are contextualized as opposite polarities) conjunct in the sign of marriage and balance.
On an everyday level, a new moon in Libra is about beginning new social enterprises and interactions, or fine-tuning existing relationships. It's a good time to go on a first date, or to try to work out an existing conflict. As Libra is associated with justice and the law, it is also a good time to deal with legal matters.
Or you could just set an intention to dress really well or to be a nicer person or to beautify your surroundings or to hang out with your friends more – Libra has to do with harmony and beauty and social interaction. Look at all the people in the “Soul Train” video above: that's Libra. They are dressed so sharp! And they're dancing at the best damn party, and with such finesse! It adds something nice to the world.
Ok, so you could do that sort of thing, whatever form it takes in your life - and you will have the backup for it. Libra's ruler, Venus, will be in Virgo, loosely conjunct the new moon and in a mutual reception with Mercury in Libra. What this means is you'll have discrimination, attention to detail and fair-minded, diplomatic communication at your disposal.
--But enough about the mundane level. I am interested in what this new moon means on a deeper level. It's great for networking and partying and starting projects and resolving disputes...and that stuff is all necessary! But there are deeper things you can do with this energy, should you be that way inclined.
On a deeper level I think this is a good time to come to terms with your shadow. To 'marry' the light and dark aspects of your own psyche, as in the yin-yang symbol.
The shadow is a concept originated by Freud but refined by Karl Jung. It's basically everything we can't accept as part of us, and would prefer to believe is 'out there'. All our socially unacceptable qualities, our 'negative' emotions and drives.
When we're not aware of our own shadow we are likely to project it onto the world outside us, and to become crusaders against it. Often with very harmful results: look at those IS guys in Iraq and Syria for instance: zealots and true believers all, convinced they are carrying out the will of Allah. They are the 'good guys' in their story – everyone else is a 'bad guy' and marked for destruction.
It's not just insane Islamists who do this. We all do, in our everyday lives...even well-intentioned, progressive-thinking people. Whenever you hear yourself or someone else referring to a nefarious 'they' who are responsible for the world's ills, you can be sure there's shadow projection going on.
No one is all light or all dark – we are made up of both polarities. We are all Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Anyone who thinks they're solely one or the other is deluding themselves – and perpetuating war. The task of a free human being is to withdraw these projections from the outside world and come to terms with them internally. To 'own' our own darkness.
This is not to say that external evil doesn't exist. There is no shortage of it out there, wherever you look. The more focused you are on it, the more you'll find.
But if you try to fight it without having done the difficult work of integrating your own shadow side, you risk becoming a crusader, and just as bad as what you're trying to fight. None of us are innocent or pure. And the world's evil is not always as straightforwardly 'evil' as it seems.
I mean, there are plenty of instances where it is. IS seem pretty damn evil to me. But their kind of cruelty is not the norm – most of the evil in this world is not the unmitigated kind. It's a lot more complex, and it may even have good in it – as in the yin yang symbol, where each polarity contains a spot of its opposite.
Anyway, we have Pluto, which represents the shadow, going direct. We have sunlight and shadow hanging in balance at the equinox. And we have a new moon in Libra, the only zodiac sign represented by an inanimate object: the scales. I think this is probably the best time ever for looking carefully at your own shadow and coming to terms with it.
(Cover of Blake's "Marriage of Heaven and Hell")
Ok, so this might seem pretty heavy, but I'll leave you with something nice: Mars (drive, energy, will) is in happy-go-lucky Sagittarius now, which is fun! & he is heading into a grand fire trine involving Uranus in Aries & Jupiter in Leo. This fire trine is going be active into mid-October.
It's about blazing energy and enthusiasm, lucky breaks, excitement! If you've been feeling stuck & exhausted, this should provide a big lift.
To use it properly though, you have to get out and run with it – maybe even literally. Jumping headlong into something new, taking risks, being fearless and active... these things are all supported.
To sum up: it's a tough month ahead overall, and the rest of 2014 is no picnic either. But we have enthusiasm, energy and the potential for exciting breakthroughs on offer as well.
We have a few days of heavy-duty magic as we drift toward
the full moon in Pisces on September 19th. And by heavy-duty, I mean
no bullshit. This story is about having the power to change your life, no
lie—but it only works if you use it the right way. There is definitely a right
way involved, and a wrong way.
The right way involves seeing (in an intensely focused,
probing, detail-oriented way) what is unworkable or diseased in your life… and
REMOVING it. Cutting it out.
The wrong way involves wishful thinking, pining for the
impossible, fantasy, escapism, self-delusion. But thankfully, the current cosmic
weather makes grand illusions hard to sustain. Reality itself, seen clearly,
will have more than enough magic and strangeness in it—you are not going to be
needing your bullshit, or anyone else’s.
How does it play out? Well first, on September 18th,
Venus in Scorpio conjuncts Saturn & the north node at 8 degrees Scorpio.
The conjunction exactly sextiles Pluto at 8 degrees Capricorn and trines
Neptune and Chiron in Pisces. (The moon is involved today on the 17th
September—so you can try to tune in on what these themes mean for you via feeling,
the day before it all really goes down.)
This is a very big deal. The theme of the skies at this time
(signified by the north node) is all about karma coming due—and the reckonings
involved are profound. Venus (love and money) joined
with Saturn (responsibility) in Scorpio (depth and death), backed up by Pluto (transformation).
--I put a picture of a pearl here because the sky these next few days is making me think of pearls. Irritation and wounding (Chiron) transformed (Pluto) over time (Saturn) into something of great beauty and value (Venus). And it happens down in the depths of the sea, hidden from sight (Neptune). And the product of this deep-sea transformation (Pisces) becomes a symbol of purity and integrity, absolute simplicity (Virgo). The themes are all accounted for.
Regarding Saturn in Scorpio: this is all about getting back the energy you've given. Energetic return on investment. So if you've invested wisely in solid relationships or ventures and done the necessary work, you will know it. And conversely, if you've wasted your resources somewhere, it will be quite clear--you will know it's time to cut your losses.
We can't keep throwing good money after bad under Saturn in Scorpio--it's untenable; there is just not enough to spare. Resources (financial, relational, energetic) must be conserved and
invested wisely. Squandering your love or your money or your limited and
valuable life energy on folly and delusion—will not fly for long under
these skies. Casting your pearls before swine: ditto.
However, there IS the opportunity to use your compassion and
idealism in concrete, practical ways that ground and heal: that’s courtesy of
Chiron and Neptune in Pisces trining the Saturn, Venus and north node
conjunction. And Pluto in Capricorn gives backbone and integrity.
As I said above, it’s all about seeing clearly. Using
discrimination. The sun is still in precise, detail-oriented Virgo, and Virgo’s
ruler Mercury is Libra, just moving out of tense cardinal t-square formation
with Uranus and Pluto. All the flaws and imbalances in your relationships have
been on full display this past week, right? Maybe you’ve managed to stay out of
any toxic verbal exchanges…but I’m sure you’ve felt the tension in some way. I
sure have! The mental urge (Mercury) to completely torch what’s inherently
flawed (Uranus square Pluto), and do it in words that can’t be taken back… To
give the world a good tongue-lashing.
Well, I held back, mostly. And for me that’s been a good
thing. It would only have made things worse…and in the end, Saturn (karma) will
do what he does regardless. Rottenness WILL be laid bare under these skies,
whether I open my big mouth about how rotten it all is or not.
But if you have something burning in you that MUST be said
or done in the interests of individual human freedom (not individual
self-aggrandizement—be clear on this)…well the days ahead might be the right
time. Mars in Leo and Uranus in Aries are in easy trine formation, and Mercury
is leaving the cardinal t-square—so the potential for explosive conflict via
communication is reduced. Speaking up might even revolutionise matters.
Use
discrimination, caution and compassion (in the form of ‘tough love’) and you’ll
be backed up by the cosmic weather. Speak the truth if it falls to you to speak. Do it quietly and clearly and with concision—do not go overboard or fall back
on emotionally manipulative tactics. The potential for doing so is built-in,
via a square between Jupiter in Cancer and Mercury in Libra, so try to stay
mindful. But don’t back down from what you know is true, either. And accept the
fallout. Of course there will be fallout—there are situations and people you will
have to walk away from, or they may need to detach from you. It may hurt. But
it is imperative to accept the loss of what is no longer necessary and vital.
The day after the Venus, Saturn and north node
conjunction, we have the full moon at 26 degrees Pisces. 19th September: here is the pearl of great price, fully
illuminated. Nurturance, compassion, sacrifice, suffering (Pisces moon) versus method,
organization, discrimination, clarity.
It is entirely possible to balance these energies
via service to others: that is ultimately what the Virgo-Pisces axis is about,
and the energies complement each other. Notwithstanding the brashness of Mars
in Leo, this is not a time for self-assertion, unless you are doing it in the
service (Virgo) of the transpersonal (Pisces).
And finally, the day after the full moon, Pluto goes direct,
having been retrograde since April. There will be no avoiding deep structural
changes to your life now. The gears mesh up and the big wrecking machine
sputters to life. Whether it’s going to grind your world to dust or seed the ploughed-up ground
for new growth, the machine has its own momentum—you really just have to suck it
up and get out of the way when Pluto’s involved.
What in your life needs to die? What are you holding onto
that is already dead? By now you know exactly what it is…it should be clear as
day.
Whatever you are unwilling to let go of now will be ripped from
you regardless—so best let go if you can. Make a sacrifice of it on the Pisces
full moon. Sit down and name it, define it (Virgo)…and then let it go.
