New Moon Eclipse in Capricorn

This is on the 6th January 2019, 1:30 am GMT.

So here we are the first new moon of 2019, and it's an eclipse, which means it's a supercharged new beginning. We also had Mars changing signs on New Year's Eve, from Pisces to 0 degrees Aries, the “Aries point” or birthplace of the whole zodiac. So all signs point to 2019 being a doozy of a year. It's certainly starting off with a lot of heavy, dramatic symbolism.

This solar eclipse is heavy and dramatic for sure – but in a very cold, stark way. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place: the sun and moon are wedged between Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. Saturn is about hardship and karma and Pluto is about death, depth psychology and transformation – so neither of these are fun planets. They are especially not fun in Capricorn, a grimly realistic sign. We also have thought-and-communication planet Mercury in Capricorn, meaning communication will be terse and factual.

So all in all, it's a lot of Capricorn, and Capricorn is about structure, authority, rules and slow, dogged achievement. The Neptune-fueled excesses of the holiday season are over, and we're back on planet Earth. It should feel sobering and real and grounded - depressing even. There isn't a lot of fun to be had here. Instead, there are responsibilities to be attended to and hard realities to be faced.

Shirking your duties / trying to avoid your demons is inadvisable here – Saturn and Pluto reward focus, commitment and going deep.  They do not look kindly on escapism and self-delusion, and if that's what you've been doing, you can expect this eclipse to feel harsh: a stark, painful wake-up call. Time to grow the hell up.

This energy is not a fleeting influence. The eclipse is a lead-up to the big event of next year, when Saturn and Pluto will be exactly conjunct in Capricorn. They will be approaching that conjunction all this year, so this harsh, hardcore energy is something we should all get used to working with.

With Saturn and Capricorn, you get back what you've put in. And with Pluto involved, this is so to an extreme degree, and it applies to the psychological work you do as well as to your outward life. Achievement and progress come from hard work, there will be no magical windfalls here.

So whatever you're starting this new year, commit yourself to it as much as you can and devote serious time and effort to it. The payoff for hard work and seriousness is great under this sky. The payback for frivolity and slacking is also great.

This eclipse is also defined by Uranus stationing direct later on the same day. What this means is it's a big shift in tone – an upheaval really. Change is afoot, and the structure of your life is going to be altered, for good or ill. And you might as well get with the program.

It's not all harsh drill-sergeant stuff though: we also have a beautiful grand water trine in effect between Venus in Scorpio, Chiron in Pisces and the north node in Cancer. This is about healing of psychic wounds via emotional honesty and compassion. Again though, it's not light. It's deep and painful stuff, potentially cathartic.

So this new moon eclipse is a pretty heavy dose. It opens up a heavy month and a heavy year. We'll have Uranus re-entering Taurus in March, where he will disrupt the stable structures of our lives. We'll have Saturn and Pluto moving toward full conjunction in Capricorn all year, and both conjunct the south node of the moon into November – a situation that means the default tone will be stressful, harsh and punitive as established structures fall apart and we all have to pick up the slack.

Remember the north node is in Cancer, so however bitter and emotionally guarded you may feel, the way forward this year is about opening your heart and being gentle and nurturing toward yourself and others.

That might be hard this month, as frustrations abound. January culminates with a shocking and disruptive full moon eclipse in Leo on the 21st. I'll write about it closer to the time, but I think the main thing to do with this new moon eclipse energy is get yourself grounded in reality and commit yourself to the road ahead, even if it looks like an uphill battle.

The longing to escape reality is present in the form of a square from Jupiter to Neptune, exact on the 12th January. This is the first of three: the others come on the 16th June and the 21st September, so it's an influence we'll be dealing with all year. Given the harshness of this year's astrology, I can't blame anyone for wanting to escape into some kind of internal or external Shangri-La. But with the Saturn-Pluto stuff happening in Capricorn, there's really no way out of difficulty but through.

Full Moon in Taurus

This happens today, the 24th October, around 4:30 pm GMT.

Taurus is comfortable, habitual, slow to change. This full moon is not at all like that though. Prepare to be zapped out of your comfort zone.

The moon will be conjunct Uranus at zero degrees Taurus, so this full moon is really all about Uranus. And Uranus is about revolution. Uranus in Taurus, the sign of stability and physical reality, portends a radical shake-up to the structures of our lives: our habits and routines, our values, our possessions, our relationships. It's unsettling.

In this case, the earthquake is likely to come from the depths of your psyche, as you realise that you no longer value things or relationships you used to cling to for self-worth. The sun entered Scorpio yesterday, so we're at the start of Scorpio season, and Scorpio is about depth psychology and death-and-rebirth type transformation. We have a stellium in Scorpio for this full moon: the sun is conjunct Venus in Scorpio, and we also have Jupiter and Mercury conjunct in the later degrees of the sign. That's a lot of psychologically probing and intense energy, geared toward letting go of what's no longer viable in our lives.

The sun and Venus in Scorpio oppose the moon and Uranus in Taurus, and this is all about shocks and abrupt endings, in relationships especially. But Venus also has to do with money and values, so expect lightning shifts in those areas as well. As Scorpio is involved and both Uranus and Venus are retrograde, it's likely that the shifts will be deep internal realisations – sudden “ah-ha” moments that have you re-assessing the structure of your life and what caused you to build it this way.

With the Venus-Uranus opposition, relationships can also start up quite suddenly, but as Venus is retrograde till the 16th November, it's inadvisable to begin anything new – what's begun under Venus retrograde is likely to fizzle out when she resumes direct motion. Old relationships can also come back from the grave to haunt you, and this full moon can be the moment you see those dynamics for what they were and finally let them go. Flux and upheaval around Venus themes (love, money and values) will continue into early December, as the Venus-Uranus opposition will be in play till then.

Uranus is headed backward into Aries, sign of the self, for a final four months (6th November 2018 – 6th March 2019), so we'll have some time to assimilate outer changes into our self-concepts. And Venus will move backward into Libra this Halloween, staying there till the 2nd December – so we'll also be re-assessing our relationships.

This full moon is fateful and has long-range effect, as it squares the north node in Leo and the south node in Aquarius. Anything involving the moon's nodes like this involves a heavy dose of karma: the road ahead is defined by the choices you make now. The way forward is shown by the north node in Leo, which is all about living from your heart, with courage, playfulness, generosity and creativity. The way backward is about shadow Aquarius: a cold, theoretical dogmatism, or using an ideology to justify destructive rebelliousness.

The full moon also beneficially aspects Saturn in Capricorn – again, this is about karma, getting back what you've put in. It also suggests that if you're willing to work slowly and put the necessary groundwork in, beneficial changes can be made, lasting new relationship and money situations can be built.

We'll have a new moon in Scorpio coming up on the 7th November, and it's a big one. Uranus and the north node both shift signs the day before – Uranus into Aries and the north node into Cancer. Jupiter shifts signs the day after, moving from dark, intense Scorpio into sunny, freewheeling Sagittarius. All this represents an abrupt shift in tone – things are going to feel very different, very suddenly. The Venus-Uranus opposition will be heavily in play, sparking sudden shifts in relationships – you could meet the love of your life under this sky, or break up with someone you thought was that. Or both! It's just very volatile. But I think overall it looks pretty good. I'll write more about it closer to the time.

New Moon in Libra

This is on the 9th October, 4:45 am GMT.

Libra is about relationships, aesthetics and social graces. It also has to do with justice, fairness and equality, as for relationships to work harmoniously, the balances of interpersonal give and take have to be roughly equal.

As new moons signify new beginnings, a new moon in Libra can be about new artistic projects or beauty regimens. Primarily though, we are looking at new beginnings in the realm of relationships. And the relationships being addressed here are deep, intense ones. The sign is known for wanting to keep things light and pleasant, but this new moon looks quite heavy and dark and obsessive – potentially uncomfortable. This is some Libra noir.

The sun and moon are squaring Pluto, king of hell, newly direct in the no-nonsense sign of Capricorn. That aspect makes for plenty of psychodrama in relationships. In addition, Libra's ruler (and dispositor of the new moon) Venus has just stationed retrograde in Scorpio.

Scorpio is an obsessive and intense sign, and Venus doesn't function very well here – you get a lot of toxic power dynamics, hidden corruption, betrayal, jealousy, triangles, emotional manipulation etc. You can also get fanatical loyalty and love unto death – it's either the best or the worst of relationship, with no grey areas. But the ugly stuff is unfortunately more common.

And with Venus retrograde till the 16th November, you're likely to have old lovers or friends popping up from the grave, messaging you on facebook or whatever. Or old relationships may reappear in your head for re-assessment. You might gain some clarity on why dead relationships had to end, and understand how to avoid making the same mistakes and enacting the same pathologies again.

Suffice it to say, relationship karma will be hitting hard this month, and it's inadvisable to start any new relationships until after Venus stations direct on the 16th November. (The same goes for making luxury purchases and investments, or re-vamping your look drastically.)

It may be hard to hold off, because we'll also have a square between Venus and Mars in Aquarius which speaks of hotted up romantic urgency and frustration, but if you want more than a fling, wait. If a fling is all you're after, go ahead – but don't be surprised if things get complicated and punishing under this sky. With Saturn and Pluto now both direct in Capricorn, sobriety, integrity, hard work, realism and limits are very important. These grim gods do not look kindly on flightiness or flings. They reward focus and commitment.

We are headed for an explosive full moon in Taurus on the 24th October, the culmination of a very intense month. Aaargh, let's see what happens. It should be interesting. Try not to get your knickers too twisted up before then. Sublimation of sexual angst into some kind of creative work might help.

New Moon in Scorpio

This is exact today (18th Nobvember) around noon GMT.

It looks beautiful and profound to me: very powerful, focused, healing and intense. But also potentially painful and uncomfortable. The depths will have to be plumbed this month; the fetid gunk cleared out, the blockages removed.

Scorpio is a probing, surgical sign. It has to root out everything that's false or rotten in order to effect healing and transformation. It's obsessive and extreme: all-or-nothing, life or death.

So this new moon ushers us into a month of intensity and extremes. The potential for transformation here is profound, but you can't expect it to be easy. Life-saving surgery is not easy.

At the very least, you can expect to deal with some heavy psychological discomfort this month. Don't turn away from it – it's there to show you something. Get to the root of it, find out what's really going on under the surface, excise whatever deadweight you're carrying around.

Scorpio's co-rulers, Mars and Pluto, will square each other exactly the day after the new moon. Mars is in Libra, sign of relationships and fairness, and Pluto is in Capricorn, sign of authority and the System. This square can get pretty ugly and brutal, so we can expect some violence – psychological or overt - to erupt, in close relationships especially. Ugly conflicts with bureaucratic institutions or authorities are also likely.

At the root of this tension are rotten old power dynamics which have to be exposed to light and air in order to be dealt with and resolved. It's an uncomfortable, deeply unpleasant process, but Scorpio won't let us skate along the surface.

Fortunately, Chiron in Pisces trines the new moon, amplifying the potential for compassion, forgiveness and healing. Chiron is about a wound that becomes a source of knowledge – and with Pisces, deep compassion for the suffering of all existence is involved.

There is also deep love on offer, courtesy of Venus and Jupiter in Scorpio (just past a beautiful conjunction on the 13th November). This is wonderful for relationships, as long as they're absolutely  committed. It's till-death-do-us-part stuff. Scorpio is all or nothing, so there's no room for waffling around or bullshit – superficiality just won't cut it. And with the Mars-Pluto square, any kind of manipulation, abuse or game-playing will be pretty obvious. There is no point tolerating any of that stuff or staying in relationships where it's a factor. It's depth, vulnerability and authenticity, or nothing.

The sky does not reward superficiality at this time. Neptune will resume direct motion on the 21st November, in beneficial aspect to Jupiter in Scorpio. This is a deeply spiritual influence supporting Jupiter in Scorpio's psychological excavation work.

Then Mercury will go retrograde on the 3rd December at the last degree of Sagittarius, conjunct Saturn in Sagittarius. Later that same day we'll have a full moon in Mercury-ruled Gemini, where issues around information, truth and lies will be highlighted.

This Mercury retrograde is a big deal – it will mark the end of Saturn's 2.5 year transit through Sagittarius, which was all about ideology, hypocrisy, and the necessity of walking your talk. I'll write about it closer to the time.

But for now, please understand that we are in a no-bullshit zone. This is a good time to excise things that do not support your health and integrity from your life.

New Moon in Libra

This is on the 1st October, 1:11 am GMT.

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...

(see here)

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.

New Moon in Sagittarius

This is on the 11th December, at 10:30 am GMT.

The sun and moon will be conjunct at 19 degrees Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a party kind of sign: buoyant, happy-go-lucky, generous, enthusiastic. So a new moon in this sign generally signifies a fun emotional tone, ushering in the festivities and happy excesses of the holiday season.

But the key word here is “excesses”. Sagittarius can be too much of a good thing. It can be inflated, impulsive, pompous, preachy and over-the-top.

And this new moon is tensely aspected, squaring Chiron in Pisces and Sagittarius's ruler, Jupiter in Virgo. So “too much of a good thing” is definitely a theme for the lunar month ahead. We have some big inflation (Jupiter) and delusion (Pisces) going on here.

Chiron in Pisces is about profound wounding and loss, and Jupiter in Virgo can be pedantic, small-minded, not seeing the wood for the trees. Having Jupiter harshly aspecting the new moon amps up the potential for the kind of over-the-top, socially callous and tactless behaviour Sagittarius is sometimes known for. And having Chiron involved amplifies the damage this can do – and with Chiron in leaky-boundary Pisces, damage control will be hard.

So you could make big, dumb mistakes that you'll have to live with forever. You could shoot yourself in the foot and have to hobble around on a wound that won't heal. You could find yourself with a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease, but people will think it's herpes and no one will kiss you again for a long time.

OK, so maybe I am exaggerating, Sagittarius-style here. But I don't think this is an easy new moon at all.

As an example of this energy: look at Donald Trump wrecking what's left of his reputation with his dumb, inflammatory remarks about Muslims. His idiocies are being disseminated widely, and every government in the world seems to be denouncing or barring him right now. And he appears to be too oblivious or pompous – or pleased with the attention – to care about how ridiculous he looks, or the damage he's doing to his (dubious) legacy.

And complicating things, we have the reality-dissolving, confusing Saturn-Neptune square fully in effect, making it hard to discern what is really going on here.

Like, is the man really that stupid? He couldn't be, right? He's a successful businessman, richer than God – you don't get richer than God by being stupid!

So is he mentally ill? Or shrewdly manipulating public opinion? Is there a hidden agenda here?

And do 35% of American voters registered Republican actually agree with him – can that really be true?! What is going on here??!!

Anyway, apply this combination of ideological self-righteousness, impulsivity, irremediable stupidity, ego and moral confusion to your own life, and you see the damage that can be done. Donald Trump is rich enough not to care about looking like a fool. Presumably he also enjoys the attention he's getting. Most of us are not in that kind of situation, so it's best to refrain from saying and doing bullheaded, inflammatory, impulsive shit.

Loose lips sink ships – and it will be your own ship you're sinking, here.

It all looks kinda hard, as we come up to the holidays and the kind of family tensions they entail. No one can push our buttons better than family – they're the ones who created those buttons. This new moon sets the tone for the holiday season, and I think just getting along with everyone and being civil this year will be an achievement!

Because in addition to the Chiron and Jupiter stuff outlined above, we have a very intense t-square happening in the cardinal signs. Uranus in Aries (personal anger and rebellion) is exactly opposite Mars in Libra (passive-aggression, underhanded violence in relationships), and both are squaring Pluto in Capricorn (corrupt old power dynamics).

The Uranus-Mars stuff is great for sudden explosions, accidents and violence – so please drive carefully this month and don't take unnecessary risks. Over-the-top, impulsive action is a big risk with this aspect – and we've already seen that this is a theme for this new moon.

The Pluto stuff heightens the intensity and trauma involved. Permanent endings. You want to be iced by someone, literally or metaphorically? You want a loss you'll never recoup? Run your mouth off. Spout your unconsidered opinion. Take a stupid gamble for short-term gain.

I'm thinking of Trump again. Has the man never heard of a fatwa?

Does he really think there are no consequences to his dopey pontificating?

Saturn (karma, consequences) is in Sagittarius, a sign that loves to pontificate, particularly about religion and ideology. And Saturn is squaring Mercury (thought, communication) in heavy, consequential, tight-lipped Capricorn. This is not a free-speech kinda vibe, AT ALL. This is a put-up-and-shut-up-or-else vibe. Your verbal diarrhoea will cost you, big time.

So yes, there are heavy consequences. Under these skies, the consequences look quite brutal.

I don't much care what happens to Trump, except insofar as he is an object lesson. But understand, these currents will play out in personal relationships.

Relationship planet Venus is in all-or-nothing Scorpio, which is ruled by Pluto and Mars – and as we've seen, Pluto and Mars are harshly aspected. And Mars is in relationship sign Libra, which is ruled by Venus. Neither of these planets are comfortable where they're at.

What it all means is: this intensity and violence will play out in close relationships over the next month, and it looks rocky. Associations will end over this stuff. Others will be renewed and transformed.

OK, so how to work with these skies in order to effect renewal and transformation? I think it all hinges on how willing people are to get over themselves.

1) Shut UP. Don't run your mouth off or make promises you can't keep. Keep your big important opinions to yourself. Omerta!

(This is courtesy of the Mercury-Saturn stuff, and also Saturn in Sagittarius, and also the new moon square Jupiter in Virgo. And Saturn square Neptune...because what the hell do you actually know for sure?)

2) Make art, have faith in the grand design, be compassionate and humble. Forgive and forget. Be the bigger person...like Melanie in “Gone With the Wind”.

 (This is courtesy of Venus in Scorpio exactly trine Neptune in Pisces – transcendent spirituality, forgiveness and compassion, even in the face of tremendous mistrust and pain. Also Mars in Libra – a drive to maintain civility and social harmony at all costs. Also Jupiter and the north node in Virgo: HUMILITY.)

3) To thine own self be true. Going your own way and doing your own thing and being resolutely yourself will be helpful at this time – no matter how weird it looks to others. You don't have to get engulfed in anyone else's drama, because you're free. Detachment and clarity are on offer; impartial truth and fairness are on offer. You really can choose to step away from the bullshit and not engage with it at all.

Like Miss Melanie above: she's not overly concerned about other people's notions of social propriety - just her own. And her unwillingness to feed drama defuses a potentially ugly situation. She stays true to her personal notion of what's right, AND she gets everyone else to go along with it. It's brave. She is not gonna throw Scarlett under a bus, though she has every justification.

(This comes via Uranus in Aries and Mars in Libra beneficially aspecting the new moon. Also Saturn in Sagittarius, which at best, takes the high road and the larger perspective.)

--Anyway, I think we have a doozy of a month ahead, with a full moon in Cancer on Christmas day, and Uranus direct later that evening. So anything you can do to stay away from drama (especially family drama), you should do. And if you can't, I guess being Melanie from Gone With the Wind is the best option, hard as that might be.

I mean, frankly I think this scenario sucks ass. I personally do not want to be Melanie from Gone With the Wind. But this is just how it is: this is how to fight the good fight now. Humility is how you prevail, under this sky. Jupiter (luck) and the north node (karmic imperative) are in humble, grounded, self-effacing Virgo, don't forget.

So to recap:

1) Keep your opinions and criticisms to yourself. Shut up already.
2) Be compassionate, forgiving and humble.
3) Detach from the drama. You CAN just walk away or refuse to engage. And you can also defuse it via number 2 above: compassion, forgiveness and doing what's right on principle. And attention to the little details of social etiquette.

Sounds simple, but I'm sure it won't be!

Happy holidays, folks.

*ps: I think I've made everything sound very dire! It's not all dire! This is a new moon in exuberant Sagittarius, beneficially aspecting Uranus and Mars. It's high-energy and madcap. There is really no reason not to be happy and have fun, no matter how dark things may look. Life is an absurd song-and-dance routine.

New Moon in Scorpio

(Hokusai Dragon)

From “October” by Louise Gluck:

"Summer after summer has ended,
balm after violence:
it does me no good
to be good to me now;
violence has changed me."


This is tonight, Thursday 23rd October, around 11 pm (GMT). Sun, moon and Venus conjunct at 0 degrees Scorpio, the very start of the sign.

Kind of an amazing new moon – and partial solar eclipse - in the sign of intensity and extremes. Death and rebirth – that is Scorpio's terrain. Transformation.

And new moons represent new beginnings. So all told, this is about a radical change. A rebirth of sorts. Or a death... but it's the same thing.

As we have the sun, the moon and Venus all crossing from Libra into Scorpio, I think it will feel like a fast phase-shift... especially as regards relational and money matters. We shift from Libran pleasantry into Scorpionic depth and intensity in the course of a day.

I think people will feel this shift pretty clearly. Either a relationship is OVER or it's for the long haul. Either your money situation is solid or you're cleaned out. Either your values and commitments can go the distance, or they're a house of sand. You'll be in no doubt.

Let what has to die, die. There's no room for wishful thinking or sentimentality here – it's about the bottom line. Scorpio can be ruthless. You cut away the deadwood and rot so that new life can grow. The point is regeneration and healing.

It is also about conserving your resources - you can't throw good money after bad, or carry the past around with you forever. You can't waste energy on things that are not viable.

Scary and hardcore as Scorpio can be, the situation looks very positive overall. The sun–moon–Venus conjunction is supported by a sextile to Mars in the late degrees of Sagittarius (energy and enthusiasm) and a trine to Neptune in Pisces (compassion and faith). Those are the only aspects the new moon makes, and both are pretty nice.

So it's definitely a good time to get clear of the past and to start something new. To be reborn or transformed in some way.

Maybe it's a shift or transformation in your thinking that's required – a mental breakthrough. Mercury, planet of mind and communication, is currently retrograde in Libra, getting set to go direct a few days after the new moon (26th October). He is in range of the Uranus-Pluto square and conjunct the north node in Libra, making a cardinal t-square.

All this speaks of an internal mental shift or rebalancing – one that can blow the lid right off your usual mental habits. It looks liberating – an epiphany that there's no going back from maybe, or a new point of view. Satori, even.

I am emphasising the positives here, because to me this new moon looks like a tremendous opportunity to slough off the past like an old skin. But keep in mind, we are in the thick of Uranus square Pluto, which is fairly wrenching stuff. Plus, Scorpio is about extremes. It's either the best or the worst that is in us - no middle ground.

And Venus and the moon are not particularly comfortable in this sign. Venus is in detriment, meaning she can't function too well here. She likes peace and harmony, but the kind of peace you get in Scorpio is nothing like what peace means to Libra (the preceding sign, which Venus rules). In Libra, everyone's at a party being polite and making small talk and pretending to like each other, and Venus is quite ok with that! In Scorpio, things are only peaceful because the party has been nuked into submission and everyone is fucking dead.

And the moon is in her fall in Scorpio, meaning she's really kind of messed up by the emotional intensities of the sign. The moon has to do with comfort, nurturance and emotional fulfillment...but Scorpio is an inherently uncomfortable and extreme energy, and about as easy to fulfill as a black hole.

So these gentle 'feminine' energies go all edgy and femme fatale in Scorpio, and it's very magnetic and intense...but there's nothing light or fun about it. Everything is life-or-death.

A moon in Scorpio looks a bit like this:

Erzulie Danto, vodou madonna

And here is Venus in Scorpio.

'Poison' by Yumiko Kayukawa

If you can give this stuff the depth it requires, you'll benefit and be transformed. If you can't do depth and transformation, death and rebirth - you get the cheapest substitute, which is drama. Plenty of people prefer drama and keep going back for more.

Anyway, the skies are getting simpler and clearer as we head into Scorpio season, which is fitting. Stark and intense, but in a good way. By Halloween we'll have planets in Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces all beneficially aspecting each other, which looks really helpful. Especially as we're heading into the ugly tensions of the Uranus-Pluto square on the 15th December... There'll be plenty of emotional strength and grounding to draw on, and it will be needed.

I hate to be harping on about the same themes all the time, but we have two more months before Saturn leaves Scorpio, and Saturn in Scorpio is all about getting the rotten garbage out of your life. So if you're still clinging to an addiction, a bad relationship, a fantasy, an ideology - anything draining or false or rotten - stop it already. Purge yourself of that shit while you can. That's what this time is for.

Saturn rewards effort. You have to put in the work, dig deep, excise the rottenness...whatever form it takes. If you don't do this now, you will likely have some psychological gangrene to deal with further down the line.

Happy Halloween, fellow legions of the undead. Hope it's fun!

Chinnamasta party

New Moon in Libra

Hasui Kawase "Autumn at Funatsu, Near Lake Kawaguchi"

On the 4^th of October, we have a new moon at 11 degrees Libra. New moons represent new beginnings, and this one looks like it’s about making a commitement to confront difficult, covert relational issues and energy imbalances—even if it hurts. It’s a kind of verbal and intellectual surgery that is required here. Clear-sightedness and honest, direct communication that cuts through the bullshit and rot.

Let’s break it down. Libra is an airy, intellectual sign ruled by Venus, planet of relation and values. Libra energy is all about finding the balance-point between different people and their differing needs and values. Bridging the gaps between people and creating harmony.

As a high-powered cardinal sign, and one so concerned with beauty and pleasure (Venus), Libra can be controlling and shallow. Libra energy can lazily whitewash out difference instead of doing the difficult work of enacting a fair balance. It can insist on a superficial show of outward harmony even when everything’s rotten underneath the pretty façade.

Thankfully, this kind of strategy is just not an option under these skies. Or say: it’s an option, it’s always an option. But it won’t work, so whitewash at your peril!

Why won’t it work? For one thing, Libra’s ruler, Venus, is in Scorpio, a no-bullshit sign that sees straight to the core and strips away the layers of rot surrounding it, cutting in order to heal. Venus in Scorpio is just not ok with superficial relation. It requires something volcanic, molten, metamorphic; something from the depths.

For another, Mercury, planet of thought and communication is in Scorpio too…and conjunct Saturn and the north node in Scorpio. This is the conjunction Venus passed over last month, the day before the full moon in Pisces. The karmic direction of the current story is in Scorpio, and Scorpio doesn’t whitewash. Scorpio transforms.

But with Scorpio, this transformation involves stripping away what’s dead or amputating it. Flaying the dead from the living tissue so that regeneration is possible. Scorpio is about surgery: careful, precise, unsentimental… and necessarily painful. But at best it is a form of compassion, bloody and wounding though it may be.

Venus’ conjunction with Saturn and the north node last month highlighted the need for sorting out our values, especially regarding love and money. With Mercury involved this month (and until December, as Mercury retrogrades through Scorpio), necessary relational transformations are effected via careful, precise, unsentimental thought and communication.

And in case there were any doubt as to what it this story is about, the sun and moon in Libra form a cardinal t-square with the ongoing Pluto-Uranus square, the traumatic and transformative aspect which defines these years.

It’s very simple really. Transform or die. No illusions, no excuses. Break free of what you already know is draining and depleting you, cut your losses, get out of unbalanced energetic exchanges. If words are called for, be simple and honest and direct; lay the situation bare, but try to stay balanced and kind. With Mercury conjunct Saturn in Scorpio, less is more in terms of verbal communication.

It’s beautiful when the sky is this unambiguous. Not to say it is easy. There is really not much ease or let-up to be had here—it’s all pretty hardcore. And just wait till we hit November and the fourth exact Uranus-Pluto square, and a new moon in Scorpio that pounds home these same themes, in case you haven’t been listening!

But awareness of just how much is required of us these days is a great fortifier. Knowledge is power: that’s a perfect phrase for Mercury in Scorpio. And there will never be a better, more powerful time to transform how you relate to the world than right NOW. 

There is really not much choice. “The fates lead him who will; him who won’t they drag”, as Seneca wrote.

--As an aside, Seneca was a Roman poet and dramatist of the 1^st century AD. Stoic philosophy combined with a life full of political intrigue and scandal, culminating in a forced suicide after an alleged plot against the emperor Nero. The skies make me think of him, speaking as they do (as he did) of stoicism, perseverance and integrity. Here are some more quotes, very relevant to the current astro-weather:

What progress have I made? I am beginning to be my own friend.’ That is progress indeed. Such a person will never be alone and you may be sure he is a friend to all.  

Throughout the whole of life one must continue to learn to live and what will amaze you even more, throughout life you must learn to die.

Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.

Choose as a guide one whom you will admire more when you see him act than when you hear him speak.

 You want to live-but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying-and, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different from being dead?

Every day, therefore, should be regulated as if it were the one that brings up the rear, the one that rounds out and completes our lives.

What view is one likely to take of the state of a person's mind when his speech is wild and incoherent and knows no constraint?

Rehearse death. To say this is to tell a person to rehearse his freedom. A person who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. He is above, or at any rate, beyond the reach of, all political powers.

What is required is not a lot of words, but effectual ones.

Retire into yourself as much as possible. Associate with people who are likely to improve you. Welcome those whom you are capable of improving. The process is a mutual one. People learn as they teach.

A good character is the only guarantee of everlasting, carefree happiness.

You have to persevere and fortify your pertinacity until the will to good becomes a disposition to good.

So called pleasures, when they go beyond a certain limit, are but punishments.

I am telling you to be a slow-speaking person.

Be harsh with yourself at times.

 

Ok, enough heaviness! (But no question, it's all very heavy. No way around it.)

Happy heavy October!