Diving into the New Moon Eclipse

Remember, yesterday's note describes the Moon's path today.

Sunday's New Moon in Cancer is also a solar eclipse, creating yet another powerful window for change in this tumultuous and transformative time. We are still in the waning cycle, releasing whatever we need to let go of; yet we also look to the patterns of the coming New Moon, to anticipate areas of life likely to be affected, where we can partner with cosmic energies to co-create change.

Solar eclipses have traditionally been seen as dangerous times when dramatic, and traumatic, events happened. Today we can recognize that powerful archetypes are activated at these times, read the signs, consult our inner guidance, and set our sails to ride the winds of change.

Reading the astrological weather requires some maps, and your birth chart is the most important for you. Have a copy of your chart handy as you consider the upcoming patterns ... if you don't have a chart, Astrodienst can calculate one for you. (Follow the links for the free daily horoscope and find the free chart link at the bottom of the horoscope page.)

And here is a map of the New Moon itself. Created for SE Ohio, the House placements in this chart may not fit your area. But the planets and points are where they should be, and you can compare them to your birth chart, seeing where the relationships are. Look especially at any planets or points in your chart that are in the late teens or early 20's by degree, as these will be affected one way or another by the New Moon at 19 degrees of Cancer.

Cancer is the Moon's home sign, making this a very lunar time strongly focused on home, family, tribe, tradition, and the ancestors. The Moon carries the energy of the Mother ... our birth mother, the archetype of the mother, security, safety and nurturing. The Moon represents the body, changing rhythms of life, and natural cycles. The Moon is our emotional self, feelings that arise in the body from the unconscious, feelings that desire and need expression in order to be understood.

At The Radical Virgo, Joyce Mason writes of the Moon as our container. Of this New Moon, she says "During this kicker, Cancer, Solar Eclipse New Moon: Learn about your container. What holds you? What makes you feel safe? Where do you lack the Holy Grail in your inner life?"

One of our containers is our history: the legacy of family and ancestral patterns that might support us in strength or bind us in dependency. At Astro Alchemy, Simone Butler writes lovingly of her own grandmother, and how this New Moon Eclipse offers a powerful opportunity to recast our relationships with the past.

We live in the present, with ties that reach back into the past as well as into the unseen future. When we change our relationship to our past in positive, strengthening, life-enhancing ways, we offer healing to the ancestors and new, beautiful paths to those who will follow us.

Astrologer Lynda Hill works with the Sabian symbols, a fascinating set of images and messages channeled for each degree of the zodiac. Her exploration of the complex Sabian symbols surrounding this New Moon emphasizes the important of relationships at this time ... with Venus strongly aspected, and the New Moon in Cancer, we can anticipate feelings about, and possible changes in, our closest relationships.

This Cancerian New Moon Eclipse also offers the opportunity to set intentions to benefit Gaia Herself. Our home, our Mother, the container that holds us, our relationship with Her is vital to our survival and now in need of repair and deep change. At MoonCircles, Dana Gerhardt writes about the power of prayer, and how our power increases when we work in community. 

Cancer is a Water sign. This New Moon's solar eclipse will be most visible from the Pacific, the largest of Gaia's oceans. As we set our personal intentions and craft wishes to reach our goals, we have the opportunity to ask for the changes in how human societies relate to the waters of the Earth, and ask for healing.