First Quarter Moon: On the Edge

First Quarter Moon in Capricorn
October 21, 2012

As the Sun and Saturn reach toward their conjunction, the Sun and Moon square each other in the final degrees of Libra (Sun) and Capricorn (Moon). This last degree is called the anaretic degree, and is an especially fraught point in any sign.

One way of approaching the transition between signs is to think of them as blending––we gradually move from Libra, say, into Scorpio and the energy is a little this, a little that, the two smooshed together. This is where the term "cuspy" comes from ... if you've got a planet in that in-between territory, some astrologers will call it "cuspy" and say it's a blend of both.

I have problems with "cuspy."

My Sun's at 0 Libra and my Moon's at 0 Virgo, so I know from cusps. And I can tell you, I've never felt blended at all. More jagged, actually. Edgy.

Look at any two adjacent signs––do they feel like they'd blend easily? Seriously, Libra and Scorpio, Scorpio and Sagittarius, Pisces and Aries ... pick any two and tell me these are flavors that blend.

As we move around the zodiac, each sign answers a need created by the energy of its predecessor, offering an antidote to whatever has been overemphasized. It's about movement, growth, progression, and challenge, not blending gradually from red to yellow with all that lovely peach in the middle.

So, I felt a sense of satisfaction when I discovered another approach that recognizes the difficult shift from one sign to the other, reflected in part in the final, anaretic degree.

When we reach 29, we're really, really into the energy of that sign. Committed, fully immersed. But we've also taken it as far as it will go. Maybe we're sensing its limitations and excesses. But still, we're in it, all the way.

But wait ... here's a horizon. A new energy right here. We need to jump there, into the new. But can we? Maybe we stick a toe in, pull back. Maybe we make the jump and then the place we just left looks much better and we jump back.

The Sun in Libra is all about beauty, peace, harmony, clear thought, planning, and balance. The Moon in Capricorn is all about rolling our sleeves up and working hard, never mind the muck if we get to the goal.

The Sun is looking at a darker place, the shadowy realms of Scorpio where Saturn the Taskmaster sits waiting, tapping his foot. The Moon sees the grand visions of Aquarius ahead, airy-fairy stuff for hard working Cap.

Meanwhile, Venus in Virgo forms a wide trine to the Moon while sextiling Mercury and the North Node in Scorpio, who are poised between the Sun and Moon. Does Venus help us, or does Virgo increase our anxiety about all this?

The question at this Fist Quarter is, do we embrace challenge as a way forward, or sit on the fence? He who hesitates is lost ... or is it, look before you leap?

The lovely Libran New Moon has sowed her seeds. We're about to leave her beautiful visions behind. If we can hold our dreams clearly in our hearts, we won't need to look back over our shoulders. We can boldly go into the new territories before us. We can step off the edge.

Hey, Felix Baumgartner did it! We can too.