Waning Moon in Cancer: Comfort and Contempt

The Old Rectory, Westport, Ireland

Yesterday's Last Quarter Moon rode high in sunny skies all day for me, as I explored Achill Island in County Mayo. I couldn't help be aware of the turning corner, as we move closer to the New Moon in Libra.

Plenty of intense transits in the sky these days, and lots going on. Friends are reporting challenges, dark nights, fog and mist. Meanwhile, I am held in a halycon time of extra warmth, an unusual weather pattern for Ireland, days of sun, warm breezes, and white clouds, even as the bracken turns to cinnamon.

So I've been thinking about this idea that challenging transits come along to shake things up and force us out of our comfort zone. The Moon in Cancer, where she is today and was for yesterday's Last Quarter, loves her comforts and detests change. East or west, home's best, for her.

And that word "comfort" means strength, solace. Why on earth would we deliberately court weakness? Why upset ourselves?

Why, indeed?

I think it has to do with the old adage, familiarity breeds contempt. Now, that's not always true. Yet we do tend to take things for granted when they are familiar, comfortable.

If I have never before driven a car on the left side of the road, a car with the steering wheel and controls on the right, never used a GPS, never driven on narrow roads bordered by stone walls and 12-foot hedges––well, I can't just drive on autopilot to get from point A to point B, can I?

I guarantee, I cannot. I must, must pay attention to what's going on around me. At first, that attention is shot through with intense anxiety. Eventually, I find I can do it––and yet the sense of the new and unusual is still there. The world doesn't look the same. My relationship to it changes.

The word "shake" comes from the Old English, and meant then what it means now: rapid movement, agitation. But it also has roots in another word that means flight, flee, and depart. When we depart from familiar routines, our perceptions are shaken up. We see things differently.

I still think there's something wrong with the idea of getting 'outside our comfort zone' (and the Cancerian Moon would agree). The current fascination with adrenaline, for example: Danger as enlightenment ... a snare and a delusion, in my view. Just another way the sellers of "high" keep us hooked to consumption.

Instead, I'd like to advocate for a broadening of attention, a way to widening our field of vision and softening our gaze. "Attend" harks back, ultimately, to the word tendere, which means stretch ... to pay attention is to stretch toward something, to lean into it.

Yes, we're in a crucible of transformation. Yes, it is sometimes exquistely uncomfortable, even painful. Yes, the only way out is through.

And, and ...

farmhouse door, Co Mayo, Ireland

The world is filled with beauty and tenderness. Ordinary things––birds in a hedge, hot tea in a mug, turning a key in a lock––can open us to deep perceptions as surely as bungee jumping.

We're in the last quarter of the lunar cycle, when we choose what to let go of, and how to let it go. When we become acutely aware,  on this day when the Cancerian Moon conjunct Jupiter and trines Venus in Scorpio, of how much we love our familiar lives and how that's exactly the point.

So, plan for the extraordinary and do it ... take the trip you dreamed of, write the book, have the conversation ... and also know that if your life right now has no openings for anything other than the usual and familiar, you have everything you need to transform into the most beautiful phoenix anyway.

Love the familiar, look at it from a different angle, and all we need is there.
    

Exploring Venus: From the Full Moon to the New

The Birth of Venus - Odilon Redon

Full Moon in Pisces
September 19, 2013
7:13 am EDT / 12:13 pm GMD

Disseminating Moon in Taurus
September 22, 2013 11:08 pm EDT
September 23, 2013 4:08 am GMD

Last Quarter Moon in Cancer
September 26, 2013 11:55 pm EDT
September 27, 2013 4:55 am GMD

Balsamic Moon in Leo
October 1, 2013
1:46 am EDT / 6:46 am GMD

New Moon in Libra
September 30, 2013 8:34 pm EDT
October 1, 2013 1:34 am GMT

We're in the waning half of the Moon's cycle––appropriate, since we've also turned the corner into Autumn. The Fall Equinox has arrived, the waning part of the year.

We've moving toward the New Moon in Libra, one of the two signs ruled by Venus, who is sending us signals all during these next weeks that this is her time. Between now and the New Moon, we'll be drawn again and again into Venusian territory, invited to explore what Venus means to us.

So, what does Venus mean?

She is far, far more than the sex-obsessed aphrodite-ish figure modern media offers. Venus rules relating. Her arena includes all of our one-on-one relationships: family, friends, and business associates as well as romantic and intimate ones. Even enemies are included, as long as the relationship is one-on-one.

Venus rules how we relate to color, form, texture, sound ... our esthetic sense, what we find pleasing and beautiful.

She rules how we relate to the world at large, in terms of our values ... what we feel is fair, just and balanced.

Venus is also one of the "good luck" planets and so, related to our finances, our prosperity.

Any or all of these areas of life could be up for review now, with "up for review" including possibilities like deep realizations, healing of old unworkable patterns, and up-ending what's currently happening to facilitate realizations and healing.

At the Full Moon, Venus had recently moved into deep, intense, Shadow-y Scorpio. She was conjunct Saturn and the North Node, a trio that asked pointed questions like: Are my current relationships serving my life path? Have I been walking my talk? Am I doing what I came here to do, what I am meant to do?

Chiron flowed energy with these three at the Full Moon, offering healing energy and possibly bringing old wounds to the surface as part of the review process.

Just before dawn today, the Disseminating Moon arrived. That Taurus Moon opposed Venus, bringing up emotional issues, and pushing us to consider the surface of things and what is below the surface.

Do not discount the surface ... Venus rules Taurus, and holds the manifest world––what we can see, hear, taste, smell and touch––in great esteem. We need both inner and outer, manifest and hidden, light and shadow. Venus still trines Chiron, healing and wounding also ongoing.

And, Venus moves into a square with Mars, in passionate and expressive Leo.

The Venus–Mars square will be exact at the Last Quarter Moon, when the Cancer Moon also squares the Libra Sun. Finding the balance between masculine and feminine, yang and yin, spirit and soul, mind and body––all these polarities will feel edgy at this Moon.

With Neptune trining the Last Quarter Moon, intuition will need to be balanced with delusion, spirituality with deception. Whatever else happens, dreaming will be strong. Look to dreams for clues about where your psyche wants you to focus.

The Balsamic Moon will join Mars in Leo, squaring Venus, and trining Eris the goddess of discord. Meanwhile, the Sun moves into opposition with Uranus in Aries.

When we reach the Balsamic Moon, we're asked to let go of whatever no longer serves us, as we enter the dark time before the New Moon. Balsamic Moons generally tend to be nostalgic, quiet, a bit melancholy ...

Well, not this one! This Leo Balsamic Moon will be lighting a bonfire. Not content to drop old stuff into the compost bin, this Moon wants the phoenix to go up in flames.

So when you feel pulled into Shadow these next weeks, when you're asked to dredge up stuff you'd rather not deal with, when things get down and dirty––go with it. These are the days of miracles and wonders, when deep work can get done quickly (not painlessly, quickly).

Look at your birth chart. Where is your Venus by sign and house? This will tell you something about how Venus expresses herself in you. How is your Venus affected by current transits? This will tell you where in your life this current Venus time will show up most clearly.

At the Venus-ruled New Moon, we'll have the chance for a deep rebirth. We're in the harvest time, so dig your hands in, see what needs to come up, sort out what to keep from what to pitch, and get the bonfires ready!
    

Full Moon in Pisces: Holding Sacred Space

Spirit of the Night by J.A. Grimshaw

Full Moon in Pisces
September 19, 2013
7:13 am EDT / 12:13 pm GMD

Autumn Equinox
Sun at 0 Libra, Moon in Taurus
September 21, 2013
4:44 pm EDT / 9:44 pm GMD

The official date of the Full Harvest Moon is September 19, but the Moon will look most lusciously full on the night of September 18. With a bit of luck, I will experience this Full Moon on Glastonbury Tor.

We're due for a bit of magic. The intensity of events in public and private spheres has been reflected in a series of oppositions and squares among personal and outer planets. A lot's been happening. A breather would be nice.

While Full Moons are not noted for being calm, this year's Harvest Moon brings a chance for respite. Some of the challenging aspect patterns remain; all troubles are not likely to dissolve. And yet, for once in many months, this particular Full Moon stands alone––Sun and Moon in opposition, without serious entanglements.

There are some edgy patterns, notably a series of sesquiquadrates (squares and a half) that place the Moon at the apex of a Finger of the World, and the Sun and Moon somewhat at odds with the Moon's Nodes.

But compared to many recent Full Moons in which the Sun and Moon were woven into complex cats' cradles of many planets, the Sun and Moon are on their own, talking only to each other. It feels to me like they want it that way, as if they're pushing all the other planets, all the cares of the world, off for a brief time.

This is, after all, the Pisces Full Moon, the Moon for dreams and dreamers. The Sun's reaching the end of Virgo, and maybe after weeks of watching every detail, will kick back a bit and let the Moon lead the way.

A Full Pisces Moon is a time for magic and visions, poetry and music. Despite the Virgo Sun, this will not be the time for logic, or hard and fast decisions––keep in mind that Pisces Moons can also be deceptive and are excellent at creating lovely illusions.

This Full Moon cannot make all our challenges disappear. Saturn and Venus are still close together at the North Node, keeping the pressure on to stay on our path. Mars and Uranus are still sharing energy, keeping the heat on for revolutionary change and also flame-ups and flame-outs.

And Chiron still flows energy to the group around the North Node, reminding us that sometimes change hurts, and still, growth is worthwhile. Alchemical Pluto agrees, sextiling both Chiron and the North Node group.

So it's not as if the whole sky has gone quiet, not at all. Still … the Full Moon will rise, inviting all of us to envision our best possible future, write lyrical poetry, play soulful music. For one night at least, give yourself up to the dream.

The Equinox arrives just a few days later, which is why this is the Harvest Moon––the Full Moon that falls closest to this hinge of the year.

Astrologically, the Equinox arrives when the Sun enters Libra, the cardinal Air sign that marks the beginning of Autumn (in the Northern Hemisphere). Libra, ruled by Venus, loves balance and harmony … can we continue the sense of respite a bit longer?

Maybe, maybe not … the Moon has moved to conjunct the South Node, opposing the Scorpio group of Saturn, North Node and Venus. This could be a reminder to get back on track.

Whatever comes after, though, I am holding out for a bit of time-outside-time. If we can't find refuge in dreamworlds at a Pisces Full Moon, when can we? And those worlds of dreams and visions––those are the places of creativity and hope. Good things.
    

The Waxing Moon: Moving through Anger into Clarity

Crescent Moon over Glastonbury

Crescent Moon in Scorpio
September 9, 2013
12:44 am EDT / 5:44 am GMD

First Quarter Moon in Sagittarius
September 12, 2013
1:08 pm EDT / 6:08 pm GMD

Gibbous Moon in Aquarius
September 15, 2013 10:00 pm EDT
September 16, 2013 3:00 am GMD

Full Moon in Pisces
September 19, 2013
7:13 am EDT / 12:13 pm GMD

A glowing sliver of a Crescent Moon rose this evening over Glastonbury as the sun set through banks of deep indigo clouds, dusting the undersides with scarlet and rose. Yes, thanks, it was a lovely evening.

And also a reminder I'm late introducing the waxing Moon cycle. I've been away from strong enough wifi, having wonderful experiences, so I hope you'll excuse me.

At the Crescent Moon, we begin to see the first tendrils emerging from the seeds we planted at the New Moon. This particular Crescent may bring us insights into what's really going on with those seeds, or maybe, what we really meant when we set those intentions:

The Moon entered Scorpio this morning as she entered her Crescent phase, moving to conjunct Saturn. As I write this on Monday evening, September 9, she's already passed Saturn and is with the North Node. This brought our feelings in touch with what is hidden––which can be scary but is always meaningful.

If something came up for you today that you shied away from, didn't want to look at, just couldn't go there, that's OK. But consider taking another look; it could prove useful.

Venus is reaching the end of her home sign, Libra, now too and making ready her entrance into shadowy Scorpio. Our attention is turning to Shadow, to darkness, to things that go bump in the night. This is a good time to remember Leonard Cohen's lyric:

There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.

Part of the crack we're likely to see during this waxing cycle has to do with anger, and action, and how those two are linked, for good or ill.

Right now, Mars and Saturn are squaring each other, with Mars in passionate Leo and Saturn in Scorpio, for whom Mars is the ancient ruler. Where's the line between taking a stand for what's right and drawing a line in the sand? Hard to tell sometimes, isn't it?

Right now, Pluto is inconjunct Mars, an awkward angle that suggests precipitate action will not be the best choice. So, if someone or something is making you really, really angry, look beneath to see if you can understand the trigger instead of shooting something off––even if it's just your mouth.

The transformational healing energy we've been experiencing is still available, with Pluto and Chiron, the alchemist and the wounded healer, both important players in the patterns we see. Things can change if we pay attention.

Well, truthfully, things are going to change. We have a better chance of influencing those changes in a good way if we pay attention. Our choice.

The First Quarter Moon of September 12 is in Sagittarius, which usually means fellowship, optimism, and liberality. I hope we see some!

At that time, though, Venus will have entered shadowy Scorpio, Mars will be squaring the Nodes of the Moon, and Mercury will be shifting into position to activate the Pluto–Uranus square.

The Sagittarian Moon may help us keep hold of some lightheartedness as we continue to explore what triggers us, and look for ways to heal old anger patterns.

Please note, I am not saying we should never feel angry or that anger is bad––not at all. Anger is a wonderful emotion that tells us when a boundary has been crossed, very useful information. The problem is, we often leap to the conclusion that all the bad behavior is out there in those other people and our job is to set them straight, and reality is often more complicated. This cycle, we have a chance to see that.

The Gibbous Moon of September 15/ 16 continues the focus on when and how we take a stand. The Moon is in Aquarius, which is humanitarian and community-focused but can also be dogmatic.

The Moon squares the Nodes of the Moon, testing our commitment to walking our talk. Meanwhile, Mars is flowing energy with Uranus, in a trine that will make it very easy to suddenly feel we know exactly what needs to be done, right now, no holds barred.

Tricky territory we're in. Wasn't that last New Moon in Virgo all about details, and being careful and organized? Seems like things are going off the rails a bit.

Maybe.

And maybe the issues around anger, and taking stands, drawing lines, when to act, when to wait, who to blame and how to move beyond that––maybe all of those issues are the very things we need to understand and resolve so we can move ahead with whatever Virgoan project we set in motion.

The Full Moon to come will be in Pisces, the mystic, the visionary, and the foggy deceiver. So spending time these next few weeks getting clarity on things that push us out of our comfort zone could be exactly what we need.

The next weeks are likely to make us uncomfortable at times. This is a good thing. Work with it. Go deeper into it, not in a wallowing kind of way, but in a 'hmmm … what's going on with this?' kind of way. It will be worth it.
    

New Moon in Virgo: Grind, Grist, and Grit

harvest of grain ... grist for the mill

New Moon in Virgo
Thursday, September 5, 2013
7:36 am EDT / 12:36 pm GMD

Let's open with a few words about Virgo, sign of the New Moon. Often thought of as the clerk of the zodiac, the bookkeeper who never lifts his eyes from the page, the copyeditor who gleefully circles every error in bright red ink ... well, what do we wish for? A better eye for detail?

It's time to deepen our understanding of Virgo, look beyond the trees this sign loves so well and catch a glimpse of the forest.

It turns out this particular New Moon is a great time to do exactly that. Maybe the most important intention we can set for this New Moon is to develop a better, broader, more nuanced understanding of what Virgo brings to the table and how this energy influences our charts and our lives.

Check out the chart. There are so many planets located in same degree range as the New Moon, it's easier to list the ones who are not at the party. The Sun and Moon are together at 13 Virgo and

• opposite Chiron, the wounded healer, who astrologer Joyce Mason feels has a special and strong relationship with Virgo energy,

• trine Pluto in Capricorn and the South Node in Taurus,

• sextile the North Node and Saturn in Scorpio, and Jupiter in Cancer

• inconjunct Uranus in Aries––see what I mean?

This New Moon flows energy with Earth and Water in big ways. There is transformational energy here (nothing new these days) and also great strength and stamina. Astrologer Simone Butler has already linked Diana Nyad's epic swim from Cuba to Florida to Virgo's influence.

Virgo likes details. It's easy to make jokes about it, but nothing great is accomplished without that kind of attention. Virgo has commitment, as well as a good eye. Virgo can stay the course, not giving up in the face of opposition.

This is exactly the kind of grit Diana Nyad showed: The ability to keep going, one stroke at a time, until she reached her goal. We see headlines trumpeting her success, not reports of incremental failures––all the times a piece of equipment didn't work out, or somethings went amiss in training.

"The devil is in the details" we say, as well as "it's all grist for the mill." Grit and grist are tiny and powerful. A bit of grit in the wrong place can grind a huge machine to a halt. Grist is the basis of our daily bread, what remains after harvest, after separately out the chaff, after the hard work of grinding.

I visited the Herschel Museum in Bath England the other day and was fascinated with the reconstructed workshop. Herschel, who discovered the planet Uranus and thereby doubled the size of the solar system of his time, succeeded because of his meticulous attention to detail. Not satisfied with the telescope mirrors available, he learned to craft his own, a process tof casting special metal alloys and then carefully grinding the surface, polishing it with just the right kinds of grit, to make it highly reflective.

He never gave up in his quest for knowledge; nor did his sister Caroline, who began as her brother's assistant and became a noted astronomer in her own right, the discovered of right comets.

At this New Moon, we may want to pay some detailed attention to our own relationship to detail, to commitment, to grit. That Chiron opposition will focus us on where things haven't worked out in the past, and offer possibilities for healing.

Are we not reaching goals because we give up too easily? Are we missing important details because we're too busy, too distracted, or simply too cool to stay focused? Are we finding the right balance between acceptance and discernment?

There are tricky issues here. Virgo wants us to makes judgements, not to attach labels like good or evil, but to make good choices––is this the right situation for me? the right relationship? am I heading in a good direction? Answering these kinds of questions calls for attention to detail.

Virgo wants us to get it right. Sometimes in the quest for personal best, we beat ourselves up, falling into negative self talk, even self hatred, and then think the remedy is not making judgements at all. Virgo values discernment, yes, and success––and understands (or at least, can learn) that effectiveness often calls for compassion, not criticism.

The thing is, not choosing is also a choice. Sometimes standing on the sidelines is the worst thing we can do.

To echo the words of another expert in attending to detail: Watson, you know my methods: See where this New Moon will fall in your birth chart, where the middle of Virgo lives for you. Check to see which planets and points are involved.

These are the places we may have a history of avoiding detail (not reading the fine print) or focusing too much on it (missing the forest for the trees). At this New Moon, we can ask to understand our own patterns more clearly. We can wish for healing of any patterns getting in the way. We can set the intention to develop a healthier (and more discerning) relationship with Virgo.

The presence of Chiron suggests wounding, and the healing of wounds, related to Virgo issues. Facing our wounds is painful, as is beginning to shift away from self criticism. So I'd like to close with the words of the great poet Seamus Heaney, who we lost tragically this week.

Attention to detail is, after all, the poet's life blood. Capturing essence in a word or a phrase––this is Virgo at her most wonderful. In his work, Heaney gave us much beautiful detail, and offered acknowledgement and recognition as the beginning of healing of deep wounds.

His last words came in the form of a text message to his wife, simple and powerful, that we can carry into the dark of the New Moon, knowing we will come out into the light on the other side, illuminated.

Nolo timere, he typed. Do not be afraid.
    

Balsamic Moon in Cancer: The Weight of the Heart

cozy at home with the Cancer Moon

Balsamic Moon in Cancer
September 1, 2013
8:29 am EDT / 1:29 pm GMD

Today we enter the final release before the coming New Moon in Virgo. This is the time in the lunar cycle to let go of what we no longer need, prune away what is unhealthy, compost what is finished. We're preparing new ground while clearing away the old.

The Cancerian Moon is strong in her home sign, wanting nothing more than to curl up at home with a good book and a strong cup of tea, having first checked that all her loved ones are safe at home as well.

The Moon is void of course all day today, and while I no longer emphasize the importance of void Moons as I used to, it's intriguing we have another sign suggesting we keep our heads down today.

Except, the world isn't exactly letting us, is it?

Americans especially, and the world at large, wait to see what the US government will do in Syria. In in surprise move overnight, Obama has put things "on hold" which seems like a good move astrologically. We're now holding our collective breath, hoping to step away from yet another brink.

Political astrology is not my expertise, but I'll note this Balsamic Moon is conjunct the US Mercury (in the Sibley chart) and inconjunct the US Moon at 24 Aquarius. May our nation weigh the consequences of its actions carefully for families everywhere in the world, taking counsel from the heart and releasing any need to "take a stand" only to "take a stand." Sometimes standing our ground is the right course; let's just please be really sure it is.

For us personally (and a Cancer Moon feels very personal), these are days to feel where we are now.

The Sun trines alchemical Pluto today, so it's quite possible we'll (finally) get clarity on what the next step is on our transformational path.

I think most of us have now accepted the inevitability of big change, and some have even embraced it––sometimes the trickiest thing is figuring out what to do next. We could get some light on that now.

But how do we feel about it? We're heading into a Virgo New Moon, the Sun already in Virgo, working with Pluto.

Today's Balsamic Moon probably isn't on board yet. There are emotions floating around: anxieties, regrets, nostalgia, even enjoyment of things as they are and love of what we already have in our lives. Aren't things better as they are? Why rock the boat?

Today's Moon is conjunct Pallas Athena, ready to take a cool, calm view. Eris, goddess of discord, squares the Moon from fiery Aries, while trining Vesta in Leo, the goddess ready to stand on her own and be who she is. This trio shows us how to be independent and step outside the box. Yet right now, they could feel pushy.

Here's the thing. The Moon in Cancer often prefers to stay put, hold on, dig in her heels. Emotions like to move. Emotions need to move. The challenge of this Balsamic time will be to stay with our feelings (when other forces urge practicality and action) while also allowing our feelings to move, to lead us into areas where reflection and processing and (yes) release are needed.

Allow time over the next few days to attend to emotions. Notice what triggers strong feeling. Follow the wave, noticing how things shift (and they will shift) as you pay attention while letting things move. Try to stay with what your body feels, instead of going right away to labels and reasons.

Doing this over the next days will bring comfort to the Cancerian Moon, which is good, because when Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. More than that, though, following the waves of emotion will bring new information to the surface, shifting our understanding and alerting us to what we can let go of, to prepare for the new to come.