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.
    

Balsamic Moon: Luere Means "to Wash"

doing the washing

Balsamic Moon
March 8, 2013
2:57 am EST

The Balsamic Moon, the final half-square between the Sun and Moon before they meet, ushers in the last, focused time for releasing what we're done with. If we're not quite done, but know we should be, it's time to let go anyway.

The Latin word luere, meaning to wash, connects us to where we are: dissolve, ablution, dilute, alluvium, deluge ... all these Neptunian words tell us it's time for a change.

The goal is to clear the foundations for a new, strong, creative, valued structure to rise up. At this Moon, we see Saturn in Scorpio (deep structure, facing the Shadow) flowing energy in trine with Mercury (thought, communication, reflection) and Venus (creativity, values, relationships) in Pisces, the universal solvent.

At the same time, Jupiter squares Chiron––whatever the issue is, we can't miss it, and the support for healing is right there. Vesta, goddess of home and hearth, squares the Sun and Venus, so perhaps issues of home and family are at stake. Alongside Vesta is Lilith, also square the Sun, bringing the voice of the fierce feminine.

Letting go of stuff is hard. We don't like it. With all the Pisces energy around and Mercury retrograde, it's a bit tricky to know exactly what we need to let go of, and why.

This Balsamic Moon is in Aquarius, which offers a cool head, perspective, and an extra dose of intuitive power.

Oracles are very powerful now, all kinds of oracles. Here's a Tarot spread my friend Arwen created that suits this Balsamic Moon time perfectly. Finding this excellent quote:

When the wind of change is blowing, some people build walls, the others windmills. 
~Chinese Proverb

She designed a three-card spread in which the middle card is the Wind of Change coming into our lives, the card to the left is the Wall and the card to the right is the Windmill.

In other words, what needs to change? How are we holding ourselves back? And where is the opportunity to move?

So of course I tried it, using Joanna Powell Colbert's beautiful Gaian Tarot.

Well ... the Winds of Change card was ... The Tree, Joanna's version of the Hanged Man. Could there be a more perfect evocation of this Piscean ocean energy we're in? I swear, this is the card that came, I did not stack the deck!

The Wall in my readings was, interestingly, Justice. Of course Justice is a good thing, and a very positive card in many spreads and locations, but it wasn't difficult for me to see that holding on to a need for things to be fair can be a problem. Some issues for the past can never be resolved (another luere word). Sometimes we––ok, I––need to let go of that burning desire for justice.

The opportunity card? It was the Wheel, the card that says, what goes around, comes around ... the card of change with a capital "C" except it's not change we're in control of, it's change we accept and ride with.

This reading had personal meaning for me, and also felt like something many could relate to: We're in a time of flux and might feel stuck, or at least not fully in control of what's happening. We want things to be fair! We want justice to be done and will hold our position forever until that happens! Except of course that leaves us stuck in the past ... so, it's time to let go, let the wheel of time roll on, and see what comes in the next turning.

I'm getting out the wash basin and my sweetest smelling soap––maybe that will make all this dissolving just a bit easier.
    

Last Quarter to New Moon: Single Point Focus

what are you focusing on?

Last Quarter Moon:
February 3, 8:56 am EST
Balsamic Moon:
February 6, 6:26 pm EST
New Moon in Aquarius:
February 10, 2:20 am EST

We turned the corner this morning, heading into the home stretch, reaching toward the quirky individuality of the New Moon in Aquarius.

We've passed the Last Quarter Moon mark and energy shifts from sharing to releasing––take stock, see what we've outgrown, used up, don't need, and let it go.

And this time around, it'll be easy. Well ... let me qualify that. It'll be easy to see what needs to go. Actually letting go––your mileage may vary.

This last half of the waning Moon phase brings us the Sun in Aquarius, clear-sighted, strong-minded, and revolutionary. This Sun pulls no punches and doesn't mess around. Is the way forward clear? All right-y then, let's roll up our sleeves.

In my last post, I pointed to the Sun squaring the Nodes of the Moon, saying we're asked to clarify our vision and apply it to our life goals. If you look at the charts here, for the Last Quarter, Balsamic, and New Moons, you see that Aquarius Sun square just gets tighter and tighter.

The Sun forms an applying square to the Nodes (in astrology-speak), one that's getting stronger. So, our vision is becoming more clear and more compelling. Inescapable, one might say. In other words, we know what we need to do.

At the same time, the focus in the dreamy sign of Pisces is increasing. Right now, we see Neptune and Chiron, who've been in Pisces a while, joined by Mars. Mercury will soon join the gathering, bringing mind and action into the Piscean ocean.

On one hand, this makes letting go easy. Pisces, after all, is the sign associated with loss and sacrifice. On the other hand, Pisces can generate a lot of fog. When we're with the Aquarian Sun, clarity is right there in front of our eyes. Step into the Piscean mists, and ... what did we want to do? Suddenly it's much less certain.

This is where the single point focus becomes essential. In photography, single point focus is where the energy of the image is gathered, where the eye wants to go. The photographer creates this focus by framing the shot and choosing the depth of focus that will bring the key element into prominence.

Pick up a camera and focus it on the vision you hold for your life. How are you going to frame the shot? What needs to be included? Where is your point of focus? Many photographers can look at the same landscape; each will create a different image. What's yours?

In meditation, single point focus is a technique for quieting the mind, reducing inner chatter. The simplest point of focus is the breath, following each inhale and exhale, calmly, peacefully. Over time, maintaining this focus becomes easier. Inner clarity and strength increase.

This second kind of focus is helpful if we find ourselves in Piscean fogginess. Are we distracted by media, food, alcohol, drugs, whatever? Are we drifting and zoning out? Are we confused? Welcome to Pisces waters ... now breathe. Follow the breath.

This New Moon in Aquarius invites us to step into our strongest, clearest vision of who we are and what we want for ourselves and our world. Exactly square the Nodes of the Moon, the New Moon calls us to commit to our best and brightest image of a possible future.

It's this bright image that can motivate us to gently, compassionately release what we no longer need. We've turned the corner. Punxsutawney Phil, king of groundhogs, has called for an early Spring. Brigid lights the fires of new growth. Let's get ready.
      

Balsamic Moon: What's in the Way?

on the way

Balsamic Moon in Sagittarius
January 8, 2013

OK, this Balsamic Moon time is going to feel edgy. This is a good thing. Really, it is. This is the lunar phase for cleaning out what no longer works, and this time the cleansing could be very thorough indeed, if we're willing to go with the energy.

Of course, the cleansing could be pretty thorough if we don't go with the flow, too, which is a good reason to work with what shows up, as best we can.

The Moon will be in optimistic, adventurous Sagittarius, offering a can-do attitude for busting through challenges. The Sun is in down-to-earth Capricorn. These two are in semisquare, which isn't the easiest aspect we could have, but comes with Balsamic territory.

This Sun and Moon share a commitment to moving ahead and getting stuff taken care of. The Moon's optimism offset by the Sun's Capricornian realism, saying things like "get real!" and "let me tell you how is really is." How much of this kind of realism is helpful to you, is your call.

On to the edgy part: The square between Saturn and Mars is really tight at this Balsamic Moon, and since both are in fixed signs, this signals strong feelings of stuckness. Mars in Aquarius is certain he's got the answers and ready to implement his Big Plan. Now. Saturn in Scorpio is holding out for more study, because we don't actually have the full picture yet, and what's missing is important.

Mars and Saturn is this aspect bring the experience of seeing the way clearly and so wanting to go there, but something behind us, something we can't see, grabs our jacket and we can't move. Just swatting at that hand without looking will not work––this is Saturn, and he wants our attention.

So, what's holding us back? At this Balsamic Moon, we need to know. It's time to take a hard look in the dark corners and see what's there.

Maybe it's something we can acknowledge and release. Maybe we've left something out of the Big Plan. Whatever ... Saturn will not let go until we look.

Meanwhile, Aquarian Mars is tantalizing us with beautiful visions of what could be if only we act, which we can experience as frustration or promise––up to us.

Whatever Saturn is insisting we look at relates to our healing, mentorship, creativity and visioning. The Moon is part of a T-square as she opposes Jupiter and both square Chiron, who's still hanging out with Neptune. This T-square adds more edge, while forcing us to consider how healing and creativity are also held back by whatever Saturn wants us to take care of.

If we need a clearer set of pointers, Jupiter the philsopher, who remains retrograde in Gemini for just a bit longer, sits at the apex of that same Finger of Fate he's been under––Saturn and Pluto are pointing at him, insisting we re-examine our certainties, and now Mercury stands with Pluto so the messages are actually getting through to our brains.

"Oh, that!" we might find ourselves saying, "That's the issue??" Yes, that's the one.

The asteroid goddesses are also part of this conference: Vesta, keeper of home, hearth and tradition, stands with Jupiter, perhaps to remind us not to toss babies out with bathwater. Ceres, also retrograde in Gemini, sits at the apex of her own Finger of Fate, with the North Node and the Sun pointing at her––we forget the fierce face of the mother at our own peril. Athena forms creative quintiles to Ceres and the Sun, saying, look for unexpected solutions.

Change is (still) in the air. The Moon trines Uranus the revolutionary, ready to move and move quickly when the time is right. In fact, the message is, the time is right now. 

The phrase "in the way" is a curious one. What exactly is "the way"? Folklorist Ari Berk links the phrase to ancient beliefs in fairies who lived in the same places people did, and had their own paths which needed to be respected. When a new road or barn was built, or a field plowed, it was vital to check that the new structure wasn't "in the way"––blocking the flow of Fae energy.

The Moon in Sagittarius loves stories like these... but are they stories? Whether real or metaphoric, when we put something in the way of natural flows of energy, bad stuff happens. At this Balsamic Moon, look around to see what's in the way for you, and get those energies flowing again.
    

Balsamic Moon: Past is Prologue

a clean sweep

Balsamic Moon in Scorpio
December 9, 2012

Today, we enjoy the balanced, lovely Libra Moon. Tomorrow ... well, tomorrow, we reach the Balsamic Moon.

This half-a-square (semisquare) between Moon and Sun ushers in the final phase of a powerful lunar cycle that began in Scorpio, and brought us so much of this shadowy, deep, insightful, obsessive, relentless, passionate, psychic sign's energy.

Look at the Balsamic Moon chart. Note the rather large emphasis in Scorpio: Mercury, North Node and Venus together. Moon and Saturn together, trining Neptune and Chiron in Pisces. The Sun is valiantly trying to stay alight and upbeat in Sagittarius, but we're swimming in deep waters here.

What's past is prologue, a line from Shakespeare's The Tempest, neatly captures the feelings of this turning. Often quoted to show the value of understanding the past, in the play, it's actually said to justify evil––Antonio tells Sebastian, in effect, they are prisoners of the past and can't be other than they are.

Which is it? Scorpio, more than any other sign, looks at both sides of every coin, then bites to test its value.

Yes, we live out patterns, habits, choices we made in the past. Yes, we are influenced by choices others made in the past––ancestors, leaders, sometimes random people whose lives touched ours. Does that make us prisoners? Scorpio would say, decisively, no.

Yet, the route to freedom is neither easy nor well lit. At this Balsamic Moon, we're invited to look into the dark corners of our lives. We've been through intense transformations lately (and are still, this is ongoing). All those dramatic shifts have shaken things loose. It's time to take inventory and sweep out the corners.

What things do you know, really, deeply know, it's time to let go of? With Moon and Saturn conjunct, there's no shirking, no pretending you didn't notice or hadn't realized. No big eyes and innocent manner. Bad habits, worn out ideas, stuff you don't use, relationships that drain you ... now's the time.

The coming New Moon is in generous, optimistic, philosophical Sagittarius. Mercury will have moved back into Sag by then, helping shift the energy into celebration and gratitude. Hold on to that thought, the idea of a new beginning in the sign of Dickens' Ghost of Christmas Present, the giant who freely gives the milk of human kindness to all.

For the next few days, we finish the alchemical work we began at the Scorpio New Moon, cleaning up messes, learning from any failed experiments, holding tight to the philosopher's stone of our successes, preparing the way for what is to come.
    

Balsamic Moon: Cat's Cradle

compost!

Balsamic Moon in Libra
November 10, 2013

In the ancient Celtic calendar, we've entered the dark half of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, this direct link to the Sun's leaving us in darkness has symbolic depth as well.

We're now in the ancient Celtic month of Seed Fall, when seeds die in the dark earth and we wait for the new plants to emerge... later, when they're ready, when the time is right.

The Balsamic Moon is the seed fall of each lunar month, preparing to push new seeds into the earth, composting carefully with what is ready to break down and nourish the future. We will choose the seeds carefully based on what we hope to harvest, knowing that not all will sprout and even among the sprouts, not all will fruit––not knowing which ones will make it.

It's been an intense month. The losses are many and still being counted––even if you're happy with US election outcomes overall, the campaign season took a toll, and then there's storms, floods, fires, and the urgent, ongoing need to reach those still isolated and alone.

At this time, we're invited ... called ... even pushed to let go of what doesn't serve us. Let go of rancor and bad feeling. Let go of outmoded ideas. Let go of models that aren't working. Let go of stuff that's broken or damaged or simply not needed. Compost it.

Seed planting will come soon, it's time to prepare the ground.

The aspect patterns surrounding this Balsamic Moon are complicated, interwoven. Like a cat's cradle, the pattern shifts as we move our hands and look from another angle.

Notice all the planets in the early degrees of signs, connecting the dots:

The Moon at 3 Libra squares Ceres at 3 Cancer and opposed Uranus at 5 Aries, a Cardinal T-square challenging us to find a new balance amid sharply delineated changes.

The same Moon sextiles Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius, who trines Uranus in Aries––let's rethink our philosophies, look with new eyes at the world and find points of creative compromise.

Between the Moon and Mercury sits Saturn at 4 Scorpio, the wizard anchoring one node of this web. He semisextiles Moon and Mercury, and maintains still the Grand Water Trine with Ceres at 3 Cancer, and Chiron at 4 Pisces with Neptune at 0 Pisces. Emotions and intuition flow easily and powerfully, opening doors to insight and growth.

Saturn is inconjunct Uranus, the two rulers of Aquarius, sign of the new age, pushing at each other, challenging each to greater depth (Saturn) and wider revolution (Uranus).

And then there's Pluto, at 7 Capricorn, a big far away from the planets grouped at 3 and 4 perhaps, and yet Pluto's power has a long reach. He squares the Moon and Uranus, opposes Ceres, sextiles Saturn and Chiron, semisextiles Mercury, as if to say it's all, every bit of it, part of a grand movement, and alchemical shift towards ... towards what, eactly?

We don't know. This is not a time for clear sight; it's dark out there. Dark, however is not the same as evil. Darkness brings rest, release, rejuvenation, healing. Venus is in mid Libra, one of her home signs, and she trines Jupiter reflectively retrograde in Gemini. They remind us we're in a time of review that will bring a new flowering.

This is a time to appreciate the creative complexity of the cosmos, realize we can't possibly comprehend it all, and resolutely take the steps before us. Whatever's ready to go, let go of it. It will feel good, and you'll feel lighter afterwards. I promise.
    

Balsamic Moon: Down the Rabbit Hole

Balsamic Moon in Leo
October 11, 2012

This Balsamic Moon reminds me of the Mock Turtle in Alice in Wonderland, a melancholy creature neither one nor t'other, styled after an imitation, who's word play made him almost impossible to follow.

Here we are at the tail end of a lunar cycle that began in Virgo and climaxed in Aries, turning everything topsy turvy and tossing a few thunderbolts here and there just for effect. Like Alice, we look around for something familiar to tell us where we are, precisely, and how we get home.

This is the time for letting go, releasing what no longer serves us, in preparation for the New Moon cycle to come ... but first we have to sort out which end is up and what sort of world we've gotten in to.

Underpinning everything is a Grand Trine in Water that flows between Saturn and Mercury in Scorpio, Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, and Ceres in Cancer.

When Neptune and Chiron seem to be dragging us into waters way over our heads, an ocean that might well be made of tears, Saturn and Mercury throw a lifeline of insight––although the insight might be in the form of satire, absurdist word play, or, in a pinch, heavy sarcasm.

Ceres in Cancer offers the hope of nurturing, safety, and tribe, and yet in this mix, she's also quite ready to be fierce, refusing to participate until she gets her own back. Strange depths we find ourselves in!

The Moon anchors a jumbled Grand Cross in which planets at the beginning and end of their signs form out-of-sign squares and oppositions. There is challenge here, and plenty to be explored and learned, but the unusual pairings turn the usual interpretations on their heads.

The Leo Moon squares the Nodes of the Moon, making her the missed step that needs to be found again. This Moon wants to create, play, express from the heart. She will not be silenced. She steps forward into the light.

The Nodes in Scorpio and Taurus prefer to stay put, thank you very much, and yet Sagittarian Mars joins the North Node, squaring the Moon while adding his Fire to create movement and change.

Neptune and Chiron also square the Nodes and Mars, opposing the Moon, in cosmic, creative, emotional Pisces.

There's a lot to balance; we're now at the Mad Tea Party, when everyone wants their say and no one makes sense.

With Alice, we cry, "Is everyone mad here?"

It's not all smoke and mirrors, though. There are some strong threads to guide us through the maze.

Venus is holding on to the end of her trine with Pluto, reminding us that sometimes the only way out is through, and a willing acceptance of necessary change can make the process less painful. The Sun trines Jupiter retrograde in Gemini, bringing thoughtful, creative reflection. Mars moves into his trine with Aries, ready to act, walking into the fires of transformation on the journey to something better.

Most intriguing of all, the passionate Leo Moon forms creative quintiles to Jupiter and Mercury. Quintiles are rare aspects that invite imaginative play and innovation. At this Balsamic Moon, we're called to combine hard-won personal insight, philosophical reflection, and courageous expression.

Beneath the absurd twists of circumstance, the challenges of fate, and anxieties about where we are and what it all means, the great heart of the Leo Moon beats strongly and steadily. She brings laughter, life and love. Out of all the madness, she says, beauty will rise.
    

Balsamic Moon: Alchemical Magic

Antony and Cleopatra

Balsamic Moon in Leo: September 12, 2012

At the Balsamic Moon, we turn toward the darkest Moon time, a time of letting go and preparing the ground for the New Moon to come. Balsamic moons are often nostalgic, quiet, calm, a little sad ... but not this one.

We're closing out the lunar cycle that began with the New Moon in Leo, and this Balsamic Moon takes the stage for one last passionate performance. This Leo Balsamic Moon is conjunct Venus, which amps up the drama, romance, creativity, and sheer beauty of this waning crescent.

Think of great scenes with passionate couples. Beatrice and Benedick will do, but also Macbeth and his Lady, for what we make of our stars is up to us. This couple need not be a romantic pair, either––think of Lear and his Fool.

Picture a stage, dark except for a spotlight front and center. There stand two people, deeply connected, tied together by fate, but not (yet) of one heart and mind: They have things to work out. These two might well be voices within the psyche, and what they choose at this Moon will have a lasting impact.

Tremendous power focuses in on the Moon and Venus, who sit at the apex of a Yod with Chiron and Pluto at the base. The presence of the wounded healer and the great transformer make this an alchemical Moon. We're in the cauldron––what will we become at the end of the process?

The Moon and Venus in Leo suggest the final, red stage of alchemical transformation: the rubedo, associated with the phoenix, the rose, and the king. This is the moment of success, when the alchemical gold, the philosopher's stone, is within our grasp.

Poised in the final moments of a delicate process, we know things can still go wrong. How many alchemists failed again and again and again, in search of the magical elixir?

This Balsamic Moon flows energy with Uranus in Aries, accessing a fiery energy very difficult to control. Great care is needed.

Meanwhile, the Sun in Virgo is conjunct Mercury, and both are semisquare the Moon and Venus. Here are the careful practitioners of secret arts, consulting their notes, moving deftly, hands and eyes steady. To return to the stage, these are the behind-the-curtain technicians who create magic unseen.

So much has gone into this experiment that is our life. Time, toil, heart, mind, and soul. Hopes, dreams, desires, and fears. We have made mistakes. We have learned. We are poised at a crucial point, to make or mar what we have worked on so long.

This is no time to hesitate. Be not faint of heart! (Excuse the flowery language, but seeing the Moon and Venus in Leo staring down Pluto and Chiron, and trying to balance Uranus as well, makes me feel all Shakespearean.)

Having made it through this Leo lunar cycle, your heart knows what to let go of, and what to hold on to. Listen to your heart, and follow.
    

Balsamic Moon: Security and Sensitivity

Cancerian depths: sensitive, self-protective, inky

Balsamic Moon in Cancer: August 13, 2012

The Balsamic Moon, last aspect in this waning cycle, brings us back into the sign of July's New Moon, sensitive and nurturing Cancer. Arriving tomorrow (Monday) evening EDT, this pause in the lunar round asks, What do we need to let go of now?

The night sky is already dark, the Moon almost invisible. We've been through the heady emotions of the Cancerian lunar cycle, reached the heights of the Full Moon in Aquarius, shared what we learned with the Disseminating Moon and now ... now we prepare the ground for the next turn of the wheel.

This Balsamic Moon is likely to feel deeply. Conjunct with Venus, in her own home sign, this Moon is deeply aware of relationships. Flowing trines with Neptune and Chiron heighten emotionality, deepening our connection with energies of both wounding and healing.

This is the mothering Moon, the Black Madonna, Kwan Yin, filled with compassion for those she loves. This Moon accepts the hurts of the tribe, showering grace and healing on all who ask.

This Moon can also feel everything she needs and doesn't have, insecure, holding on to old hurts, ready to manipulate those around her in an attempt to fill the emptiness. At this Balsamic time, we can pinpoint where we're hurting.

The push toward resolution is strong: This Balsamic Moon–Venus is part of a T-square with Pluto the alchemist and Uranus the revolutionary. No sitting still, wallowing in the past––it's time to transform, move into a new way of seeing, and especially of feeling.

The semisquare from the Sun in bright Leo adds a personal push. This Leonine Sun connects with the heart, urging us to say what we need to say, and shine our light with creativity and passion.

At the Balsamic Moon, the Sun forms sesquiquadrates (square and a half) to Pluto and Uranus, putting Leo's brilliance at the apex of a Finger of the World that says, Look! Listen! Pay Attention!

The Sun is also sextile Mars and Saturn together in Libra, a flowing but edgy connection. Mars and Saturn together can be angry, although less so in Libra, where Saturn is in exaltation and Mars is in detriment. At its best, this combination points us toward right action, the path that is responsible and fair.

Mercury, now direct in Leo, moves into a flowing trine with Uranus and semisextile with the Moon and Venus. This energy supports clear, direct thinking and communication––and can also shade into self-righteous anger, shock, and outrage.

So we find ourselves in a dark Moon phase filled with an intense combination of compassion, neediness, commitment to right action, grasping at what we desire, and ongoing pressure to change, change, change.

This is another of those choice points we seem to be stumbling over at every turn these days. We can wrap ourselves in old hurts and shake our fist at the sky, as magnificent and doomed as Lear. Or we can step into the cauldron, slake off the old, leaden shell, and rise like a phoenix at the Leo New Moon so soon to arrive.

It's hard to see in the dark, but I'm hoping for the phoenix.
    

Balsamic Moon: Release on the Exhale

Somali woman

Balsamic Moon in Gemini: July 15, 2012

The Balsamic Moon arrives in about twelve hours, just after midnight EDT. This Gemini Moon, nestled among the big Gemini group, has much to tell us about letting go.

This won't be easy, but it's time. Inhale, bringing to mind every idea, concept, thought, meme, phrase, stereotype, and image that no longer serves you. On the exhale, let them go. Repeat as needed.

The Balsamic Moon, at 8 Gemini, it conjunct Ceres, Jupiter, Virgo, and the South Node. This party in mutable Air sparks with energy and connections focused on the feminine, women, girls, mothers, goddesses, nurturing, the Great Mother, the past, ancestors, traditions.

Where have we come from? What images and ideas of women, girls, mothers and mothering did we absorb in our earliest years?

In that heady, unconscious, powerful mix, what is highlighted for us now? What is worth keeping, and what needs to be reforged?

In my morning dream, a father and an autistic baby are in a house. I am with them, in some kind of care-taking role. I answer a loud knock on the door to see a very large, angry woman in a wheelchair with two weedy-looking men. They seem dangerous. I am alarmed.

Kali

She rises up out of the chair, which she no longer needs, and demands the baby, forcing her way in. The father is ineffectual and clueless. I run for help. The woman and henchmen chase me.

Terrified and determined, I run inside an open door to find myself in a building full of steep stairs painted dark red. I run to the basement, staying away from windows so they can't find me. I still need help for the baby. EOD

Yep, I've got my own thoughts and images of the feminine to sort out. It's an interesting process.

lineage

This Balsamic Moon is a half-square away from the Sun in Cancer, bringing light to the feminine. Squared by Neptune and Chiron, inconjunct Pluto, a square and a half from Saturn, the whole Gemini group is under a lot of pressure to change.

Sextile Uranus, sextile Mercury and trine Mars, in this moment, change can happen swiftly, unexpectedly and completely. Uranus and Mercury are both retrograde with this Moon (Merc turns tonight), and both in Fire.

With this Balsamic Moon, eureka moments can arrive with a suddenness and clarity that take our breath away. These are good days to expect the unexpected, and open to experiences of surprise, intuition, and new influence. Time for minds to open.
    

Balsamic Moon: The Gentle Dark

time passes, things change

Balsamic Moon in Taurus: June 15, 2012

The Balsamic Moon is the last bit of the lunar cycle. We're moving into the darkness now, feeling the approach of the Dark Moon. This is a time of nostalgia, a word that means "yearning for the past" but at its root means feeling homesick.

The Balsamic Moon, in steady, peaceful Taurus, is keeping company with Pluto in Capricorn, Chiron in Pisces and Mercury in Cancer, offering a sense of calm acceptance of necessary change, even as we feel the sadness of loss.

Every lunar month, we're offered this time of letting go, which is good, because it's something most of us are not very good at.

Couldn't we just have the things we long for––peace, prosperity, love, health––without losing something else in the process? And this whole aging thing: Are decay and decline really necessary?

Well, no ... and yes. Our world is physical; matter doesn't maintain its form indefinitely. Change is the only constant, and while we know this intellectually, it can be hard to embrace fully.

The Moon helps us practice. As the Moon reaches this darkening time, we find ourselves once again feeling our way into what we want (or need) to let go of.

We look ahead to the promise of the New Moon, but to get there, we have to go through this first. What is getting in the way? Can we manage, this time, to loosen our grip on it?

Health psychologist Kelly McGonigal studies how we change right down to the neuroscience. It turns out that most efforts to change behavior fail, which is not really a surprise and brings on a bit more balsamic melancholy.

But the cravings we know are bad for us, are hard-wired into our ancient brains, the ones that developed in times of scarcity. Advertisers know exactly how to push those primitive buttons, too.

Are we doomed, then? No, we're not. Change is possible.

As this Taurean Moon makes an edgy semisquare to the energetic Gemini Sun, with the support of Pluto, Chiron and Mercury in embodied Cancer, we're invited to let go of thoughts, habits and behaviors that no longer serve us ... slowly, with understanding, and with compassion.

Kelly McGonigal's work shows that hard-and-fast rules (No more sugar, ever!) and harsh self criticism (I suck at self control) are ineffective, and in fact counterproductive, in making lasting changes. Approaching our lives with gentle, calm, compassion works better.

Yes, our first tries at changing an unhealthy habit are likely to fail. So are our second, third, fourth and fifth tries. And yet, if we watch what happens each time, approaching our lives with curiosity and awareness, we gain insight and also strength. Each small adjustment leads to more change, and changes approached in this way are far more likely to become permanent.

At this Balsamic Moon, we're aware of how massive some of the changes we need to make in ourselves and our world really are (Pluto in Capricorn). We're aware of how damaging some situations are, even as we're offered healing (Chiron in Pisces). Thoughts and emotions are connected, allowing us to explore left and right brain, mind and body, thought and feeling (Mercury in Cancer). The Taurus Moon is slow and steady, willing to wait for natural unfolding, all in good time.

It's time to let go, release, and prepare the way for new things. And if we don't get it quite right this time, that's OK. The Moon moves gently through her phases; another chance will come.
    

Balsamic Moon: Honoring the Past

Balsamic Moon: May 16-20, 2012

We enter today the time of the balsamic Moon, that nostalgic, final lunar phase before the dark Moon. We look ahead to the New Moon time––how could we not, with a solar eclipse on the horizon?––yet the more important directions are back, down, and in.

The feeling of being part of very large patterns could be strong now. Venus just turned retrograde, leading us inward in many ways, heading for her historic visible crossing of the Sun in June. Eclipses also occur within the epochal Saros cycles and the shorter, 19-year metonic cycles.

Each balsamic Moon offers a chance to reflect and release; this one calls us to look back over long years of our lives, allow awareness to focus on recurring, haunting patterns, and consciously let them go.

Contemporary culture pretends to look forward––to the next new gadget, new show, new style, new budget cycle––but since this forward motion often seems to resolutely ignore the past, we wind up carrying it with us. Without the chance to explore, understand, and integrate, we can't let go. We wind up with pockets full of left-over stuff that weighs us down.

Balsamic Moon

As we enter the balsamic phase, the Sun and Jupiter are conjunct in Taurus, as are Mercury and Ceres. Taurus is calm and sensuous but also likes to hold on tight.

Taurus is wonderful at saving, not so great at letting go. It will take the Aries Moon conjunct Uranus to pry open Taurean fingers.

The driving Fire of Aries, fueling the revolutionary energy of Uranus might feel like a confrontation, if not a conflagration: Remember that Uranus is also a consummate trickster, and look for the surprise move, the quick sleight of hand that startles us into letting go.

Uranus and the Moon are squaring Pluto, who adds his inexorable force to our release work. The Sun and Jupiter form an awkward inconjunct with Saturn, who firmly points out the consequences of hoarding what needs to move on.

A Grand Trine in Earth continues to support and ground us, and Mars, who steadily anchors the Grand Trine, opposes Chiron. Do we stubbornly hold on to old wounds? Or are we ready to accept healing?

The choices we make over the next few days will echo for many years to come. They are our choices, no one else's, to make. Where, with honesty and clarity, are we ready to release the past? If we cannot, what can we learn about why, and move gently toward resolution? This is a time of endings, which are not often easy but are needed, to open space for beginnings.
    

Waning Moon in Taurus

Today opened with a flow of energy (trine) from the Moon in calm Taurus to Mars in careful Virgo (exact at 3:28am EDT), so if you woke with the determination to clean closets or weed the garden, that would be why!

Until she reaches the late degrees tonight, the Moon revels in sensual Taurean energy. Yes, Taurus is an Earth sign, practical and steady in getting things done, but this Earth sign is ruled by lovely Venus, and knows that stopping to smell the roses is also a vital part of life.

We're now in the final days of this lunar cycle, the balsamic phase. In this part of the cycle, we are aware of endings. We understand deeply that dissolution and loss are natural times in the cycle of life, especially in the physical plane. We have learned whatever we have learned, adding (we hope!) to our store of wisdom, and release what must be released to prepare for the new cycle to come.

This balsamic time adds poignancy to our loving appreciation of the world around us today. Taurus creates form, nurturing and supporting growth in the world. The Taurus Moon sees the beauty of the petals as they fall, sad to lose the flower but knowing the fruit will come.

At 10:15pm EDT, the Moon flows bright energy with Mercury in Cancer, together giving voice to the past, and time, and the beauties of the world. A challenge to Venus in dramatic Leo at 11:06pm creates energy to creatively express these feelings. A challenge to Neptune in Aquarius at 12:53am touches the same chord: the tension between loving the forms of the world, and knowing change will come.

The Taurus Moon's final aspect is a flow of energy in trine to Saturn in Virgo, a reminder that our work in the world (Saturn) is meant to serve others (Virgo). Placing our nurturing of forms that grow and then are lost in the context of service brings a wider understanding, and may help us let go.

The Moon enters her time-between-times with the trine to Saturn, emerging from her cocoon into Gemini's butterfly energy at 3:51am EDT Thursday. Tomorrow is indeed another day!

Flowers of Bugloss (Echium cf. plantagineum) image is the Photo of the Day at WikiMedia Commons today, taken by Joaquim Alves Gaspar of Lisboa, Portugal.