Crescent Moon: The Peacock's Tail

peacock's tail feather

Crescent Moon in Capricorn
November 16, 2012

Tonight, we reach the Crescent Moon. In the clear night sky, just after sunset, the bright sliver appears. We know the great work is underway.

The Crescent is the half-square between the Moon and Sun that lets us know something is afoot. The changes inaugurated by the New Scorpio Moon and accompanying eclipse could hardly be missed, and this Crescent unfolds the story a bit further.

This Crescent Moon has transformation written all over it. This is a relentless Moon, determined, committed, and deeply insightful.

One glance at the chart shows the focused energy in Scorpio and Capricorn, emphasized by the Sun and Moon in each.

In Scorpio, we see the Sun tightly conjunct the North Node and Mercury retrograde. Are we moving in the direction of our deepest desires? Or are we paralyzed with fear? At this Crescent Moon, the question is posed and the answer might point to very old patterns––introjects, as psychologists say.

Where are we playing out old scripts we no longer need? This might sound like a waning Moon question ... a what-do-we-need-to-get-rid-of question. But in this time of transformation, we're continually offered opportunities to understand. We're invited to explore the buried, the old, the stuck––this is Scorpio illuminated by the Sun and Mercury, side by side by side, unflinching.

The Moon, meanwhile, is conjunct Pluto (who rules Scorpio) and Mars, in unshakeable Capricorn. Emotions and action aligned with alchemy––unstoppable. What actions need to be taken, we take, fearlessly, step by step.

Saturn in Scorpio moves in to square Pluto, the Moon and Mars, emphasizing the strong coupling of insight and action. Pluto and Saturn are in mutual reception now, each in the sign ruled by the other. This puts them on the same wavelength, supporting strong expressions of each.

Saturn continues to anchor the Grand Trine in Water, with Neptune and Chiron now both direct in Pisces, and Ceres still retrograde in Cancer. Intuition remains strong, and Saturn helps ground and manifest what we feel.

Do we need another marker of change? Ceres opposes the Capricorn group, and with a square from Uranus, retrograde in Aries, a T-square is formed. Transformation goes deep here, each step feeling hard won, and each achievement celebrated.

In alchemy, the darkness of the nigredo, the Dark Moon/ New Moon phase, is sometimes followed by the Peacock's Tail. In this stage, the blackness becomes light, split into all the glorious colors of the rainbow. At this time, we catch a glimpse of the possibilities inherent in transformation. The danger is, we can be seduced by beauty, remaining stuck in contemplation of what might be.

This Crescent Moon guides us through this mysterious stage, the Scorpio group showing us wonder and the Capricorn group keeping our feet on the path. What is the next step? Take it. And the next? take that.

The image of the peacock's tail combines glorious color with many eyes, a symbol of awareness in the midst of wonders. We want to see where we're going, while avoiding siren calls that will bring our ship onto the rocks ... the Capricorn Moon, with Pluto and Mars, keep our purpose firm and commitment strong.

Here's the next step. We'll take it together.
    

Learning about Eclipses

perception is everything :)

New Moon in Scorpio and Solar Eclipse
November 13, 2012

I wrote about tomorrow's New Moon yesterday (how's that for time travel in one sentence?). Today, I'm adding links about eclipses, and this solar eclipse in particular.

Eclipses are on my learning curve, so I happily turn to other astrologers for insight. These essays resonated with my experience of this eclipse season so far ... perhaps you'll feel the same!

Eclipse Pointers from Moonkissed by Jessica. She also has a nifty article called Eclipses by House and Sign that's worth reading.

If you're interested in an easy intro to the technical aspects of eclipse cycles, and where this one fits, check out Eclipse Astrology by Brenda Black. I am new to Brenda's work and enjoyed this one––will be reading more.

April Elliott Kent is an eclipse diva, and her site has lots of information on eclipses and how they affect our charts. Her article on this particular eclipse is here, but check out Big Sky Astrology for more eclipse resources.

The presence of a solar eclipse amps up the intensity (there's that word again!) during this New Moon time, and with Scorpio energy strong, it's good to remember we're travelers within a great mystery. We can be insightful and align with the forces that align with our goals, but control is off the table––reach deep and trust.
    

New Moon in Scorpio: Superposition

New Moon in Scorpio
November 13, 2012

I'm guilty of overusing the word "intense" and I promise to stop. After this New Moon, I mean. Yes, this New Moon is intense ... an intensity of intensities beyond intense. Where is my thesaurus?

Monday's New Moon is in Scorpio, fixed Water. Wary, brooding, tenacious, insightful, psychic, involuted, Scorpio has a long memory, sharp tongue, and nerves of steel. This is the intensity of transformation, life and death decisions, and deep knowledge.

Every Scorpio New Moon––every Scorpio everything––has this kind of intensity, and this one's got more.

Saturn is in Scorpio now, adding his gravitas. You can't ignore Saturn; he's the 500 lb. gorilla. He's anchoring the ongoing Grand Trine in Water with Ceres in Cancer and Chiron and Neptune in Pisces. We're swimming in deep seas with strong currents.

This New Moon comes with a solar eclipse, which means the New Moon is conjunct the North Node––in other words, aligned with the point of our unfolding, the place we create ourselves and find meaning.

And here's Mercury retrograde in Sagittarius also conjunct the New Moon, at 0 degrees, in fact. He calls us to reexamine our philosophy of life, the universe and everything. With Jupiter the philosopher himself still retrograde, the invitation to revisit our worldview is compelling.

We're all alchemists now, standing in our shadowy lab, surrounded by alembics and crucibles. The surrounding dark draws in. The glow of the gas burner creates a nimbus of golden light around us as we look at the elements laid out before us.

Scorpionic alchemy is about soul making. We ourselves are going into the crucible to be cooked, broken down, and reborn. All kinds of transformation are supported now, especially anything related to where this New Moon falls in our birth charts, and what it touches.

This is also a time of unknowing. Faced with the deepest of mysteries, we recognize the limits of our own hearts and minds, and surrender ... not going down in defeat, but recognizing our ideas, our wills, our selves are not big enough to accomplish our purposes.

For some, surrender will be to the Divine in some form. Some of us surrender to the immensity of life itself. At this New Moon, we accept our limits. Then, we seek to be re-formed, remade into something new, something better, something more closely aligned with our life purpose.

I always feel bad for Schrödinger's cat. There she is, stuck in that box, threatened with poison, dead and alive for eternity. If I open the box, maybe I can let her out into a normal cat life. On the other hand ... I don't open the box.

This New Moon is an unopened quantumly mysterious box. It glows in the dark. It begs to be opened, drawing us closer. Look, isn't that corner loose? Maybe we could just peek in ...

Don't do it! Seriously. This New Moon, more than most, invites us to make our wishes, set intentions, and let them go. All things are possible. In these days of the dark Moon, we can't see any of the choices anyway. Our eyes have the hazy sight of newborns.

This is the quantum state called superposition, when all possible states are held simultaneously. The probabilities will collapse, there will be an outcome, but not yet. Instead of giving way to anxiety and the insistent desire to know, let's revel in the deliciousness of not knowing, when anything can happen.

Dream large at this New Moon––Neptune turned direct on Saturday! The Neptunian fog can now shift into dreams come true. And Chiron is stationing direct, a powerful agent for healing. He'll turn direct November 14, right after the New Moon, flowing forward into positive change and learning.

As we approach the New Moon, release everything that's not working. Welcome the New Moon as a time of transformation. Seek intuitive guidance. Make wishes. Rest in the velvet dark. Wait.