The Holding Pattern of the Last Quarter Moon

Wednesday's Last Quarter Moon makes for quite an interesting juncture, coming as it does between the eclipses of October 8th and the 23rd, representing a time of reassessment leading up to the beginning of the next cycle, to be signaled by next week's Solar Eclipse. In each of this month's lunations, outer planets are very much involved, bringing to us a powerful taste of the transformational period represented by the ending of one climactic year — of 2014 — and the beginning of another. In the case of Wednesday''s configuration, the outer planets most closely in alignment with the Sun and Moon are Saturn in Scorpio and the new planet past Pluto, namely Eris, in Aries. Both of these are at 22-plus degrees of their respective signs, forming a close inconjunct aspect with each other, while the Sun and Moon, in square, are also at the 22-plus mark, or the 23rd degree of the signs of Libra and Cancer. The Sun and Moon are thus in square to Eris and in close aspect to Saturn. Meanwhile Mars, at 22-plus degrees of Sagittarius, aspects all of them and completes a powerful picture of stop-and-go. With Saturn so involved, and by the very nature of this lunation, there will be stumbling blocks for us to deal with, as things seem to start up and yet fail to materialize in the way that we first imagined. We can use this pause in forward momentum most appropriately by discovering at every turn key information regarding our lives and its arc of development, providing that we are willing to look more closely at everything going on beneath the most obvious surface layers.

The symbolism of Eris, identical now in astronomical category to Pluto, seems to relate to the archetype of Soul Purpose Warrior, so that we might also get a significant hit this week of what we individually bring to the table, and how willing we are to step up to the plate for the values that we hold most dear. It might be said that the time has now come to no longer duck this responsibility, that we each bear, to stand up for ourselves and for the world that we would fervently desire to see forming, out of the chaos and bankruptcy of the old system.

Mercury in retrograde is also closing in on a conjunction with the Sun, to perfect in the next couple of days. This conjunction of retrograde Mercury to the Sun represents one peak moment of the retrograde cycle, and especially now, with Saturn in the mix as well, we might expect delays and frustrations, perhaps miscommunications, and yet also the possibility of truly understanding some important elements of our lives, perhaps for the very first time. There is circularity to these types of mental adventures as we attempt to really get to the heart of the matter. This is what T. S. Eliot was referring to when he stated that the end of all our travels might actually be "to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

The Sabian Symbols for this quarter Moon configuration, as always, are revealing. For the Sun in the 23rd degree of Libra, we find: "A Chanticleer rooster greets the dawn," which Marc Edmond Jones regards as "fearless self-affirmation " winning immediate allegiance from the hearts and minds of everybody [around you]." For the Moon, in the 23rd degree of Cancer we have: "The meeting of a literary society." We could see this as typifying an objective and jointly achieved rational approach to the art of living, something that is greatly needed in our society today. Marc Edmond Jones refers to "resourcefulness in developing new areas of experience" and "accomplishment through exacting appreciation of common effort." It is certain that our own individual strength must be blended with that of others around us, and it will take everyone working together to bring about the important new dawn that we are all collectively impatient to begin witnessing.

The Holding Pattern of the Last Quarter Moon

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Chart for the Last Quarter Moon on October 15, 2014

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