A First Quarter Moon of Digging In and Staying the Course
Posted on December 5, 2016 in Configurations
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By Henry Seltzer for ASTROGRAPH Horoscopes
Wednesday’s First Quarter Moon in Pisces is an appropriate next phase for the dramatic Sagittarius New Moon, from about a week ago, which featured all the outer planets. These are involved with the profound changes of these fractious times, as we can see evidenced all around us, and the signs are therefore indicating that there will be no immediate let-up, that our changes will continue and even intensify.
The evidence for this is in the sky, as we consider this quite intense First Quarter configuration. The Sun and Moon, at the mid-point degree of Sagittarius and Pisces, connect with Saturn and Pluto quite strongly. Uranus, too, is featured, since Jupiter opposes Uranus while Saturn is in close trine. The remaining outer planet, numinous Neptune, is not highlighted as dramatically as in last week’s configuration, but there is a minor aspect that connects it to Eris, the new planet beyond Pluto, and also it is interesting to note that the Neptune/Chiron midpoint is in the same degree of Pisces as the Moon occupies. Taken as a whole we can recognize that we are being pushed and pulled by the universe to get on with our individual evolution, to make the changes that we can begin to understand that are in our best interest, as we grow.
The presence of Neptune here, and in the current cycle – as indicated by his strong presence in the past week’s New Moon configuration – is shown by the current inquiry into what is true. The term “post-truth” has been kicked around in the news lately as an indication of how strangely fluid the facts of any matter have recently become. Is climate change real, as supported by scientists, or a hoax? Did Donald Trump win the presidency but lose the popular vote or did millions of votes for him become somehow lost, as he continues to assert. And is a recount of certain specific swing states a good plan or a waste of time? Either is possible. What, in the final analysis, is really true?
The nature of this lunar phase is to present obstacles to the successful and smooth working out of the ideals envisioned in the New Moon. In this regard, it of vital interest also that Pluto and Saturn, both extremely active, remain in close parallel in this quarter Moon, a signal that the structural transformation that we find ourselves in the midst of is going to become, if anything, more dire. In the midst of change, we are in a position of striving for that which we truly desire, at fundamental levels of our being. The indications are clear: frustration and barriers will inevitably come up, and the question is how to take it once they do. If we give up in the light of difficulty we are giving up an important part of ourselves. And this is the message of the feminine warrior archetype represented by Eris, also still prominent in this quarter Moon. This is even more the case, incidentally, at the Full Moon to come in one week’s time, featuring the Sun and Moon in partile trine, and sextile, to Eris. The symbolism tells us that the only thing to do is to find a way through; peaceful if possible, but ultimately by any means necessary.
The Sabian Symbols for this First Quarter Moon may be instructive. They are, for the Sun, in the sixteenth degree of Sagittarius, “Sea gulls watching a ship.” This indicates progress, as on a journey, on both a personal and a naturalistic level, giving therefore signs of optimism, and reminds us that we are, as always, bound by Natural Law. Marc Edmund Jones references “the individual’s realization that one’s personal interests are served only as one maintains an increasing vigilance in their own behalf… what [a person] fails to claim definitely for himself is promptly surrendered to the devices of someone else.” For the Moon, in the same degree of Pisces, we find, “The flow of inspiration,” symbolizing, in Jones’ words, “spiritual power,” and “practical potentiality.” He goes on to state that “Everyone is himself [or herself] as he [or she] puts their talents and skills to a real test, welcoming each new challenge.” In the immortal words of Longfellow we might add “Let us then be up and doing/ With a heart for any fate/ Still achieving, still pursuing/ Learn to labor and to wait.”
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Chart for the First Quarter Moon on December 7, 2016
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