A Darkly Transformative New Moon

Wednesday evening's New Moon in late Cancer is full of portent for the remainder of the month and on into the first half of August, because this lunation is accompanied by an extremely strong activation of Pluto, the astrological archetype of underworld matters, death and rebirth. A very close Mercury-Mars conjunction in mid-Cancer is exactly opposed to Pluto in Capricorn. Venus in the final degrees of Leo is also closely square a stationing Saturn. With Mercury, Venus, and Mars thus involved, we would expect to see dramatic consequences for the way that we exteriorize our emotions (Mars) and think about our current situation ( Mercury) as well as the importance and the function in our lives of relationships with others (Venus). As we mull over all this poignant personal material, the vast and almost impersonal tidal forces of the universe are sweeping over all of us collectively. By recognizing our place in the cosmos that surrounds us, who we are, and all that we hold inside, we come much closer to understanding the evolutionary developmental cycle that we are there enacting.

Eris, the new planet beyond Pluto, is also strongly highlighted in this New Moon configuration; the Sun and Moon, at 23 degrees of Cancer, are exactly square to Eris in the same degree of Aries. I have done a great deal of research on this new Western archetype, and I have demonstrated her to be a spiritual warrior for soul purpose, symbolizing taking a strong stand for what you find at profound levels within yourself, at the very core of your being. Because Eris is so greatly featured now and for the remainder of the month, you might feel a deep impulse to be voyaging out along the pathway that you came into this lifetime to fulfill. As you go through the ups and downs of another very intense monthly cycle, it may be that you will discover a renewed sense of purpose, as well as transformation, getting in better touch with the dark and hidden places that lie within you, although these are at times difficult to recognize. Depending on where Eris lines up in your natal chart, your need for connection to soul purpose may well have a better chance this month to come to the fore and be seen for the major life impulse that it represents.

In this potent New Moon configuration, Mercury is aligned in opposition to Pluto, invoking a penetrating intellect to aid our efforts to uncover greater comprehension, and with Mars also directly involved, we must acknowledge the potential for strong creative energy to come to the fore, possibly exteriorized as anger; and this would need working through. Then, Venus with Saturn represents a slowing down and perhaps a sense of isolation, as well as concentration and commitment applying to all of our relationships. The extra focus that Saturn brings represents an opportunity, additionally symbolized by a highlighted Jupiter, to somehow find our way forward in spite of obstacles to growth.

The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon, in the 24th degree of Cancer, brings an extra layer of meaning to this picture. It is, somewhat mysteriously, "A woman and two men on a bit of sunlit land facing south." Dane Rudhyar writes of this image: "south refers symbolically to the strong and passionate impulses of human nature," so that the woman can be seen as representing emotional life in contradistinction with "spiritual and mental impulses." Marc Edmund Jones: "This is a symbol of the soul's necessary divisiveness in the basic allegiances of life, here emphasized in terms of practical or everyday relations." In an uncanny chime with Eris, emblematic of soul purpose, he goes on to say that because "various transient needs" make competing demands upon us, we therefore require "a consistent or over-all goal, which will bring an individual's efforts into a cohesive pattern [requiring that our] inner capacities ... be disciplined continually." Indeed we all need a sense of meaning to get the most out of life, which turns out to be an almost impossible task without it. As we move forward into the intensity of this summer period, may we rise to the occasion, symbolized by this powerful New Moon energy and by our own evolving arc of spiritual growth and development, to gain a depth of understanding of what we at soul-level truly desire.