A Last Quarter Moon of Individual and Collective Destiny

Saturday’s Last Quarter Moon is quite interesting, with the Sun and Moon residing in the very last degree of their respective signs, of Libra and Cancer, and also in the nature of this October cycle. Following two very strong lunations, the New and Full Moons of September 30th and October 15th, we are finding a modicum of closure. In a natal chart, the last degree of a sign is sometimes, referring to reincarnation, called the “last chance degree.” Having tried to fully understand a particular sign, such as Libra, over many lifetimes, we are advancing to the next phase of our evolutionary journey, and thus find ourselves at some final stage of learning and unlearning. If we apply that concept to this quarter Moon configuration we arrive at the idea that our perception of relationship has, in this significant juncture, reached a new and expanded level. This means that you are now likely to be aware of shifting beliefs and comprehension concerning the power of one-on-one connection in your life: the comfort that it brings, the grace, and the enlightenment that you get in working your own individual arc of development in the presence of an important Other. It can be said that relationship, symbolized by Venus and the sign that she rules, provides an incredibly useful mirror for ascertaining the full depth of what you are up to in this important area.

Because there is a significant presence of Uranus and of Pluto in this configuration as well, our feelings of individual destiny are also powerfully invoked at this time. We are aiming toward the person that we really want to see emerging from the relative chaos of these fractious times. This applies both for ourselves and for our society; and whatever we can manage toward moving into greater consciousness on our own individual level contributes to the efforts of the culture at large, a factor that remain vitally necessary for our own individual spiritual evolution. In some way, the wholeness and the integration that we seek is fated, in terms of what our Higher Self has been engaged in sponsoring, all along, although we are of course still free to choose to follow the path laid out for us, insofar as we are able to discern it. By so doing, we embrace a mission in our own best interest, fostered by internal guidance, and by the universe itself in cosmic support.

The strong presence in this configuration of Eris, the new planet beyond Pluto, contributes to this sense of fatedness, because this new archetypal presence of a Feminine Warrior energy represents, as my research has shown, a soul-level desire that we all possess, that we find our strength by proceeding to actualize the deeds that we came into this lifetime to fulfill. Eris was closely conjuncted by the Moon in the recent quite powerful lunation from one week ago, and now has Jupiter in extremely close parallel aspect, with Mercury, Venus, and the Sun also contributing. This 21st century society that we all inhabit is in major flux, and requires the best efforts of all of us to make it through. This is as we pay closest attention and remain accountable to what our individual inner compass tells us.

The Sabian Symbols for this First Quarter Moon shed further light on the process in which we are engaged. They are, for the Sun, in the 30th (29 plus) degree of Libra, “Three mounds of knowledge on a philosopher’s head,” which immediately reminds us of the numerological value of the number “three” which came up recently in connection with more than one of the other symbols in this series of lunations. This number symbolizes a celebration of life, and also can represent a state of incompletion until fulfilled by another factor. The philosopher’s head is emblematic of what, in one part of our goals, we are all striving for. Marc Edmund Jones has, “implicit in the symbolism is a challenge to each individual to develop full and equal potentials and skills, allegiances and ideals, and [through this] to recognize cosmic order.” For the Moon in the same degree of Cancer we find a historical reference out of 1920’s America, “A Daughter of the American Revolution.” This symbol can be linked to social register status and also to more mystical groups such as the Masons, also going back to the revolutionary period. Jones makes reference to “established tradition,” and states: “the emphasis here on an outer conservatism carries with it an implicit warning against any mere resistance to change, and stresses … a life which is exemplary through its faithfulness to standards of proved worth.” Indeed, we must resist only those changes which appeal to our more superficial nature and applaud and seek to employ to their best use those more fundamental transformations that represent our most sincerely held values, emanating from profound depths within.