A Contradictory and Thought-Provoking Quarter Moon

This Friday afternoon's First Quarter Moon is interesting in that, just as the possibilities seem darkest for what we are engaged in, the bright light of Jupiter beckons from mid-Cancer to assure us that, somehow, everything will turn out just fine after all. This lunar phase can indeed be trying, carrying the symbolism of what seminal astrologer Dane Rudhyar called a "crisis of action," when the drawbacks emerge to what we are trying to achieve along the arc of our personal development that was initiated at the time of the New Moon one week past. And yet, right now, there are optimistic assessments available cosmically to counter-balance the normally dire delineation. While the Sun and Moon remain in square with one another, increasing the tension of these already intense times that we are living through, they also make a T-square with Jupiter. Jupiter is called 'the great benefic' — and for a reason. There is an almost insane positivism embodied in this T-square, flying in the face of all odds and in spite of anything to the contrary that you might encounter in the form of a reality check. This excess optimism is echoed as well in the square that Venus makes to Neptune in these current skies, promoting idealism and, as well, self-deception.

It is also good to look to the position of Saturn in this chart. The antithesis of Jupiter, the planetary energy of Saturn represents that corrective of natural caution that we also need in order to navigate the twists and turns of life. And we find that Saturn is still powerfully configured in these current skies, being in close sextile to Pluto, inconjunct to Uranus and trine Chiron. Saturn additionally makes both a quintile and a close parallel aspect to Mars, corresponding to difficulty in managing to get things done, just as with the symbolism of this lunar phase. One benefit to slowing down is that we stop and think about where we are actually heading at this time. Taking in an extra dose of Saturn's caution — as much as we can motivate ourselves to do so — cannot hurt, because the reckless positivity of Jupiter and the fantasy idealism of Venus in square with Neptune can sometimes fool us.

So as we feel into the deeper meaning of what we are up to, we have the push-pull of Saturn and Jupiter both acting on our psyches, along with an activated Neptune plus the forming Uranus-Pluto square, perfecting by month's end. This is a potent mix of cosmic energies; their message is that we try our best to determine the inner meaning of our lives at this impressive and difficult juncture, here in the fall of 2013, once more on the cusp of major change. As we do, we benefit by making a realistic assessment, but yet maintaining simultaneously as well the largest possible big-picture viewpoint. This is just as the cosmic forces operating upon us incline. It is no time really for despair, no matter how dire our circumstances might seem to be; there is always room for the silver lining. But we must take the reality of our situation into account as well.

The Sabian Symbol of the Sun and Moon in this Quarter Moon configuration is instructive; for the Sun, "A gang of robbers in hiding" emphasizes that while we are told one thing in the news and on the streets, the truth is far different from this simplistic consensus viewpoint, so that spiritual do-diligence challenges us to take deeper look. The symbol for the Moon initiates reflection along these same lines. It is "A child of five carrying a huge shopping bag," indicating that we as a culture have big eyes, perhaps. And we also have some growing up to do.