Reaching Out From Within: New Moon in Libra 2016

Two statues representing two communities in Derry, Northern Ireland; photo by Kenneth Allen.

New Moon @ 8 degrees Libra 15'
September 30, 2016
5:11 PM Pacific
8:11 PM Eastern

Take a deep breath. You’ve made it to the New Moon in tropical Libra. Feel the inner peace that exists within you; connect with that potential state. Something holds the universe together. No matter what we endure, life seeks to achieve homeostasis. It’s really an amazing thing. Life always finds a way around things. Every obstacle, challenge, or blockage is just an accent along the pathway to wholeness. And each perceived limitation can always be worked with and incorporated somehow. Whatever flaws you might think you have can become your allies. They can be a beautiful piece of your wholeness.

This is what Libra ultimately teaches us. As the archetype of the artist or the lover, Libra seeks to create beauty from whatever it has to work with. As you settle into this New Moon, take a deep look at your life, and see the opportunities that exist allowing you to turn your challenges into a work of art. It might take the form of stabilizing a relationship, friendship, or professional partnership, or it might take the form of a literal creative endeavor. Whatever it is, this New Moon plants the seeds for increased stability and cooperation in some aspect of your life.

Mercury’s retrograde cycle is now over. Perhaps you’ve encountered some setbacks in the past few weeks. But it’s also possible that those setbacks served to gift you with a different perspective. I don’t think that Mercury retrogrades ever pass by without teaching us something, or helping us become more aware of the universe we are enmeshed within. The final eclipse season of this year is also over, and it has likely left you a bit altered, perhaps it has significantly rerouted your present course. Where do you go from here? This is a time when you may begin to get a better sense of that.

The planet Jupiter conjoins this New Moon. The God of expansion, abundance, and opportunity steps in to open new doorways. This New Moon is a time to make some choices and feeling sure ourselves to do that. In Libra, consider the possibility of receiving help from trusted allies, whoever or whatever they might be. Don’t feel like you have to step into the darkness all by yourself. The most powerful theme of this lunation is a spotlight on the human need for companionship and support. It’s our nature, as social creatures, to reach out and support others on their journey.

How can you reach out? And what do you need for yourself? You may find that the best use of your time right now would be to see who needs help and to equally see where you could benefit from support as well. Again, don’t step into this darkness alone. This powerful New Moon amplifies our social instincts. If you’re open to that, you’ll find that new ways to connect and bond will emerge all around you. While it might not be clear where these connections will ultimately lead, this is a potent starting point. Also, consider Jupiter’s innate ability to bring about restlessness and the need for new experience. It will likely catalyze action to help you move beyond those attachments that hold you back, and to embrace those that can help you step forward.

The New Moon makes a sextile to Saturn, which makes it easier to work with current life challenges. You might find that, at the moment, the heaviness of recent obstacles are lifted. Neptune also makes a quincunx with the New Moon. What is emerging now does not appear with crystalline clarity, but it’s probably enough to entice you to keep going with whatever you’ve been struggling with. Neptune reminds you that you’ll never have it all figured out anyway, so stop pretending you ever will. Trust in the great mystery, and along the way, grab the helping hand that is offered to you (be discerning, of course). Life might still be confusing, but at least you can grapple with that confusion in good company.

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New Possibilities: Annular Solar Eclipse in Virgo 2016

By Gummigoof [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Annular Solar Eclipse/New Moon @ 9 Virgo 21'

September 1, 2016

2:03 AM Pacific

5:03 AM Eastern

September begins with a dynamic, annular solar eclipse in the tropical sign of Virgo. Two weeks later, we will pass through a penumbral lunar eclipse in Pisces. Eclipse season is underway, and it happens to coincide with the onset of Mercury’s retrograde cycle through Virgo until Sept. 21/22. Eclipses are mysterious events and hard to fully understand. It’s as if they correlate with changes that occur on some other dimension that  we only experience emotionally or psychically. The days (and sometimes weeks) surrounding the eclipse can generate a field of emotionally charged energy. 

Eclipses are moments of accelerated change and notable shifts in perspective. They allow us to glimpse deeper into reality, beyond surface appearances. A solar eclipse occurs during a New Moon and can often correlate with feelings of deep uncertainty or a subtle crisis that’s hard to make sense of rationally. It’s a time to step back and observe more deeply what’s happening within you without needing to act drastically or impulsively. As you get closer to the eclipse, try to remain grounded, conscious, and centered within yourself. If possible, use the eclipse day to take it easy and allow yourself time to recharge. 

This final solar eclipse of 2016 creates a powerful t-square with Neptune and the Saturn/Mars conjunction. This will likely generate immense internal tension, especially for those of us with placements in Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. The Saturn/Mars conjunction suggests having a task or mission for which you can focus your attention. Having a point of concentration with something you’re attempting to accomplish will help to relieve confusion, distraction, or escapist tendencies.

Mercury retrograde, the ruler of this eclipse, invites you to slow down and take your time when considering your options at the moment. Accept that not all the information you need is available yet. And due to its backward movement, may bring situations from the past into conscious view. It’s important to consider that this eclipse is a time to increase your awareness of opportunities you may not have been fully conscious of. These opportunities may assist you greatly in reorganizing your life and getting yourself back on track. 

The sign of Virgo relates to the path of self-improvement and the impulse to contribute to the human community through practical service. You may glimpse new ways to improve your overall health through a modification of  your current routine. You may also realize ways of improving a work or job-related situation. With this eclipse, the practical and imaginal must find some way to compromise. Dealing with the Saturn/Mars conjunction can feel like coming up against the resistance of reality’s harsh limitations. But Neptune in Pisces suggests that contained within those limitations is a clear view to a new vision. 

Consider this eclipse passageway as a point of transition into a new landscape. If you work consciously with it, you’ll find it easier to accept reality the way that it is without losing hope or your ability to dream of new possibilities for your life. If the eclipse presents you with a crisis, trust that it will resolve itself in the following days or weeks. Remember, an eclipse tends to amplify unconscious contents. What is emerging is not so much concerned with the ego’s comfort. The psychic instability of the eclipse is a reminder that ultimately the unconscious underwrites the life events we actually experience in our waking life. As unsettling as that realization can be, it’s also liberating to know that we don’t always need to fix things; often, life has a way of coming to its own resolutions if we get out of the way.