The New Moon at 24’56 Cancer is exact on Monday July 17th, 2023 at 2:32pm EDT. This New Moon is a very Transpersonal Lunation with the only major planetary aspects of the Sun/Moon conjunction occuring with Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris. These four bodies are the Outer Planets/Transpersonal Planets that lie beyond the visible planets. Transpersonal energy can be amazing as it can get us in touch with that which lies beyond the ego and the small self. Uranus’ Higher Wisdom, Neptune’s Higher Love, Pluto’s Higher Power and Eris’ Higher Chaos are all accessible – but we need to ground theses energies and use them wisely as Transpersonal energy can lead to great transformation or great destruction pending how we wield it.
The New Moon’s aspects to Uranus and Neptune are harmonious – bringing easy access to the Wisdom and Insight of Uranus with the Compassion and Altruism of Neptune throughout this New Moon cycle. This is a reminder to stay open to direction from our Higher Minds and Heart Hearts as they truly can lead us where we need to go. The Higher Wisdom of Uranus in Taurus can be somatic- coming in via body wisdom and earth wisdom. Listening to our bodies and establishing or re-establishing our connection to earth and nature is key. With Neptune trine the New Moon our dreams, intuition, and creativity should be given full reign to lead us!
The aspects of the New Moon to Pluto and Eris are tense. The New Moon opposes Pluto and squares Eris- energizing the Pluto/Eris squares of 2020-2021. Pluto is about Higher Power but an opposition to personal planets can expose power dynamics and our imbalanced own relationship with power. Do we give our power away and play the victim? Do we lord our power over others and play the tyrant? Right relationship with power can only come when we face how we use, abuse and/or avoid taking responsibility for power in our lives. The squares to Eris can bring chaos and discord- revealing things that have been operating behind the scenes. Eris reveals what is concealed by others and more importantly by ourselves. The tense nature of the aspect can make these revelations come in sudden and unexpected ways.
With the New Moon in Cancer the spotlight is on our emotions and our relationship to them. It is also focusing on family dynamics, childhood and the past, mothers, children, and our basic needs around emotional safety and security. The Uranus and Neptune aspects can provide deeper insight into the past and bring the capacity to heal and release what holds us back from moving forward. Pluto and Eris can unearth things in a more disruptive way- facing us with that which we did not want to see or address but nonetheless must be faced in order to move forward. All four Transpersonal Planets are bringing the Medicine of the Moment- NOW IS THE TIME TO DEAL WITH THAT WHICH IS UNRESOLVED.
Another significant aspect this New Moon makes is a square to the Nodes of the Moon. The Mean Nodes just moved into the Karmic Completion degree of Aries and Libra on July 12th- the True Nodes move into these signs an hour and a half after the New Moon (exact at 4pm EDT). In the New Moon Chart the True Nodes are at 0’00 Taurus/Scorpio- the threshold point of transition. The Nodes are activating the Hybrid Annular/Total Solar Eclipse from April 20th. That Eclipse was seen as Annular in some places and Total in others- hence the ‘Hybrid’ connotation. The April Solar Eclipse was at 29’50 Aries – the Karmic Completion degree of the sign associated with the God of War, Will and Drive. And now the North Node of Destiny is activating it!
Eclipses are powerful and it is often when Planets or Nodes trigger the Eclipse degrees that we will see the full manifestation of the Eclipse energy come into fruition. Thinking back to what was going on in your life at that time and connecting the dots to now is key. As the North Node is involved something destined and fated is unfolding! And because that eclipse was square Pluto within 30 minutes and we are now heading into the tightest portal of the Pluto/Nodal T square (True Nodes July 23rd, Mean August 3rd)- there is also something in the shadows that we have to face, some threshold guardian we have to pass before we can move forward.
Pluto square the Nodes brings us to a crossroads personally and collectively. Are we going to deal with our personal and collective shadow and misuse of power? Are we going to have agency and take action to grow and evolve? Or will we stay stuck in the Libra South Node shadows of looking at everyone else and not looking at ourselves? Shadow Libra sweeps things under the carpet and keeps the peace at any cost. Shadow Libra wants things to look pretty on the surface but will ignore what is going on beneath the surface until it comes up and explodes in one’s face. But we all have a choice right now in how we will meet and face the Lord of the Underworld and move through this threshold moment.
Pluto in his highest helps us surrender our egos so we can allow a Higher Power and Higher Will to lead. He facilitates transformation, evolution and rebirth. But first we must face our shadows and deal with our past. The past is always present- in our bodies, in our beliefs, in our unresolved emotions. We cannot just sweep things under the Libran carpet and say ‘oh that is in the past’. If it has not been fully faced and dealt with it will always pop back up again. A sign of truly deep inner work is changed behavior. If the pattern keeps repeating- the past has not be dealt with. The proof is in the pudding!
Asteroids that stand out in this chart include the Demeter/Ceres conjunction at 7 Libra- the two versions of the Great Mother (Greek & Roman respectively). They are in the sign of the South Node and they are both opposite Proserpina the Roman version of Persephone- the daughter of Demeter/Ceres! With the signature of Mother/Daughter in this chart and the New Moon in the sign of the Mother, Family and Childhood past- there can be things coming up around these themes that need to be dealt with and addressed. This can be literal like dealing with issues with your mother, your children, your role as a mother, your mother line and ancestral trauma and more. But it can also play out internally with our Inner Mother and Inner Child needing to find deeper healing by addressing unresolved things on the emotional and psychological level. This whole Lunar Cycle is a great time for Inner Child Work! (See my Astrology & Your Shadow course for support with this here- https://divineharmony.com/astrology-your-shadow/)
As you can see this can be a very emotionally activating lunation- bringing up all manner of unresolved emotions from childhood, past lives and more. It can actually be quite cathartic if we work with it consciously. Allowing ourselves to be led not by our ego, wounded inner child and/or shame- but by our Higher Wisdom, Higher Love and Higher Power is key. The Chaos of Eris feels out of control to the lower self but to the Higher Self it can be just the right medicine needed when crystallization of frozen emotions and past trauma is blocking us from moving forward.
I leave you with the Sabian Symbols and Star Sparks degrees for this New Moon (full text below). The Sabian Symbol speaks of what happens when we allow the Transpersonal Forces to ground into and through us. When we use our will to face our shadow, deal with our pain and heal- we open up a clear space for the Universe to work through us. The Descent of a Superior Power only comes in when we have done the work to face our life problems- not run away from them.
The Star Sparks degree speaks to surrendering the ego as well- although it speaks to Spiritual ego more so than just regular ego. ‘Even our own amazing self must be yielded up if we are going to bring something true’. Can we get out of our own way? The small self that desires pleasure and wants to avoid pain is NOT the Higher Self. The Higher Self knows it is all grist for the mill and often it is not until pain and discomfort comes that the ego/small self will start to finally act. Will we use our difficulties to grow spiritually or we will we allow them to keep us frozen in the past? It’s up to us- and in each moment we have the possibility of choosing again.
Blessed New Moon to you…
~Harmony
I posted the Lunar Gate Call as FREE ACCESS for all. You can tune in here- https://on.soundcloud.com/fbFU3
My new course The Alchemy of the Asteroid Goddesses is coming in September and I have an EARLY BIRD price right now until July 22nd (Mary Magdalene Feast day & Venus Retrograde). You can learn more here- https://divineharmony.com/astrology-blog/new-course-offering-the-alchemy-of-the-asteroid-goddesses-early-bird-until-7-22/
You can read my blog about Venus’ Underworld Journey here- https://divineharmony.com/astrology-blog/venus-retrograde-in-leo-living-from-the-truth-of-the-heart-7-22-23-9-3-23/
SABIAN SYMBOLS
by Dane Rudhyar
PHASE 115 (CANCER 25°): A WILL-FULL MAN IS OVERSHADOWED BY A DESCENT OF SUPERIOR POWER.
KEYNOTE: The response of spiritual forces to the integration of personality through positive will-full endeavors.
We are dealing here with a man who uses his will and positive imagination in facing his life problems. To him comes a pentecostal descent of power. He receives the “mantle of power,” the grace (baraka in Sufi philosophy) or the Providential assistance which can make him a true leader in his culture.
In this fifth symbol we witness a more transcendent expression of “success.” It is not merely external success (as is given by society to its prima donnas), but a spiritual response, a sign of inner strength and uncommon ENDOWMENT.
STAR SPARKS
by Ellias Lonsdale
Cancer 25 A flock of penguins on an icy beach
We are accompanied in our soul journey by those we have known before. What we have been through with our extended family is distinctive; it marks us apart from others. We have gone further in very particular directions which now seek to be fulfilled at a whole new level.
Gathering our supportive clan unto us, we move now into place to offer what we together have come to in the wider populace. We seek to embody what is relevant and truly universal in where we have been and where it takes us now.
However, the leap from the personal clan to the broader structure of humanity karma as a whole requires us to make a comparable leap in our own awareness frequency. We cannot bring the bias and coloring of the past into what we bear for the whole. And this requirement often holds us back at the doorway of great things for a good long while.
It means that each and every dark or unknown or suppressed facet of our past experience individually and in these groups, must come up to be cleared. Most particularly, wherever we are self-important or filled with our own specialness and the special status of our soul group- all must be let go. Now it’s time to face the unknown fresh, without the scaffolding of knowing what we belong to so that we are seen in that old familiar way.
What a challenge to throw off our own greatness at the very point when we could reap such rewards for all our efforts. It’s just that we would poison the well if we brought to everybody something inherently local and restrictive. Even our own amazing self must be yielded up if we are going to bring something true.