The Cosmic Story: Libra New Moon, September 30, 2016
Big Love!
New Moon nights are magical times. The night sky fills with millions of stars with no Moon in the sky to enchant our eyes. We look up and look out into the universe, just as the far side of the Moon does. We look into eternity. And a new seed gets planted in our collective psyche.
Each New and Full Moon occupies different signs of the Zodiac, and so different energies are evoked and different desires are stirred up throughout the year. Each sign adds a necessary dimension to our lives, and while some of us have our Sun or Moon, Ascendant or planets in the New Moon sign, we all embody that sign's energy in some way in our charts. So this month, all of us can say in truth, “I am a Libra!” It just depends on how much emphasis we put into this sign's purpose by astrological planet and house, and by our personal disposition.
Even more than with other signs, Libra strongly affects everyone, because Libra is the sign of the Other, so it impacts all our Relationships, even our relationship to our Self. Every time we engage with another person, be it a business partner, a client, a friend, a child, a family member, a lover, a stranger -- that's us partaking in the Libra archetype. Libra also initiates us into finding the balance between the inner feminine (our being) and masculine (our doing), so that we become whole in ourselves, so that we engage with others as unique individuals instead of as our projected shadow stereotypes.
Libra is a social air sign, interested in intelligent conversation, beauty and art as well as diplomacy, peace and social progress. Libra wants real justice, fairness and balance in our laws, our beliefs and our actions. And yet while it is an air/thinking sign, Libra has heart. With Venus/Aphrodite as the ruler of Libra, she balances her head and her heart to help us find truth, beauty and love.
Where do you think Libra's social skills come from? Aphrodite's Courtesans throughout the ages were the ones who shaped much of our Western aesthetic. With Aphrodite come the Muses, inspiring us to create Art That Matters to others. During this month of Libra as well as this whole next year, we get to express ourselves through any of the arts that inspire us. What about using ART to speak about this election in the U.S.? Where are our musicians and artists in this time of dire beauty and chaos? The Arts speak to justice, beauty and truth. It is a heartfelt expression that speaks to us viscerally.
Now, to add a little more spice to this juicy energy, the biggest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, has just arrived in the sign of Libra, and will be traveling through it until next October 2017. So the sign of Libra and all our relationships will be especially energized this year. That means, pay attention! Jupiter is a big energy. Learn to work with it. Especially through the lens of your chart. Astrology can give structure to your life and help you name parts of yourself and your gifts so you can make the best choices for your life. Jupiter in a chart indicates how you fit into the larger culture. So knowing where Jupiter and Libra are in your charts can open doors to the outer world for you. Libra says: Don't be afraid to look for partners to do it with.
Jupiter in Libra can engender in us a desire to become more noble and honorable in our actions to others and to ourselves. Jupiter gives us the enthusiasm, curiosity and wanderlust to expand our sense of the possible and in the sign of relationships, this year could very well see some relationship healing for those generations with Uranus (1968-75), Pluto (1971-84) and Neptune (1942-56/57) in Libra, since Jupiter will become part of the still ongoing revolutionary and evolutionary Uranus in Aries square to Pluto in Capricorn. More change is on its way. In fact, be prepared for Revolution 2.5 as Jupiter lights up the Pluto/Uranus revolutionary-evolutionary energies again.
Jupiter is the Roman Father god, in many ways similar to Zeus, the king of the gods of Olympus. Zeus was the Greek ideal of kingly rule, upholder of social law and order, merciful Father and judge, mediator and wise counselor. (This is why Jupiter/Zeus rules Sagittarius, the sign of cosmic law.) Sitting high on Olympus, Zeus overthrew the rule of the Titans and represented a more civilized world than that of the primal, titanic powers who ruled an earlier age. Or at least that's the story patriarchy tells.
With this expansive energy focused on the realm of relationships, we might find our hearts growing big enough to encompass the compassion we need to help bring the world back into balance. We might find ourselves stepping out of our personal concerns and opening our hearts to future generations who need us to stand up for justice now. Saving our planet isn't about saving Mother Earth—she'll heal in time. Saving our planet is about leaving a sustainable and sustaining Earth for future generations. Jupiter in Libra can encourage our more noble character to stand up and have a say in how our laws affect us, and the world.
And in the relationship realm, Jupiter in Libra can help us be both noble and truthful about our relationship needs. So on all levels, this is the year to engage with zest and joy in relationships!
The Libra New Moon, September 30, 2016
This Libra New Moon occurs on September 30th at 5:11pm PDT/ 8:11pm EDT/ and October 1st at 12:11am GMT.
The Sabian symbol1 for the Sun and Moon at 9* Libra is: Three 'Old Masters' hanging on the wall of a special room at an art gallery. Dane Rudhyr's symbolic reading suggests that going back to these 'old Masters' in a time of chaos can help us find the right values we need to sustain us during the deep changes we're going through. He speaks of our three-fold soul as the Rays of Power, of Love-Wisdom, and of Intelligence-in-action. That means we have to learn to be pure channels for these three dimensions of our psyches, consciously choosing how to use our spiritual inheritance.
This New Moon calls us to concretely identify ourselves with our HIGHER SELF. We do this by being inspired by great teachers and leaders and legendary characters. Jupiter in Libra will help your meditation in this way. Get back in touch with the archetype that calls your name and let its energy give you the confidence to Be in a new way and to act from that new Being. This type of meditation uses the imagination to open us to new wisdom, being and action.
The Sabian symbol for Jupiter at 5* Libra is: A man revealing to his students the foundations of an inner knowledge upon which a 'New World' could be built. Rudhyr sees this as a form of 'transmission' from teacher to student: Ancient wisdom being transferred to the student from the guru. In reality, it's the feminine embodiment of this inner wisdom which will build the new world. Once we learn to access this inner knowledge—the foundations—we open to the world of quantum possibilities. This is the feminine heroine's journey—the inner journey of self-knowledge and connection to the Higher Self, the other side of the Hero's Journey. Both journeys are necessary to bring balance and peace to our own lives and to the world.
So this New Moon, we are being blessed with the inspiration and tools for a New Birth within our psyches, which in turn can open up the outer world for us in new and enriching ways. This winter, learn to work with the imagination so that your springtime will blossom and next year's harvest will be fruitful.
As I mentioned earlier, Venus/Aphrodite is the ruler of Libra, housing her archetypal energy, which expresses itself through connection, love, wisdom, sensuality and sexuality, beauty and art. While patriarchy has done everything it can to vilify as well as dominate Aphrodite's energy and blessings, we can still re-discover her power when we express love, create art, listen to our bodies' wisdom, care for the Earth and each other. These beautiful, feminine gifts of life have been raped and pillaged, polluted like the waters of the Earth. And yet they will rise again when we consciously own them. Why have we been taught to be embarrassed by, afraid of, or unconscious about our bodies? Why don't we trust Love? Why is it so hard to communicate our feelings? Why haven't we been taught how to be in relationships, since it is something we all crave? Why don't we understand ourselves and others?
Patriarchy has tried to make us forget the power, wisdom and intelligence of a loving heart. Or at least has tried to make it irrelevant to important issues of life. Aphrodite/Venus can show us how to reclaim this power. At this Libra New Moon, the planet Venus is in Scorpio, the sign of psychological transformation. Venus in Scorpio looks deeply into the heart of things and digs out the truth, whether we like it or not. This transformative Venus can help us look at and accept our Shadows, those wounded aspects of our psyche that when seen and embraced, give us new energy and inspiration.
At this New Moon, Venus helps us dig out the truth of our hearts—what fears live there, what hopes want to blossom, what visions want to manifest. All too often in astrology, we reduce Venus/Aphrodite to a few key words like love, sex, beauty and money values. Or even worse, flirtatious, jealous, moody, manipulative, competitive. But those words do not begin to describe the deep mystery of Venus/Aphrodite, who leads us to Wisdom! Any goddess energy that can give us that gift is deeper than a few catchwords.
If you actually go outside and follow the planets in their nightly rounds, you soon discover what many ancient cultures knew: Venus tracks a 5-pointed star in the sky over 8 years, which repeats over and over before shifting to another place in the sky. A few astrologers are working with this Venus cycle again and the results are rich indeed. Both Arielle Guttman's Venus Star Rising2 and Adam Gainsburg's The Light of Venus3 shift our awareness to the living, moving night sky and its cycles and patterns. Venus makes a pentagram in our skies over an 8-year period. Both Venus and the pentagram symbolize feminine energies. These are the energies our culture has tried to deny to its detriment. It is appropriate that we reclaim this Heavenly Venus/Aphrodite again.
Venus has always been associated with the brightly shining Morning Star, rising before the Sun. As Morning Star, she is closest to the Earth and is more assertive and warlike, waxing to her fullest. She is also the Evening Star, when the planet Venus is furthest from the Earth. As Evening Star, Venus brings Heaven down to Earth as Aphrodite Urania, gifting us with Wisdom. We experience peace and tranquility and gather in the harvest of our knowing. As Adam Gainsburg3 says of this stage of the Venus cycle, this is the time to integrate the deep internal feminine transformation that we've just experienced. It's time to have practical outlets for our new understanding and intuitive wisdom.
This Venus in Scorpio is an Evening Star. She is just starting to separate from the Sun and if you go outside at sundown, you'll see her rising higher and higher into the sky. She's sending her beauty down to us, so that we too might shine brightly. As Evening Star, Venus gives us a bigger stage to act upon. What and who can you influence with your truth and wisdom? Venus is asking us to remember who we really are and to access our wisdom. We live in a living, evolving universe. Anything is possible if we love life rather than sink into darkness and death.
Venus is the call to life. Venus is so important that I'll be working on a blog about her this month. Check in at my Lady Wisdom Chronicles to see when I post it.
Mars just slipped into the sign of Capricorn, finally leaving Sagittarius, where he's been coming and going since early March 2016. As our Mars desire nature gets grounded, it challenges (squares) this New Moon in Libra. Whatever we're planting and hoping for and communicating with others about has to find practical outlets.
Saturn and Neptune and the Nodes are still in play. How can we release limiting beliefs to make room for new possibilities and stories that fit our Triune Nature: our Power, our Love/Wisdom and our Intelligence-in-Action. Our Body, Soul and Spirit.
We are being called home to our Selves. Don't forget you're not alone.
1. Dane Rudhyar, An Astrological Mandala. All Sabian symbols.
2. Arielle Guttman, Venus Star Rising.
3. Adam Gainsburg, The Light of Venus.
Looking, Walking, Being -- Denise Levertov Looking, Walking, Being "The World is not something to look at, it is something to be in." -- Mark Rudman I look and look. Looking's a way of being: one becomes, sometimes, a pair of eyes walking. Walking wherever looking takes one. The eyes dig and burrow into the world. They touch fanfare, howl, madrigal, clamor. World and the past of it, not only visible present, solid and shadow that looks at one looking. And language? Rhythms of echo and interruption? That's a way of breathing. breathing to sustain looking, walking and looking, through the world, in it. ~ Denise Levertov ~ (Poems, 1960-1967)
