Message In A Bottle – Trusting The Universe Works In Your Favor
Once upon a time, before the internet, before television, before cars and the postal service, people used completely different ways of communicating with each other.
Imagine someone, back in the day, really wanted to send a message, to reach out to the world. What would they do? They would put a message in a bottle and surrender it to the great ocean.
Bottles in the ocean are a symbol for miracles. When nothing else works, when you’ve tried all other avenues, the ocean is the last option. The bottle can take your message very far, but not necessarily where you expect it to.
The currents can drift the bottle in any direction. You have no control. You don’t know the destination. You have to trust that the ocean will drift the bottle to the ‘right’ shore. When there’s no hope left, you have to trust that the universe works in your favor.
People surrender to the unknown as the last resort, when they have lost all hope. In reality, we don’t have to wait that long. You can surrender to the ocean anytime. Your message will reach the right destination, but you have to be willing not to know the destination.
A message in a bottle is you asking God – or the Universe – for directions. All you have to do is ask. Without expectations, without trying to ‘guess’ the answer.
New Moon In Sagittarius – Jupiter, Neptune, Intuition And Psychic Messages
On December 7th, 2018 we have a New Moon at 15° Sagittarius. The New Moon is square Mars and Neptune, which form a conjunction in Pisces.
A square is a dynamic aspect. It pushes us to take action. But what kind of action?
We have two energies at play – Sagittarius and Pisces. Sagittarius is the sign of expanding one’s horizons. Sagittarius is also connected with intuition and higher knowledge.
When you intuitively know who to trust and who not, whether or not you should take the job, that’s because Sagittarius (and the ruling planet, Jupiter) has connected the dots for you.
Jupiter’s knowledge is based on experience. What we call intuition is our capacity to connect large amounts of information and find meaning and trends.
Pisces has many things in common with Sagittarius. Both Pisces and Sagittarius are mutable signs, and both Pisces and Sagittarius are ruled by Jupiter (Jupiter is the main ruler of Sagittarius and the traditional ruler of Pisces). Both Pisces and Sagittarius are connected with faith, hope, and spirituality.
Pisces is also ruled by Neptune, the planet of the ocean, the soul, the unconscious and psychic connections. Neptune is the medium that connects us with other realms of existence.
If Sagittarius and Jupiter are connected with higher knowledge and intuition, Pisces and Neptune are connected with the unconscious and with psychic connections.
Many times we confuse the two. We believe we received a psychic message when in fact it was our intuition playing out, or the other way around, we receive messages from other realms and believe it’s our intuition.
When we ‘feel’ our partner is sad, that’s intuition, when we suddenly get a message that our partner is sad, even when they are far away, that’s a psychic message.
The New Moon in Sagittarius is exactly about these two archetypes: knowledge based on intuition and experience (Sagittarius) and knowledge based on communicating with higher realms (Pisces).
Your intuition (New Moon in Sagittarius) will be challenged – by Mars and Neptune in Pisces – to open up to other types of messages. Pay attention to unusual signs, to omens, to dreams. They will give you very important clues about what to do.
If you feel ‘you’re right’ about something or someone, but you get a different message from an unusual source, don’t dismiss this message. That’s Mars and Neptune in Pisces pushing you to take a different route.
Mercury just turned direct. When Mercury changes course, something you overlooked will suddenly emerge and change everything. Because Mercury direct coincides with the New Moon in Sagittarius and with the Mars-Neptune conjunction in Pisces, incredible breakthroughs are possible now.
If you feel you’ve reached a plateau in knowledge and experience, open to the higher portals of your being. Delve within the Spiritual world. Send a message in a bottle. Let the ocean take your message to unknown destinations.
With so many monumental transits happening from November 6 to November 8, the New Moon in Scorpio on November 7 becomes one of the most important New Moons of the year.
Perhaps THE most important New Moon of the year. Some massive chapters in your life are coming to an end, and some massive new chapters are about to begin.
Jupiter moves into Sagittarius for the first time in 12 years
Uranus moves back into Aries for 4 more months. That’s your last chance to take advantage of Uranus in Aries energy. The next chance will come in 84 years.
That’s a lot of change, isn’t it? Scorpio is a fixed sign, and fixed signs are not that fond of change. Yet, Scorpio is emotionally resilient. Right now, it’s nothing that you cannot handle.
Let There Be Healing
At the time of the New Moon, Jupiter is at 29°’49’ Scorpio. It’s been a long, tumultuous journey of healing with Jupiter in Scorpio. Jupiter in Scorpio exposed corruption and abuse of power. After Jupiter in Scorpio, the world will never be the same again.
And how does Jupiter end his transit in Scorpio? With a wonderful Grand Water Trine with North Node in Cancer and Chiron in Pisces. I cannot think of a more glorious note to end Jupiter’s transit in Scorpio. The grand trine is all about healing.
Yes, it’s been difficult. But now the work is done. We are ready to move on. Jupiter is now ready for the adventure of a lifetime. On November 8th Jupiter moves into Sagittarius, his home sign, and you too are ready for a new story.
The New Moon is at 15° Scorpio. 15° of a fixed sign is the midpoint between a solstice and an equinox. You are now at a crossroad, and it’s time to make a commitment. Do you want to keep going or do you give up?
“It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, but the one most responsive to change” – C. Darwin
Higher Forces At Play
If this New Moon feels like trouble, fear not. The New Moon in Scorpio makes two beautiful aspects with other planets: a sextile to Pluto (the New Moon ruler) and a trine to Neptune. These are positive, supporting aspects.
Neptune and Pluto are the farthest planets in our solar system. The farther a planet, the stronger the pull of fate, and the greater the potential for transcendence.
Right now, there are higher forces at play. This is a Divine intervention of the highest order. Accept this helping hand, and then move onto the next chapter of your life.
Do you feel the earthy, feminine energy? On September 9 literally ALL 10 planets are in feminine signs, and all of them (with the exception of Mars) make positive aspects.
That’s pretty incredible. Don’t believe me?
Uranus (2° Taurus) is trine Saturn (2° Capricorn) and Mercury (6° Virgo), forming a grand earth trine. Grand earth trines are best for making things happen.
The New Moon (Sun and Moon at 17° Virgo) is trine Pluto (18° Capricorn) and sextile Jupiter (18° Scorpio). A New Moon is the best time to initiate new things… and when you have the support of the most ‘potent’ planets, Jupiter and Pluto, impossible is nothing, like in the Adidas commercial.
The New Moon in Virgo will definitely come with stellar opportunities, if you know how to navigate through the muddy waters of the earth and water signs.
We also have two tense aspects: the New Moon in Virgo is opposite Neptune, and Mars is square Venus. However, these aspects stand no chance to spoil this beautiful New Moon. It’s even better we have a little bit of tension, because too many positive aspects can lead to inertia.
The ruler of the New Moon, Mercury, is in Virgo, which is great, because Mercury has both his domicile and exaltation in Virgo. No better place to be for Mercury and multiple opportunities for you!
New Moon Opposite Neptune
The most important aspect the New Moon makes is an opposition to Neptune. Neptune oppositions can have a bad reputation, but this usually happens when we don’t understand how Neptune works, and we try to outsmart it. And we don’t do that with Neptune (or with Pluto) – right?
Also, because we have so many positive aspects right now, I truly believe this time we will see more of the positive manifestations of Neptune.
What can we expect exactly from a New Moon opposite Neptune?
We basically have both the Sun and the Moon on one side of the zodiac (in Virgo), opposite Neptune on the other side of the zodiac (in Pisces).
The Sun and the Moon are the Yin (Moon) and the Yang (Sun) which together represent our identity.
A New Moon opposite Neptune is a time to question your identity, the old definition of who you are and embrace instead the timeless, infinite, everlasting Self you really are.
Because Neptune is an outer planet, this conflict (the opposition) happens outside your consciousness.
That’s why Neptune transits are famous for the confusion they bring. When something happens outside yourself, you cannot measure it, you cannot make sense of it.
But it is in the chaos that a new order emerges.
The old foundations of your identity are now shaken so you can find new possibilities, so you can discover who you can become.
Neptune opposite the Sun and the Moon will challenge your old identity, so a new, higher self can emerge. Neptune dissolves the identification with your ego, so that you can step into a higher expression of yourself.
Venus Square Mars – Guns And Roses
A few hours before the New Moon, we have an intense square aspect between Venus and Mars. Venus and Mars are the eternal lovers that chase each other, need each other, but never quite understand each other.
Venus-Mars transits bring both attraction and repulsion.
Like it or hate it, Venus in aspect to Mars will not leave you indifferent.
Venus and Mars are now in a tense aspect – a square – so they ‘argue’ with each other. If Venus is the ‘receiver’, Mars is the ‘initiator’ – he likes to get his way whether or not others approve of him (while of course, Venus wants everyone to like her).
Venus is the Goddess of beauty and Mars is the God of war. If Venus is the rose, Mars is the gun.
If Venus brings people together, Mars separates them.
Venus square Mars will show us that sometimes life is both guns and roses. And it is in the apparent conflict between the two that creation becomes a possibility.
A good metaphor for Venus in hard aspect to Mars is the Earth spinning around the Sun.
Gravity attracts the Earth towards the Sun, and simultaneously the centrifugal force pulls Earth away from the Sun. These two forces provide the opposing tension that keeps the Earth alive.
Now, in the creative possibilities of the New Moon, is good to keep in mind that if you want to make something happen, you need a bit of friction.
So instead of getting angry if things get too intense, ask yourself what is the creative potential of the situation you got yourself into.
Venus In Scorpio – Embracing Intimacy
After the square to Mars, Venus moves into Scorpio, literally just before the New Moon becomes exact.
Venus will stay for a very long time in Scorpio (until December 3rd) due to the upcoming Venus retrograde.
Because the New Moon and Venus’ ingress into Scorpio happen at the same time, whatever you start at this New Moon will be connected to Venus’ transit in Scorpio.
While the New Moon in Virgo is factual and practical, Venus is Scorpio is mysterious and emotional.
If there is one word that could describe Venus in Scorpio, that is intimacy.
Being intimate with another human being can trigger feelings of vulnerability.
Venus retrograde in Scorpio will analyze every single corner of your mind and soul. Nothing will stay untouched.
She will explore the dark side of your psyche and expose what hides behind your deepest needs and fears. Rage? Jealousy? Nothing will stay unscrutinized.
Your task with the New Moon in Virgo is to become more intentional about your need for intimacy.
You could sit in the dark corners of your bedroom, checking your social media feed, stalking people you admire, wishing you could share a real connection with them, OR you can make a plan about what are you going to do about it.
A good place to start is acknowledging your need for intimacy. If you are a human (and of course you are) you need intimacy, you need real connections with others. That’s how we humans are wired.
The problems arise when we are ashamed of our need for intimacy.
You may think needing intimacy makes you weak. But the opposite is true. Embracing your need for intimacy makes you vulnerable, makes you real. And this is the real strength.
While retrograde, Venus will move from Scorpio back into Libra, the sign of relationships. Venus moving from Scorpio to Libra will show you how to transform your fears of intimacy so you can have better, more mature relationships with others.
Cosmic Opportunities
We talked about the opposition to Neptune, about Venus square Mars and about Venus in Scorpio. All these aspects will influence your experience of the New Moon in Virgo.
But to understand the fundamentals of the New Moon in Virgo, let’s get back to basics.
As you probably know, New Moons are times of new beginnings. Virgo is an earth, mutable sign. So we will have a new beginning related to being practical (earth) and flexible (mutable) in the same time.
In the zodiac, Virgo follows Leo, a fixed sign. Leo is a very intense, creative, but also stagnant energy. Leo resists change, because it wants to preserve the flame of creation. Virgo is the next step – and brings what Leo has created to the next level of perfection. Virgo will make sure that whatever Leo has created ‘makes sense’. The object of creation basically needs to pass the ‘common sense’ test of Virgo.
Virgo has the incredible gift of ‘knowing’ what makes sense and what doesn’t.
If there is one word that could describe Virgo that would be ‘common sense’. Common sense is not taught in schools but it’s perhaps the most useful quality we can have.
Common sense is the ability to quickly makes sense of the world, to make good judgments and behave in a practical and sensible way.
So The New Moon in Virgo is all about common sense, right?
We have a little complication.
Common Sense vs. Cosmic Sense
You also know by now that the New Moon is opposite Neptune in Pisces. Pisces is the polarity of Virgo: both Virgo and Pisces are mutable, flexible signs, but while Virgo is an individual sign, Pisces is a collective sign. While Virgo is an Earth, practical sign, Pisces is a Water, intuitive sign.
Neptune is the planet of ‘no borders, no limits’, of that place where there is no space and time as we know it. The place where all realities collide and where everything is possible.
Neptune represents the higher laws of the universe we don’t fully understand with our limited human thinking. Even if we don’t understand these cosmic laws, it doesn’t mean there’s no order in cosmos.
Yes, there is a higher law, and because we cannot understand it, we must believe in it, we must have faith that it is there. That’s why Neptune is the planet of spirituality and blind faith.
Virgo believes in what she can see, on what makes sense to the rational mind. Virgo is ‘common sense’.
On the other hand, Neptune and Pisces are about the ‘cosmic’ sense – the higher laws of the universe, the intelligent design where everything makes perfect sense.
‘Common sense’ vs. ‘cosmic sense’.
The New Moon in Virgo opposite Neptune is your opportunity to start something new – something that can bridge the gap between the ‘common sense’ of reality as you know it, and the ‘cosmic sense’ of a reality you can only dream of.
You will feel the full effects of the New Moon two days later, on September 11, when the Moon becomes visible, aka rises again in the morning sky.
If you have planets or angles around 17° Virgo, the New Moon will come with an important opportunity for you.
On 12 July 2018 we have a powerful New Moon and Solar Eclipse in Cancer. The New Moon takes place at 20° Cancer and is a partial Solar Eclipse, visible from Southern Australia, including Melbourne and Adelaide.
The Solar Eclipse in Cancer should be called the Eclipse of Darkness, but not necessarily because it will get physically dark. Although the Solar Eclipse is partial, it is nevertheless very powerful for the following reasons:
It is the first eclipse on the Cancer Capricorn axis.
The Eclipse is exactly opposite Pluto, the planet of transformation and the underworld. Pluto is notoriously associated with darkness, and the absence of light. Pluto is the Darth Vader of the zodiac!
The eclipse is not only conjunct Pluto, but also conjunct Pluto’s nodes (yes, all planets have nodes, and Pluto’s nodes are at 20° Cancer / Capricorn right now). Talking about transformation!
Cancer is the darkest place in the zodiac wheel – it is literally at the bottom of the wheel. That’s why Cancer is ruled by the Moon, which governs over night.
All these alignments make the Solar Eclipse cathartic and fated.
A Solar Eclipse means that the Sun is eclipsed and overshadowed by the Moon. The Sun is taken over. The light disappears. Life is disrupted.
We all know the Sun is the life giver to all creatures on Earth. Without its warmth, there would be no life as we know it. The absence of light can feel scary indeed.
But it’s only from darkness, that we are able to SEE. Paradoxically, it’s only in the space of nothingness that we can see things in a new ‘light’ – our inner light. It’s only from nothing that new beginnings can emerge.
Seeling In The Dark
Pluto will take you on a trip to the underworld to show you what’s hidden on the other side of light as you know it. We, humans, are hard-wired to be terrified by dark, but ironically, that’s the only possible path to enlightenment. It’s only when we break down our egos and break through the veil of illusion that we can finally SEE. And this is what traveling to the underworld is all about.
“The opposite of light is not darkness, but the potential of light’ – dark because unknown, perhaps, but with the possibility of changing us into that thing we never were before” – Kimberly Grey
Even physiologically, it’s not completely true that we are not able to see in the dark. We just see things differently.
As you may know, there are two types of cells responsible for sight in the human retina – cones and rods.
The cones are active at daylight and help us distinguish shapes and colors. The rods, or the night cells, allow us to see shapes, but not colors. At night, things are less differentiated and less distinct. The color matters less, and is less distracting. It’s more about meaning.
What about when you close your eyes completely? When there is nothing to compare yourself with? When there is no reference point to the past or to the future? What do you see when you close your eyes?
“Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens” – Carl Jung
Water And Cancer – Where Everything Emerges
In astrology, light is associated with the Fire element: the spark of light that emerges from pure consciousness (Aries); the burning fire of self-expression (Leo), and the eternal flame of the Spirit (Sagittarius).
Cancer is a water sign. Water is in a way, the opposite of Fire. Water is cool, fire is hot. Fire is dry, water is wet. Fire transforms, water regenerates. While fire is visually striking, water is invisible. Water doesn’t have a color but reflects the color of the sky, of the soil, or of the living creatures inside it. Fire is the divine masculine, water is the divine feminine.
Cancer is the ultimate archetype of the feminine. Cancer is the nurturing, protective, instinctual energy that gives birth to new life and nurtures it until this new life is able to develop an identity on its own. The 4th house, together with Cancer are the most private places in one’s chart. The most vulnerable. And paradoxically, the strongest.
Think of a pregnant woman (a Cancer / 4th house archetype). She is more vulnerable than ever. She is willing to do whatever it takes to protect the life that is about to emerge. But at the same time, she is stronger than ever. Her vulnerability makes her strong.
Cancer – or the dark night – is where creation emerges.
This is the first Eclipse in Cancer since 2009-2010. In fact, on 11 July 2010, we had a Solar Eclipse in Cancer at the same degree as this eclipse. This eclipse will therefore bring to your awareness similar themes. What happened in your life back in July 2010?
Eclipses – Fate Or Free Will?
Eclipses always happen on a nodal axis, bringing polarities into alignment. So when the North Node of the Moon in one sign, and the South Node of the Moon is in the opposite sign. We have no choice but to reconcile these opposite but complementary energies.
Eclipses are nothing else but times of karmic and cosmic re-adjustment. If the North Node energy points towards the future, the South Node energy is linked to the past. The Nodes of the Moon co-create our destiny.
If life was fate, we would only have the South Node. But life is a miraculous mix of fate and free will. The North Node is in a way our free will. The North Node is our potential, what could exist, the darkness from which life and creation could emerge.
We feel drawn to it, but we have little experience with it. And because we also fear it, we have a natural tendency to revert back to the South Node of the past.
It’s only when you resist your North Node, your true star, that life gets tough. This is when eclipses can bring difficult experiences. But when you embrace it, you dive into a world of pure potential, a world where everything is possible. You can overcome your karma, and co-create your destiny with the universe.
The Solar Eclipse in Cancer is a North Node Eclipse, which means it is more concerned with your free will, with the unknown, with creating new possibilities for the future.
The Cancer Solar Eclipse opposite Pluto is an invitation to plunge into the darkness of the unknown. Don’t be afraid! This is where it all begins.
You will be affected especially if you have planets or angles between 19°-21° in Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn. Look to the house where the eclipse falls in your chart for clues to what to expect.
On 13 June 2018, we have a New Moon at 22° Gemini.
New Moons are about new beginnings. Every month, every time the Moon rises from the darkness, you have a chance to start something new.
The zodiac sign where the New Moon takes place gives clues about what kind of energy you will work with in the coming month.
This New Moon is in Gemini. Gemini is the 3rd sign of the zodiac.
The 1st sign of the zodiac is Aries. Aries is the spark of life, the impulse to leave the dark, watery Pisces, and emerge as a new soul. Aries corresponds to the phase of conception.
Taurus is the 2nd phase – Taurus takes what is initially only an idea, and makes it real. Five to six days after fertilization, the embryo finds a safe zone and implants itself in the uterus.
The 3rd phase of development is Gemini. Gemini is similar to the cellular division process. In order for life to grow, it has to divide and multiply until it reaches a stage where differentiation can take place (Cancer).
The Paradox of Duality
Gemini is the sign of duality. The Gemini Glyph is represented by the Roman number two, signifying the sign’s dual nature. The two parallel vertical lines are joined by two crescents. One cannot exist without the other.
Geminis are known for their ability to shape-shift and change in a flash. One personality is there one minute, only to be taken over by the other, the next minute. To the outside world, they seem as though they have a split personality.
But it is only in this space of duality and apparent conflict that life can emerge. Before we make a decision, we are firstly faced with the paradox of duality. The Yin / Yang symbol is a great representation of the constant change of balance between one state of being to another.
“I can’t split myself in two”
One day, the lion, the king of the jungle, asks all the animals to come together. All the animals in the jungle gather at the expected date in front of the lion. Then the lion says: “Now, I want you two split into two groups. The smart group and the beautiful group. If you think you’re smart, go to the right. If you think you’re beautiful, go to the left.” All animals do as they are told. They form two groups. Only the monkey stays. The lion asks: “What about you? Please choose your group”. And the monkey, desperate, with tears in her eyes, says. “I cannot do that. I cannot split myself in two”.
Jokes aside, this is a good example of a Gemini duality conflict.
Duality is a condition of life. Most of the time we don’t like it. We want to make a decision just because we are uncomfortable with not knowing.
But by rushing in, we skip an important phase of the individualization process which can otherwise teach us so much about ourselves and about the world.
Be a little bit ‘schizophrenic’
Interestingly enough, Gemini is also the sign of research, numbers, and unbiased data. If the opposite sign, Sagittarius is all about dogma and information you don’t question, Gemini is about raw data and information you do question. It is about approaching everything with curiosity, from a position of ‘not knowing’.
It’s about believing the numbers, even if they go against your beliefs.
The lesson Gemini can teach you is one of embracing duality. Learning to work with the two twins inside of you. Let them co-exist, even if you feel a bit schizophrenic at times. Let them both investigate, research, discover the world, build on their own experience, and grow.
The New Moon in Gemini is a great opportunity to start a project on a topic you feel uncomfortable with, on a topic you know little about. All you need to do is start with a beginner’s mind. Make sure you track information in an unbiased way. And then take in the outcome, even if it goes against what you believed to be true.
We have a bittersweet New Moon in Piscesat 26° on Saturday, March 17th 2018.
The closest aspect the New Moon makes is a conjunction toChiron, the wounded healer. Chiron has been in Pisces for 8 years now. Chiron will leave Pisces to move into Aries as of April 18th 2018.
We are now delving into the last lessons of Chiron in Pisces, and this lesson is particularly important, because the New Moon will bring it to the surface, whether we like it or not.
A New Moon is the magical moment when the two luminaries, the most important bodies in the sky – the Sun and the Moon – come together to start a new chapter, to write a new story.
We have a New Moon in Pisces only once in a year. Only once we are given the opportunity to delve into the waters of Pisces, to explore a whole universe, mysterious and neverending.
Pisces is the trickiest sign to describe – they are the chameleon of the zodiac.
Pisces absorb the energy around them. Whatever you are feeling, they are feeling too. And if you don’t feel a thing, they don’t either! Because they have a strange ability to become one with the world around them, Pisces can be everything or nothing.
New Moon in Pisces is Conjunct Chiron, the Wounded Healer
Pisces is the sign of the sacrifice.
In this regard, Pisces and Chiron have quite a bit in common.
Maybe you are familiar with the archetype of Chiron, the wounded healer.
The archetype comes from an episode from the famous Greek legend, when Hercules accidentally shoots Chiron with a poisonous arrow coated with the blood of Hydra.
Arrows coated with the blood of Hydra were known to cause painful wounds that would never heal. But because Chiron was immortal, he could never die. But he was also not able to heal.
That’s why Chiron in your natal chart shows that wound that never heals. Chiron’s wounds are not your fault, they are not the result of your bad actions. Chiron had to suffer simply because he was born immortal. Chiron is that wound you cannot do anything about.
But there is a twist to Chiron’s story. Ultimately, the Gods agree to release Chiron from suffering and let him die, by allowing him to replace Prometheus on the mountain Tartarus.
Upon his death, Chiron was released from his wound that would never heal and honored with the constellation of Centaurus, one of the largest constellations in the sky.
When Chiron gave up his immortality, ironically – he became immortal.
Your deepest wounds may never heal, but they eventually become your greatest gifts, your legacy, what you leave behind for generations to come.
By embracing your wounds, you allow them to become part of you, by owning them, they stop having power over you.
In Pisces, personal wounds become universal wounds. There is no more “my pain” or “your pain” but the pain we all share, the pain of the universe and all that dwells therein.
Chiron in Pisces and the Illusion of Separation
And the beauty of this is that in sharing the pain with the world, the illusion of separation disappears. In pain, as well as in love, there is no more “me”, there is no more “you”, there is only “us”.
Healing happens when you strip down the ego to become one with the world. Healing is being on the same wavelength as the universe.
When you meditate for example and focus on your breath, you are in fact aligning your natural rhythm (inhalation, exhalation) with the rhythm of the universe (expansion-contraction).
Arts, dancing, listening to music are nothing else but our attempts to be on the same frequency with the universe. It is in that space of connectedness where your broken parts can come together, where healing is possible.
The New Moon in Pisces is about being together – in pain, in pleasure, in vitality, in sickness – caring about each other.
The New Moon in Pisces is not only conjunct Chiron, but also square Mars and trine Jupiter.
The square to Mars – who is now in the last degree of Sagittarius – is tough, and it hurts.
When something bleeds, it requires your immediate attention. Mars can tear apart your soul and your self-identification (your ego), but fortunately, you are not left alone in this struggle.
Jupiter, the co-ruler of the New Moon, applies a beautiful trine aspect to the New Moon. There is hope after all. Healing will come, eventually.
How to Heal the Chironic Wound
Many of us have experienced the pain of separation during Chiron’s stay in Pisces. In the past 8 years, Chiron showed us where we find it difficult to connect with the world at large.
The pain of separation is when no matter what you do, you cannot connect with the world, when no matter how hard you try, something inside of you is “off”.
Chiron in Pisces has been asking us to heal the wound of separation, by learning to be vulnerable, to trust others, to connect with the world from a place of authenticity and truth.
Pain can be healed if you immerse into it, if you let yourself go. Remember, separation is only an illusion.
If you’ve been resisting the process, the New Moon in Pisces is your chance to make peace with your wound of separation.
If you have embraced your wound, the New Moon is the time to put it into use. How can you bring the awareness, the healing that came with it, to the next level?
Trent Reznor, the leadsinger of NIN (and a Chiron in Pisces native) captured beautifully the pain – and the bliss – of Chiron in Pisces.
“The farther I fall I’m beside you
As lost as I get I will find you
The deeper the wound I’m inside you
For ever and ever I’m a part of
You and me
We’re in this together now
We will make it through somehow
You and me
If the world should break in two
Until the very end of me
Until the very end of you
NIN – We’re in this together
How the New Moon in Pisces Will Affect You
You will feel the energy of the New Moon stronger if you have planets between 26°-29° in mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces).
The energy of the New Moon will feel familiar to you if Chiron plays an important role in your natal chart (is conjunct Sun, Moon or chart ruler).
Have a look at which house in your natal chart the New Moon takes place to see which area of your life needs healing.
The New Moon in Sagittarius takes place on 18th of December 2017 at 26° Sagittarius, exactly in the middle of the Galactic Center.
The Galactic Center is the center of our galaxy, Milky Way. If you do stargazing and are familiar with the Milky Way – look for the dark black crack right in the middle. This is the Galactic Center.
When we connect with the Galactic Center, we can experience sudden awakening, we can receive unfiltered information straight from the womb of the universe.
In fact, on the 18th of November we have a quadruple conjunction on the Galactic Center: Venus (at 21° Sagittarius), the Moon (26° Sagittarius), Sun (26° Sagittarius) and Saturn (29° Sagittarius) will all activate the center of the universe and will bring us a message.
The New Moon is also trine Uranus and square Chiron, the two bodies which connect us to the outer space – Uranus in astrology rules the sky, and Chiron orbits between Saturn (the last planet visible to the naked eye) and Uranus, the first outer planet.
The New Moon in Sagittarius will connect us to the ‘invisible sky’. If you look at the night sky on December 18th, you won’t see the Moon (when the Moon is New, is invisible), and you won’t see Venus and Saturn either, because they too are lost in the glare of the Sun. Everything happens behind the curtains. Indeed, the ruler of the New Moon, Jupiter, in now in Scorpio, the sign of the underworld.
On 18th of December, have a look at the night sky, and find that point where all stars seem to collide, in the middle of the Milky Way. Let the sky guide you. The Moon is nowhere to be seen, but something is happening there, behind the curtains.
The New Moon in Sagittarius represents the ‘grand finale’ of 2017 – not only because is the last New Moon of the year, but because is the last New Moon when Saturn is in Sagittarius.
The New Moon in Sagittarius has a very interesting twist. Usually at the time of the New Moon we plant the seed, and at the time of the Full Moon we reap the rewards. But because at the time of the New Moon, Saturn is still in Sagittarius, and by the time we have the Full Moon on January 1st 2018, Saturn is already in Capricorn – things can turn out very differently than we expected.
Saturn is highly potent at 29° Sagittarius, and he won’t leave Sagittarius unless it has found the ultimate truth. It will be a simple, distilled truth – the quintessence of truth. Saturn is nothing like Jupiter – so don’t expect something flamboyant and bombastic. Unlike Jupiter – which expands everything it touches – Saturn contracts everything it touches – to get to the core of what really matters.
In the last degrees of Sagittarius, the New Moon will mark both a closure and a new beginning.
Because Saturn switches signs in the middle of the lunation cycle, the ending you will experience at the time of the New Moon will not be quite an ending. Somewhere, in the middle of the cycle, things will get a new twist. An overlooked element will surface. The ‘ending’ will be nothing but a new beginning, under new conditions.
But let’s go back to the essence of this New Moon in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is about the pursuit of the universal truth. Not the individual truth we find in Gemini, when we experience the world through our senses – the Sagittarian truth is to be found beyond ourselves.
To find it, we must adventure into the unknown. We need to search, and explore until we find that one underlying truth that applies to all.
The New Moon in Sagittarius is about the universal truth – the truth that is invisible to the eyes. The irony about the greatest truths in life is that they are so obvious, that we fail to see them.
What truth does the New Moon in Sagittarius stand for? Venus and Saturn, the two planets involved in the lunation, will point to the answer.
The Little Prince, one of the most famous stories in the world, translated in over 180 languages, is a beautiful metaphor for this lunation.
The story concludes with the encounter between the Little Prince and the Fox. The conversation between the two reveals profound truths about love and relationships.
The Fox tries to explain to the Little Prince what does it mean to be ‘tamed’.
“To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world. (…) If you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a footstep that will be different from all the others. Other people’s footsteps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.“
When the Little Prince asks the Fox how can he tame him, the Fox replies:
“You must be very patient. First you will sit down at a little distance from me. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day. It would be better to come back at the same hour. If, for example, you come at four o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o’clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you”
The Little Prince tames the Fox and they become friends. But when the time to depart comes, the Fox starts to cry. The Fox will of course, miss the Little Prince. When the Little Prince, hurt, says he should have never tamed him in the first place, the Fox concludes with a very profound statement:
“It has done me good. I was happy. Here is my secret. A very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
From the womb of the Universe, the New Moon speaks about the greatest secret of all times. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.
The sabian symbol of this New Moon is “A sculptor at his work”. Art, just like love, requires vision and persistence. The sabian symbol of the New Moon speaks about the power to create something beautiful (Venus) through patient trials and errors (Saturn).
The New Moon is the culmination of Saturn’s stay in Sagittarius – this is the perfect time to create the vision for your greatest masterpiece. When Saturn will move into Capricorn, you will have time to materialize it. But now, just like a sculptor, you need to have a vision for what you are going to create.
Are you getting ready for 2018? In the next 3 years, Saturn is going to be your greatest ally, giving you the determination and patience to create your greatest masterpiece.
Right now, you are on the edge of something big, something that could change your life forever. Use this New Moon to set your vision. In the dark of the night, look for the glow of the Milky Way.
The New Moon in Scorpio on Saturday, November 18th is the most enigmatic New Moon of the year. Possibilities are endless.
Only once a year we have a New Moon in Scorpio. Only once a year we have the chance to explore what Scorpio stands for: change, transformation, our subconscious, what we share with others, for good and for bad.
The Scorpio season is that time of the year when we need to get to terms with the parts of ourselves we keep hidden not only from others, but also from ourselves.
There is a lot of Scorpio energy right now in the sky – we have Sun, Moon, Venus and Jupiter all in Scorpio.
The New Moon takes place at 26° Scorpio so check out your chart to see if you have any planet or angle in the last degrees of Scorpio. If you do, then this New Moon will speak to you directly.
The closest aspects the New Moon is making to other planets are a quincunx to Uranus in Aries and a trine to Chiron in Pisces.
But what makes this New Moon truly special is the square between Mars and Pluto which is almost exact at the time of the New Moon.
Why a square between Mars and Pluto is so interesting?
Because Mars and Pluto are the two rulers of the New Moon in Scorpio, Mars is the traditional ruler and Pluto is the modern ruler.
The New Moon in Scorpio is about the epic battle between the old and the new, between our individual will (Mars) and the supreme will (Pluto).
Although Mars and Pluto usually create a lot of friction and tension, at this time of the Lunar cycle, when the Moon is invisible, we won’t be able to express this inner tension.
When the Moon is invisible we don’t feel the urge to act, we don’t feel the urge to go into the world and manifest what we want. Because there is almost no air energy at the moment in the sky – our energy, our drive, our emotions we feel so deeply cannot materialize.
It takes fire and air to make fire, and when there is no air, we will feel everything like an internal combustion engine.
All that fire, all that energy will consume you from within. There is no escape but to let it burn you from the inside.
If something burns in the outside, you run and seek shelter. But what do you do with the fire within? What do you do when there is no place to run?
The battle you are going to fight at the time of the New Moon will not be straightforward. You will not save the world and kill dragons.
In the dark of the night, when there is no light to guide you, all it is left to do is look inside.
This is the time to take a leap into the underworld, to do what you are most afraid of, and face the consequences of your actions.
When you lose the faith, remember what you are here for. The sign that comes after Scorpio, Sagittarius will give you the clues.
You are here to be a God yourself. You are here to carry the torch wisdom and experience. When there is no light to guide you, you must keep the faith.
The ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice is about the fateful love between Orpheus, a Greek God playing the harp, and beautiful nymph Eurydice. The two got married and lived happily for a while.
When Eurydice died, Orpheus descended into the underworld, protected by Gods, to find his wife and bring her back to life. Over there, Orpheus met Hades, the God of the underworld. He played his lyre so beautifully that Hades decided to make an exception and let him take Eurydice back to the living word, under one condition: Eurydice would follow him while walking out of the underworld, but he should not look at her before coming out to the light because he would lose her forever and ever.
If Orpheus was patient enough, he would have Eurydice as a normal woman again by his side.
Orpheus happily agreed. He was leading the way out, and was trying to hear Eurydice’s steps, but he could not hear anything. He started to believe that the gods had fooled him.
In fact, Eurydice was behind him, but as a shadow. Only a few feet away from the exit, Orpheus lost his faith and turned to see; Eurydice was behind him, but her shadow was whisked back among the dead. Eurydice was gone forever.
If Orpheus kept his faith, he could have brought Eurydice back to life. But he didn’t.
And here comes the lesson of Scorpio. When in the underworld, do not expect to see. Do not rely on your thoughts, experience, not even on your intuition. In the depths of the dark, behind the scenes, all you can do is keep the faith.
Are you willing to fully surrender to the darkness? Are you open to find the truth where you least expected it to be? Are you brave enough to let go of everything you thought to be true and look for a different kind of truth?
Chances are, you already know the answers to these questions – but you don’t trust yourself enough to accept them. But this is exactly the reason why, every year, every time the world changes form, every time seasons change, we have a New Moon in Scorpio. The one way to access that place of ancestral knowledge is to surrender to the unknown.
Mars square Pluto will ask you to accept your worldly limitation, to surrender to a higher power, and let it be.
Mars (your material, worldly will) vs. the divine will – who do you think will win?
The answer is not obvious. The truth is, the divine will wants you to win, as long as you see the big picture, as long as you accept the role you play in the grand scheme of things.
And your individual will also knows there is nothing worth fighting for, unless it severs a higher purpose.
How can you reconcile the two? If you are the type of person who likes to impose their will, then the New Moon will be tough, because it will ask you to surrender to a higher power.
If you don’t find it easy to assert yourself, the New Moon will help you get in touch with your inner power.
The sabian symbol for this lunation is “a military band marches noisily on through the city streets” – here again, we notice the worldly will (military band) marching in the city streets, a symbol of the uncharted territory.
The band is noisy and tries to impose its agenda. But on the city streets, anything can happen. You never know what is waiting for you at the next corner.
Our aggressive, tense, domineering approach in opposition to the natural spontaneity and instinctive adjustment to the nature of tribal societies.
The New Moon in Scorpio is not a time to take your battles outdoors. The hardest battle you are going to fight – always – is with yourself.
Every New Moon is special, but this particular New Moon in Libra is truly special. Why is that? Because it’s EXACTLY opposite Uranus, the planet of revolutions, surprises – the planet of being true to one’s self.
More exactly, the New Moon in Libra takes place on October 19th at 26°35’ in Libra, while Uranus is at 26°31’in Aries. The opposition between the New Moon and Uranus is within an orb of 0°04’. Very rarely we have such a close configuration occurring at the same time with a New Moon.
What exactly does it mean to have a New Moon in Libra in opposition to Uranus?
Firstly, what is a New Moon? A new Moon occurs at the magic moment when the Sun, the divine masculine, aligns with the Moon, the divine Feminine, to start a new cycle of creation.
We have a New Moon every month, one New Moon in each of the 12 zodiac signs. The New Moon is that time of the year when we have a new beginning related to the themes of the sign where it takes place.
Last month we had a new Moon in Virgo, and in November we are going to have a new Moon in Scorpio.
This month we have a New Moon in Libra, meaning that we are going to experience new beginnings related to Libra: relationships, partnerships of any kind, beauty, harmony, peace, and justice.
If in the first six signs, from Aries to Virgo, we relate to the world based on our own personal experiences, in Libra we realize that we don’t have all the answers, and we start to look for answers outside ourselves.
That’s why Libra rules relationships – it’s within the sign of Libra that the soul does not want to be alone anymore, and wants to merge with another instead.
According to the Greek mythology, at the beginning of time, humans originated in pairs, bound within one body, within one soul. But Zeus started to fear power of this bond, and he split them in two.
Because they could not bear their loneliness, the ‘halves’ started to wander the Earth in search of their lost soul mate, to reunite and become whole again.
This is the myth of the soulmate – each time we have a New Moon in Libra, we crave to unite with whatever it is that is missing from our lives.
“Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature.” ― Plato, The Symposium
What is it that is missing from your life?
Look in which house you have Libra to get more clues of what you need to reunite with on October 19th.
New Moons are not easy to grasp.
At this phase of the lunar cycle, the Moon is completely invisible, disappearing from the sky into the Sun’s glare. This is a time of insight, this is a time to design a new blueprint. Few days later, when the Moon becomes visible again, we can actually go into the world to manifest the intention.
Starting something new at the time of the New Moon does not mean you have to literally do something, manifest something material – it simply means a new insight will come into your awareness.
And here comes Uranus.
In this dark mysterious place, where a new genesis begins, here comes Uranus, like lightning, to say “I’ve come here to liberate you”.
In that space, where everything is possible, here it comes, the God of the sky, bringing you the divine insight, bringing you the fire stolen from the Gods to light your way.
Uranus is the ultimate rebel – whether you like his ways or not, Uranus comes to liberate you, to show you there is a higher plan for you.
On October 19th, Uranus will bring you one insight that will turn your life upside down, but will also set you on the path of your true purpose and liberation.
The insight will come all of the sudden. Uranus is the God of the sky, the planet of higher intellect and higher wisdom – the message will come like a flash of lightning. You will have a sudden awareness of what you need to do.
Don’t expect anything like a Mercury insight. Mercury makes sense of the world through the 5 senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste. Uranus is the 6th sense, which has nothing to do with the world as we know it.
So if we put everything together, what does it mean to have a New Moon in Libra opposite the Great Awakener, Uranus?
It means that a major insight will come to you and bring balance into your life, and will make you feel whole again.
With the New Moon in Libra opposite Uranus, you will find harmony by embracing the truth.
The truth will at first shake you, and will then it will set you free.
Sometimes we work so hard, and nothing goes our way. And then, all of a sudden, in the blink of a second our life is changed forever.
Uranus aspecting the New Moon will ask you to invite possibilities in your life. If you are not going anywhere on your current path, maybe the time has come to change course, to do something completely different.
Because Uranus is in Aries, the sign farthest away from Libra, you might need to do something completely different indeed.
What are you in denial about? Uranus will come to expose any blind spot, and will make you see things from a completely different perspective.
Maybe what you think you want is not really what you need. Maybe you need something completely different to feel whole again.
The Sabian for the New Moon in Libra is “An Airplane Sails, High In The Clear Sky”. What a beautiful metaphor for Uranus, the God of the sky. A new path is open, to make way for new possibilities and new adventures.
You can finally find freedom from the limitations of human consciousness, freedom from separation. You have never been half of a whole. You are whole; that is your true nature.
The New Moon in Virgo takes place on September 19th or September 20th, depending on where in the world you live, at 27° Virgo.
New Moons are times of new beginnings, so every year we have the chance to start something new related to the sign where the lunation occurs.
September’s New Moon is in Virgo, therefore the Virgoan themes are surfacing: service, work, hearth, analysis, day-to-day rituals, purifying the body, mind and spirit, self-development, bringing order into chaos.
Virgo stands for the highest expression of the individual self, is where we seek to be of service, is where we keep our commitments, is where we seek to perfect ourselves and stick to the Path, no matter how tough the going gets.
Virgo is a transitional sign, bringing the death of the Summer and the start of the Fall, that time of the year when we contemplate the earth’s annual cycle of light and darkness.
The new Moon takes place at 27° Virgo, in the last degrees of the sign. The last degrees of Virgo are very transformative, concluding the mission of the 1st half of the zodiac, the perfecting of the self. The first part of the zodiac (from Aries to Virgo) is the journey within.
With Libra, we explore the outer side of the zodiac wheel, we learn about other people (Libra to Sagittarius) and about society as a whole (Capricorn to Pisces).
Virgo is therefore the last chance to make it right, to become the person we want to be, to achieve the highest expression of the individual self.
Virgo is traditionally associated with work, diets, sports, healthy lifestyle, details and planning – with all the things that are good for you, but not necessarily pleasant or easy.
You can of course stay at the Leo stage of development, do only what it feels right, what makes you feel alive, what is fun…but you know that this is not sustainable. You also need to do the work, to put rituals in place, to create systems in your life to assist you in your goals.
The New Moon in Virgo in the final degrees of Virgo is your last chance to become the highest expression of yourself, to turn the self into a harmonious whole – body, mind and spirit – all in balance.
The New Moon in Virgo is about consequences. If you’ve done the inner work, then the New Moon will come to “wrap up” everything, so you can confidently say “This is me, a human being, I’m perfect in my imperfections, strong in my weaknesses and beautiful in my own way because I’m me”.
But if you’ve tried to skip steps, or if you remained stuck in the previous stages of development, then this New Moon can be quite confusing and disturbing.
As disturbing as it may feel, the New Moon will give you a 2nd chance. You still have the opportunity to make it right, if you are brave enough to swim through the chaos, to open your heart and surrender to the higher guidance and wisdom.
The New Moon in Virgo makes me think of the Judgment card of the Tarot because of its proximity to the equinox point. In tarot, the “Judgement” shows up at that time in your life when you review and evaluate your past experiences and draw the conclusions. All the pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together to form one, integrated picture.
And although traditionally the New Moons are times of new beginnings, while the Full Moons are times of exposures and endings, this particular New Moon is a little bit of both.
You cannot start something new unless you leave the past behind. New beginning never come “out of nowhere” – it is when you make a conscious decision to leave the past behind, when you make space for the new.
You are now being “called” and asked to take action. Something that was lying dormant in you is finally being awakened and brought into light.
The New Moon is making an exact quincunx Uranus, the planet of sudden insight and awakenings and an opposition to Chiron, the planet of the integration of the self.
The New Moon opposition to Chiron will expose your wounds, those dark corners of your soul you feel ashamed of. Of course this will make you feel vulnerable. But ignoring some parts of yourself, while putting ahead only what is desirable doesn’t make you perfect. Being in denial about the truth of who you are doesn’t make you invincible.
We are all made of broken parts and until we learn to integrate them we cannot live a wholesome life, in full integrity. The opposition to Chiron will expose all these broken parts of yourself but will also give you the chance to integrate all the deep wounds, all those shadows you are afraid to bring to the surface.
It is when you acknowledge them, when you accept they are part of you, when they don’t have any power over you. They are still there, as a reminder of what has happened to you and what they taught you about life, but they no longer haunt you.
The New Moon in Virgo opposite Chiron on Pisces will make you confront these unfinished business and accept the truth of who you are.
The New Moon in Virgo quincunx to Uranus can bring initially some bizarre, disturbing energy. A quincunx energy can be quite distracting but if you let it flow, you can manifest its positive, creative side.
Uranus and Chiron aspecting the New Moon are the wakeup call, the ‘awakening’ you needed to “wake up” and live your life in a different way, in order to be true to yourself and to your needs.
The ruler of the New Moon, Mercury is exactly opposite Neptune, brining confusion, fogginess and inner chaos. Communication may be misinterpreted and taken out of context.
You may hear some news, or read something, just to find that the source is not quite trustworthy, or you can have some strong intuitions but you may not know if it is really your inner guidance or simply some longings or desires that make you not think straight.
With Mercury opposite Neptune we can lose ourselves into the abstract world, into a fantasy world where we can avoid the harsh reality. Paradoxically, this does not mean we are lost. There is some truth in Neptune, there is some truth in dissolving our perceptions.
The borders to what we call “reality” are not always so strictly drawn. With Mercury opposite Neptune nothing is quite as it seems, everything is “Half-truth, half lie”.
Mercury opposite Neptune is not a bad aspect per se. As with every transpersonal planet and as with every opposition, we need to be careful though. Neptune represents the “higher order” which is difficult to comprehend with our limited mind.
If you are the scientific type of person you may find this energy quite difficult, because it will shake your beliefs and make you doubt everything you thought you knew.
Our knowledge can be limited. For example, our knowledge of other people is limited to what they reveal to us. We then try to make sense of this information by making comparisons to ourselves.
But they are distinct people, with distinct personalities – they are not us. We don’t know what they truly think and feel – in fact, what we think we know of them is based on lots of assumptions.
That’s why Mercury opposition Neptune, which is the trademark of the New Moon in Virgo, can be a good thing. It can help us understand that we don’t know everything, and that we don’t need to know everything. Sometimes we just need to let things be. The world will survive without our judgments.
The New Moon in Virgo is also a good time to re-evaluate your routines and daily rituals. Neptune wants to dissolve any outdated habit that does not help you in your current path any longer. If you don’t find the motivation to go to the gym or to keep with the diet is maybe because you need to find a higher order, a better reason to keep you going.
Pluto is also slowing down and is preparing to change direction. We had many planets retrograde in the past months, so Pluto’s change in direction is good news. Things WILL get better!
You can benefit from this New Moon in you are an artist, a writer, a photographer, a musician. Neptune, Mercury and Uranus will make you more sensitive to your inner emotions as well as to outside inspiration.
The New Moon in Virgo is also a good time to start a detox diet, a herbal diet or homeopathy. Any type of activity that will declutter, remove stagnation, cleanse your body and your soul is favored now. Offering your service to the world, even when you don’t receive praise, will set your soul on the right path.
If you have Gemini or Virgo risings, or if you have natal planets or angles around 27° in Mutable signs – Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces – you will feel the energy of the New Moon in Virgo stronger.
