by Christine Payne-Towler
August 4, '05 NewMoon
This August new moon chart has been a fascinating one to investigate, because it's
so very concentrated and focused upon the 72-degree swath between
Saturn in Leo and Jupiter in Libra. Everybody reading this newsletter
is located in different places, but in Seattle where I live, this
entire swath (Saturn, Moon and Sun, plus Mercury retrograde all in Leo,
Venus in Virgo and Jupiter in Libra) is tucked into the seventh house.
That leaves only four planets left, and two of them, Neptune in
Aquarius and Uranus in Pisces, are in the first house, making a
counterpoint of sorts to the group in the 7th. Certainly a lot of
energy tied up in this axis!
My
first concern about this New Moon is that it is widely conjunct Saturn
on the early-Leo side, and then closely conjunct the retrograde Mercury
on the later-Leo side. The footprint of this extended group fills up
the entire first half of the sign. So it is quite likely that anybody
who has anything in this area of the zodiac, or the one opposite it in
Aquarius, will be feeling the pinch. Saturn is the Limiter, the
parental planet who puts one's nose to the grindstone, pressing close
with responsibilities and demanding that bills get paid.
He appears ahead of the NewMoon in terms of orbital motion, so he sets the stage and creates the context for the kiss of Sun and Moon. Because of Saturn's presence, this moment of renewal is a kiss of obligation, of commitment, and possibly of public restraint. Something that was being kept ambiguous (for the ego's sake) is going to have to become explicit, and will forthwith serve as bedrock for the events of the new month just commencing.
On
the other side of the Leo bundle, Mercury is retrograde and occupying
the 15-degree position associated with the ancient high-summer
festivals. Even with all the momentum of a Leo NewMoon to ride on, this
Mercury is hesitating, giving us the wavering light and bent
perspective that all retrogrades suffer. Most astrologically-tuned
folk know that the retrogrades of Mercury are bad times to start
enterprises, sign contracts, or bring finality to any kind of binding
agreement. However each retrograde has its own special flavor, and
this one is no exception.
This Leo retrograde has the potential of exposing the Achilles' heel of all those who are overextended, overexposed, or in some other way overreaching. Leo is subject to inflation, after all, though its conscious motive wants to be seen as altruistic. Leos walk a fine line between self-confidence and self-exaggeration, and never more so than during a NewMoon like this. The key concept here is the need to "be seen as" something or another.
Each
one of us has a feeling for the kind of regard, respect, and acclaim
that we would like to inspire in others. The inner life of a self-aware
person will use that feeling to guide their growth as a human being
towards becoming a valuable person in their family and community. The
self-aware Leo becomes a master of using their innate social ambition
as a lever to boost their personal growth towards the light. However,
the inflated person, the person who is posturing for effect in other's
eyes (instead of concentrating on ~being~ what he's claiming), that
person will not have the stamina to live up to the appearances they are
creating, because they don't actually have it in them to begin with.
When the surface veneer wears thin, and the cracks begin to appear in
the armor, then we find out whose persona is integrated and
sustainable, and who is merely striking a pose for the camera. This
NewMoon studded with Saturn and Mercury retrograde looks to be a fine
opportunity for the leonine pretenders to be flushed out of their
costumes.
Of
course, it's not only the posers who have something to learn from this
NewMoon. We all share this type of nervous system that "sees" by
projecting what has been experienced before onto the reality that is
currently being presented. This is part of the awakening that we are
receiving from the new physics, and is very well presented in the movie
"What the bleep do we know?” Even knowing in our conscious minds that
this is what happens, we still extend our neural nets into the world
through a filter of pre-determined judgments that were formed in
previous situations, previous times. It takes an extra act of will and
self-knowledge to look out our eyes and simply see what are there, just
the simple facts of the current case. With this configuration flanking
the NewMoon, we are given a reminder to clear our minds, our eyes, and
our outgoing search-beam of consciousness of all previous contents, so
we can meet the present without the pre-set interpretations that our
pasts have laid upon us through repetition and long habit.
Adding
awareness to this long conjunction are the Ascendant and Neptune
retrograde in Aquarius, respectively opposing Saturn and the NewMoon.
With great clarity and utter disregard for considerations of the
individual, all traces of inflated, fantasized, or delusional thinking
are being exposed to the black light of transpersonal reality. Aquarius
averages the individual into the vast wash of humanity, reminding each
of us that our vaunted Self is but a grain of sand on the beach of souls. Even
the highly achieved, those giants among humanity, recede into anonymity
as the tides of time pound their highest realizations into dust.
Plus, the connectivity and information revolution of the last 20 years has forced us all to finally admit that we live on this planet together, and can't ignore each other anymore. We know now that we share karma with not only each other as humans, but with the animals and the plants and the seas themselves, all embedded in a giant body we mutually depend upon for our very existence. We are simultaneously learning that we have to get busy cleaning up the toxic messes we created when each nation still believed that the world was it's own private island. This Neptune telegraphs to the NewMoon that there's "nowhere to run, nowhere to hide" anymore. It's all or nothing in a very real sense.
One
hidden benefit of this "ascending" placement of Neptune and Uranus (at
least for the West Coast), is that once the outmoded structures that
Neptune is dissolving are washed away, the Uranus arises to spark the
remaining primordial ooze into something brand new and unprecedented.
The moment of NewMoon (8:05 pm PDT) sets the Uranus into a lovely
quintile figure with Saturn and Jupiter on the Leo side of the chart.
We have already seen that Saturn and Jupiter are the {brackets} around
the 6-planet string stretching from Leo to Libra. Now we see that they
also encompass a quintile of distance (that's 72 degrees, 1/5th of a
circle), and they are each equidistant to Uranus, throwing biquintile
(2/5) aspects back and forth and completing the triangle.
Consider
the symbolism: Saturn, the Limiter, and Jupiter, the Opportunizer, are
working together to both elevate and harmonize the "outsider" energies
which Uranus retrograde is dumping into the collective Unconscious
through Pisces. Saturn and Jupiter (who together create our field of
what is possible and what is impossible in the social matrix to which
we all belong) are receiving a barrage of genius and chaos from Uranus,
which they somehow have to ground and balance and absorb into the
already-challenging norms of collective life. 
Luckily, the Quintile is
one of the best aspects for Uranus to make with any other planet,
because it helps to modify the eccentric, chaotic, unpredictable
energies of Uranus with a kind of savvy creativity that can harness
that untamed intensity and, in the best-case scenario, cast it into
forms or activities that are supportive of well-being rather than
upsetting.
As I have been looking through this chart and all the mathematical figures the planets make with each other, it seems obvious that this is the hidden gem of the chart, and those people who can find that razor-sharp point in their lives where they can stand firmly while juggling their obligations and their opportunities without suppressing their creativity or dropping any balls -- those people will be delighted at the openings that will come to them in this next month!
To move beyond this Leo/Aquarius axis: One entire sign beyond the NewMoon, but still within the 7th house (at least for my northern latitude and Pacific time zone), we find Venus, the evening star, in Virgo. This lovely lady has several less-remarkable aspects to her credit, but the Big One is the inconjunct between her placement and that of the Neptune retrograde in Aquarius. We have already seen that the Neptune is busy dissolving our illusions about our self-image and relative worth in the world. Depending on the person, Neptune's reversal in mid-Aquarius should have results that range from flattening to reviving. Add the inconjunct to Venus in Virgo, however, and we see that dissolving force reflected back into ourselves, as a kind of spiritual medicine for the soul.
If
we are out of alignment with our Higher Power's immutable values, this
Neptune/Venus inconjunct might require us to become painfully awake to
a revealing critique within our dream-of-the-self. Of course we each
have our rationale for doing or not doing the many little things that
define our course in the day-to-day world. But what happens on the day
when your just-fine daily rationalizations come up against the reality
that some of your self-justifying excuses directly impact others,
possibly even cutting at the very roots of their ability to survive?
Sometimes it's a moral point that needs deep examination, as in the case of abortion rights, or chemical research that uses animals to test for toxicity to humans. Sometimes it's as plain as the nose on one's face, at least to everyone around us (as in the case of someone having an affair while complaining that their spouse has driven them to it). In any case, due to the inherent perfectionism of Venus in Virgo, there is virtually no way that the real world can measure up to our internalized "shoulds" and expectations. Therefore, this inconjunct from retrograde Neptune can help us unmask our double-standards and skewed values, giving us the chance to both heal and forgive ourselves, as well as heal and forgive the world, for the imperfect, unfinished, and dysfunctional conditions we all find ourselves in.
My
suggestion with inconjuncts is always to "turn around inside your own
aura" and let it in, to notice that there might be a visible gap
between what we think and what is true. We will often hurt ourselves
less if we assent to be moved by these evolutionary forces, than we
will if we stonewall, deny, and resist change to the last. (Not that I
am without resistance, being a person with a Grand Square in the fixed
signs!) It's like shooting the rapids in rafting -- you need a very
high degree of both trust and super fast reflexes to flow around the
boulders rather than smash into them.
Inconjuncts by their very mathematics (150 degrees, 5/12, a supremely discordant fraction) are challenging, like the ripping of the seam along tectonic plates that produces an earthquake. There is great tension, great pressure that could be building up over years or centuries, and then finally it just heaves itself one day and the world is in a new alignment. If the transit of Venus through Virgo is going to precipitate this inconjunct with Neptune right when the NewMoon is peaking, I think it means we all have to face a shift within our self-esteem, and the best value to be had from the experience would come with accepting the correction and embracing the paradoxes that are revealed when it comes. Let us be humbled by the very high standards we are striving to embody, and that will make us better, more effective tools in the unfolding work of the Lifewave!
The
last planet in that string on the descending side of this chart is
Jupiter, and even though he is making forward progress, I would watch
out for him this month. My main reason for saying this is Jupiter is
making a trine relationship with the retrograde Neptune rising. This
means Jupiter could spend his high-quality energy this month
maintaining the most cherished illusions veiling our self-image --
those illusions that burnish our primary relationships and long-term
associations. I'm talking about illusions like "Everything is fine, no
problems here! We have an understanding, to let sleeping dogs lie. I'm
OK, you’re OK as long as nobody's complaining” and other such
sleep-inducing pacifications. Libra energies hate confrontation,
stress, contradictions, or any kind of disagreements, so I fear this
Jupiter will spend so much time disclaiming any hints of trouble or
misunderstanding, that when the illusory aspects are finally allowed
into consciousness, it will create a wallop of cognitive dissonance and
create a pretty expensive hangover.
What
needs to be remembered is, now that Jupiter is no longer retrograde,
his image has got to re-cover an arc of ten degrees just to catch up
with his actual position in space. In fact, the visible Jupiter in our
earthly sky is not the "real" Jupiter in the solar system yet, just the
appearance of the light-stream from Jupiter, as it struggles to unbend
itself and "get straight" again. Once Jupiter has caught back up to the
degrees that were lost during the retrograde period, then we can trust
that he's got his knickers out of the twist, and is transmitting direct
light and unencumbered positivism to us. (That'll be the end of August,
beginning of September of this year.)
Before that time, I would be wary of assuming that our "Great Benefic" is actually delivering the goods in a solid and trustworthy way. I'm more convinced he will benevolently feed out the gilded line that eventually will be used to hang us on our own hubris and self-delusion. Be conservative in what you expect for yourself, and what you promise others! Better to raise low expectations and then exceed them, than to raise high expectations and then fail.
The
last of the visible planets, not yet discussed, is Mars in Taurus. I
like this placement, because earthy Taurus can help cool and settle
Mars' hothead style. However, this Mars is quite closely squared the
Saturn in Leo, suggesting that there might be a temptation to
manipulate circumstances to deliver someone a punishing consequence
that would, in fact, be overkill for their actual infraction. In other
words, some level of irritation, desire to discipline, or rush to
judgment might impair our objectivity in an otherwise-important
relationship, leading to an over-harsh reaction or an exaggerated
desire to "fight fire with fire" in a situation that doesn't warrant
such a drastic response. The hair-trigger reflex that has Mars shoot
before he asks questions is of no help right now! Pack that fast-twitch
trigger-finger in Taurus' mud, so that if the Saturn in Leo tempts us
with "perfectly good reasons" why we need to see somebody drawn and
quartered, we will still be able to remember our nobler sentiments and
let the impulse pass rather than act on it.
The
last of the invisible "outer” planets, Pluto, has waited till the end
because he occupies a special status in this chart. Of all the planets,
points, and nodes that make up this chart, Pluto has absolutely NO
aspects to any of them! I take a Pythagorean approach to the aspects,
which means I track every fraction out to 1/12 (as well as their
multiples). I keep the orbs tight so that every family of aspects has
an equal chance of appearing in the overall mathematical pattern. So
when I say this Pluto has no aspects I'm not just talking about the
standard conjunctions, squares, trines, sextiles, and oppositions.
Pluto's lack of aspects extends across the whole range, from the lowly
semisextile up through the quintiles, septiles, noviles, and even out
to the very obscure family of 11th's. This almost never happens in a
chart drawn by my system, so I find this fascinating and a little bit
alarming.
Pluto can be a very disruptive planet, in that its rallying cry is "Mutate or Die". This "lump of ice and rock" (as described in the media) is so far out at the edges of the Solar System, and moves so slowly, that it has not even made it once around the zodiac since we have discovered it. We are just now learning what Pluto in Sagittarius might mean in collective terms, as we are going through it.
My concern with its un-aspected condition is that, lacking an outlet whereby this forced-evolution energy can penetrate into the collective mind consciously and in an above-board manner, Pluto might find itself lending energy to shadowy groups and underground movements that foster radical change in society by force; through literal or economic terrorism, environmental disaster, or some other antisocial means.
On
a personal level, we might each get real still and try to suss out if
there is a "terrorist in our house", hiding somewhere in our own
unconsciousness. Screen your dreams and fantasies, note the adjectives
you are using when you describe events in your life, and write in your
journal when your feelings get powerful, so you can study them later.
We don't always know if we are harboring a ticking time bomb unless we
screen out all the white noise around us and within us. There's no
telling where the Pluto volcano will rise, because the fault line might
be a mile underground when the crust cracks and the pressure escapes.
All we can do is be very calm, very transparent, and very concentrated
so we can find the thread of the energy and follow that current to
wherever its leading. If Pluto's motto is Mutate or Die, then it is incumbent upon each of us to give our DNA the signal to speed up the rate of change.
For those who are curious about what it means that the headlines say, "there might be another planet just discovered in the solar system", here's my take. This little ball of ice and rock is currently considered to be larger than Pluto, and even farther out on the edge of deep space. Here's a snippet from the National Geographic Online site about whether this new object is or isn’t classifiable as a planet:
"Marsden, of the Minor Planet Center, said there "isn't much doubt" that 2003 UB313 is bigger than Pluto. However, he rejects the idea that the newly discovered object deserves planet status.
"If anything, it suggests we really seriously should go back to eight [planets in the solar system]—the traditional 19th-century ones," Marsden said.
Pluto was discovered in 1930. At the time, astronomers believed Pluto's mass was equal to Earth's. Since then refinements in measurement techniques have revealed the planet's relatively diminutive size (see image of Pluto and Charon compared to the USA).
Marsden said he proposed in 1999 to include Pluto in the catalog of what is now almost a hundred thousand sequentially numbered small bodies. The move would have effectively stripped Pluto of its status as a planet, at least in some astronomical circles.
The proposal was dropped, however, after objections from a minority of astronomers who wanted to preserve Pluto's historical significance.
Now that an object bigger than Pluto has been discovered, Marsden said, this is an ideal time to rectify matters.
If 2003 UB313 is to be called a planet, then a couple of dozen other Kuiper belt objects should be too, as well as the asteroid Ceres and perhaps a dozen other objects in the asteroid belt, Marsden added."
Being
a classicist myself, I hold the Outer Planets (Uranus, Neptune, and
Pluto) as being of only provisional value compared to the older,
visible planets of earlier times. Nevertheless, I find it fascinating
how the stories about these less-well-understood Outer Planets grip the
collective psyche along with those of the Asteroids.
The process of watching the various pro and con arguments unfold seems to accurately mirror the themes of the various decades and cultures in which the arguments were launched. Perhaps it is true what was said by the ancients -- "Whatever myths the humans tell about the Gods, those the Gods must endure".
New Moon Notes by
*Christine Payne-Towler*
Current Phase of Moon: New and waxing, in Leo, Thursday August 4th, mid- to late evening (in the USA)
2nd Quarter, in Scorpio, Friday August 12th, early to mid-evening
Full, in Aquarius, Friday August 19th, late morning to early afternoon. At this point the Moon begins to wane.
4th Quarter, in Taurus, Friday August 26, mid- to late morning.
Newmoon, in Virgo, Saturday September 3rd, late morn to early afternoon.
Research: Esoteric Tarot, Literature and Practice;
Author: Divinatory text at Tarot.com
Author: The Underground Stream;
Bishop, Gnostic Church of St. Mary Magdalene
Founder: Tarot University;
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