Run-up to the New Moon

While Saturn transited Cancer during the last two years, family relationships have been the focus for the principles of authority-responsibility and structure-control. From 16 July, Saturn is in Leo and these principles will now be focused through the governing of society. This is particularly clear with Saturn’s opposition of Chiron. Chiron in the first degrees of Aquarius represents a wounded faith in human behaviour, so clear after the London bombings. Since then, there has been time to express those emotions which follow shock and grief, and which were stopped in their flow, after the 9/11 disaster, by Bush’s revengeful whirlwind. This time, the shock and grief have been allowed to unwind and, at least begin, to heal - the positive face of Chiron – with diverse neighbourhoods and communities holding together in shared pain and sympathy.

It is not simply a matter of people being lovely to each other, but more pertinently accepting the truth of any situation before reacting. So much reaction is due to previous personal experience and not relevant to the actual situation itself. It is the fear we harbour that creates unkind and brutal reactions to people we hardly know. When we focus on the actual person in front of us, who they are and how their life feels to them, an absolutely natural human response is to be kind.

Mars from Aries to Taurus

On 28 July, Mars completed his 1 ½ month transit of Aries, and entered Taurus, squaring both Chiron and then Saturn. Perhaps this is the feeling of pure energy suddenly driving into the earth and slowing to a point of inertia. Working flat out with urgent Aries energy is difficult for the earthy body to tolerate for long, as is experiencing the shock of sudden aggression where there was peace, and the fear of its repeating. After a period of such stress, our body runs down and needs to recover, and Taurus is the natural healer, Earth herself. Mars will make his retrograde movement this year while in Taurus, so he will be there from now until February 06. Much of that time, Mars will be within reach of squaring Saturn in Leo, so we have plenty of time to adjust our style of action to what works. That’s the key phrase I will try to bear in mind for myself – ‘approach carefully, and do what works!’ With this attitude, we have the opportunity to achieve many things we’ve not had the grit to get down to before.

The new ‘tenth’ planet.

Another planet really has been discovered. It first showed up in photographs in October 03, was only recognised as a planet in January 05, and was announced to the world last week, on 29 July. So far it is referred to as 2003 UB313, and, though the name Xena has been proposed, the International Astronomical Union will make the final decision. It is probably larger than Pluto, and at present is twice as far from the Sun. Its orbit is around 560 years, as opposed to Pluto’s 248, and even more eratic than Pluto’s, sometimes bringing it closer to the Sun even than Pluto!

Each new major body discovered in the solar system seems to correspond with a shift in general human awareness. Just as with Pluto, and with Sedna recently, astrologers will have to play with the new planet’s character-name and position to get a feel of what it might represent in human terms. At the moment it is at about 21 Aries – lovely, considering that Mars, who is Aries’ ruler, earthed its energy in Taurus the day before the announcement was made! Also in the New Moon chart, Mars sextiles Uranus, emphasising the bringing of new off-planet ideas to earth.

This discovery has brought into the open once more the discussion as to what makes one body ‘out there’ a planet, and not another. It is as though the discoveries laugh at our rules of definition! If Xena is to be the planet’s name, the laughter is even louder, because Xena is the name of a powerful Greek goddess - who was invented only in the 1990’s! It seems humanity is ready to accept that there is no need to remain rooted in our past – another sign of the Aquarian Age? Certainly Xena celebrates the equality of women with men. Let me know your ideas on what shift in our awareness this planet may indicate.

New Moon in Leo – 5 August

All the above brings us to the New Moon moment in Leo, when Sun, Moon and retrograde Mercury, all sextile Jupiter on the Moon’s South Node in Libra. The Sun rules Leo and is therefore the most powerful of the group, tending to pull into its naturally positive life force all events (Moon) and communications (Mercury). Mercury retrograde implies that we are talking over old events, and the Libran addition suggests that those events are affecting our personal relationships. There is the possibility here that, through gentle discussion, we may find again the love between us that has been hidden under the hard experiences of life.

This Leo bunch is opposite Neptune. We may find ourselves somewhat confused, trying to put too good a face on things. We may know that ‘all is well’ on one level, yet not know how to apply that to the day to day experiences. However, Venus, quincunxing Neptune from Virgo, is showing us that it is care of each other from our inmost soul that brings all things together. Also, Jupiter is coming up to trine Neptune, and our sensitivity to the harder aspects of the human condition can work to smooth out much of the past.

On a more personal note, we may find ourselves too ready to complain about things not being clear, getting depressed about the world in general and our own frustrations in particular. The route through this morass is to keep the heart lifted, and to focus on what we can do to improve things. As always we need to remember that it works to ask for help and guidance through whatever personal links we each may have with the greater Life. Humanity is building a conscious bridge between spiritual awareness and daily experience, and each of our individual efforts adds to the strength of the bridge for us all.

With Mars square Saturn in this New Moon chart, the background scene could look potentially aggravating for anyone trying to control their situation. But Mars, who is ruling the Aries North Node, is in Taurus, so it is by slowing down and considering the natural organic route, that we find our way forward.

Meditation for this Leo New Moon:

Find pleasure in being who you are,
pleasure in experiencing nature and loved ones through your five senses.
Enjoy breathing
– it helps to open up the heart area.
Take regular moments
to enjoy whatever you can
in your immediate surroundings.

Practise feeling loving,
and feeling loved.