Here’s what’s on tap for us this week in the astrological context… Highlights include Mercury getting all kinds of busy in Cancer, and Chiron goes retrograde! Tune in on what’s happening up there, so you can do your best work down here…
What Does A New Moon In Cancer Mean…?
Tonight at what will be 10:31pm in the Eastern Time Zone, where I live, we’ll be experiencing a New Moon. These events happen once per month, and by definition, a New Moon occurs when it appears from our vantage point here on Earth that the Sun and the Moon are occupying the exact same spot in the sky.
This time around, that “exact same spot” will be in the patch of sky that we refer to as the Zodiac Sign of Cancer.
So what might that mean for you…? As always, I urge you to plot this event against your own birth chart to see if it might have any elevated likelihood of manifesting in your life in some definite and undeniable way. Check to see if you have any Planets or any important Points (such as your Ascendant, either of the Lunar Nodes, etc.) in the first few degrees of Cancer, or in the first few degrees of any of the other Cardinal Signs (these are Aries, Libra, and Capricorn).
Also take a look at which House this New Moon will be occurring in for you. As an example, it will all be going down for me in my Eighth House, which can be a pretty dark but sometimes magical place. Your chart may be receiving all this Moon-energy in a very different place, though, and the specifics will affect how this event might end up treating you.
But say you have no access to your chart, what might you expect to come of all this, just in general terms…?
We’re actually asking a couple of related but different questions right there:
1) What does a New Moon mean overall?
New Moons often indicate the beginnings of new cycles. They represent excellent opportunities for starting new adventures, and also for releasing things that have been holding us back. You can advance your own cause at this time by focusing on things you’d like to welcome into your life that hadn’t been there before, while showing unproductive people and things to the nearest exit.
2) What’s a New Moon all about when it’s specifically working through the filter of Cancer?
The Moon loves to work in Cancer territory. This is like the Moon’s home turf: it knows this region, it gets its work done well here, and it feels most like its purest self while in Cancer. The themes of the Crab will likely make themselves felt more strongly for all of us during this event.
This can translate as all of us experiencing our feelings more deeply than usual. This may be good news for those detached types who tend to lead more with their brains than with their hearts, as this can be a chance to harvest more clues than usual as to what’s happening on the emotional plane for those around them. On the flip-side, it can also mean increased emotional vulnerability, too much sensitivity, and a strong urge to withdraw as a means of self-defense.
Greater quantities of Cancer-energy in the mix can also lead to a big boost in our intuitive capacity. Listen to your instincts at this time, and try not to talk yourself out of taking them seriously.
Cancer can also be very fond of nesting, so if those impulses pop up for you now, it may not be a horrible idea to wring some enjoyment out of holing up at home, either alone or with loved ones.
Finally, Cancer is the Sign most associated with the archetype of the Mother. We may all be more likely to be a bit nurturing in our approach toward the world for the next little while, especially as Mars and Mercury are also swimming through the same Cancerian waters as the Sun and the Moon. If you can do it without going overboard, then beaming a bit of motherly-style energy out into the world (and toward yourself) may be rewarded around this particular juncture.
So if you can just go ahead and feel the feels, without taking it all too far, then this could be a very sweet and gratifying weekend. Happy New Moon, everyone!
The Week Ahead in Astrology: June 19 – 25, 2017
Get the word on what’s happening up above this week so that you’ll be all set to bust your finest moves down here below! Watch, learn, prosper…
What Does Neptune Retrograde Mean…?
Yesterday, I posted a video in which I nutshell some of the highlights of the astrological events that are headed our way this week. You can watch that video HERE.
One of those highlights: this Friday (June 16th), Neptune will go retrograde.
But what does that mean, exactly…? People seem to fear the retrograde phenomenon, but it’s hardly a “bad” thing. It means that from our POV here on Terra, a Planet seems to stop and then reverse its trajectory. Of course, we know that Planets don’t actually stop and throw their gearshift mechanisms into reverse like a driver who just barreled past a sweet parking spot — it’s just an optical illusion — but to astrologers, these retrograde intervals still carry real meaning.
And that meaning usually has to do with the Planet in question turning its focus inward rather than outward. That is, when a Planet appears to be moving in this retrograde fashion, then the forces that it symbolizes might tend to manifest less in the external realm of our shared consensus reality, and more in our own inner landscapes.
And you’ve actually weathered many a Neptune retrograde period in your life already, and probably didn’t really even notice. After all, Neptune spends about five months out of every year in this backwards-looking state. Neptune moves slowly through our sky, requiring 165 of our Earth-years to make a single complete circuit around the Sun. To us, it looks like Neptune advances along its orbital track much as the ocean moves up the beach as high tide looms: two steps forward, and then about one and a half steps back…
And when Neptunian energies are turned inward during these phases, we can generally expect that we can plug into our inner worlds even more intensely than we can when Neptune appears to be moving forward in its regular, direct motion. Messages may abound, and come through during meditation, altered states of consciousness, and definitely during dreams.
Here’s a personal example I experienced this weekend (and Neptune hasn’t even gone retrograde yet…but we may be feeling the effects already, as the Planet of the Sea-God does look to us like it’s slowing down even now in preparation for this big retrograde event)…
So two nights ago, I had a dream in which I stood inside a lofty aerial apartment with a sensational view through walls made of glass. As I admired the sweeping vista, two birds flew from out of the middle of the panorama and bashed right into the clear pane before me, and then just kind of stuck there like Spider-Man, shaking off the collision…
The next afternoon, back in the waking world, I sat in my girlfriend’s living room…and a Dove flew into the sliding glass door that opens onto the back patio there (thankfully, as in my dream, the bird was a bit dazed, but basically unhurt).
Then that evening, we were watching an old episode of “The Office” (US version), and in this particular episode…a bird flies into the outer glass wall of the Dunder-Mifflin Scranton building!
So I’m working on my own interpretation of what it might mean when a bird flies into a pane of clear glass…but the main point here is that I believe the concept was definitely being flagged for me. It’s an important message, as I see it, and if I can decode it properly, it will likely hold some real wisdom for me.
And this is the kind of thing that we may all be experiencing as Neptune appears to halt in its course, and then reverse direction. We’ll have until November 22nd — when Neptune resumes the more standard direct motion — to practice our message-deciphering skills. You might consider starting up a dream journal during this Neptune retrograde period, and listening to what the Other Realms and other planes of consciousness have to say…
Astro-Events: Week of June 12th, 2017
This coming week, we’ll be on the receiving end of a whole lot of Mercury/Gemini communication-centric energy… Also: Neptune goes retrograde! Check out this new video to learn what all that might mean for you down here on the earthly plane…
What Does a Full Moon in Sagittarius Mean…?
Tomorrow — that’s June 9, 2017 — la Luna will be waxing full in the Sign of Sagittarius.
Ancient folklore and modern pop culture agree that the Full Moon can mark a time of wildness, emotions running high, animal instincts coming to the forefront of our experience, and even an undercurrent of madness. It’s no coincidence that another word for madness is “lunacy,” right…?
But so what, specifically, does it mean when the Full Moon happens in Sagittarius? Each Sign acts like a filter, so the energies of a Full Moon will always take on the characteristics of the Sign that’s hosting it. What might that mean in this instance?
Sagittarius is very expansive. It’s the Sign of the Archer, and this Archer has a serious case of wanderlust. Sagittarian energy likes to roam, to explore, to go on quests. Beginning astrologers are often advised to focus less on the Archer, and more on the far-ranging arrow, as it’s the arrow that really illustrates this Sign’s need to venture forth into new territory. And Sagittarius likes to take in the big picture – it will opt for the forest over the trees every time you give it that choice.
With the Full Moon occurring in this Sign, these same themes should translate into our lives down below here on Earth. How intensely you’ll feel this in your neck of the woods depends on the unique make-up of your own birth chart, but we may all get a general taste of that Sagittarian vibe.
We may feel drawn to roam in some fashion, whether that’s through literal, physical travel in the real world, or through metaphorical travel into fields of higher learning and complex thought (the law, religion, and philosophy can all serve as great terrain for the Sagittarian mind).
Sagittarius is also optimistic, generous, and often willing to take things on faith. You may feel some of those tendencies rising up within you at this time, too.
A word of caution, though… Notice that bright red triangle in this Full Moon’s chart above that connects the Sun, the Moon, and Neptune? It’s called a t-square, and it can often indicate some form of stress brewing. Neptune in Pisces is a very dreamy kind of placement, allowing us to tune in to parallel worlds and alternate states of consciousness where anything and everything seems possible. As the apex point of a t-square, combined with all that Sagittarian positivity, this could potentially be a recipe for unrealistic expectations. Leaps of faith can be fine and admirable things, but they’re not always the best way to go. Imagine, for example, you attempt one while walking along the edge of a cliff…
So during the next couple of days, it may be a great thing to embrace the bright Sagittarian outlook that wants to take hold in your psyche…but just be sure to add a bit of grounded analysis to the mix before you resolve to take any giant leaps!
When Will We Feel the Full Moon…?
Astrological events take time.
Astrologers tend to focus on exactitude when discussing whatever celestial activities have caught their attention. For example, this coming Friday sees a Full Moon taking place in Sagittarius. The Full Moon is always an occasion when the Sun and the Moon are exactly 180 degrees apart from each other in the sky, as seen from Earth. And sure, if you’re going to feel the energies of a given Full Moon, then the moment of 180-degree precision is when you’re likely to feel it the most.
But what about when the Sun and the Moon are 179 degrees apart? Will we feel it then? How about at 181 degrees…? You probably get the overall question.
And the answer is that astrological events unfold just like real events do here on the earthly plane. Let’s use the Olympics as an example. Say you live in Pyeongchang County, South Korea. The Winter Olympics will be held in your home territory from Feb. 9-25, 2018. But the Games won’t only make their presence felt for that roughly two-week period.
An event of that magnitude involves a long, slow, and rather massive build-up that will send waves of change through the region for months beforehand. You can expect construction, congestion, and hordes of newcomers filing in during that time, well before everything reaches a crescendo next February.
And then on the far side of it, there will be a corresponding dissipation of all of that Olympics-related energy. Non-residents will trek off back to wherever they came from, and the regional bandwidth will turn to other matters. Non-Olympics business will return to prominence, and the Games will fade from the collective front-burners. This, too, is a process that doesn’t happen overnight. The Games won’t be a distant memory by Feb. 26.
Astrological events play out in similar fashion. Although the coming Full Moon will hit its climax this Friday, its building energies may already be making themselves felt around us now. Some of this depends on your own birth chart: Is the Moon a primary force for you? Do you have many placements in Sagittarius, or in the other Mutable Signs? Although astrologers can at times make it seem as though any astrological development occurs only when it hits its moment of exactitude, those events don’t manifest as single, isolated spikes in the clock or in the calendar. Instead, it’s more accurate to think of them as windows being raised…held open for some interval…and then lowered again. Even if a given article or post neglects to weave this idea into its explicit wording, try to remember that any transit up there takes some time to build up and then to release, and you have more than a single day during which to explore it.
This Friday sees not only that Sagittarian Full Moon gracing us with its expansive presence, but a happy Venus/Mars sextile link will become exact, and generous Jupiter will return from out of the retrograde motion-state it’s been expressing for the last four months. But these events are already making themselves evident around us now, and you can try to work with them already if you’re so inclined.
To return to the earlier example: don’t wait until next February to buy your tickets to the Pyeongchang Games, or to make plans to travel into (or out of) the region. Plan and act ahead of time so you can maximize the returns of your participation!
