Approaching the Libra New Moon

Today is Monday, Sept. 26, 2011. The Moon is in Virgo all day, which can have a mental or perfectionist feeling. Make sure you know that feeling is in the background — that you have to get it right. It may be more of an annoyance than an inspiration. Yet while this happens, the emphasis of the sky is on Libra. We now have four of the traditional planets (Mercury, Venus, Sun and Saturn) and an important asteroid (Juno) in Libra, and we’re about to experience the New Moon in that sign on Tuesday at 7:08 am EDT. Though the equinox was technically Friday, we are still in the equinox time of year, that first moment of the new season. Feel it while it’s here to experience.

For the next day or so we’re in the dark of the Moon (just before the New Moon), which can be one of those times when you might feel a loss of momentum, greater desire to sleep, and the desire to go into your inner world. If you’re feeling those things, definitely respond as best you can — even if you’re busy, find an hour or two to honor your inner existence. Yet the week of the New Moon is also the time to set your goals, intentions and desires for the new month.

So despite what may be a drifting sensation, or the sense that you cannot quite get people to agree with you, be gently persistent. Keep your focus on what you want, what you’re doing and what you want to do. Take satisfaction in small accomplishments, never forgetting the larger goals you hold.

These last hours before the New Moon are a truly useful time to do this. Most astrologers advise that the moment of the New Moon is a good time for meditation, ritual and celebrations, but for manifesting and setting goals, it’s helpful to work with the end of the old cycle as a time for working out the beginning of the new one.

This New Moon has high mental focus. Many planets align with the Sun and the Moon at the same time, which means that we will be feeling it in a bold and direct way as some kind of inner decision process. The aspects include both the Sun and Moon square Pluto; Sun and Moon conjunct Mercury; and then Mercury square Pluto as a result. This whole arrangement has a sense of urgency. Libra, while it has a reputation of being laid back, is an action-oriented sign, and this is the time for action that begins from the inside out. So in the true spirit of Libra, start the business of meeting your most important goals.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the threshold represented by Libra ushers in a time of reaping. It is the time of harvest. This is the season of release and surrender for the vegetative kingdom, and we get the benefits. It’s also when we see the colors that make up up the beautiful green we’ve been looking at all spring and summer. Autumn is a moment of transparency.

The Sun is now past the equinox point, where the days give way to longer nights. The natural environment seems to be putting limits on our expansion at this time of year and guiding us back inward. Yet unlike in agrarian times, in Western world enterprises (such as companies and schools), the cold months are the most economically productive time of the year. We all remember that ‘back to school’ feeling of autumn.

The Sun is now in the sign that Saturn is occupying, so we may have the feeling of approaching a limit. In astrology, the Saturn principle is about limits, but it’s also about the structure that supports us. It’s helpful to think of it both ways. So as you consider your goals, also consider some of the structural adjustments that will support them — the establishment of agreements and boundaries. We live in a time when there are a lot of ads for ‘every man for himself’. Yet the truth is that nothing happens without cooperation.

That may happen spontaneously — so be open to it. The Sun and Mercury are opposite Uranus, which has an awakening energy, a self-reinventive energy. Sun and Mercury (and indeed the New Moon) opposite Uranus are about negotiating the freedom to move, and at a the same time, about a compromise between limits and liberation.

Sun opposite Uranus is about setting yourself free somehow, but with the Sun approaching Saturn we have to consider that as well. The Saturn principle is about healthy boundaries. Saturn represents the walls of the ancient city and the skin on your body. Healthy boundaries must have openings for exchange of energy. Healthy boundaries are neither too rigid nor too flexible. Healthy boundaries are semi-porous, allowing necessary matter, energy and information to flow through but not any extraneous materials. When boundaries become too rigid, a system stagnates and implodes. When boundaries become too open, chaos ensues and a system becomes incoherent. So this week’s oppositions will be about both setting and defining limits AND opening yourself up to a little chaos. You may even need to oscillate back and forth between these positions in order to get the correct balance in your life.

Recently we’ve talked about balancing the four elements of fire, earth, air and water. It might be useful to look at the concept of balance through another lens. Curiously, the Native American medicine wheel or Sacred Hoop has four quadrants or directions organized around a sacred center, the center-point where the Great Spirit dwells. These four quadrants are oriented to the four cardinal directions: North, South, East and West. These four correlate to four basic archetypal ways of being, made up of two pairs of opposites which should naturally balance one another. North=generosity and is balanced by South=mastery. West=individuality which is balanced by East=belonging. In this scheme the ‘soul’ or ‘self’ is viewed as consisting of four fundamental parts, and each are connected to the others. If one part gets neglected, all the other parts will become sick because self is out of balance. Ideally, you as the person in the center of the hoop are to take care of yourself by keeping all four parts of your life in balance. In this way you reside in the center with Great Spirit.

This week’s oppositions across the Aries/Libra axis clearly seem to be asking us to balance our needs for independence with our needs for belonging, and that is the theme of the New Moon. Today’s aspects are inviting us go within and contemplate the balance of our lives, and the balance of our goals. Where could we use a little more chaos, adventure or autonomy? Where could we use a little more belonging-ness, relationship and the limits that come with these? How can we negotiate for the space necessary to get the autonomy or relationship we need?

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