We are in the Dark of the Moon. This means that the Sun and the Moon are in the same sign, so their monthly meeting is about to take place. But not quite yet, not till tomorrow morning at 10:32am PDT. In Europe and Africa, that puts this New Moon in early evening hours on Monday, and in the wee hours on Tuesday for those of you Down Under. Once the Moon moved into Cancer yesterday, we found ourselves in a very long Cancer Moon experience, building toward what I am calling the most important New Moon of this most transformative year.
For one thing, we have just been through three eclipses. The lunation that kicked eclipse season off was the New Moon in Gemini on May 22nd. Tomorrow’s New Moon ends this powerful wormhole through consciousness that eclipse season brings. Consider where you were in your body/mind/heart experience back at the end of May, and take a look at how much has happened since then. We have been palpably moved from one consciousness into another. In the past, this psychic shift in eclipse season is something that perhaps only the most sensitive of us could really feel. This year however, because the transformation that is happening is such a powerful collective experience, there isn’t anyone on the planet who isn’t feeling this wild propulsion into new territory. We must allow our intention setting for this New Moon to reflect the growth and awareness we have built as we have moved through the last three months.
Another element that makes this New Moon significant is that it is the second lunation in the same sign; two New Moons in Cancer in a row. Though the term Black Moon refers (technically) to two New Moons in the same calendar month, there is certainly a special and auspicious quality ascribed to what happens when we have two New Moons in the same sign in a row. In Cancer, it is like having a second opportunity to rebirth yourself. One month ago, the Cancer New Moon asked us to set intentions about how we need to care for ourselves so that we might move out into the world with more purpose and direction. And here we are again, just four weeks later, with yet another opportunity to dig into the most intimate spaces in our psyche, dance inside of those scary, vulnerable spaces, and find the intentions that are deep in our hearts about what we need to feel safe, so that we might meet this new world with more courage.
The most alarming element of this lunation is the exact Opposition with Saturn, the Great Teacher. And when I say exact, I mean exact (less than 1/3rd of a degree). The Full Moon is at 28-degrees of Cancer, with Saturn at 28-degrees of Capricorn. That makes this New Moon profoundly Kharmic, and nobody is exempt. The Nodes of the Moon right now are also exactly at 28-degrees; in this case, Sagittarius (South Node) and Gemini (North Node). The Nodes of the Moon are not only a stand-in for the collective consciousness of the Planet, but also our individual sense of destiny, life purpose, and the movement out of the past and into the future. This crisscrossing geometry of these four points all at 28-degrees of the signs they are in form not one, but two Inconjuncts, the Great Eliminator angle that indicates that we are at a fork in the road. This doubles the stakes in terms of how important the choices we make right now are to our long-range satisfaction with our lives.
What is different about this moment of choosing is, well, everything. The precision counts: The more exact the geometry, the more intense the energetic moment, and the higher the stakes will be as we pass through it. The New Moon itself creates the Great Eliminator angle with the South Node (past), so quite organically, we are each being forced to choose a new direction by virtue of walking away from past patterns. Saturn, the Great Teacher and the Lord of Kharma is generating the Great Eliminator angle with the North Node (future), reflecting the absolute demand for everyone on the planet to create a brand new direction into the future, based on the lessons we have been learning this year.
If you have read my work for any bit of time, you know that I am subject to hyperbole. But every once in a while, I want to say something big and sweeping, and I feel I need to qualify that my hyperbolic pronouncements are warranted. Every. Single. Person. On. The. Planet. Is. Facing. This. Demand. For. Change. No one is exempt, and we are all in the same boat. How you respond to this moment is pure free will. You can look at this new world, call it bad, and continue to resist, reject the changes, or get lost in the nonsense of conspiracy and intrigue. Or you can dive deep into your own belly, and lean more profoundly into yourself. This moment of choice is extraordinary. What path do you want to traverse as we move into this new world we are birthing? Who do you want to be? How do you want to express yourself? And perhaps most importantly, what do you need in terms of caring for the Self so that you might move into this brand new world with courage, conviction, and a true sense of how you are to serve humanity?
Cancer is a water sign, and all about home and hearth, so be sure to include some water as part of your ritual. You can bet that I will be in the bathtub at some point before this process is done. But there is also something about mirror work that feels valuable to mention at this time. When I think of the New Moon in such a precise Opposition with Saturn, that reminds me a bit of how much work it takes to be able to look yourself directly into a mirror and tell yourself, “I love you.” In this model, you are the Sun and Moon, and the act of standing in front of the mirror is pure Saturn. Give that a try and see how comfortable or uncomfortable it makes you. Then keep doing it as a practice until you can keep your own loving gaze without the need to break it. If you cannot fully love yourself right now, how can you love the world at a time when she needs so much love from us all?
