It will be just 36 minutes after midnight on October 5th in the UT/+0 zone when the New Moon occurs. This will be the last New Moon before November’s solar eclipse and the beginning of the lunation which will set off the ‘revving up’ which will lead to a Lunar Eclipse on October 18th.
That lunar eclipse will occur at 25 Aries, which is one thing we should consider here because Libra-to-Aries is a direct opposition. So this cycle – or at least the first half of this lunation cycle – has a distinct “I/thou” quality. You may experience that in relationships…or how you relate to someone or something going on in the world or your world.
Or in how you conceive of your world and how it works. Because this New Moon begins this experience in Libra, we know the essence of the issue is ‘how to get the results I want to get?’ whether from others or some situation…which is pretty much offset by ‘who am I in this transaction?’ – be that a human transaction, a business transaction, an emotional, financial or experiential transaction.
Yes, we’re in the wonderful world of ‘cause-effect’…otherwise known as what you put out comes back to you. Some would immediately think of this as karma, though your local (or not-so-local, depending on where you are) metaphysician tends to think karma differs from cause-effect. Cause-effect is pretty ‘directional,’ if you will – I talk to you, you talk to me. The actor performs for the audience, the audience applauds or boos.
One of the interesting things about Libra which doesn’t get talked about much…(and which applies not only to whatever house Libra falls on in your chart but also as something of an ‘undercurrent’ with regards to the 7th house of any chart no matter what sign is on its cusp)…is also the idea that Libra is not just about peaceful relationships. Or loving relationships. One of the keywords in the long Libra list is ‘open enemies’…so plainly Libra is not just a sign of cupcakes and roses.
My point about karma is that karma – which is associated with Scorpio (not Libra) doesn’t necessarily come from the direction in which you’re headed. Or which you are addressing yourself to. Karma is the emotive, the energetic side of experience. So you may do good or nasty thing (Call it “Act A”) in one place and the energetic of that emotional intent …which in true Scorpio style you may be owning OR you may be choosing to be in denial about…that will just come around through something entirely different.
With that said, Libra-Scorpio-Sagittarius is the full spectrum of the 3rd zodiacal quadrant. And that tells us that Libra – an air sign – is where we get into the idea of the thing BEFORE we commit ourselves emotionally, or commit ourselves through any of many means which in meaning something to us (or which has meaning to us) creates an emotional relationship.
And that’s what really is so tricky about Scorpio…in Scorpio the emotional relationship is complex where in the theoretical ‘idea of it’ Libra realm, things are pretty simplistic. I have a friend with major placements in both Libra and Scorpio who is forever getting in trouble because they don’t WANT to deal with the fact that the natural progression of any process…be it human or business or whatever…goes from the (Libra) idea of the thing and the talking it through into the Scorpio realm of ‘things at stake’ which they get all kerfluffled up about.
But that’s the process. Trying to avoid part of the zodiacal process…any part of the zodiacal process…by definition is limiting yourself to only getting as far as you’re willing to go.
So this person (who is one of my many Scorpio Moon friends) has a TERRIBLE time with relationships. No, they don’t have to be intimate. Anything personal…and that can be business personal or personal-personal gets them into a quagmire – not so much with the other person as their ability or willingness to take on their own feelings on the subject. And because they choose the Scorpio denial route, they end up creating no end of hassles for themselves and in essence, bogging themselves down IN the very sign dynamic they want to get past.
This is all really important to us now as we move into this Libra New Moon and this Libra-Aries New-to-Full Moon process. Since Aries is the sign of ‘I am’ and all things consciously ourselves, these weeks ahead are going to be full of situations and experiences which bring home to us (that would be the Libra-TO-Aries process) what the ‘who we are being’ (our Libra presentation, our Libra choices of who to deal with or prioritize or listen to, etc.) is…and whether that’s working for us.
Or even if we really like ourselves being that person.
As I say that, let’s keep in that Libra/Scorpio difference in mind, however. Why? Because this Libra New Moon of October 5th (or 4th, for those in the Americas) is the start of the process which is going to carry our Libra concepts and conceptualizations into the wonderful if catabolic world of November’s Scorpio Solar Eclipse.
Solar eclipses are fascinating, no question. And the focus of any solar eclipse is of major astrological concern – again, no question. But the way that solar eclipses tend to function in real life and our real world life involves an ‘eclipse-flavored’ lead in (which I tend to refer to as the ‘breaking down’ period) which through testing us shows up the weaknesses or the fallacies – or yes, the denials – which we have bought into in our lives. What the solar eclipse does is force us to relinquish the false front, the cover-up, the ‘making do’ and the compromises of Self we’ve bought into in order to bring us closer to being who we were born to be to begin with.
You know, before parents and life styles and materialism and corporate advertising and our peer group pressures – before any of that got to us.
The incoming eclipse is Scorpionic. So it’s seriously emotional. It’s evocative and provocative and no doubt people in your world are stirring you up even as they feel stirred up and everybody is going stir crazy under the pressure.
Ultimately the question is all about self worth of a type which asks whether you would respect yourself if you met you. Or would you say ‘that guy has such potential, but he’s selling himself short’ or ‘that woman has every opportunity to do good in this world and instead she’s just thinking of herself.’
(Yes, these two examples have leapt to mind for a reason in my world…but they’re entirely valid, nonetheless!)
Scorpio exhibits itself through power games – so wherever you’re trying to grasp power or exert power over others, that’s the place to look first.
And the reason why I say ‘over others’ is because this month’s ‘phase in the eclipse breaking down process’ is colored by Libra. So we know this is about the idea of who we are being to others – which given the eclipse, they’re likely to be letting us have an earful about!
Another note worth touching on, before we move right along: Libra is the signature dynamic of Gen X (October 1971-April 1972; end of July 1972-early November 1983; late May 1984-late August 1984)…and Scorpio is the signature dynamic of Gen Y: early November 1983 through mid-May 1984 (plus) end of August 1984 through early November 1995.
Gen Y – as a whole – is under an enormous amount of ‘strip-down’ pressure which is aimed at trying to get this generation to get more ‘real’ in a universal sense. Gen Y is challenged by the need to balance their emotional knowing-of-self with knowing and honoring others at THEIR emotional levels. Gen Y was born to live a long and full life of not just ‘power brokering’ or negotiating for what they want, but a life which embraces the ability and willingness to be vulnerable to others on a level which engenders respect.
Really powerful people are vulnerable because real strength knows it can survive no matter what is thrown into their court. This doesn’t mean strong people don’t express themselves. This doesn’t mean the strong person doesn’t say ‘ugh!’ or ‘I’m not having anything CLOSE to a good time!’…in fact, quite the opposite.
Real emotional strength is only present when we are able to own, display and share our weaknesses…and that’s an important step in the process of being human.
This lunation is bringing home to us either the challenges or the things we need to work on…or maybe some new insights on how we’re getting in our own way because of our approach. Through the Libra situation or the Libra interaction or the Libra ‘message from the other’ (business, personal or otherwise) we are being told where we need to look.
And yes, the easiest thing to do is to project and say ‘that’s their problem.’ That’s a classic Libra response – hardly anything is MORE classically Libra, as a matter of fact!
Let's be real here...‘they’ may indeed have a problem. In which case…what is stopping you from helping them understand that problem? That doesn’t mean yelling at them or walking out on them…that means exploring the (Libra) idea of the situation with them.
In the process, if you can get that far, you’re likely to learn a whole lot about yourself, too. That’s just the way things work – especially now. The fabric of time-space seems to draw particularly dense as we move through ‘eclipse season’ and because this season is about the combination of Scorpio-Aires (the Scorpio Solar Eclipse and the Aries Lunar Eclipse) these several months (September and October – leading into November) is all about the experiencing of the Self in a very vital, even primal way.
Or as a friend of mine puts it: profound…a word which strikes me as being the desire to be ‘pro-active’ about finding that thing which will make us feel ‘found.’
By whom? By our Self.
And back to that Gen X thing for a moment…above, I said this: through the Libra situation or the Libra interaction or the Libra ‘message from the other’ (business, personal or otherwise) we are being told where we need to look.
In a nutshell, that’s pretty much the core of the Gen X thing. Gen X (Pluto in Libra) creates a massive attraction to others so that through others Gen X’ers can learn who they are…and aren’t. The Plutonic tendency (which goes with Pluto’s association with Scorpio) to ‘merge’ and be ‘part of the group’ is generally the way this instinct functions. But successful Gen X’ers (which is to say, Gen X people who are successful as being their own person) in time discover who they are supposed to be as distinct from the group or as an individual which is part of some group (or profession) but who has their own very individual way of doing things which has to do with who they are as an individual and what talents and resources they bring to being who they are….that’s the Gen X ‘object.’ As Gen X’ers develop, they may or may not drift away from old friends and ‘the old group’…but as surely as Scorpio follows Libra, the Gen X’er who comes to be their own person and secure in being the person they are will in time find a group which is aligned with their inner energetic – not the sexual one or the societal one, the human one.
Learning how to be human and who they are as an individual human is a seriously Gen X thing.
The Libra New Moon
Oct 5, 2013 - 00:34 a.m. (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location not Specific)
So with that all now toodled and noodled, we’ll wrap up with a few astro-technicals. The degree of this New Moon is 11 Libra, a degree which by “decanate definition” (i.e., which ten degrees of the sign it falls in) is emotional. So the ideas of the moment are fervent. Or maybe really ‘important feeling.’ With the overhanging solar eclipse energetic in the air, even the most theoretical thing is going to evoke more feeling (and feelings) at the moment – so we can all expect more frustration, more elation, more dancing off on a whim and more calling people on their…um…stuff. (Yeah, we’ll go with ‘stuff’ here as the generic.)
That said, this is not a degree known for consistency, constant anything or steadiness of effort, conviction or ‘the ability to transmit.’ This last is particularly important as this New Moon also takes place in opposition to Uranus (in Aries) – so the nervous system and “fits of nerves” (anxieties, flare-ups, etc.) are to pay attention to.
Given the opposition (Libra to Aries) that ‘flaring up’ may also signal ‘something in the air’ either literally or on a more philosophical level. Being thrown ‘off’ by something sudden or some sudden change would also not be unexpected.
This degree (11 Libra) is known to have an association with physical activities – particularly those of a sports or athletic nature. This may serve to be the venue through which other events happen (or other facets of the degree come to light) or it may simply be an interest you run hot or cold on during this period.
Responsibility – a concept often associated with Libra as a facet of “honesty” (with one’s Self as part of this world) is also stressed by this degree and problems having to do with lack of responsibility may well surface. Being that this is an opposition to Uranus in Aries, this may be your irresponsibility which is focused on, or it may be your realizing that someone else is being irresponsible.
Or at least not responsive (as a sidebar conjugation of ‘responsible’) to others. This is, after all, Libra we’re talking about, so very little is going to happen in true isolation here. Someone else is involved or implied or associated with everything, whether they’re in the room or conversation or actively involved in any specific dynamic or not.
How we treat others is also up for grabs here. By itself, 11 Libra speaks to the polarity not so much between good and evil (that’s more emotional and therefore more Scorpio-ish) but between kindness and cruelty as stemming from our regard for how we interact with others.
For whatever reason, I happen to like the Sabian Symbol for this degree very much. (And no, it’s not highlighted in my natal horoscope, so go figger.) The symbol reads like this: MINERS ARE SURFACING FROM A DEEP COAL MINE and its keynote is ‘The need to carry on at ever deeper levels the quest for knowledge which keeps burning the fires of the collective mind of a society.’
As I type that, I can’t help but think about how exactly I’ve been led to this time to be publishing my favorite manuscript of all time. It’s called ‘Reality and Mind’ and I expect it to be out in…oh….maybe a month or so, give or take. It’s ‘high’ (quest) fantasy, which a lot of you love, and it will be coming out as a series of four books – much like ‘Lord of the Rings’ is published as three books.
Ebook publishing formats having not yet caught up with what this manuscript requires, it will be out in print only – at least for a while. But that’s okay…who doesn’t like curling up with an engrossing book?
No, it’s not precisely astrological. But if you think about who wrote it, what do you think the chances are that it doesn’t have in its weaving a goodly measure of metaphysical thought?
Just sayin’…and yes, that keynote and the Sabian does remind me of this work.
More on that, later – as I get more information on when it will be available initially through Amazon and shortly thereafter through any bookstore near you.
In any case, this Sabian Symbol is plainly about ‘things coming to light’ and ideas which we have ‘dug out of the darkness.’ And yet, even while this symbol speaks to going within and digging ever deeper, it also refers to ‘surfacing’ – which is not just bringing whatever ‘jewels’ we have found to the light but our own ‘coming up for air.’
And that's a very interesting idea, particularly here at a Libra New Moon under the auspices of a Scorpio Solar Eclipse. If we understand the idea of a solar eclipse as ‘peeling away’ those layers or that part of our daily life which has hidden or prevented us from being who we really are inside…underneath…within…then this symbol makes a good deal of sense as part of a far greater metaphysical process. Astrologer Dane Rudhyar, in writing about this image, uses the term ‘EXTRACTION’ and in a sense, that’s exactly what a solar eclipse does – particularly when it hits our charts (or more exactly, points in our charts) with any exactness.
The eclipse ‘extracts’ us from the surrounding matrix of life details as surely as the miner extracts the metal or gem and brings that out – as the miner (as a person) is also extracted from the mine.
There are many layers, many facets implied here…rather like one of those sets of Matroyshka dolls where one doll fits into the next.
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Matryoshka dolls
(photo credit: Jeff BelMonte, February 2007)
That the Sun/Moon part of this (at 11 Libra) is conjunct Diadem (“the crowning glory”) speaks to our aims, relationships we care about and how important it is to care about the nature and quality of interactions along with who we choose to interact with.
Nemesis on the Uranian side of this configuration says we may now choose to stand up and embody some deep conviction which isn’t particularly popular…or that something we have been told or warned about comes to pass.
Industria-Pluto-Facies in Capricorn is a collage of effort and boundaries and restrictions and needs which can either frustrate us or which we can take on as the guiding principle by which we reach our goals.
And then there’s Black Moon Lilith plus Alhena/Lachesis in Cancer, a combination which starts with Alhena-Lachesis as a ‘duration of purpose’ or maybe even ‘biding our time’ against which Black Moon Lilith is a denial mechanism on a scale which goes beyond our Self. We may be doing the denying of others or society itself…or society may be ignoring us, even if we have discovered the cure for the common cold.
The trick is to hold all these thoughts in your head at the same time and to utilize them with balance and measured applications. Grand squares (aka grand crosses) are notoriously difficult – which in this month of heading into a Scorpio solar eclipse probably isn’t news to anyone. That this particular grand square is in cardinal signs (indicating action) makes this sort of a ‘taking the plunge’ sort of vibe, but being that the degrees are both in 0-9 first decan degrees (indicating something personal that we do) AND in early ‘teen degrees (indicating our feelings on or about some subject, effort, person, relationship, etc.)…that says we’re moving ahead at least with harnessing or understanding our motivations.
And then we add in a few 'other' points…
Chiron-Vesta in opposition (trine Saturn) speaks to the need to keep our commitments to ourselves…but most of all at a level which we can live with emotionally. So there’s a hint of morality, a hint of the need to care thrown in here. (As if we needed any more reminders?) But maybe even more to the point, Saturn and Vesta are each sitting in signs to either side of this New Moon’s position in Libra. And that adds a whole new layer of…well, maybe frustration. Or feeling offended… criticized… unappreciated. The semi-sextile between Saturn and the New Moon is very much about calling our priorities or values into account and considering that Saturn is very much tied up with the incoming solar eclipse, that’s likely to refer to something which is pretty darn uncomfortable.
Solution: feel your discomfort, grumble if you must - then cope with the reality. The long term reality...which is to say, the one which matters to you (honestly/Libra) as a human.
You know, a person.
The same goes for Vesta’s semi-sextile relationship to the New Moon. Practicality is great. But who or what are you prioritizing – and is that working for you sufficiently that it ‘works’ at a level you can live with emotionally at the ‘way deep down late at night’ sort of level…never mind what anybody else says.
It’s a complicated time. But then, life isn’t supposed to be simple. If it was, we’d all be cardboard cutouts.
And we’re not.
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