Often called the New Moon, the time when the Moon, Sun and Earth line up in exact conjunction is called the dark of the moon. The traditional reference to the new moon is the first sliver of a crescent that can be seen just after the conjunction. The Moon changes signs around 9:30 AM PST, and then moves into exact conjunction with Neptune at 10:48 AM. Today at 2:35 PST, the Moon reaches 2 degrees of Pisces lining up between the Earth and the Sun so that it is no longer visible from Earth.
The alignments and the rotation of the Earth, moves us into the final month of the lunar year, and through the doors of transition equipped with full awareness, presence and a sense of being. We are called upon to live in full awareness of the unity of body, mind, spirit, and of acting with intention from heart-centered knowledge as well as our senses and intellect.
At this point in our lives we enter the final month of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, we enter the final month of summer. Winter represents the time when the lands go fallow, our lives focus more on internal rest, reflection, and meditation. It's a time when what we have sowed over the last year lays deep within the earth to germinate and grow. Likewise, our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, plans, ideas, creativity rests in a fertile time of brooding. It is a time to allow ourselves, our dreams, our ideas, our plans to incubate in the warmth and tender care of our hearts and of the lives we nourish through the practices we use to tend to our temple (body, mind, spirit). Summer represents the time when life is coming to full bloom and fruition. What we brood over in the nests of our being in the winter, come to life in the summer. Now as we seek a deepening experience of life, we may become more aware of how our lives reflect our beliefs, conscious and unconscious parts of our being, and our choices.
I've been reading a lot about what others have to say about this new moon, and I think it is interesting to see how differently we can each look at the same aspects, events, experiences, and possibilities, and see such different visions, outcomes, and trends. My Mother used to remind me that the aspects of life --those things that happen outside our awareness, control, or understanding--impel us they do not compel us. One of the interesting observations that Emily Trinkaus makes about this New Moon is that it seems to have raised issues of grief and mourning for some. Simone Butler writes in MoonCircles of the aching that some feel during this time, to fill the voids in their lives. She also refers, as I do, to the struggle some have to trust the Unknown power that some describe as the Transcendent (that great mystery which is beyond all knowing). The powerful archetypal line up of the Moon, Sun, Neptune, and Mercury in Pisces, with other aspects, quickens our longing and search to discover how to come to an understanding of how fate and free will join in unity in our being. Our lives are formed according to how we use the gits of our being, how we respond and react to the consequences of our choices, and more importantly, by forces, activities, relationships, and the kismet effect. Regardless of how we might plan, examine our consciousness, or make our decisions, our lives unfold according to a greater and more mysterious set of principles. The archetypes that are woven into our very identities and beings, provide a key to the universal principles that unite us with other people, but also with the very Universe in which we live. "We are stardust..." the lyrics tell us. There is some underlying awareness that we are the "stuff" of being. At times like this, when the mystical nature of our being is revealed and more apparent, we have the opportunity to expand our experiences of our connection with Divine principles.
Neptune's conjunction with the Sun opens the channels of the imagination and heightens our intuition. Our perceptions are wide open, and through our practices of meditation and prayer, through our dreams and connections with our spiritual neighborhood, we are more able to tap into the support and help we need to access a deeper level of meaning, connection, and action. Our senses are heightened. Our intellect is sharpened, and experience a wholeness of being that may be unusually powerful. This is a time for contemplation. This is a time to seek more balance on our energetic levels.
The Sun and the Moon also will sextile Jupiter today. Jupiter was the traditional ruler of Pisces before Neptune's discovery. As a Pisces, I tend to look to the archetypal energy of embodied in Jupiter to understand this powerful energy. Jupiter in Taurus, an earth sign, grounds us in our connections and relationships. Whoever or whatever we seek to embrace and connect in the world of nature, is calling us to pay attention to what our bodies, our minds, our intuition/dreams/insight, our souls, our emotions, our activities, our health...all areas of our lives demand, need, and foster.
The New Moon is also in conjunction with a fixed star called Fum al-Hut (Arabic for the Fish's Mouth), the brightest star in the Pisces Australis constellation. One of four royal stars of ancient Persia and Medes, the archetypal energy of this star is depicted as the Archangel Gabriel. The Angel Gabriel is said to instruct souls before they are incarnated into the body for their voyage and journey on Earth. The Four Royal Stars guided the ancient mariners, and symbolize for us today that we are divinely guided if we choose to look for the signs that light our way, whisper in our ear, rise to greet the day and challenge us to honor the course of our journey. This morning I was looking through a box full of rocks a I had collected long ago. They had been stored away for years, and I opened them to examine them before I settled on what to do with them. Years ago my sister had made a collection of heart-shaped rocks for me, and I had recently been wondering where they were. There amid the box of stone, rocks, and shells, I started finding little heart-shaped stones. I had found the collection she had made for me, and I carefully put the stones back together. Next, I reached into the box, and found a dusty heartshaped object. At first I thought it was a stone, but after I washed it off, I discovered it was a small angel embedded in a piece of resin. There amid the stones, the symbols of this new moon, the hearts and the angel, appeared in the base and earthy collection of stones I had collected over the years. This little find is symbolic for me of the daily discoveries and signs that are available to us, if we choose. We can as easily dismiss, ignore, or diminish the power of the symbolism that is alive in the world.
This New Moon awakens within us the possibilities of taking in the power of the Universe, the strength of the tiniest symbol or object, the stillness to be found within, the magic of thought, word, and deed, and the energy that enlightens, fills, heals, and guides. It's all a part of who we are, where we live, and what can extend our being into a deeper more spiritually fulfilling life. Embrace the glory of the magic of the day. Spread your arms to release your love into the Universe. Send the energy of your thoughts, prayers, and blessings to those who need it; to those you love. Take some time during this powerfully energetic time to consider how you are expressing your being, what you are creating, and what of lasting value, are you about? Embrace the gift of your being, and honor those of others. Release that which dishonors anyone or anything, and be still in the gifts of the moment before you. Your destiny is not in the distance nor trapped in the past. Your destiny is yours now, at this moment, right where you are. Be grateful, forgiving, and loving, of yourself and others. Seek forgiveness of anyone or anything that traps your soul, and sit without judgment of yourself or those you fail to understand. Be grateful for the gifts; be grateful for the lessons. Live the life you have.
With this Moon cycle in Pisces, focus is on a deepening of spirituality, and a greater faith and reliance on one's intuition, imagination, and dreams. Tonight, around 8:10 PM the Moon's sextile to Jupiter calls upon us to consider how to turn our dreams into reality.
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