New Moon in Cancer, Total Eclipse of the Sun: Seeking Safe Haven

On Tuesday, July 2,2019 at  12:16 a.m., the New Moon in Cancer forms a total eclipse to the Sun. The effects of the New Moon in Cancer will affect what happens for the next six months. Cancer rules all issues domestic including: personal/domestic, family, security, relationships/identity for women, heritage/ancestry/karmic ties, and all things that help us create a sense of home and safety. We will be focused on finding our home base, within and around us, and in securing it so that domestic tranquility is secured.

This is the time to listen to our inner sense of what home means to us. Where do we feel most at home with ourselves and our surroundings? How do we define within ourselves, that sense of peace and serenity that we need to feel grounded and at peace with ourselves and our families? How does our life reflect who we are? What community and circle of familial and friendships do we bond with as we create our home? It is essential during this time that we pay close attention to more than just how we believe something should or should not be done. How we think home is most reflective of our true needs and desires, or not. Intuitive, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs must also be part of any decisions we make at this time, especially regarding home and hearth, the place where we know we belong.

Being that this New Moon in Cancer occurs and forms a total eclipse, indicates this is a new beginning. Before us a new path emerges out of a long period of chaos and uncertainty (in whatever area of your life this New Moon/eclipse falls). For example, it may not fall in the 4th house of home (where all things domestic reign), but in the 9th house of wisdom and belief where we learn to understand and define for ourselves, what home is meant to be. Look to the house which Cancer reigns and the houses/planets that are aspected. That will help you better understand the challenges you might be facing--the areas of learning or growing edge. In my chart this new moon trines the water sign areas that rule creativity and children, art and pleasure as well as how I appear in the world and how I come to define myself and what I value.  The changes in this case, may be more about an inner development than what is appearing externally.  If the New Moon in Cancer were forming aspects to the earth signs however, you might find events and decisions creating some challenges for you to pursue in breaking up older patterns in favor of new ways of approaching your life. With aspects to air signs the challenges might appear more in the form of how your ideas, mind, and plans are shaping up, and for earth signs, the challenges may be found in the activities and toil required right now to bring forth what is new in your gardens. Notice what areas in your life seem to be in flux, and moving in a new direction over the next six months or so.

Cancer is the natural ruler of the Moon. The Moon influences our emotional temperament and helps us find our bearings in and through the challenges and opportunities we greet each day.  When the Moon transits through Cancer, our emotional need for security, especially in the house where we find Cancer, marks a significant time for us to become more mindful of what brings us to equilibrium. What we need to function well on a day to day basis is a sense of well being. Our emotional temperament has a great deal to do with whether or not we feel in balance. Notice where you feel most  'at home' during this lunar phase. Our emotions often signal the areas in our lives where we feel vulnerable, in need, or at a loss for some kind of significant balance.  Rather than trying to control or deny the emotions (I'm fine, when we're clearly not), notice and acknowledge whatever concerns or fears you might have so that whatever is triggering our emotions doesn't go underground and create greater upset and imbalance.

Remember "Whatever isn't expressed is suppressed."  And that's not necessarily going to be helpful in the long run. What is suppressed will fester and rise again, in a more virulent and aggressive way. An example might be when someone tries to 'forget' about a traumatic event. What is normal and even serves as a means of  survival at first, becomes a problem if not allowed to come to the surface in time. The New Moon in Cancer gives us an opportunity to approach what may seem like 'old issues/problems/challenges/ways of thinking and being, in a new way. And the motivation for this will be Cancer-related about finding our emotional home base-within and around us. Lately I have heard more people talking about wanting to connect with and appreciate more, their connections with community. We all do this in different ways. One person may decide to refocus on the community at hand, while another may choose to leave an established community in search of a new environment, calling, or sense of purpose. However you choose to respond to the call for greater domestic harmony and security, this New Moon in Cancer and the total Solar Eclipse will definitely find us closing doors and heading off in new directions. How this manifests depends on you.

The most important element of this New Moon in Cancer is knowing who you are. When we act unconsciously, without regard for who we are and what we require, believe, and desire in the way of well being and emotional harmony, we may miss the opportunities that lay before us. What appears as disruption, disappointment, or dissolution, may actually be the very signs we need to help us discern what is falling away and dying in our own lives.  Everything changes on a regular basis. Nothing is designed to last forever, and so if we keep trying to hold onto something that is dead or dying, we find ourselves struggling against a rising tide. Notice what you have been resisting, and consider how you may be blocking your own good.  Mourn the passing, walk in grace, and embrace the inflow of blessings and new opportunities. Also look into the faces of those who nurture, love, support, and affirm you, and live in appreciation for what gifts you already possess. Often the goals or objects of our desires, are really much less important than the more intangible ones. And the concrete, practical presence of those we love and care for are more real and authentic that the fantasies that would release us from the healthy and supportive relationships that make our journey more fulfilling.

While we live in a results-oriented and driven culture, how we live in peace with ourselves and those we love is really much more sustaining in the long run. When our safety and security needs are not met, we find ourselves in danger both psychically and physically. As this new lunar cycle is unfolding, notice how your personal and professional/collective needs/goals are aligned to fulfill your basic needs. Consider how you need to make adjustments or integrate learnings to meet with your own changing needs and goals. As is often the case at transition or turning points, something is left behind. The known. What is ahead is often not discernible yet. That often makes the future seem scarier. However, and I speak from experience, sometimes that which we fear or resist the most, ends up being the most fulfilling and rewarding. There are no new discoveries without the willingness to take risks and take the first steps forward. One of the best ways to enter transition is in surrender to the good. After all the discernment, we come to a point when we benefit most by taking the risk and then moving on the momentum it releases. Energetically too, when we create space by letting go of something, we make room for something to enter. Make some room for your good to flow in.

Much of what has been happening in our lives in the past year or two has been about the breaking down and breaking apart of various 'knowns' and aspects of our lives. It may be more on the outside for some (loss, change, movement, new input) while more on the inside for others (shifts in belief, understanding, knowledge, inner desires and needs). Or it may be a combination. However it is transpiring for you, do your best to stay grounded in what fits your own inner code of ethics and conduct and whatever reinforces the answer to the command: Remember who you are. It is in remembering who we are in our essence, that we find true peace and belonging.

The New Moon in Cancer, the Total eclipse of the Sun, also conjuncts the North Node. The North Node is the gateway to the future, and as such this New Moon, eclipse are even more potent than normal new moon cycles. We are often dealing with karmic energy (what we've brought into life to resolve and/or what we've created in this life to settle). This new eclipse cycle Cancer-Capricorn last occurred between 2009-2011.  Reflect back on what was happening at that time to get an idea of what might be resurfacing at this time. For me it coincided with a major move and break from one type of life to a completely new one. Similar changes are occurring now.  While most eclipse cycles trigger change over a course of 3-6 months per eclipse, the current transits are strengthened and may have more long term effects, stretching well into late July, 2020.

Other Aspects:

Mercury and Mars have both moved into Leo, the fire sign that propels both action and communications.

Venus is just a couple of days away from entering Cancer at the time of the New Moon, making whatever house is ruled by Cancer in your chart, packed full of energy.

Uranus is in Taurus squaring Mercury. This indicates there may be some mix ups in communication or delays of some type.

Neptune in Pisces trines the New Moon in Cancer, thereby enhancing our intuitive insight. Pay attention to dreams, inner nudges, inspiration, and  signs and messages that come to us at this time. Your subconscious releases all kinds of helpful information now. Pay attention.

Saturn is in opposition to the New Moon and Sun, and thus we may be facing a major life lesson at this time (from now until July 2020). If we fight the lesson, the way will be more difficult. If we 'go with the flow) it will work more easily and will be more enjoyable.

Look to the next year as a time similar to getting on a slow-moving train on which you are a passenger traveling through unexplored territory. Notice what is calling you forward. Notice what is calling you to answer the command of the Old Deuteronomist. "You have before you the choice between life and death---choose life."  Nothing could be more important to each of us at this time. Choose what gives you life and blesses all.

New Moon in Gemini Uniting Within

Tide Pools                                   Catherine Al-Meten Meyers

At 3:03 A.M. on June 3, 2019 the New Moon in Gemini opens up to new lunar cycle. The Gemini-Sagittarius axis encourages us to develop both our personal and social communication skills. It’s a time to listen to what others have to say as well as a time to recognize the we are not alone in our life choices nor in our understanding of what is meant to be. In a culture like ours that focuses so much on the individual sense of independence and personal responsibiltiy we sometimes feel choices depend on what we seek or desire, alone. This new lunar cycle is a time when we seek to understand better how our own fate is dependent on what is going on in a multitude of other people’s lives and conditions. Knowing what we want is not enough for it to simply occur. Divine right timing may not be in accord with our timing at all. The challenge for this New Moon in Gemini cycle is to come to a deeper understanding of what is needed in our own habits and patterns of life in order for changes to happen that are beneficial and harmonious.

The Gemini New Moon occurs at 12/34 °, the second decan of Gemini. This will have a powerful impact on those with planets, points, and transits between 9-17° of the mutable signs (Gemini,Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces).  Look also to the houses in your chart/life where these mutable signs reside. The Sun in Gemini has been waxing for nearly two weeks, so the Gemini energy has already begun to affect us all, personally and collectively.  Mercury, the planet of all forms of communication, is in the waning degrees (27° Gemini), and will soon be entering the energy of Cancer. Movement toward transition in the Gemini cycle means that your feelings, intuition, dreams, and the general energetic environment has already been buzzing with the nudgings and urges to be heard and to hear with greater attention and care. Be sure to notice the house/area of your life where Gemini reigns. This will be the area that is most affected by this lunar season. Changes in this area will be profound and powerful.

Mercury is very at home in Gemini, and you might notice you’re doing a lot more socializing as well as seeking out more depth in friendships, relationships of all kinds, and in how you wish to understand the world you live in. Curiosity and passions are awoken during this cycle, especially on the intellectual level and in the area of social interaction and activism. Because there is so much stimulation, distractions may be a major issue for us too. It is important to give ourselves enough time to quiet our minds and lives in general, and to take time to reflect and reconsider plans, especially after experiencing so much input. Mercury is near last degree of Gemini as the New Moon in Gemini peaks. On June 4 Mercury will enter Cancer, where it will stay until June 26 (when it enters its retrograde phase until July 19.  Keep this in mind when making plans as decisions and actions are best made prior to the retrograde phase, if at all possible.

Venus has been in earthy, sensual Taurus since May 15. She will enter Gemini on June 8. Until that date, our sensual appetites, love of pleasure and beauty will continue to color our view of the world as well as the choices we are pondering. There is also a great deal of concern about the quality of our purchases and choices, and elegance and solid practicality are favored over temporary or superficial ones. Love and romance have us yearning for tangible expressions during the Taurus transit as well. We require solid expressions of devotion. The tone Venus sets after June 8 when she enters Gemini is quite a switch. Variety, curiosity, and a more detached view of love and romance lightens our emotional senses. Intellectual stimulation becomes more important for us than the more pragmatic expressions of Taurus. The growing edge of this transit is noticing how our more lighthearted and perhaps more fickle view affects those relationships we value most. “Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold” reminds us not to disregard or abuse our trusted relationships in favor of variety and intrigue.

Mars has been in Cancer since May 15, and will remain there until July 1. Mars in Cancer moves us into the realm of safety, security, and the nurturing of home, hearth, and family. Mars, planet of action, softens some in the realm of watery, emotional Cancer. We are more drenched in the emotional aspect of how our actions affect ourselves and others. Emotional harmony is one of the key needs during this transit. There may be a tendency to be a little moodier than we normally feel (especially if we are not water sign people). On the other hand for those with more water in their charts, this might be a very positive, balanced time with less the stress and edginess of the recent transit through an air sign. We feel more connected and grounded emotionally.

Marina of DarkStar Astrology calls the New Moon in Gemini, the Balancer.  As in all signs, the oppositions, polarities, and dualities innate in the energy of Gemini can affect us in one of two ways. We can fight or resist the duality or we can seek a blending and balancing, a movement toward wholeness. The best way of course is to see how opposites blend to help us cultivate both sides of our inner conflicts and the natural polarities in our nature and the nature of the world in which we live. Fighting and resisting leads to more conflict, greater stress in meeting challenges, and in delays in coming to wholeness or in finding solutions in allowing the unfolding to take place in our lives. This New Moon in Libra occurs as the Moon transits the constellation of Orion. Unlike many of our recent New Moon cycles, there are few heavy aspects to this New Moon. A semi-sextile (think of it as a harmonious nudge or gentle encouragement) of the Moon and Sun to Mars. This makes the energy of the New Moon in Gemini feel more like  release of pressure and stress than other recent transits. That doesn’t mean, however, nothing is afoot.

Orion is one of the more potent and powerful, lusty and sexually energizing constellations, so this will be a very stimulating time. Love, courtship, fertility, and the conquest are highlighted with this new moon. This may express itself in different ways, depending upoin what part of your chart/life the Sun and Moon are currently transiting. It could bring more intrigue, twists and turns, and surprising behind the scenes mystery. Gemini sparks the desire to debate, conquer, compete, and challenge (intellectually). If one does not have a well-developed intellect or sense of social justice and a strong moral code, this intrigue could lead to less than positive and downright dirty tricks. So it’s best to keep watch to make sure you’re not drawn into something that is not what it sells itself to be. There may be a pull between familial obligations and a desire for personal pleasure. This may also manifest as a pull between duty and obligations with work/career and career and a desire and need to be free from responsibilites and the daily routines that may have been weighing you down. We’re nearing a change of seasons and the end to the academic and school year so the need for a more leisurely life may hold the answer to this tug of war. We all need to take breaks, find ways to rest more and restore, especially after a long period of hard work, heavy obligations, and nose-to-the-grindstone kinds of periods. Plan some breaks. Take time off. Set aside a part of every day, indeed within each work period, to stand up, stretch, take a walk, change your pace and perspective. Move things around a bit, and start looking at the world a bit differently. Open windows, get some fresh air, start an exercise routine that takes advantage of the outdoors and nature. Do what you can to build in tranquility, serenity, renewal, and refreshing changes into each day. Be wary of trying to hold the reins of your life and the lives of those for whom you are responsible, so tight that no one can breathe. Leave room, space, and time so that every moment isn’t filled in with activity and obligatory duty. The energy of Gemini is like  a tightly wound clock, and if you get too high of an adrenaline rush, it overwhelms and short circuits your whole body. Get some rest. Slow down your pace. Let go of some of the ‘duties’ you don’t really need to take on. Lighten your load, and give yourself ways to channel that energy into something more soothing. Dance, walk, swim, ride, paint, garden, or do whatever it is that you dream about having time to do. Make the time fit your needs now.

Another ongoing transit and aspect is that of Pluto’s conjucntion to the North Node and Neptune’s trine to the North Node. Pluto, the Great Transformer sitting atop the North Node (gateway to the future) signals the end of what we’ve been transforming in our lives these last few years and the start of a new phase of life where the transformation will unfold in a big way. Neptune, the planet that rules intuition, creativity, the hidden and unconscious trines the North Node as it also squares the retrograde Jupiter. The negative aspect can trigger Neptune’s tendency to deceit and cult-like behavior with Jupiters over the top enthusiasm bordering on zealotry.  Venus is trining Pluto offering a softening on the transformative and transitional nature of the lunar cycle. Notice where you might be pulled towards the darker edge of these transists, and resist getting drawn into the negativity or fanatacism of any of this energy. It is important to remain on an even keel even when the emotional and intellectual seas become rough and stormy. 

Though the New Moon is not being heavily aspected itself, and though we may not be directly drawn into the heavy edge of some of the other aspects, there is much going on behind the scenes--actions and plans which we cannot control or know at this time. Ground yourself in a place of peace and harmony within and within your own realm. Make your plans and changes in accordance with what you know to be good, sound, balanced, healthy, and right. This is a very karmic New Moon in Gemini, so you will be coping with whatever remains to be handled to insure your path is clear forward. Choose the path of the peaceful warrior, and avoid acting as the armed guard of your own life and the lives of those around you. Choose compassion over power. Choose love over hate. Choose peace over struggle. Choose kindness over getting your own way. As the Old Deuteronomist says, “We have before us a choice between life and death. Choose life.”