Depth Astrology, AstroMythology & the Cosmic Feminine

New Moon @ 26Leo35
August 18, 2020 @ 10:42pm EDT, 7:42pm PDT, 
August 19, 3:42am BST, 12:42pm AEST

Sekhmet, Lion-headed Goddess of Balance and Justice. Chalk on Paper, 20×25 inches, August 2020, by Jill Alison Banting, Cosmic News reader.
Web: www.starquillcreative.com     Email: starquillcreative@gmail.com
With the August 3 Full Moon conjunct her Black Moon Lilith and square Uranus, Jill wrote, “I could feel the call of the dark goddess for days before and after the full moon. It was an undeniable power coming from deep inside…With Sekhmet, the call is to embrace and integrate the raw power of the dark feminine. It’s wild!” 

Indeed! Our New Moon Egyptian Lioness goddess Sekhmet is warrior, protector and healer. She destroys enemies of the Sun King. She brings plagues, but also healing. As agent of the Sun, she calls forth the Life Force of solar radiance—yet she can also be very hot, raging and destructive. It has been said that her breath created the desert. Sekhmet is one of many ancient Sun goddesses, fierce and protective, a true Leonine image of feminine power. But her anger can also get outrageous and out-of-control with destruction. She faces us with our own triggered tendencies to anger. Do you find her in your life these days? How do we control and focus our outrage into effective action?

This New Moon in Leo is full of fire and high drama. 
A grand trine in fire is created by 
Sun/ Moon/ Mercury in Leo; 
Mars at its hottest in Aries, conjunct Eris; 
and a visionary South Lunar Node in Sagittarius;
supported by dwarf planet Haumea in Libra.

With Mercury conjunct this New Moon, our state of mind and the underlying motivation that drives our actions are key. Mercury aligns with Regulus, the Heart of the Lion and a star of leadership. A generous, heart-centered state of mind is essential. Attend to that first. Are you in integrity with yourself? Are you keeping in mind the goal of the highest good for all? Are you being defensive or reactive? Is your anger making your trigger finger twitch? Are you being rebellious, childish, selfish? These are all good questions as you look in the mirror of life, and of your heart.

The Lunar South Node is at 27 Sagittarius, opening a direct channel to the Galactic Center, the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. Your intuition can be plugged in if you pay attention. What is the ultimate goal this year? If we do our due diligence now, we will open the door to a new cycle of unity in community, coming forth on December Solstice 2020 with the union of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius. Opening the heart to inform the brain short-circuits any selfishly impulsive action, maintaining the integrity and guidelines that Mars needs. Courage, initiative and self-awareness are required. As we examine what leadership is and is not, we all are called to our expression of personal leadership and creative cooperation. 

Generative, birthing Dwarf Planet Haumea at 26 Libra supports this New Moon Fire Trine, as she generates original creative options, supporting choices that birth new levels of consciousness and of relationship. As we find a refreshed balance within ourselves that allows resonance and right relationship with All Life, we bring forth in our lives what will best serve the well-being of all.

Big stories highlight the drama of life in this Moon cycle, even after the Sun moves into Virgo on the 22nd. For perspective, it is sometimes helpful to view what is going on in the world as “the biggest show on Earth.” According to many spiritual traditions, this is just what it is. As Shakespeare wrote, “The world is but a stage and all the men and women merely players.” Play your part well and from the heart. These are intense times and indeed, years from now books may be written about what we are experiencing now another version of the “greatest story ever told.” 

This may be an exaggeration, an over-dramatization, but why not. This is the life we are living; let’s make it great, not little, insignificant and full of petty concerns. Make your life your own greatest story, and tell it like it is. Leo is the sign of self-expression, whether from the small ‘s’ self or the capital ‘S’ Higher Self. You choose. How do you tell your story? What is your vision, your version of your life? How do you think about your Self? Are you making your life count by expressing your fullness, coming from your heart? This is what Leo is about. 

Chiron, the Healer, squares Venus,another dynamic of this New Moon, offering a healing of love, a quantum shift in our values, a bridge to personal harmony that seeks a truer sense of communion with others on all levels, beyond the distortions and subjective defensiveness that separate us from each other. We need to get out of our own way. Another great act of courage is to stay in the present moment of Now, without agenda or preconceptions, to meet the situation from a greater alignment with the All That Is. 

Uranus in Taurus, turned retrograde on the 15th, slowed down to a virtual standstill for a focused lightning strike. It stays in the same 11th degree of Taurus for three months, with a lovely Sabian Symbol illustrating the best of Taurus: “A Woman Sprinkling Long Rows of Flowers.” 
I wonder what Uranus flowers look and smell like? Any new species blossoming forth?

Astrologer Richard Idemon used the idea of holding your hand over a flame to indicate how we can experience such a slowed, standstill effect. The intensity can build up tension, evoke a feeling that something is being shaken up, has to blow open. If you are familiar with the Tarot, do you know the image of The Tower card (#16) in the Waite-Rider Tarot deck? It shows a stormy sky with lightning crashing down, toppling a castle tower, as the king and queen fall out. Whether or not this plays out on the global stage, it is basically about the service-to-self ego being toppled from rulership over our actions. This card leads to the next, which is The Star (#17), an image of clarity, divine dispensation through balance of head and heart, integrity of inner and outer aspects of our experience.

When tension builds up, it can create a breakdown or eruption of temper, of impulsive action that goes overboard and creates havoc rather than effective outcome. Under this New Moon cycle, we need to find an effective or useful outlet for our energy, tempered by the Capricorn planets. Getting some kind of exercise, as strong and rigorous as suits you, can be very helpful. 

Also, hold steady in the realization that progress is at hand. Things are changing inevitably and irrevocably, in ways that are unseen but will become more apparent— in relatively short time considering the immense level of consciousness awakening in process. Uranus leads to surprising manifestations on the material level. Even without knowing everything going on, we can feel the level of change. It is time to step up to take charge of our situation in the ways that feel most resonant to us. We contribute simply by letting our hearts feel the truth of this inevitability.

Reminder of August Calendar Highlights

Mars in Aries is now in the thick of its squares to the Capricorn power trio, Jupiter, Pluto, Saturn—and in conjunction with Eris.
You might want to note the following dates on your calendar to track the activity of these strong dynamics in your life. Mars in Aries is calling us to activate our courage and our strength, our will power and our integrity. 

Mars conjunct Eris—August 17/ October 4/ December 22*
Fearless trouble-maker Eris stirs things up in a disruptive way. Like Uranus, this warrior goddess is a waker-upper, with her own brand of shock value. Her brother Mars joins her in Aries to further fire up her thirst for disturbing the status quo. Patience runs thin, often for good reasons, as this is a time for action— not just during this Moon cycle but through the rest of this year. Prepare yourself; step into your integrity; do what is called for in this heightened moment of our collective awakening, our global revolution. Remember the goal, the desired outcome for greater harmony. There is obvious no return to the ‘what was’ that we would have called ‘normal.’ But how do we want to move on? Are you listening to Eris and taking action for what you stand for? Are you going along and following what is ‘allowed’? How are the ‘powers that be’ supporting or inhibiting our movement toward greater social harmony and understanding?

With an orbit of 557 years, Eris is a slow mover. She has been in Aries since the mid-1920s. Maybe she is the one who made that decade into the ‘Roaring Twenties’! She is in high gear as the three Capricorn power players have moved into peak engagement with this firebrand.  Akin to Sekhmet, our New Moon Warrior Goddess, Eris stands up to systems and structures that have been and seek to continue to control us. In a righteous rage, to protect and defend, she wields her destructive, yet life-affirming fury, shaking up and toppling binding requirements and regulations that hold back the creative life force that is breaking out toward freedom. One-by-one we are called to step up and join together to create the new world we want to live in. 

The dynamic Mars/ Eris interaction with the Capricorn trio, gives indications of timely initiatives and turning points in the current transformational overhaul. We need a positive approach to focus on amidst the chaos that inevitably accompanies this dynamic. I appreciate what Astrologer Ann Kreilkamp wrote in a recent blog post on her site, www.exopermaculture.com:
[Ann and I were both regular feature writers for Welcome to Planet Earth back in the 80s.]
It’s as if a powerful seed that has been germinating for a very long time, hidden, in secret (Pluto) suddenly activates (Mars) crystallizes (Saturn), fills the atmosphere with its immense possibility (Jupiter).”

After its retrograde turn on September 9, Mars will again square these three Capricorn planets. We are now setting things up for further development, by both releasing what is holding us back and by taking steps toward our desired outcome.

Mars Square Jupiter— August 3-4/ October 19 
Opportune moments that promote accomplishment.
Take advantage of any promising opportunity or open door that beckons you. Does the idea or project feel too big? Just start, one deliberate step at a time and see what happens. Anything we begin at this point can grow over the rest of this year. We can check progress and regroup at the second Mars retrograde square Jupiter on October 19. 

Remember to check on belief systems that do not support growth, that restrict what you believe possible or not. Focus the abundance of available energy into beneficial channels. Some dark secrets may be unearthed that make us angry enough to push back or lash out in distress or frustration. Stay on your path. Be strong, centered and present in your integrity with the courage to stand for Truth as you know it in your heart.

Mars Square Pluto— August 13/ October 9/ December 23*
Moments to fearlessly let go of situations or people that undermine or compromise our energy beyond a point where we can stay clear and balanced.
The volcanic charge of this alignment causes eruptions, transforming the surrounding terrain in no uncertain terms. This is a volatile energy, to be carefully engaged or sidestepped, best channeled into timely reconstruction, rebuilding, regenerating. Continue to contend with unexpected challenges and new awareness with fearlessness and stay clear on your own path. 

Mars Square Saturn— August 24/ September 29
Moments to step up and claim our authority, to say ‘no!’ to what no longer serves, is no longer effective.
Definite steps are taken. Be certain that you are moving in the right direction, following along your best new path, and move ahead. No need for speed; feel each step, slow and steady, keeping your balance. These are serious times and we are taking responsibility for our actions— for how and when and in what state of mind we are moving forward. 

By year’s end we are through a huge piece of work.
We enter a clear zone, on a new collective High Way.
Be Your Best Self!
You are a Star in a Galaxy of Stars!

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