New Moon at 20 Cancer 41, partial solar eclipse
July 12, 2018, 10:48pm EDT, 7:48pm PDT
July 13, 2018, 3:48am BST, 12:48pm AEST
Image: Drawing of Naga Kanya, 2013, on St. John. This sculpture came to me for my 50th birthday. I drew this before sending her off to a new home. It turned out I was about to head out to a new home as well. I came to know her so much more intimately while drawing her, paying close attention and bringing her into expression.
“The bright moon congeals the gold liquid,
Blue lotus refines jade reality.
When you’ve cooked the marrow of the sun and moon,
The pearl is so bright you don’t worry about poverty.”
—from Thomas Cleary, “Immortal Sisters”
This Cancer New Moon is mildly eclipsed with just a touch of shadow, a subtle Cancerian hint at some tidal shift in play.
The cosmic dance is quite intricate this season, with various planets moving backwards and forwards from Earth’s point of view. It might, at times, feel like a kid’s bumper car track, or a spicy tango.
Three eclipses add to the excitement.
We had two major planet sign changes in April and May, which take some getting used to (into next year). Now we have time to pause, try things out and reconsider. June may have been the smoothest sailing of the season, but not for everyone. July takes a back step, with juicy dynamics challenging, emotional, and creatively inspiring. The New Moon on July 13 is partially eclipsed, followed by total lunar eclipse on July 27. The New Moon on August 11 is partial bonus eclipse. Expect and welcome change. Stay up with the times!
On this New Moon Mermaid Cancer is expressing herself. Such a mermaid time! (Last time I wrote about mermaid Salacia. You can read about her here. See announcement below re upcoming Cosmic Mythic Mermaid webinar). With intense plasma waves coming in through the solar field, mermaids are feeling the tides in the cosmic flow evoking ancient memories. Many mermaids are emerging, a choir of sing song, sea song. So I am going with the flow here, following what comes up as I write.
We have both a water triangle and an earth triangle of planets, for a fertile field of manifestation. The main hub of this elemental dynamic is Pluto in Capricorn opposite the New Moon.
Pluto is so closely in opposition that the subjectivity and moodiness of Cancer can be more pronounced with undercurrents and subterfugue.
Oh my! did you get that merge of “subterfuge” with a musical “fugue”? Where did that come from? This unconscious juicy word meld sent me off on a research vision quest, starting with dictionary references.
Subterfuge is defined as “an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.,” in other words, a deception, scheme, ruse, trick.
Here are two interesting musical tracks that can evoke another level of understanding beyond the mental. Check these out (if you dare).
“Subterfuge” track from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones‘ 2006 album, The Hidden Land.
The album cover shows them in what looks like an underground cave with water. It’s a rather wild and intriguing jazz piece. You can continue on to listen to “Sinister Minister,” for further musical reference to Pluto.
There is also a “Subterfuge” track from Demolition, a Judas Priest album. This is a new group to me, pretty intense. Honestly I couldn’t listen to the whole piece. FYI: it comes with Parental Advisory warning.
Now let’s add in the Fugue, a “musical composition in which one or two themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and contrapuntally developed in a continuous interweaving of the voice parts,” rather like more complex song rounds. “Bach and Handel composed many fugues for harpsichord and organ in which the various voices seem to flee from and chase each other in an intricate dance.”
And, hmm, this is intriguing: in psychiatry, Fugue refers to “a period during which a. person suffers from loss of memory, often begins a new life, and, upon recovery, remembers nothing of the amnesic phase.” A rather Plutonian disturbed state of consciousness.
Clearly there is a lot going on between the interweaving parts and subconscious activity. Feel out what all this evokes for you. Does it explain some things going on in your life? On and off I feel I’ve been having a bit of “trouble” with myself lately. Interesting to process the undercurrents of these chasing and evading themes, amnesiac moment sof forgetting oneself, and ways that we play tricks to hide from ourselves. How do we sort all this out in relation to what is going o in the worldly chaos? What a cosmic moment.
Pluto suggests potentially blatant volcanic effects. The earthquake and volcanic activity has been ramping up around the world. Cancer can tend to be subjective, emotionally reactive and tends to take things personally. Can you see when you might be doing that? Step back, with retrograde Mars in Aquarius, and watch yourself.
Clearly, we sometimes need to step back out of muddy subjectivity, and take a good breath of fresh air. Moon-ruled Cancer may know what we need, and we do need to pay attention to that. Another key question to ask is what do we really want? Mars retrograde in Aquarius is a key to this season’s experience, asking that question of wanting and desire—and why….?
I am inspired by the Abraham-Hicks teachings. Recently I listened to their YouTube called “Find the Reasons You Desire It,”
which seems particularly relevant right now. This phrase caught my ear: “What is you want and why do you want it?” By asking the why, they said, you can empower the desire to manifest. Why? why do you want this or that? What will it bring you? What will it feel like? Infuse any vague longing by such questions, clear the air and invite results. Profound shifts and a fresh breath of freedom are so possible now, as we take charge of our lives in a fuller way.
[A deeper level of this question is likely to be continued in the fall with Part II, the Scorpio retrograde of Venus. Stay tuned.]
If, in this process, you are experiencing challenges with social interactions, you are not the only one. Involved in the eclipsing energies, Aquarius emphasizes social context. Mars retrograde in this sign evokes conflicting dynamics, tough to figure out and deal with, that expose the need for change.
For some, this is a Friday the 13th New Moon. Let’s all claim its magic, even on the eve of…. Friday is Freya’s day, the Norse Venus, and there are 13 Moon cycles in a year. Joining Venus and the Moon makes this a Day of the Divine Feminine. It’s not the same day or days every year, but when it happens, the Goddess celebrates and invites us to dance with her.
In Vedic astrology, the Moon Mansion is a key factor in the chart. Moon Mansions are the 27 mini-constellations that the Moon visits each night of its monthly cycle. The Man in the Moon is said to visit each of his wives in turn, embracing the special goddess shakti power in each. Cancer is ruled by the Moon, so let’s take a look at this New Moon Moon Mansion.
Punarvasu is the mansion of renewal, of shining again, lustrous like a pearl, like turning a light back on (after an eclipse!). Imagine that you are polishing your energy as if removing tarnish from silver jewelry, or like cleaning a window to see through it more clearly. You can even cleanse yourself from thought forms of other people, so you shine more brilliantly.
The shakti power of Punarvasu is to gain wealth or substance. Prosperity comes in many forms. What does it mean for you? In this mansion we encounter Aditi, the mother of all the gods, who grants abundance and evokes gifts and blessings. This solar eclipse invites us to receive her bounty. Are you open to receiving? It may come as a renewal of our creativity and inspiration. Let it flow!
This subtle New Moon eclipse culminates in a total lunar eclipse on July 27-28 in the lovely Moon Mansion of the Lotus. Lets open the way for such a potent, lovely and fragrant blossoming.
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