by Dana Gerhardt
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We can’t of course see the moon on the New Moon night of the 6th—she’s below the horizon, in conjunction with the sun. But it so happens that this is the closest New Moon of the year. The Moon is “perigree,” reaching that point in her orbit that draws her closest to Earth. What does this mean for us? High tides! At every New and Full Moon, we see the highest tides of the month (“spring tides”). When the Moon is perigree, we’re likely to see the highest tides of the year. As water suggests the emotional element – we might find our emotions at high tide as well. All the better for us to see what work we need to do in Libra’s sign of harmony and balance. Libra’s ruling planet Venus, will be visible in the sky for a few more days, low on the western horizon at sunset. She goes retrograde October 10 --an underworld descent that allows us to likewise review our attitudes and attachments to love and other earthly pleasures. |
Serenity! Serenity?
With all that’s going on in the world and our busy lives right now?
Exactly! Nobody says it better than astrologer Steven Forrest, who
writes in The Inner Sky, that Libra describes…
“…that part of ourselves
that is bothered by nothing, offended by nothing, shocked by nothing.
It has signed a perpetual peace treaty with chaos.
A bus station in Georgia. Our car is ditched three miles away in the rainy night with a burned-out engine. To our left, the pay TV exhorts us to use more deodorant. To the right, a ghetto blaster is screeching out three-year-old disco tunes. An announcement comes over the PA system. Our bus has been delayed another two hours. Do we care? No: it is just life. No reason to get upset.
The goal for Libra, as for
all the signs, is a transformation of consciousness. In this case,
it is the attainment of an unbreakable inner harmony. …
Libra’s endpoint? So simple to say, so hard to do. It is to
calm
down.” (pp. 66-67)
Libra also, of course, turns
us outward – to other people – the very ones who push our buttons
and shatter our inner equilibrium. But where and with whom else should
we practice peace? Of all the celestial seasons, this is the month
to develop our ability to see opposite points of view and find a way to
balance them with our own. What wants to grow this cycle? Beauty
– which means Justice, Equality, Harmony, Balance, Love and Peace.
To get more personal about what you can best grow this cycle, know that astrology typically answers “what” questions by looking at houses. Look to the house of your birth chart where the New Moon falls: here’s your personal seed bed. Here lie opportunities, old and new business that have been waiting all year for this moment to start their germination. Chances are that the Sun’s transit through Libra (since September 22) has already been revealing what new balance needs to develop for you this cycle.
How can you be successful this month?
Astrology typically answers
“how” questions with signs. Signs suggest the kind of energy we need
to bring to our endeavors. We all find some signs more comfortable
than others, so at each New Moon we’re challenged to either further develop
a sign (or style of being) that’s easy for us, or to explore and deconstruct
our resistance to an inherently more difficult energy. Your ease
in “calming down” this month can alert you to where you are in the Libra
journey this cycle. Negative Libra qualities include being indecisive,
acquiescent (going for peace at any price), fickle, and argumentative.
If you find these as part of your Libra expression, imagine the Libran
scales in front of you. What would you need to put in the other bowl
to bring balance to this situation?
"At the New Moon refresh your animal nature, senses awake, happily, simply aware of being alive..." (Today's Moon)
"Can Venus take the war out of warriors? Traditionally, the mythological task assigned to Venus was that of civilizing and refining - for a society with no Venus was a culture without beauty, art, and diplomacy. Her placement in Scorpio as she begins her retrograde phase suggests that she is at her seductive strongest these days, doing her best to entice the world away from a path of violence and destruction. ..."
(New Moon Meditations)
"Our five-year-old magnanimously granted one horse to the others, keeping seven. ''Are you happy with that?' No, the two shook their heads. Everyone was quiet. Then our girl gave up three more horses: four for her, four for the two of them. Are you happy with that? Sensing that recess was nearing its end, the two nodded 'Yes' and ran to the playground. It wasn’t fair – but it worked. And for Libra to work, we’re often asked to soften our notion of what is fair. Does everyone feel good about it? Then it’s fair enough. ..."Join us for a Full Moon ritual on October 21.
Season Teachings