Pisces New Moon
March/April 2002

We're thrilled to be celebrating our second anniversary as a moon circle this month.  Thanks to those of you who've been with us since the beginning and to the many who have since joined our rapidly growing group!

We're honored to have the wonderful web artist Novella Maia join our website this cycle.  She brings a new (and very lunar) way of exploring the new moon chart.  Novella creates mandalas, intuitive and energetic...  though we typically discuss a new moon chart with words, about where to focus this cycle or what to watch out for, see if you can pick up on the essence of the time without the intervening language.  Take a moment to relax (important when you're sitting in front of a computer!).  Allow your mind to still.  Then center into the Pisces mandala (click here for a popup window with a larger image of the mandala) and see what comes up for you.

Accustomed to working with a structure, this mandala was a stretch for me. I knew it needed to reflect Pisces' magic and mystery--and essential lack of structure. As an iridologist, I know the structure of the iris and the elements that lie hidden there, and have long been intrigued by the notion that the iris and the horoscope reflect the same things about the individual. I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like, with layers and hidden elements, and a sense of the vastness of the Universe juxtaposed with an individual human eye. But when I sat down to create that, I didn't know how. It was too intangible. So I didn't force it, but contemplated it as I went about other activities, and allowed it to reveal itself. One evening, just before bed, I went into my studio--dimly lit by the hallway light--to retrieve something, and I paused by the drawing table and gazed at the empty circle I had drawn on the black paper. And suddenly the image coalesced in my mind's eye, and I knew how to do it.

Using zero Aries for the Ascendant, the New Moon occurs in the twelfth house, where the usual ego quality of the Sun is dimmed in favor of Pisces fusion.  Venus in the first house, Aries, is represented by the mountain lion, a natural leader without ego-investment. Mars, in second house Taurus, is aggressively accumulating "treasures in heaven." Saturn and Vesta, in third house Gemini, are engaged in study; the spiralling smoke of burning incense adds a ritual quality. Next, in Cancer's house, we find Jupiter as a tree, sinking his roots deeply into the earth. With characteristic benevolence, he is holding, supporting, and loving the entire planet. Juno, principle of relationship, is found in Leo, represented by two wedding rings enfolding a symbolic rainbow. Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio are without tenants at this time, and are represented by cosmic elements. Pluto is the Phoenix, the firebird, rising from the flames in the ninth house, representing death and regeneration.  Chiron, the wounded healer, is found in Capricorn's tenth house. Chiron used natural methods such as crystals and herbs. The crystal, in Native American Medicine, is the stone for that peiod; the herb is horsetail, which is good for the bones and skin--Capricornian body parts. In the eleventh house we find Neptune and Pallas Athene closely conjunct. The Goddess of Wisdom is represented here by one of her symbols, the owl.  Also in that house,  we find Uranus to be a bit detached at this time. He is seen here in the butterfly.  Lastly, in watery, twelfth house Pisces, Mercury and Ceres are together, represented by dolphins. Universal Mother and tiny Mercury. 

This is what I see when I look at this mandala.  Parts or the whole, what do you see? We'd love to hear from you.

Prints of the Pisces New Moon Mandala are available for $20. Email Novella for information.