CANCER NEW MOON / PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE - 12/ 13 July 2018

Exact at 3.47am on Friday 13 July (BST) and 10.47pm on Thursday 12 July (EDT)

This New Moon, at 20° Cancer, packs quite a cosmic punch, as it is also a partial Solar Eclipse and a Supermoon. It is the first of three Eclipses this summer, which represent powerful and potent turning points in our lives, whereby one chapter is ending and another is beginning. As such, this New Moon could have more far reaching impact on our lives than your regular, run of the mill New Moon. Whatever is going on in our lives during this Eclipse season will have a correlation to something that was happening in 1999; and could feel almost like an echo, or the next phase. Supermoons occur closer to Earth, so that they have a greater impact on our mind, body, emotions and spirit. This is a good opportunity to set some positive intentions for ourselves that could have a strong impact on our emotional and domestic lives. It’s time to concentrate on our “inner home” and let go of unhealthy emotional patterns from our past. Pluto, the planet of metamorphosis and transformation, is a very big player during this Moon, so we have a chance to make some profound changes within our lives and psyches during this time. Indeed, it could feel as if the metamorphosis is out of our hands.  

The Sun and Moon are forming their monthly union in emotional, sensitive and sentimental Cancer. Cancer brings into focus issues around family, childhood and our emotional roots. Pluto is opposite the Sun and Moon, which could bring up some very strong and powerful emotions, forcing us to be very honest with ourselves about our more deeply ingrained emotional patterns. Our relationships could provide us with profound psychological insight into where our more destructive and unhelpful habits are coming from, which might not be very comfortable but could be deeply transforming. Cancer represents our self-image based on what happened in our early childhood. If we didn’t receive the appropriate kind of nurturing when we were young it can lead to emotional insecurity and a tendency to be quite needy as we reach out to others to meet our previously unmet needs. This is dangerous in relationships, and so the onus is on us to learn to meet our own needs from within, rather than expecting others to take care of us. This is the mission of Cancer, to develop a sense of emotional security from inside ourselves, rather than seeking it outside of ourselves. We need to develop our own inner parents rather than making our partners into defacto mothers and fathers.

It is possible during this Moon that issues around power and powerlessness could come up within our relationships, and emotional manipulation could become a factor. It could become very obvious how people close to us play games in order to have their needs met, and indeed we could be the perpetrator of these subtle power plays. This is a perfect opportunity to delve deep into our psyches and gain some amazing insight into our emotional nature and the impact our family and childhood has made on us as adults. In what way are we emotionally needy? Is it hard for us to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, or do we have a tendency to be a bit of a baby? How might we still need to grow up? It what way are we still acting out issues from childhood? Do we rely on others to take care of us rather than taking responsibility for our own problems? Are we subconsciously looking for our mother or father in our close relationships? How to we project unresolved needs from childhood onto our partner? Where and how might we be compensating for lack of nurturing from our childhood? What might we need to let go of from our past? Where is Home? How might we develop a relationship with our own inner parent? Are we too attached to the story of our past?

Saturn is involved in two very different configurations during this Moon – a challenging square with Chiron the Wounded healer and a harmonious and helpful Grand Earth Trine with Uranus and Venus. Chiron and Saturn are dancing around with each other all summer, never quite forming an exact square but coming very close in mid-August. This feels like an opportunity to take responsibility for our core wounds. Indeed, it could be hard to avoid them, as Saturn forces us to take a long hard look at ourselves and be willing to do the necessary inner work to promote healing. With Chiron retrograde may find ourselves healing some ancient, deeply ingrained wounds that have been weighing us down for a very long time indeed. We could feel somewhat vulnerable and we may have to deal with feelings of futility or failure, inadequacy, grief,  or fear as we are forced to go into places we would much rather avoid like the plague! However, there is a feeling that enough is enough. This is a perfect opportunity to grow up and move the boulders aside rather than allowing them to weigh us down.

Saturn and Uranus are working towards a harmonious trine aspect with each other which will peak at the end of August. These two planets are like chalk and cheese, as Saturn represents the structures of our lives and society while Uranus seeks to break down these old, rigid structures. Saturn represents tradition, while Uranus is the instigator of change and innovation.  Saturn sets the rules and regulations, while Uranus breaks them! This trine could help us to gently break down any structures within our lives that are no longer appropriate and to question authority without creating too much of a stir. We may be able to make constructive changes in our lives that don’t rock the boat too much. We could find ourselves breaking through boundaries and limitations that may previously have seemed impossible. We might gain profound insight into where we are stuck, or holding ourselves back through fear, or limiting ourselves, or are too rigid and unyielding. It seems like we have the opportunity at the moment to release ourselves from old karmic baggage and find new ways of dealing with old, ancient problems. During this Moon this energy is connected to Venus, so it will specifically affect our relationships, creating new solutions to old problems, helping us move past our fears, breaking down barriers and blasting those pesky boulders out of the way!

We also have this beautiful trine re-forming between bountiful and expansive Jupiter and receptive and spiritual Neptune, which will peak on the 19 of August. These two planets very much complement each other anyway as they are the co-rulers of Pisces! Now they are working together in harmony, which brings the potential for a beautiful boost of faith and trust. We could find ourselves having more faith in the benevolence of life, experiencing a sense that we are somehow being guided in the right direction. We are encouraged to put our trust in the flow of life, letting go and allowing the current of the river to gently take us where we need to go. Anything that comes up during this time can be met in the spirit of kindness, forgiveness, unconditional love, compassion and, above all, acceptance. We should be able to put whatever difficult material we may be facing into perspective, as we are better able to see the bigger picture. This is a very helpful blend of planetary energy to have as a backdrop as we navigate our way through this powerfully impactful set of eclipses. July is set to be a big month as we move from this Eclipse towards a Total Lunar Eclipse on July 27.

This Moon sets the ball in motion and gives us an opportunity to break from any stories from the past that might be holding us back and preventing us from “growing up”. With Uranus currently square the Nodes of the Moon we may be forced to recognise what old trauma keeps tripping us up and repeating in the form of our emotional patterns and behaviour. We have a chance to liberate ourselves from some old, ancient wounds and patterns that have been running the show and holding us back; keeping us small. This Grand Earth Trine involving Venus brings an opportunity to step outside of the box and try a different approach to our relationships while also remaining realistic and grounded. Some quite heavy material could come up for us to deal with during this time, but we are ready. Enough is enough. It’s time to free ourselves from the past and recognise where we quite simply need to grow up, to face our fears, release old trauma and become more accountable for ourselves. If we are willing to be self-reflective and do the necessary inner work during this time we should be able to reap the benefits and heal some deep karmic wounds. It’s time to let go.

Much Love

Amy

xoxo

Painting: Letting Go by Tom Shropshire

My website: www.amybirdartandastrology.com