CANCER NEW MOON - 4 July 2016

Exact at 12pm BST, exact at 7am EDT.

This New Moon has the power to transform our inner lives and relationships, which could rattle our sense of emotional security somewhat. The Sun and Moon are flanked by Mercury and Venus in Cancer, the sign of the home, family, our childhood and ancestral roots, all of which are very personal indeed. Cancer also represents our homeland, and I for one can definitely say that my country is experiencing quite a wobble right now! People’s sense of security has been severely threatened by recent events and it seems that a time of upheaval and transformation is inevitable. Cancer symbolises our inner world and the emotional patterns we have formed in childhood in order to feel a sense of safety and emotional security. As we move into adulthood these patterns can wreak havoc in our relationships as they unconsciously play out over and over again until we become conscious and aware of them.  This Moon could make us all too aware of these patterns, which on the one hand could be rather uncomfortable while on the other hand gives us a chance to transmute them so that they lose their power over us. It certainly feels like our foundations are being rocked at the moment, as many feel like they are standing on shaky ground.

The Saturn Neptune square is being activated by this Moon, making the energy of the square quite prominent both personally and collectively. Saturn could make us feel quite fearful and somewhat apprehensive and pessimistic while Neptune, who is forming a positive aspect to the Sun, Moon and Mercury, asks us to have faith and trust that somehow we are being guided in the right direction. Saturn’s nagging, challenging aspect could make us feel divided, separate, gloomy, judgemental, despondent, and force us to confront some potential realities we would rather not face. Saturn aspecting the Moon can easily make us feel quite cut off from one another, highlighting our differences and making us feel quite alone. In challenging aspect to Mercury, the planet of the mind and communication, he can cause us to see the darker side of reality and feel quite depressed.  In Sagittarius he can make us far too rigid in our beliefs, so that we find it hard to back down. We may also find that what we thought was true is in fact not true at all. Walls of illusion come crumbling down.

Neptune reminds us that, despite any apparent differences, we are all from the same melting pot and so we must be kind and gentle with one another, especially in times of adversity. Neptune helps us to connect with one another on a deeper level and to see the true spirit within each of us rather than the masks we can so easily hide behind. Neptune helps us to trust enough show our vulnerability and also have compassion and empathy for one another.  On the other hand, Neptune can also cause us to fall into the role of being the victim, while Saturn in Sagittarius asks us to pull our socks up and take responsibility for the part we have played in our own story.  He also reminds us to keep an eye on the big picture. The Saturn Neptune square is an ongoing battle between fear and unconditional love, between judgment and acceptance, between hard control and surrender/going with the flow, between separation/division and One Love. These are not easy times, but we can only hope that something good will come out of it all. It is very important not to succumb to fear. Sometimes things have to swing really far in one direction in order for us to find balance.

Pluto in Capricorn is also forming an opposition to the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Venus. The planet of the soul and transformation is a very big player in this New Moon. Not only is he aspecting Venus, the planet of relating, but oppositions tend to play out in our relationships. The transforming energy of Pluto in Capricorn exposes the flaws and rot in the structure of our lives, then destroys whatever isn’t working so that we can then rise like the Phoenix out of the ashes, reborn and renewed. Pluto is the planet of the soul, so he tends to push us out of stagnation and gives us a bit of a cosmic kick up the bum so that we remain true to ourselves and our journeys. As the planets under fire are all in Cancer, it is quite likely that we will experience quite a wobble as our emotional security is threatened and we have to face up to any emotional patterns that may be undermining us. Cancer represents our tender underbelly, so Pluto’s transforming energy could cause us to feel quite vulnerable and force us to face some rather uncomfortable emotional truths!

Pluto is also the planet of power, so issues of power and powerlessness could well come to the surface during this time. We may become very aware of where we give our power away and also where we are holding too much power, which can be equally uncomfortable. This could be a good time to redress the balance somehow, through conscious intention. On a collective level we are dealing with the exposure of what simply isn’t working any more within the power structures that rule us, and are facing the destruction of these failing structures and systems so that something more appropriate can take their place. What that is exactly is uncertain as yet, which is highly unsettling as our sense of security on every level is being shaken and rattled. Again, instead of falling into fear it is important to have faith and trust that somehow we are heading in the right direction and to remember that Pluto doesn’t destroy anything that is still needed, only that which is rotten or obsolete. Pluto entered Capricorn, the sign of structure, government and authority, in January 2008 and will remain there until 2024, so we are experiencing a very long, gradual, profound breakdown and transformation of our power structures. It will be interesting to see what kind of world we will be living in when it is all over.

On Wednesday of this week Mars in Scorpio has finally gone direct after having been retrograde since April and on Tuesday Chiron the Wounded Healer has gone retrograde. Mars retrograde may have made us feel like we were unable to push forward somehow in some areas of our lives and this could have caused us to reassess what it is we really truly want. Mars is direct, straightforward, assertive and when it is retrograde is causes us to internalise that energy. This can cause anger to turn inward and a feeling of beating our head against a brick wall! It can also lower our motivation and energy levels. It must have been important for Mars to travel back into Scorpio, so that we have another opportunity to bravely face our shadows and intimacy issues, but it has also brought to the surface quite a lot of repressed rage, cruelty and people spouting their version of the truth in no uncertain terms! Now Mars is going direct and the Saturn Neptune square is waning we could experience a lessening in our anxiety levels and a bit more energy and courage to make whatever changes are necessary in our lives.

Chiron’s orbit lies between Saturn and Uranus, so he represents the bridge between the old and the new world.  As his energy has been very strong this week it does seem very appropriate that we are seeing a chasm between the old systems crumbling and the need for something new to take their place. On a personal level, while Chiron is retrograde we may be forced to go within and revisit old wounds and recognise where we feel pain and shame, both personally and collectively. It is quite likely that we will feel more sensitive and easily triggered than usual, but it is a perfect opportunity for healing because as the wounds are opened we have a chance to become more consciously aware of them and to heal them with forgiveness and compassion for ourselves and others. The key is not to deny the pain but to move through it, acknowledging that it has made you who you are. Everyone is wounded in one way or another and it is important to remember this. It is our times of pain and suffering that humbles us and opens our hearts so that we have compassion and empathy for our fellow man. As our hearts break open we soften and show who we really are. We breathe a sigh of relief.

The Sabian Symbol for Chiron at 26° Pisces is “Watching the very thin moon crescent appearing at sunset, different people realise that the time has come to go ahead with their different projects”.  The original symbol was written as “A New Moon that divides its differences”. This feels very relevant right now and it is a poignant reminder that we don’t all have to think or react the same way. Sometime a break or a split is necessary, while sometimes simply allowing one another to get on with our own thing for a while is what’s needed. Dane Rudyar says of this symbol that there should be “a realisation of the FALLACY OF TOTALITARIANISM; at times we can all act like despots, demanding that others react to any situation exactly as we do.”, while Lynda Hill speaks of “People splitting up and splitting off. New opportunities and potentials. The beginning of a new age. Letting go of the old and outworn. Separations. Embracing one’s future without the need for others. Coming to a fork in the road. The dawning of a new era”. It all feels very appropriate indeed right now.

This does seem like an important New Moon for setting some heartfelt intentions, but we must be careful to be very clear about what exactly it is that we want for ourselves. We really do get what we ask for and the universe can be quite literal in its delivery, as I have discovered the hard way! This definitely does seem like a time when our sense of emotional security is experiencing a major wobble, but it is very much necessary for our growth and evolution, both personally and collectively. Sometimes we have to let go of something completely in order for it to be found again in a purer, healthier form. This may mean having to lose whatever gives us our sense of emotional security, including hope, so that we realise that we won’t completely fall apart without it. Then, when and if it is returned to us, we are less dependent on it. It is no longer a crutch. When it comes down to it we are all responsible for our own emotional security. We will not find it from anything or any person outside of ourselves. This is the lesson of Cancer.

Much love

Amy

xoxo

Picture – Phoenix Egg – Hannah Böving