“If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.” -Buddha (563 BC – 483 BC)
My mother liked to shout out the phrase, “I’m not going to tell you twice,” in order to motivate me into doing something I hadn’t yet done. But that never made much sense to me. Sometimes I needed to hear something twice before I really understood what she meant. The universe also offers us multiple opportunities to learn its lessons and this month is one of those times.
This month’s new moon at 29 degrees of Cancer is the second new moon in Cancer this year. At the end of June we had a new moon at 1 degree of Cancer and in last month’s new moon column I asked the question, “what are you feeding?” At that time the new moon was across the sky from Pluto- that tranformative power that compels us into action- and we considered whether we were feeding healthy or unhealthy choices, activities, and attitudes as evidenced by what we had manifested in our lives up until that point.
This month’s new moon is also a solar eclipse (the longest one we’ll have this century). In astrology a solar eclipse is an extra-powerful new moon and occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are all on the same plane, intensifying the energy field among these bodies. This new moon solar eclipse at the very end of Cancer is paired with the South Node. In astrology the south node represents the past or things that one must leave behind. The new moon occurring close to the South Node suggests it will be a time of endings, a time when the universe will give us a chance to conclude or wrap-up something in our lives that’s no longer useful. The South Node in Leo tells us that what we may be giving up is the self-centered and dramatic (Leo) feelings about our own security (new moon in Cancer). It’s time to get real, get busy, and move forward to reach our collective goals.
This month’s new moon (July New Moon Eclipse 2009 Chart ) takes us beyond our own immediate needs and suggests we ask ourselves, “who am I feeding?” As you may recall, Cancer is an archetype for home and mother, thus it represents nurturing, protecting, and building an emotionally secure foundation from which we can move out into the world. The new moon (Sun and Moon) in Cancer, Pluto in Capricorn, and Jupiter-Neptune in Aquarius are forming an interesting configuration in astrology called the Yod, or finger of God. The yod forms a “Y” when those planets are all connected.
A yod can describe a challenge that must be faced in order to meet our goal. The new moon in late Cancer describes our goal- mastering our emotions, building a secure foundations, and recovering what we thought was lost. How we reach that goal is described by the point that falls between the two arms of the “Y”. In this case that point is the North Node in Aquarius.
I think for many of us at this time we need to use and manage our resources (Pluto in Capricorn) in ways that support our collective dreams and ideals (Jupiter-Neptune in Aquarius). The challenge comes from our own insecurity and fear around losing something (Cancer new moon close to the south node). The activating point, or that which will help us overcome these fears, lies in the North Node in Aquarius- striving towards (north node) a vision of brotherhood, unity, and sharing. It’s recognizing our place in the collective (Aquarius) and moving away from being an entitled drama queen (Leo).
This brings me back to my question: “who are you feeding?” This month, with the second new moon in Cancer, the universe is offering us another chance to step outside of our own fears by looking for ways to feed others. This doesn’t mean literally feeding someone else (although it could), but feeding in the social and spiritual sense. Are we helping those who support our collective desire for a clean environment, safe food, sustainable energy, and transparent governement? Are we pulling our weight in finding solutions to our collective challenges around employment, healthcare, housing and the environment? Are we acting locally to change things globally?
Words like “support” don’t necessarily have financial implications. We can support someone by our words, through our actions, and with our love. This month’s lesson is about giving, sharing, and nurturing. Give and it will be given back to you.
If you know your chart and have any planets at 29 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn) or at 14 degrees of the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Pisces) then this eclipse may affect you personally. If you’d like to find out how you might be affected by this time of change and transition then consider contacting me for a personal consultation.
Namaste’
[...] across the sky from Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius, a pair that’s been influencing the last few monthly cycles with their idealism and inspired [...]
[...] At this full moon the South Node (aka the past) is at 29 degrees of Cancer- the exact degree of the July solar eclipse. It will be easy to get bogged down in the past this month but I’d like to suggest four ways [...]