The new Moon in Cancer (July 2nd, 10:19 pm EDT) opens the door to the gentle, loving side of life. Going into the dark, there's a chance to receive divine guidance, or comfort from just experiencing a sense of belonging. The sign of the Mother pulls us toward the values of nurturing and protecting all living things, and tending to home life. Feelings grow intense, and so do longings, and they show you where you feel empty or disconnected to others.
This is the water sign ruled by the Moon, and what we're given is a chance to rest in the cool blue of the lunar glow. Like the nighttime when we dream and imagine, it's a healing time out of the harsh solar glare. Your intuition is heightened, and so is your sensitivity to subtle "vibes" all around. It's a favorable new Moon to reflect on how well you're taking care of your heart needs. Things like intimacy, deep friendship, family harmony, emotional catharsis, self-comfort and making time to unravel from stress, can all surface at this lunation.
The chart shows the Sun-Moon conjunction together with Venus in Cancer. This wraps us in the dark mystery of the Sacred Feminine. What that means, is the awareness of what's called the ground of being and rhythms of life. If you go to Malta, you can see megalithic stones that pre-date Stonehenge and the Pyramids which are sites where the Mother Goddess was honored. The earliest deities were female, as symbols of the Earth's fertility, and ability to bring forward new life. The Sleeping Goddess of Malta was found deep in a womb-like cavern known as the Hypogeum. It was said to be a powerful place to receive divine guidance in the dreamtime. This new Moon takes us into that void where the womb and tomb are the same -- the darkness out of which something new emerges. I always think of New Moons as a chance to die (the shaman's death) to the old and re-emerge to the new. When you take time to slow down, it's a new Moon that could bring meaningful dreams or emotional healing.
Three planets in Cancer bring out the desire to shelter those you love, and keep them happy and well-fed. It's an impulse that comes from the heart, and as a cardinal sign, can be intensely protective of the vulnerable, threatened and lost. The need to "mother" can lead to new Moon intentions of caring more for people, creatures and growing things. It's a new Moon to vision ways to strengthen your home base, as a refuge for yourself and those you love. That can also extend out to the Earth home, and in the guise of the fierce Goddess, finding ways to protect all life. The dreams and visions of this new Moon, coming from the Mother herself, could set you off on a new course.
There's an interesting dynamic this new Moon, with Saturn-Mars in Virgo forming a trine to Pluto in Sagittarius in that latest of degrees. Virgo's influence on the Taskmaster (Saturn) and Action (Mars) planets can help you make small changes that reflect your ideals. Recently, for example, I quit drinking diet soda, after finally waking up to the dangers of aspartame, an ingredient in most of the sugar substitutes out there. I've been drinking it since college, and recently was hooked on the taste of Coke Zero. Aspartame is in so many things, that surely, it's not lethal, right? Everybody always jokes about Nutri-Sweet and all the other sugar substitutes causing cancer in lab rats. And the toss off of oh well, "everything causes cancer." But something caused me to care enough to look it up, and what I discovered was kinda shocking. I credit Saturn in Virgo with giving me the discipline to research something seemingly insignificant, but that is actually a big deal. I learned that just because something is FDA-approved and interwoven into the market, doesn't mean it's healthy. And no, not everything causes cancer -- Virgo helps with discrimination. I'm going through a detox now, and let me just say, it's not pretty.
This new Moon can inspire you to make refinements to your health or daily life. The Virgo influence has made us more aware of how systems in nature and our bodies are interwoven. What kinds of changes can you make that will make you feel healthier, whole, "pure," serene, natural -- Saturn and Mars at the new Moon give you a boost to make it happen. As a bonus, the changes you make may better reflect your ideals, and be better for the Earth as a whole.
The Sun-Moon-Venus in Cancer is across the wheel from Jupiter in Capricorn this new Moon. This enables us to see whether close relationships and our home in general, is feeling in sinq with our sense of purpose. Jupiter urges us to make real our dreams, and reserve energy to climb those mountains that we know are part of our destiny. This new Moon helps us find balance between home life, and following the call to make the most of gifts, resources and time. It might mean setting better boundaries in relationships, so that you can put energy into your life's work. Or maybe you've had to spend too much time on the clock, and that's crowded out your down time. How can you create more balance, where the private can strengthen the public side of life, and vice versa.
It's a great new Moon to sink into relaxation long enough to let your guard down. Once softened, things like long baths or a meandering walk alone, can be like entering your own oracular temple. The visions that take shape now, and intentions consciously set, are the first glimpses of what could become realized at the full Moon in Capricorn on July 18th.
