by Robert Wilkinson
New Moon coming soon! The next month will be a time to accept the grace, or power, to make a difference. Jupiter biseptile Pluto promises major changes in our Taurus sector. With Mars opposed Saturn, go as far as is safe to go and then refuse to push or be pushed past that point. Welcome to 4 weeks of powerful inspiration and blessings!
This Lunation introduces a new focus wherever we have 25 Cancer, which brings a social and/or emotional focus as we prepare to take the lead in some way. The next few weeks challenge us to use our imagination as we prepare for Venus retrograde which promises us a “new order of selfhood” as we stand on a “critical point in emergent evolution.”
An Overview of the New Moon
Today we’ll do an overview of the Lunation and some of its primary qualities. In part 2 we’ll cover Sabian Symbols, aspects, distributions, and patterns.
This sensitive, caring, defensive and highly aware New Moon at 25 Cancer occurs at 11:32 am PDT, 7:32 pm BST on July 17. We’re now in full integration/re-integration mode as we are already experiencing Saturn’s retrograde lesson of “hearing the call to renewal.” Recent eclipses have already begun to remove and recycle parts of our lives where we have 30 Aries and 15 Taurus/Scorpio, so redirect your focus to a new “duck pond” to play on in the future.
Be joyous, as this is the threshold of a new life. With Venus on its retrograde station, get ready for several weeks of returns, reviews, and insights into how to externalize creativity and/or heart energy. Some will find renewed inspiration and power when Venus occupies the Aries decan of Leo. The Lunation in Cancer indicates this month is about redirecting what we nurture and put our emotional energy into. With Venus in late Leo and Mars in early Virgo, we can expect a lot of activity in that part of our charts, so look for the beauty in action and be efficient in your expression. As all the inner planets are concentrated between 25 Cancer and 5 Virgo, that’ll be the focus of the next month.
Jupiter allows us to do some “windowshopping” for what we need in the future, and Uranus promises unexpected rewards which confirm our worth. Just remember that one of the major themes for 2023 involves realizing old answers can’t solve the current questions. Still, as Jupiter brings its energy to the sign which enjoys life to the fullest, accept the expanded capacity for a greater joy taking birth.
This New Moon will jumpstart Cancer energy wherever it falls in our chart. As Cancer will be a focus of activity, remember it’s a time to be open to accepting the power to take the lead in your life in some way, with Jupiter and Uranus showing that “slow and steady” beats haphazard efforts. Also, faith will help all to overcome a duality involving them standing for what they believe in.
Occupied Signs and Oppositions
In the past 8 weeks we’ve begun our run of non-Lunar oppositions occurring this year. This Lunation opposes Pluto, and Mars is opposing Saturn. The next ones will be when Mercury opposes Saturn, followed by the Sun opposing Saturn. After that, we’ll have oppositions to Jupiter and Uranus from Scorpio.
Of course, those with planets in very late Cancer and early Leo, early and late Virgo, and both mid and late Scorpio are going through some VERY long wave outer planet oppositions, with potential for very high awareness of how to ground new ideals, new public expression, and new ways to related to your larger spiritual group. The various types of the “Tension of Opposites” involved in those signs will come to the fore as the recent Eclipses take away old Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn and now Aries patterns, allowing newer ones to take shape.
The Sun/Moon Sequence and Its Shifts
There are two patterns: one with the Sun in the same sign as the Sun in the following Full Moon (New Moon between 1-15 degrees of a sign), and one with the Sun in a different sign than it’s in at the following Full Moon (New Moon between 16-30 degrees of a sign). I term these the “Natural” pattern and the “Alternate” pattern, since the Natural pattern shows a continuity of the Light, whereas the Alternate pattern bridges the Light across two signs.
20 months ago we began the pattern which just ended in April where the New Moon Sun was in the same sign as the following Full Moon Sun. Each pattern has its importance in the Soli-Lunar sequence, and with the end of the Natural pattern, we now shift into a pattern which “bridges the Light” across two different Light signs in the Lunation cycle.
The New Moon Solar eclipse at 30 Aries was the first in the new sequence, as the subsequent Full Moon Lunar eclipse was at 15 Taurus/Scorpio, indicating the Light of the seed forms of that New Moon was illuminated in the next sign energy two weeks later. This month the New Moon Sun is in Cancer while the Full Moon Sun is in Leo. This indicates that while the seed forms of the New Moon are Cancerian, the fulfillment in form at the Full Moon illuminates Leo energy. This New Moon falls at 25 Cancer, and the Full Moon two weeks from now falls at 10 Leo/Aquarius.
The New Moons and Full Moons are “God’s footprints in time.” Each shows the next in the 12 phases of how things come to be each year. The cycle could be described as follows: Life energy is initiated in Aries, substantiated in Taurus, explored in Gemini, grounded in Cancer, renewed and creatively expressed in Leo, refined and ordered in Virgo, balanced and made pleasing in Libra, purified and focused in Scorpio, expanded in Sagittarius, organized in Capricorn, solidified into a vision in Aquarius, and ended/perpetuated in Pisces.
Jupiter and Saturn
This is the fifth New Moon of the Saturn in Pisces era. We are now near the middle of the fourth year of the cycle set into motion at Saturn’s rare and very powerful conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn in January 2020, which I discuss a few paragraphs down.
Taking a look back, 2020 brought a “cosmic visitation” which mobilized us to “escape from adverse conditions.” That year Nature challenged us to listen, look, and learn that we are not separate from Her, and evaluate what parts of our Self-disciplines and duties work and which ones didn’t. 2021 involved learning techniques of spiritual acceleration by getting a vision and a plan, as well as “the way within to outer success.” “New mutations arising from Cosmos” came forth in late 2021 and all of 2022, unrelated to past or local conditions.
We hit a threshold in our emergent Aquarian work in June 2022, when we began to learn how to administer “spiritual power” effectively. That took us through the trials which forced us to "rise to some emergency" and overcome something which threatened "to burn out of control" in the Autumn up to now.
One of Saturn’s divine qualities is understanding as a prelude to wisdom. With Jupiter’s transit through Aquarius leading the Saturn transit, Saturn tracked what Jupiter opened. As Saturn traverses the span where Jupiter has danced, it will crystallize its understanding of what that span of experience is about, and how we can use it wisely if we find the right structure and discipline. This year and next Saturn structures what opened when Jupiter was in Pisces.
Jupiter in Aquarius gave us a broader awareness which we’re learning to feel more deeply in Pisces. The new initiatives we’ve launched since May 2022 are taking off like rocket ships at this point in the year. We’re definitely on a 20 year journey into Aquarius experiences based in the two 2020 conjunctions of Mars/Saturn and Jupiter/Saturn at 1 Aquarius.
As Jupiter is at 12 Taurus, we’ve hit a major turning point in the emergent Aquarian process which is stabilizing on the individual and spiritual levels of life. Jupiter is currently building and gathering what it will need to expand its focus next year in Gemini. It’s now in a highly actional phase relative to the larger Aquarian era launched in December 2020.
We’re now back to Uranus leading the Sun, with the Moon the final dispositor for all other planets except Neptune. So the Moon dominates the chart and is part of the opposition, sextile, and trine evolutionary configuration with Neptune and Pluto. Display the power of your personality and concentrate to “escape from a narrow destiny.”
So What Rules the Lunation?
This New Moon in Cancer has the Moon its ruler. As Cancer is in the axis of the Archetype of the Innocent/Primal, it puts the focus on our ability to know the right thing to do without manipulation or being manipulated. Examine your instincts and step back from too much calculation.
Besides the planets we’ve discussed, Mercury and Venus in Leo are ruled by the Sun in Cancer which is ruled by the Moon. Mars is in Virgo ruled by Mercury, Jupiter is ruled by Venus, Saturn is ruled by Jupiter, Uranus is ruled by Venus, and Pluto by Saturn. So this month we have one “Final Dispositor” ruling all the other planets except Neptune, which still occupies its home sign continuing as a long wave “standalone” dispositor of itself, ruling the fogs and mists of the current collective consciousness. You can find out more about dispositors in general, chains of dispositors, and mutual reception by going to dispositors and Mutual Reception at the link.
Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend
Because Saturn now sails the open seas of Pisces, the part of us learning how to be spiritually mature and grateful for our understanding of healthy boundaries and self-disciplines is now in a seascape of the collective feelings of all humanity over all time. Though no longer dominating the stage of Life from its home signs of Capricorn and Aquarius, it’s still a powerful force wherever we have early Pisces in our chart. Saturn now leads us in a Master Class in compassion and forgiveness practices, and learning a sober view of the collective human condition.
As this is the fifth New Moon in 5 years where Saturn hasn’t ruled itself, Pluto, and sometimes all the other planets except Neptune, take a moment to reflect on what you’ve learned since 2018 and how you’re more spiritually effective than you were. Saturn is our wise friend and guide who brings us out of ignorance and fear into understanding and “response-ability.”
Making friends with our inner Saturn is the most important thing we can do to fulfill our spiritual destiny. If you want to know more about your power to throw off oppressive chains, limitations, and fears, please give yourself the timeless gift of my book, Saturn: Spiritual Master, Spiritual Friend. We all need to make friends with our inner Saturn if we would claim our power to fulfill our higher purpose for being alive as Spirits in the material world.
This book shows you the way to take command of your power to steer your life in a conscious way, using Saturn’s strengths and skills to be led to mastering life on our own terms. As Saturn is such a dominant energy at this time, by owning our ability to manifest the best of Saturn's virtues in our world, we take command of our destiny and become the living purpose we were born to make manifest!
It was written for both astrologers and non-astrologers, and will assist your understanding of how your life experiences assisted your Soul growth and power to turn away from unhelpful karmic cause and effect patterns. Each time you re-read any part of it you’re sure to find undiscovered gems of insight helping you throw off attitudes which frustrate your ability to live your higher Purpose on your own terms.
A Look Back - The Great Compression of 2020 in Capricorn Still Affects Us
As I mentioned earlier, we’re now in the fourth year of a long term focus wherever we have late Capricorn and early Aquarius in our charts. In the first 90 days of 2020, we had a “Great Compression” of planets involving Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto all making conjunctions in the last decan of Capricorn, setting off a number of Saturn cycles, one of which will last 33 years! We then began an accelerated phase of our collective spiritual evolution which will take us from the threshold of the Age of Aquarius into the Age itself.
You can find out more about the very powerful Sun, Mercury, and Saturn's conjunctions with Pluto by revisiting The Great Compression of January 2020 – Mercury, Sun, Saturn and Pluto all Conjunct in Capricorn. That lays out the long wave patterns set into motion then.
Because of the Capricorn conjunctions set in motion in 2020, we reorganized our lives wherever we have late Capricorn in our charts. These cycles will impact all of us for some time to come. Especially with three Jupiter conjunctions with Pluto that year, it’s easy to see that for better or worse things were “expansively purified.”
When Mars conjuncted Saturn at 1 Aquarius on March 31, 2020, it set a cycle into motion which began to expand into a global system at the December 2020 Grand Mutation on the same degree. That Jupiter/Saturn conjunction launched both a new 20 year Aquarian cycle AND a new 200 year era of Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions in Air signs. That means less materialism than the past 200 years, with more focus on our commonality and ability to share ideas over the next 200.
Saturn in Aquarius led us to understand a more timeless role to play to help create a better world. What is your purpose? What structures and self-disciplines do you need to fulfill the ideal of that purpose? We began work on those structures in 2020 which led us to a greater vision in 2021.
With Saturn having completed our Aquarius lessons in maturity, structure, discipline and understanding, Saturn in Pisces now brings a more compassionate set of lessons which affects how the 2020 conjunctions will express at this time. Saturn’s still a major player behind the scenes, which impacts all conjunctions in Capricorn and Aquarius, past and present.
Is the Grand Irrationality A Factor in this Full Moon?
Because this configuration is ending its 30 year run in a few weeks, I created an article which sums up the three versions of the Grand Irrationality in play these past decades. I discuss what it is and which zones of the zodiac have been most impacted and when. You can find all you need to know about this configuration associated with widespread irrationality and hard-edged “forks in the road of destiny” we’ve all confronted at various times by going to The Grand Irrationality is Over (1993-2023).
Any transit making multiple 7th harmonic aspects put this “7-pointed Star of Destiny” evolutionary configuration into play, bringing choices and changes affecting our future. The generic configuration is why things seem so crazy and hard-edged at this time in history, and why humanity seems to have been at an unending “fork in the road of destiny.” In this chart Uranus no longer septiles Neptune. It activated a final time when Mercury and the Sun septiled Uranus and biseptiled Neptune in early July, which formally ended the pattern. In this chart, Mars biseptiles Uranus and triseptiles Neptune, even though they are not in septile.
This evolutionary configuration has been activated over the years when any planet moved through any of the hot zones of the configuration. However, even though it’s ended, remember that almost everyone on Earth born in the past 30 years has this in their charts! And all the eclipses these past years have also had it, including the April and May eclipses. So we’ll still have it working in the background for years to come.
Neptune in Pisces and Chiron in Aries
In this chart, Chiron is stationary retrograde at 20 Aries. This is a threshold degree which tells us to link with others in compassionate service or assistance. Be joyous as you help others who are struggling. From here it retrogrades until it goes stationary direct in late December at 16 Aries. So from late March to now, Chiron has transited from 16-20 Aries, and now begins its review of that span.
In the bigger picture, Jupiter’s recent conjunction with Chiron began a very long wave healing and mentoring cycles wherever we have mid- Aries. Because Chiron’s last direct station was at 12 Aries, those themes will be extremely important through the Summer. This means Chiron is mentoring and teaching us how to heal into our Higher Self through seeing the trajectory of “the flight of our Soul” linked to other Souls sharing our flight path.
This continues our adventure related to Chiron’s healing and mentoring energies in the second decan of Aries. We now have two major Chironic themes in play: one was set into motion when Mars conjuncted Chiron in Aries last year, which I explained in Mars Conjunct Chiron at 16 Aries, and the other was set into motion when Chiron went stationary direct, which I wrote about in Astrology Healing Cycles - Chiron Stationary Direct at 12 Aries.
So Aries continues to dominate the Mars/Chiron cycle, with a new long wave Chironic pulse added at the recent Jupiter/Chiron cycle which began at 15 Aries on March 12. This began a new cycle of “the expansive healer,” “opportunities to mentor and be mentored,” and "healing and teaching through humor." The last Jupiter/Chiron conjunction happened in late Aquarius in 2009, and this one lasts through 2036 when they meet again at 17 Gemini. This is an important cycle which will help us “heal into our Higher Self” at crucial points over the next 13 years.
Neptune now approaches the end of its depth immersion in its home sign of Pisces, and now is in its long term stay in the last decan, ruled by Scorpio with an added dose of Mars. This is “the end of the end” of the 360 degree “Whole Cycle,” and so encompasses all of the ghosts and unfulfilled mysteries of this past 150 year cycle since it was last here. It also allows us to purify and forgive much of the past and move into a deeper compassion regarding suffering humanity.
Since last Summer, we’ve all been awakened to an expanded tactile awareness, giving us more of a kinesthetic experience of learning. You can learn more about the primary and secondary methods of how we learn all we learn by going to The Seven Different Types of Learning Styles – Pt. 1 and The Seven Different Types of Learning and Teaching Styles – Pt. 2
This New Moon shows Neptune at 28 Pisces, the same degree it recently went stationary retrograde. This is a degree of “abundance” and harvests which are perfect for our individual needs. Look at the “aliveness” in the world around you, as well as your “garden of Life and Mind,” and listen to the Earth – you could find a deep mystery which will lead you to abundance this Summer! The end of Pisces allows us expanded “non-local knowing.”
Summing Up - The Big Picture
The Capricorn conjunctions of early 2020 continue to condition the long wave cycles unfolding since then even as we simultaneously build a new Aquarian social-spiritual ideal. Jupiter raced through Pisces and Aries at perihelion after its time in Aquarius and opened infinite potentials which will be actualized over the next 20 years. What Jupiter opened in 2021, Saturn crystallized in 2022, and the promise of fortunate endings made when Jupiter was in early Pisces May through July 2021 and again in January 2022 is now being made real by Saturn.
We are now on a new adventure! Having set a lot into motion since 2020, we now get to settle into a somewhat comfortable groove as Jupiter sextiles and quintiles Saturn through the end of the year. We’ll experience a much more comfortable pace which will help anchor the dawning Plutonic seeds of the emerging Aquarian era, so things will be very “transitional” from now through 2025.
All of us have been learning to listen to the inner voice and finding things to be grateful for. We’ve had several months of a new spontaneity resulting from cleaning out our mind’s attachments to perceptions and interpretations, and now are in a year when the old answers will not be adequate “to confirm the new conditions of existence.” The old ways and explanations no long apply, and now that we’ve been challenged to rise to some occasion, we can follow what we’ve seen or heard and find a newer way of living life.
Last year and early this year we trained in using spiritual power effectively, and learned to apply the power of gratitude and appreciation since December. This is a turning point in our ideals and sense of the roles we’re here to play. This time brings “a mantle of power,” or “the grace” which can make us leaders in some way.
Summing Up – The Immediate Picture
Recent Solar and Lunar eclipses continue to remove old elements of our old “field and focus” so we may move into new ways of doing our Being. Much is opening at a rocket’s pace, and there will be quick endings of old limitations over coming months! This month helps us build accurate intuition, greater humanitarian tendencies, and clear focus. Use self-discipline and deep insights to find confidence in the midst of occasional chaos, and you’ll find you’re developing an “x-ray vision” and can see and know things on very deep levels.
We’re still hearing Saturn’s “call to self-renewal,” with a need for courage when affirming our convictions to others. Some will find “the clear light of high realization,” so take a look around to see what you’ll need to do your thing in the future. With Saturn in Pisces, while endings may feel heavy, the immediately lightness which follows will help us move easily into a new life adventure.
We are revisiting the last echoes of the dying Pluto in Capricorn era, with new days dawning and new lands appearing. This is a turning point in our relationships, so express your heart, your play, your creativity, and prepare for a review of all these things and more when Venus goes retrograde in a few days. This is a time of steady productivity, and those who use their creative imagination may catch glimpses of new dimensions of Being. Again, this period promises powerful inspiration and releases of heart energy!
Because we have planets spread out with 6 clustered in Taurus, Cancer, and Leo, the primary focus on the next month is in the 112+ degree span between Jupiter in mid-Taurus and Mars in early Virgo. As per the Nodal positions, this is the final Lunation with NN in Taurus and SN in Scorpio. Scorpio wants to go deeper into our connections with others, but as the North Node is in Taurus, remember to enjoy feeling renewed!
Final Thoughts
Due to our training in 2021-2022, we know how to use spiritual power and/or magnetism wisely. During that time we cultivated new heart strengths as a result of “spiritual linkage through emotional stress” and “the blessings which come forth after the death of useless things.” We’re now living new roles in new relationships as we play our part in the Aquarian energy field growing stronger by the month.
Continue to ride the waves of a gigantic future opening to you wherever you have Aquarius, Aries, Taurus and Leo in your chart, welcoming the new, the promise, the protection, and the adventure even as you let go of all which is slipping away. Remember enlightenment is a verb, not a noun, and our connection with the World Soul allows us to act in harmony with “All That Is.”
Because of our total immersion in Aquarian energy in 2021-2022, we’ve received innovative ideas and know who our spiritual allies are. In the past 2 years we’ve broken away, broken free, and broken through whatever used to block our flow. We approach a new cooperative era, and the next few weeks substantiate the positives in play since December 2020!
We’re still becoming more conscious of our interrelatedness within the spiritual field and moving through an immersion in a new sensitivity to the generic human condition. The new era dawning will show us that we are in fact individual sparks of Light within an infinite ocean of Light. We are not separate from any other thing, since all things are Light and therefore we are one with All.
This is the beginning of the beginning of a new 200 year era. The powerful forces being released at times may be chaotic, violent, intractable, and irrational, but there is power in our unified vision of a better future. Stay clear about what your vision is, and let go of all which prevents you from flying free with your Spiritual Brothers and Sisters into a better future. Keep the course steady despite the compressed tensions of this time, and know we’re on our way into the future together!
And now, a word from our sponsor!
Because Venus occupies 29 Leo in this Lunation chart and it’s about to go retrograde and re-trace the ground we’ve been traversing since mid-June, it will give us a new look at what we like and why we like it in the house where we have late Leo. Venus in Leo, whether direct or retrograde, provides beauty and inspiration to whatever it touches, in this case our longing for a new life. Venus going SRX as the nozzle of a Yod with Neptune and Pluto indicates a lot of expansion through sacrifice in future weeks, accented by Mercury when it conjuncts Venus and joins the nozzle!
Venus is giving us 4 months of learning to like all things Leo! This will bring beauty or something of value to wherever we have Leo in our charts, and people with significant Leo planets or points will love the fire they’re feeling in their interactions.
If you want to know more about your ability to change what and who you attract to your lives, finding your heart’s desire and a lot of joyous relationships which fulfill your Soul, please consider getting your copy of my newest book, The Magic of Venus: Friendships, Soul Mates, and Twin Flames.
It’s the most comprehensive book on Venus ever written, and takes a deep dive into how our Venus shapes why we like or don’t like the people and things we do, and how we can change our patterns of attraction to make our future relationships more fulfilling. It explains the world of relationship from the angle of psychology, astrology, spirituality, and worldly experience. I’ve heard it has helped people turn away from unhealthy relationships and turn everything around in short order. It examines the nature of the qualities in a healthy relationship and friendship, and offers understanding about how to create long lasting personal relationships and friendships, why Soul Mates come into our lives, and how to know the difference between a Soul Mate and our Twin Flame.
It has chapters on the qualities of each sign’s natural mate, the qualities of Venus in each sign, and when crucial choices and changes are made, affecting who we attract in the future. It was written for both astrologers and lay people, and as it has a thousand gems for better relationships, with self, others, and Source, please consider getting your copy by going to the link above! (And when you’re done, please leave a review on Amazon, since it helps the book and all other books on astrology as well!)
See you soon with part 2, which will cover Sabian Symbols, Jones patterns, element distribution, and a whole lot more!
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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