July 17 2:32 PM EST
This is a subtle, albeit powerful, new moon. The sun and moon are united at 24 degrees of watery, intuitive and protective Cancer. They are being supported by a beautiful and close trine to spiritual and inclusive Neptune at 27 degrees of Pisces. Yet the new moon is also being opposed by intense and transformational Pluto at 29 degrees Capricorn. And, highly significantly, this is the final new moon in Cancer that will be opposed by Pluto. This is, indeed, the most salient and important feature of this new moon.
Since 2008, when Pluto moved into Capricorn, each of the Cancer new moons has either directly (or indirectly) been opposed by Pluto. What I mean by that is that while some of the new moons were directly opposed by Pluto (like this one), meaning they were within a classical 10 degree orb of opposition. Others were indirectly opposed by Pluto simply by virtue of the fact that Pluto was ‘in residence’ in Capricorn, opposed energetically (if not angularly) to any planets in Cancer. So Pluto has been deeply working ‘its magic’ in the Cancer realms for the last 15 years.
Between late March and early June of this year, Pluto dipped its toes in the waters of Aquarius. It will dance between late Capricorn and early Aquarius between now and November 20, 2024 when it makes its ‘permanent’ ingress into Aquarius (until 2044). Next July, at the time of the Cancer new moon, Pluto will be in Aquarius, neither energetically or angularly opposed to the new moon. So after 15 years of Cancer energy being ‘influenced’ by Pluto, THIS is the final new moon with that energetic.
So this is a BIG deal, a transition, a turning point, a ‘wrapping things up’. And most importantly a chance to “do things differently” with whatever has been coming up in our lives over the past 15 years, especially in regards to the Cancerian themes of home, family, ‘mother’, nurturance, and care. We have ALL had to take a deep and powerful look at what those things mean to us over the past 15 years. After all, Pluto has demanded it. We ‘can’t run or hide’ from Pluto. It ‘seeps’ into everything and its penetrating, if somewhat opaque, strategies defy logic or evasion. So many of us have had to tread in uncomfortable Cancer waters of confronting what we truly need from OURSELVES in regards to care, shelter and nurturance. Certainly we may have waded into the past (another Cancerian realm) to go over who may have failed us and how we may have been failed in these regards in our childhoods (Cancer again). But ultimately, a key part of reaching emotional maturity is when we recognize that we must take accountability and responsibility for our own care, and that means learning what our true needs are in the present moment.
Pluto has been our guardian, shepherd, and provocateur through this process. Pluto is the Lord of the Underworld and what is no longer useful for us in our journey must be purged to make room for the new. Including whatever ’emotional baggage’ (Cancer) we have been holding onto. Pluto’s effect on Cancer and the Cancerian realm in all of our lives has been effective and thorough. Many of us no longer live where we lived in 2008 and certainly have a different relationship with our ‘idea of the past’.
Here in this final Cancer new moon opposed to Pluto, we may contemplate how well we are able to take what we have been through on this long 15 year journey and use it to truly EMPOWER ourselves. Pluto is associated not only with death and the underworld, but with riches. Why? Because when we do the hard work and unearth what is no longer appropriate or relevant, we are ‘rewarded’. What is TRULY valuable, useful and in alignment can come forward and be recognized, accepted, implemented. Rather like finding the diamond in the rough. It is our reward for finally recognizing that all that glitters is not gold. And that what others want and need in their lives, may not be (is not) what is right for us.
So here with this new moon, trine to psychically attuned Neptune, we have all the tools we need to see what is in front of us and accurately discern if it meets our needs or not.
This is all the more important and relevant because Venus, the planet of love, beauty and relationships is at 28 degrees of Leo stationing to go retrograde on that degree on July 22nd. Whenever a planet is stationing it is highly powerful. So while Venus is not yet retrograde, we are already in the process of sensing some of the themes and situations in our lives that need to be attended to over the upcoming Venus retrograde in Leo period. This will take us through much of the rest of the summer and into the fall since although Venus goes direct on September 3rd, it does not come out of its retrograde shadow zone until October 7th, just one day before it enters Virgo. So what is happening around this new moon is highly significant not just for the upcoming 28 day lunar cycle, but for the next several months.
In addition to the trine from Neptune, the new moon is being supported via a close sextile from Uranus at 22 degrees of Taurus. Uranus urges freedom and liberation. This could be just the final ‘push’ we need to once-and-for-all shed that old Cancerian trauma or story from the past that we have been carrying around, especially as it relates to our relationships (Venus Rx). Jupiter in Taurus is not aspecting the new moon but is an ever present reminder now that we are tending to the gardens of our “new” lives and need to be diligent in that effort, including weeding out what we do not wish to allow or support any longer.
Jupiter in Taurus is trine to Mars in Virgo and sextile to Saturn in Pisces. The opposition between Mars in Virgo and Saturn in Pisces is an interesting one here. It adds to the theme of discernment as Virgo is very big on discernment. But Saturn in Pisces can have a diffuse and nebulous impact. In other words, while Saturn is normally clear headed and impartial, in Pisces it can veer into ‘waterier’ territory. At its highest, this Saturn in Pisces period (2023-2026) is about re-attuning us to our inner higher compass and getting back in right relationship with spiritual law. But the Pisces instinct to ‘blur the lines’ can be a challenge here, especially in opposition to Mars in Virgo which demands accuracy.
What is most important to remember with this aspect is to maintain good boundaries with others (something Pisces can struggle with) and hold ourselves to a very high level of accountability and integrity (Virgo). We are, after all, in the midst of an important time of relationship readjustments (Venus Rx) and in the final push with a 15 year process of transformation and reaping the rewards of those efforts (Cancer opposition Pluto). Getting the most of out of this time requires that we show up as this ‘higher’ version of ourselves, lest we inadvertently go back to old patterns of emotional drama or provoke relationship shifts that we might not wish for. Likewise, others’ lack of boundaries, accountability or integrity now could become much more clear and precipitate some of the relational adjustments that are necessary.
And finally, during this new moon we are in the last hours of the north node’s transit through Taurus. The north node at 0 degrees Taurus is highly potent and in many ways reinforces many of the other themes of the new moon. We are at a “final push” of some of the lessons and transformation that has been occurring over not just the last 15 years with Pluto in Capricorn, but also at a more micro level, over the past 2 years with the eclipse cycle in Taurus/Scorpio. While we have one more eclipse in this cycle (the full moon lunar eclipse in Taurus on October 28th), the north node will not be back in Taurus again for about 18 years. We can reflect on how many major changes we have made in the past several years and how they have helped set us up for the new beginnings symbolized by the new eclipse cycle in Aries/Libra. Indeed, many of those new situations will involve new relationships (Libra) which makes our attention to shedding old emotional wounds (Cancer) and upgrading our relationships (Venus Rx) all the more important to attend to now.
When we commit wholeheartedly to meeting our own needs in the highest possible way, aligning with the people who truly support us in that journey, and holding ourselves to a high level of integrity and accountability, a whole new world of relationships and experiences can open up before us and we can at last see the fruits of our efforts and our upgraded sense of self.
*art by @dreamgaia
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