Libra New Moon 2020: Sharp Objects

Libra is known as the Zodiac sign with the most affinity for building Significant Relationships. But don’t expect to begin any new ones—at least not right now, anyhow. Why? This Libra New Moon, exact on October 16, occurs immediately following Mercury’s Retrograde in Scorpio, landing it smack dab in the middle of the Mars-Mercury Double Retrograde Madness this Fall of 2020.

So brace yourself. Because when it comes to Relationships? Thorns and Landmines Abound.

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Pisces Full Moon 2020: Toxic Humidity

If you want to succeed in the long run and avoid alienating yourself from your own long-term goals? It’ll be in your best interest to keep things aboveboard. Just put one foot in front of the other, as they say. And avoid any toxic humidity that might be clouding your judgment now—lest you end up booby trapped.

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Leo New Moon 2020: Shooting for the Stars, or Shooting Yourself in the Foot?

The key to not setting yourself up for failure? Setting small, achievable goals and not giving away our energy in a whole-hog pursuit of capitulating to the needs of others, as this will only lead to seething resentment or outright rebellion is the way to avoid the many booby traps of this New Moon.

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Cancer New Moon 2020 (#2): Shape Up or Ship Out

Saturn's potent influence on this Cancer New Moon chart has a stark “shape up or ship out” feel to it, pressing us to make amends, pay your dues or avoid “pushing your luck” while you’re ahead (or whatever). Plus, there’s a whole boatload of planets in Cardinal signs, hungry for Action & New Beginnings—especially on the Home & Family Front. Many will decide (or be forced) to move house with this New Moon, as its uncomfortably tight opposition to Saturn in Capricorn shines a light on whatever’s is or isn’t working for you anymore.

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Aquarius Full Moon 2020: Clearing the Air & Embracing the Flail

The Sturgeon Full Moon on August 3 is the epitome of that never-ending Aquarius Paradox, hyper-aware of the gray area of life in its most abstract sense yet decidedly “black and white” if not seemingly detached in their approach to emotions. But with Aquarius it’s always a game of all or nothing—so there’d better be no hedging of emotional or financial bets when the moment comes to, ahem, self-express.

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Capricorn Lunar Eclipse 2020: Cutting Out Toxicity

If you cut everyone and everything out of your life that creates even the mildest discomfort, where does that leave you in the end? Ahem, alone. So before you go waving your emotional scalpel around indiscriminately, make sure you examine your role in your relationships…Because apparently it takes two to tango. And who doesn’t want to tango, ya know?

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Solar Eclipse in Cancer 2020: Manifestation Nation

With the Solar Eclipse in Cancer on June 21st in the midst of Mercury’s stationary Retrograde and Venus’ stationary Direct period, plus the impending Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn? It’s a lot to process, and much is occurring underneath the surface.. But yes—the grass is on its way to growing greener once again…

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Mercury Retrograde in Cancer 2020: Sensitivity Training

The goal here is to better understand the way we engage (or refuse to) when confronted with the pain or perceived neediness of others—and to question whether their neediness is really a projection of our own tendency to codependency. So even though it’s not about manifesting our Manifest Destiny? This Mercury Retrograde in Cancer is an extremely rare opportunity to—no, not manifest—but “do the inner work,” as they say.

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Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius 2020: Sitting With Discomfort

“Pain = Bad” is a dangerous conflation, so if avoidance of even the slightest interpersonal discomfort or feeling of rejected (even when it’s likely only in your head) is your MO? You might be in for a rude awakening. Pain is growth. The trick though? Learning to put your inner Manifestation Monologue on “Mute” and take in (not take on) whatever’s got you running to and fro.

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Gemini New Moon 2020: Dreamland and Ponies

So being Peter Pan for a bit might just be the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down, as there’s a push to identify and relinquish whatever (emotional) baggage has been holding us back from acting on our latest & greatest romantic reverie…But can you (or anyone?) Maintain Self-Awareness in the Midst of a Full-Blown Fantasy? We’ll see.

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Venus Retrograde in Gemini 2020: An Astrology Survival Guide

Venus is Retrograde in Gemini from May 13th until June 25th this year—the first time since October - November of 2012. So get ready for a return of not just exes but anyone from the depths of your social or romantic past. But Gemini has what you might call “Shiny Ball Syndrome.” In other words? Their constant mind-changing and chasing greener pastures often costs them, well, many a dime.

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Taurus New Moon 2020: Springtime For Hitler

It’s Springtime for Hitler on April 22nd, as the Taurus New Moon at 10:46 pm (EDT) ushers in a need to appreciate the absurd. Yes that’s right: Combine “Dictator” with “Flower Child” and out pops a Taurus. Add the demands of Saturn in Aquarius? You might be so overwhelmed with Absurdity now might be a fine time for a chill pill (or five).

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Saturn in Aquarius 2020: Age of Accountability

Saturn has been in Capricorn since December 19, 2017. But on March 21, 2020, Saturn moves into the sign of Aquarius for the first time since January 1994, marking the beginning of a crucial turning point in our collective consciousness as we shift our focus from (Personal) Responsibility to (Societal) Accountability.

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Pisces New Moon 2020: Escaping Gilded Cages

 
2020 Pisces New Moon.jpg

On Sunday February 23rd at 10:32 AM (EST), there’s a rare New Moon in Pisces. New Moons, as I’ve said before, mark the beginning of each monthly Lunar cycle, and consequently signal Fresh Starts and periods of initiation and action in the two weeks leading up to the Full Moon, when we realize whatever flaws or obstacles to our plans and adjust accordingly, in preparation for the next New Moon. And so on.

This New Moon in Pisces Decan 1, however, occurs smack in the middle of the first Mercury Retrograde period of 2020, with the Sun, Moon and Mercury all in the imaginative, dreamy Water sign of Pisces—typically not the best time to start new projects or make major moves. And with Mercury in its Detriment, we’re fully awash in the Brain Fog & Escapism characteristic of Pisces. In other words, we’re not thinking clearly now, not only due to Mercury Retrograde but due to the heavy concentration of planets in Pisces (in this case, the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Neptune), as well as in the 9th and 12th houses of the chart.

Similarly, there’s a potent contradiction that underlies this particular New Moon chart—namely, while it denotes a cycle best used for cultivating receptivity, paying attention to how we react to certain situations or people that “trigger” us and reflecting on recent events, the chart depicts an equally powerful, almost desperate, compulsive desire for external validation.

Jupiter Square Venus + Mars Square Chiron: Desire for Validation

Jupiter in its Fall in Capricorn lands in the 9th house of the New Moon chart. On its own, this placement is much like the combination of Sagittarius and Capricorn, embodying the vision of Sagittarius grounded by Capricorn’s signature Practicality. Yet Jupiter forms a tight square aspect to Venus in Aries—the sign of its Detriment—in the 12th house of the Pisces New Moon chart.

In Astrology, each house is associated with a particular zodiac sign. The 12th house corresponds to the sign of Pisces, representing secrets, the unconscious mind, endings and all that’s hidden. With Venus in its detriment by sign, trapped in the 12th house of the chart, our ability to love ourselves (Venus in Aries) is undermined by our excessive, unquenchable need to feel accepted, loved by, or attraction from others. Jupiter in Capricorn and Venus in Aries are both poorly placed by sign, as both planets are about attraction, while Cardinal signs Aries and Cap are interested in goal achievement, action and acquiring of accolades—even if only on a superficial level.

Mars, the planet of drive and motivation, is in Capricorn, and though it’s exalted in the sign of Capricorn, it’s similarly undermined both by its tight conjunction to the South Node in Cap and its equally tight square to asteroid Chiron in Aries. With these aspects, our powers of Action—of Productivity and Manifestation—are just as blurry as our thinking now, as Mars conjunct the South Node in Capricorn indicates action motivated by deeply-rooted, unconscious habit patterns acquired through early life conditioning. Mars conjunct the South Node in any chart is often indicative of someone who’s likely to “shoot himself in the foot,” so to speak—a tendency that’s even more likely when Mars is tightly square Chiron, compelling us to act not out of pure intentions out of fear of rejection.

Consequently, we might become so deeply mired in (or afraid to leave) our comfort zones that we either go deeper into solitude or self-imposed isolation. Or, alternatively, we go embark upon a continual, compulsive quest to seek self-esteem through validation or approval from others. Think notches on bedposts, constant checking of emails ignored or messages left on “read,” or focusing too heavily not on real feeling but on whether the other person (seems) to “like” us or not.

Jupiter Sextile Neptune: Learning From Loss

The recent Cancer/Capricorn Eclipses—both Cardinal signs—have drained us, demanding Action both on the home front and in terms of building our Careers. This has left us exhausted, having either moved house or changed jobs, vacillating constantly between the demands of Home and Family (Cancer) and those of Career (Capricorn).

Jupiter in Capricorn sextile Neptune in Pisces—sign of its Rulership—in the 11th house of the chart increases the potential for Disappointment or Delusion when it comes to our relationships and finances. That said, this New Moon chart above is loaded with potential—though the potential of this New Moon comes not through outward achievements or alliances but through our capacity to embrace our gut feelings and reflect clearly on what parts of our lives are—and aren’t—working.

Not to get morbid here, but there’s one scene in the BBC film Sylvia, the biopic of Poet Sylvia Plath, when Gwyneth Paltrow (Sylvia) finally finds evidence of Ted’s affair. He returns home to find all his papers and letters burned and torn to shreds. But as he screams asking “what happened here” (or something to that effect), she simply looks at him as she delivers one of the most iconic lines in the film: “The Truth comes to me. The Truth loves me.” And with that, he swiftly leaves the house.

In the film, this scene marks the beginning of her self-imposed solitude, during which she suffers as she reels from Ted’s abandonment and the painful reality of her marriage yet channels her suffering to the creative work that became the stuff of legend. Aside from the real-life tragedy of Plath’s life, this one fictional scene is a powerful example of the consequences we face when we bank our entirely identities on validation from sources outside ourselves, from the perceived public or significant others.

The Grand Sextile: Golden Opportunity

This New Moon offers a powerful burst of creativity when it comes to coming up with new ways to approach long-held beliefs and blockages that have been preventing us from feeling fulfilled, shining a light on the depths of our unconscious and giving us a rare glimpse into the Truth about our deepest fears and conditioned behavior patterns—should we choose to look.