October 9th ~ 16th
“Purity and Passion” by Franz Dvorak
Vulnerability is the only authentic state. Being vulnerable means being open, for wounding, but also for pleasure. Being open to the wounds of life means also being open to the bounty and beauty. Don’t mask or deny your vulnerability: it is your greatest asset. Be vulnerable: quake and shake in your boots with it. The new goodness that is coming to you, in the form of people, situations, and things can only come to you when you are vulnerable, i.e. open. ~Stephen Russell (Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao: A Spiritual Handbook for the Urban Warrior)
On Saturday, October 10th, we have a New Moon at 17º Libra 22’. The New Moon in Libra speaks to fairness, equality and reciprocity. It speaks to the natural flow of giving and receiving between individuals that feeds healthy co-equal relationships.
This year, Venus, the ruling planet of Libra, retrograde and in the sign of Scorpio, is busy navigating the deeper depths of connecting that can make relationships a bit more complicated. This is the place where we encounter those intense emotions such as jealousy, guilt, obsession, fears of abandonment and rejection. All those fragile emotions that can upend even the healthiest of relationships. On the surface things may seem perfectly tranquil, like a placid lake with barely a ripple. And yet beneath the surface a wild tempest brews when Venus rends her heart open revealing her deepest wounds, fears and dreads. Know that she does so for the sake of love.
Surprisingly despite an exact square between Venus and Mars on the day of the New Moon, a sextile to Jupiter from the Moon speaks to hope and possibility, even in the face of all the complicated feelings that Venus is stirring up. For the path to healing our relationships is through the New Moon in Libra. It may not be for the weak of heart, but it does hold promise. And in order to do this well, we need to be both humble and brave. And to learn how to trust again.
The ability to trust again requires an open heart, as opposed to protecting it within a medieval cage riddled with barbed wire. The capacity to be vulnerable and lay your heart on the altar of love can seem scary. How dare we, when it feels so unsafe to do so? But that is precisely what is being asked of us with the New Moon in Libra. The New Moon reminds us that the way to healing is not by avoiding love, but through it.
On Thursday, Pluto makes its direct station at 3º Aquarius 04’ while square retrograde Venus. On the day of the New Moon, Venus also perfects an exact square to Mars, making us all too aware of what happens when we allow our lower natures to take control. This tense t-square speaks to the abuse of power and its repercussions. (We’ve been hearing much about this in the news recently with the Cornell 7). The recent Mars/Pluto opposition has been speaking to power and the abuse of power and privilege. Retrograde Venus in the sign of Scorpio, a sign of vulnerability for Venus, is bringing it home. Pluto speaks to power and the abuse of power and privilege. Often done so, because they can. Because it has become an accepted part of the culture.
However, Pluto is also the power of transformation through healing, rebuilding, regenerating and rebirth. The wounds of Pluto are often in the guise of compulsions, that drive us, our obsessions, and underlying psychological wounds. Things that we think we have no control over. And yet the first step to gaining control over our own compulsions, even the endemic wounds in society, is to make them conscious. Face them. Reveal them for what they are. For when we are able to take control over our lower wounded natures, we can then take the reins over our own destiny and fate. This is what it means to be truly empowered.
The first Labor of Hercules was to defeat the Nemean Lion, a beast so horrible, so strong and so fierce, that no one could defeat him. Hercules did so with his bare hands, after having tracked it to its own cave. Not only was he to defeat the Lion, but he was required to bring back the skin of the ferocious lion as proof. But the Lion’s skin was so strong, that nothing could penetrate it. Therefore Hercules used the lion’s own sharp claw to skin the creature. Afterwards, Hercules forever wore the skin as his own cloak, as a symbol of having conquered his own animal nature. The first step on his journey towards enlightenment.
New Moons are times of New Beginnings. The sextile of the New Moon to Jupiter asks us to hope. For without hope there is no capacity for growth, for healing and transformation.
New Moon in Libra homework: What does it take to rebuild trust? What might you do to restore moderation, balance and harmony in your life? What compromises can you make in order to achieve greater fairness? Which are the alliances in your life that complete you and allow you to grow? And which are those that are draining you, and driving you into a pit of despair? What are your expectations of others and they of you, and can these be reconciled?
If you wish to make intentions or affirmations with the New Moon in Libra, a good time to do so is within the New Moon phase which begins with the New Moon on October 10th at 11:50 am EDT (8:50 am PDT; 4:50 pm British Time) and until the Waxing Crescent Moon on October 14th:
Moderation is the center wherein all philosophies, both human and divine, meet. ~ Benjamin Disraeli
May I achieve balance by navigating the disparate parts of my life with patience, wisdom and equanimity
The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace. ~ Carlos Santana
By finding points of agreement with others, I sow balance and harmony in the world.
If justice and perseverance are the basis for action, all goes well. ~ Shih (the Army) (The I Ching)
When I am willing to meet others halfway we understand each other and where we are
The Libra New Moon stands at the balance between Light and Darkness, where we take an assessment of what we have lost and/or gained thus far this year. A year that is now beginning to wane. This is also when we consider what our next steps are going to be. It is a time of acceptance as well as gratitude for our current circumstances, as well as anticipation for what is yet to come.
For the New Moon for your sign (or natal house placement), click below: