New Moon in Libra | October 8, 2018 - power imbalances, hard truths, holding ourselves together, planting the seeds of the old fruit, almost time to rebuild

Some of today's post I am going to pull from MONDAY in the weekly, but some of it will be new. I thought, after re-reading yesterday's post last night, I might have colored it too darkly with my own current circumstances, so am going to break it down a bit differently here and we'll see if we end up in the same place or with a new vantage point.

The Moon entered Libra on Sunday night at 9:10PM EDT focusing us on Libran themes for the next couple days - partnerships, balance, justice, cooperation, diplomacy. Libra is the sign of relationship.

Before she meets the Sun at 15 degrees Libra (11:47PM EDT) she will square Saturn and trine the South Node (3 degrees), square Vesta (6 degrees), trine Black Moon Lilith (7 degrees) and trine Mars (9 degrees). Note she is doing all of this in the dark (balsamic moon phase) and in Libra she is answering to Venus, recently retrograded into the dark of Scorpio. There is stuff we don't know and can't see here.

The Moon's Capricorn squares today are us reaching limits, dealing with authority, hitting road blocks. The Moon's Aquarius trines (brakes off) speak of an easier time of it off the beaten path now. The Balsamic Moon is a natural time of endings and with the South Node in Aquarius those are supported now.

She met with Ceres on Sunday, still in play now, which I talked about in yesterday's post HERE. By the time the Moon meets the Sun tonight, this aspect will be waning. The power imbalances within our relationship/situation have been made clear to us (personally and collectively) as well as the things that are out of our hands and any mama-drama we are working through.

Everything is leading us - still in the dark - toward that Sun. Now, unlike other planets that get illuminated when they meet the Sun, the Moon, coming between the Earth and the Sun, blocks the Sun's light. And like other planets when she meets the Sun we get a new story. We get a mini re-set every month.

Because this is happening in Libra we look to our natal Libra house (15 degrees) for the kind of theme we will be working with personally. Then we consider the general Libra themes (relationship, partnership, balance, justice, women, beauty) and we consider what Libra's ruling planet is doing and where she is.

We want to keep in mind with Venus (ruling our desire nature) retrograde - we could be wanting something we don't usually want. And with the Sun - remember it is the Sun's meeting with the Moon that creates the New Moon - moving toward a square with Pluto (ruling power, but also death/the finality of situations) on Friday - any big moves toward that thing we want could set energies into motion that cut off other options. We might want to carefully consider any big moves this week because they won't be so easily undone later.

That square to Pluto (and general theme of relationship and other people) could indicate the new from the New Moon is forced upon us, maybe not totally welcomed, and grown from the seeds of something that has reached a conclusion - which I guess new things always are, but maybe it is somehow more obvious here. Maybe we are working through a loss of power here. There could be further destruction before we can get to a place to rebuild - like when workers go into a rotten house and tear down the old walls before the new walls go up.

Or maybe we don't have the power to make the things happen we want to happen or to get what we want from the place we now stand.

Neptune is making an inconjunct (that rock and a hard place) to the Moon/Sun, so something involving a Neptunian theme - self-sacrifice, self-sabotage, illusion, delusion, connection - will not be easily reconciled here. It makes me think things may not be quite as we see them - possible not quite as scary or, with Neptune ruling the 12th house of the ethereal realms, just being handled by larger hands than ours. We could spend alot of time/energy working out something we don't actually have any control over anyway.

Remember the energies influence us in subtle and not so subtle ways. Our stories are always in flux. We always, always have the chance to start again with ourselves.

(Astrology forecasting is like predicting the weather. The weatherman can tell you it is going to rain today, but it up to you whether you change your plans, bring an umbrella or just decide to walk in it! Take what is helpful, toss the rest, the Moon is trining Black Moon Lilith and Mars today, so make your own choices)

So we move toward the New Moon on wobbly legs having been unbalanced by the last two weeks, five months, 8 years - who knows. The New Moon's chart, a launching pad, is a lunar reset. We get a fresh emotional start (remember the Moon is about our emotions) with that Libra theme! Let's not waste it - set those intentions!

Now here's the part that is a repeat from yesterday -

MONTHLY AFFIRMATION TIPS for the Libra New Moon:

What house holds Libra in your natal chart?

This is our annual opportunity to restore balance here. Who/what do we want to partner with?

Get grounded - we have moved from an earth sign into air so this is important - always make affirmations from a positive place (positive meaning certain).

It is a good idea, since the New Moon is literally a blank sheet, to work in a clean, uncluttered space and maybe right after a bath or shower. Definitely when you are alone.

I find affirmations are most effective if I speak less on New Moon days so my words will hold more weight when I need them to.

I usually burn a white candle to help me focus and thin the veils between me and me. It also helps to channel ancestral energy a bit since I am always thinking as I move my story forward, their story moves forward with me.

Write your affirmations down by hand in cursive, we want the letters all connecting and flowing together. Speak the words out loud.

I used to write my affirmations on strips of paper and put them into a bowl of rice so I could mix them around every now and then with my fingers if things got stagnant. Then I decided to burn them. I have written them on rocks and buried them.

This month, I'm doing something I did a few weeks ago to line up with a specific thing that happened pretty effortlessly afterward -

I'm going to write my affirmations

(astrologer Jan Spiller recommends writing 10, but I have found myself stretching to do that or writing the same things every month which feels silly, so I have worked my way down to 3 which feels like a powerful number to me)

on my chalkboard while burning a white candle - when the candle burns out, all by itself - don't burn your house down - I erase the words first and then clean the blackboard with water.

Some people store them until the corresponding Full Moon (in this case during Aries season next April) and burn them then. Do what feels right.

I don't think it's terribly important what we do with our writings as long as we are not pulling them out and checking on them all the time. Setting intentions is like baking a cake - checking on how things are going just slows things down.

We are not handing a honey do list to the universe! We are lining up with the universal energies of creation here.

And I wouldn't be sharing them with other people, which also feels like it dilutes the process or pulls them into our story. I was writing them on my blog for a few months, as examples for people, and that definitely wasn't helpful.

Then - and this is the important part - release your attention from your words knowing your intention is known.

Know these things are already yours.

xo all

(please read MONDAY in the weekly for more about this New Moon)