the meaning of the New Moon in Cancer | July 9th, 2021 - a focus on home and family, making ourselves at home wherever we are, doing change in a whole new way, following our intuition, pressured to make the important things important

 

 

 

On Friday, July 9th, 2021, at 9:16PM EDT, the Cancer Moon meets up with the Cancer Sun at 18 degrees giving us a New Moon - our annual New Moon in Cancer. 

The Moon rules the sign of Cancer, so this is always an important New Moon. Last year we had two New Moons in Cancer (life determined to have all of us doubly focused on home and family) and for two years before that our New Moons in Cancer were also Solar Eclipses, so we are kind of settling down this year with just one regular New Moon! 

Cancer rules home, family, our roots, mother, mothering, our ancestry, real estate, country, patriotism, home businesses, family businesses, the root of the matter - our emotional security - and, of course, the theme of your personal natal chart's Cancer house -  this is where we get the NEW BEGINNING

 

So, we have the Moon and Sun meeting at 18 degrees Cancer. They are trining Neptune, sextiling Uranus, squaring Chiron and opposing Pluto. Also semi-sextiling 18 degrees Leo, where Venus will meet up with Mars in just a few days. Let's unpack the chart!

The Moon and Sun are conjunct. Together. On the same page. Home/family matters. We can see it and feel it. They trine a retrograde Neptune - this is applying so this 'coming home/fresh start' is enabling an old dream. For the smoothest flow, we are following our intuition. 

 

They are sextiling Uranus - this is separating (has already happened). The breakdown/breakthrough that has brought us to this New Moon has already happened. The CHANGE/need for freedom/need to be ourselves is now in an opportunistic angle to the fresh start energy. HOW we create change is changing (the heroine's journey vs the hero's journey). Uranus and the Moon (Aqua and Cancer) are in synergy - Uranus wants revolution and the Moon says ' well, maybe not just right now, I don't feel secure enough/safe enough yet", and the events of this lunation put these energies into a smooth flow. We are not heading out on some winner-take-all hero's journey this lunar cycle. We are heading within/home where the heroine's (think Harry Potter) connections and compassion enable another, more inclusive, kind of adventure. Maybe the new is also the safe!

The Moon and Sun are squaring Chiron - this one is separating, too - the pain has already happened/played out. It still hurts probably, because when Cancer hurts, Cancer HURTS, but we are also in some ways past it. Maybe because what's done is done.

 

The Moon and Sun are opposing a retrograde Pluto - applying, but wide and Pluto is retrograde, so the Plutonian loss/death/transformation can be said to be 'in play' here, but there is alot of road to be walked between here and there. Still, the fresh start coming from an old loss/death. Oppositions to Pluto can trigger jealousy, power plays, manipulation, but also access to real truth if we go deep enough.

 

Semi-sextile the degree Venus and Mars will start their own new cycle in a few days speaks of this New Moon's connection to that. The Moon/Sun adding their voice to the Venus/Mars story in egoic Leo - home, family, our need to care and be cared for, security, safety, our tribe - something here needed there. 

 

Cancer and Leo are neighbors so they bicker and they barbecue.

 

(we'll talk about the Venus/Mars in their own post!)

 

This Moon looks pretty uncomplicated (perfect for Cancer) with all aspects a little wide, although still emotional (being Cancer) and pressured (with that opposition to powerful Pluto). So it's collectively about family connections/staying closer to home/coming home to ourselves/making a new home - something we will be collectively experiencing over the next four weeks as this cycle plays out.

 

SETTING AFFIRMATIONS

 

This is a powerful energy to focus our intentions and make affirmations around general Cancer themes : mothers, motherhood, self-care, nurturing, home, family, real estate, home business, family business, food, breast health, stomach and digestive health, gut health, security ... AND around our Cancer natal/progressed house themes.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a positive frame of mind, work in an uncluttered space - always make affirmations from a positive place (positive meaning both happy and certain) - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud - then release your attention from them knowing your intention is known.  

 

Know these things are already yours.

xo all

Today's astrology Forecast | Thursday, July 8th, 2021 - the future reaches back and grabs us by the balls, again ... changes with our relationships, income, values and self-esteem

 

 

The Moon comes home to Cancer this morning, preparing us for the New Moon tomorrow. The skies are dark. We are nourished/nurtured through home/family, whatever feels like mom and apple pie. She trines (brakes off) a retrograde Jupiter at 1:09PM EDT. 

Mercury finally leaves his retrograde shadow and starts covering new ground. Here's our green light. We are moving forward. Near the end of his home sign of Gemini he inconjuncts Pluto (retrograde) in Capricorn and makes his third (of three) square to Vesta, still working on that problem, in Virgo. Mercury rules both Virgo and Gemini, so his move into a new degree today will help. And Pluto is trining (brakes off) Vesta, so we know way through is by going deeper in. Plutonian solutions are deep, transformative. Something has to go  - via merge/purge - so something else can be born. Focus/go deep (just watch for obsessing over a problem, the trine should allow the truth we need to rise up). 

 

We talked more about the Cappy/Gemini inconjunct and today's Venus/Uranus in the weekly HERE. 

This is also the day Venus in Leo - after her tangle with daddy Saturn - perfects her square to freedom-seeking, future-oriented Uranus (in Taurus). Fixed signs have been feeling this all year. This speaks of unexpected changes within relationships, finances, our self-esteem, values. The pressure to change. Uranus is answering to Venus, so even though this is a square - tension/frustration - the way through this can be loving/peaceful. Maybe an unexpected expense comes up/change in income or one partner is feeling the squeeze and needs greater freedom. Our self-esteem may demand we update something. Mars was in this pickle last week - our actions/passions creating change - so the changes now - with relationships, money, resources, our self-esteem - likely connect to that.

 

The opposition to Saturn can make changes sticky and de-stabilizing, so we want to be sure we know what we are doing with important changes (if we have some say here and the opposition to Saturn and inconjunct to Pluto says we might not) - as sure as we can be anyway. Mercury is helping. So are Vesta and Pluto. Venus in Leo must shine/follow her heart. A fixed square tells us stuck situations need to shift and gives us the impetus to change via our back against the wall. Just be cautious with anything that suddenly seems like a good idea if you've never thought about it before. Big moves made because we aren't getting enough attention or aren't feeling appreciated may not bring us what we are seeking. Changes are here/coming, but the Earth trines are pulling in some practicality. Tossing the baby with the bathwater isn't often necessary and now we have a screaming baby. 

 

Mercury (our thinking, ideas, planning) is past his confusing square to Neptune and covering NEW ground. The Uranian squares of the past few weeks (and all year really) with more to follow over the next few weeks - no one will miss their train, don't worry! -  are opening portals that LINE US UP WITH THE FUTURE. Keep in mind our collective North Node of Fate on Gemini - stay flexible, ask yourself "how else can I see this?" - this will help. Right now, the Moon is dark in her home sign, coming off her meeting with Mercury and applying to her trine to Jupiter retrograde. Our old faith/hope/that gold we missed our last time through here can be found in the darkness/the stillness. 

 

The New Moon in Cancer tomorrow night will be healing/soothing. 

 

Our future is so bright it burns my eyes.

 

xo all 

artwork by the talented Cecile Pardigon

Weekly Astrology Forecast for Creatives | July 5th, 2021 thru July 11th, 2021 - what our heart wants, the confusion/illusion lifts, reality bites and we bite back, heading home

 

 

Did we all survive last week's T-Square with Mars?! 

 

Count fingers/toes/shake around a bit. All there, I hope. 

 

Well, hold on because Venus in Leo is doing the same hokey-pokey this week!

 

But she's Venus, Goddess of Love (as opposed to Mars, God of War), so there's that.  

 

Last week we had the Mars/Saturn - some pressure/tension between our actions and our obligations/limits. Then we had the Mars/Uranus which can bring on a sudden accident/impulsive changes, but hopefully Saturn's nail in our shoe prevented too wild a move on our part.  If we were hell-bent on some erratic move anyway (and we might have been because that's what squares with Uranus are for) well it's likely our motivations will dictate our outcome. Needing to be appreciated/garner attention is Mars in Leo's jam and bread, but with Uranus ruling group dynamics and the future (the whole "no I in team" thing) too much of the "me, me, me" stuff can lead us down a tricky/sticky path right now. Yet, still our heart must be followed. Life is not for sissies. Just sayin'.

This week we have the Sun sextiling Uranus to smooth things over, Venus following in Mars' footsteps (watch your heart/your benjamins), the final Mercury square Neptune (end of an illusion), a BIG New Moon in family/home oriented Cancer followed by Mercury's own move into Cancer. Lots going on.

Let's unpack the week! The best aspects are right out of the gate.

 

MONDAY - Sun sextile Uranus, Venus sextile North Node conjunct Juno

TUESDAY - Mercury squares Neptune retrograde (third of three), Venus opposes Saturn retrograde

WEDNESDAY - Venus trines Chiron

THURSDAY - Mercury inconjuncts Pluto retrograde, Venus squares Uranus retrograde

FRIDAY - New Moon in Cancer (18 degrees)

SUNDAY - Mercury enters Cancer

 

MONDAY - the Sun @ 13 degrees Cancer sextiles Uranus in Taurus, Venus @ 10 degrees Leo trines the South Node in Sag conjunct Juno (and sextiles the North Node in Gemini)

 

The Sun/Uranus sextile - here is a light on how these changes can work. Change is good. Cancer/Taurus is about comfortable changes in our home/family situation. Or changes with our resources/money/values/self-esteem creating opportunities for our family. This is smooth/easy. The future doesn't have to be some big scary thing. At the same time, Venus is trining the South Node conjunct Juno retrograde (in Sag) and sextiling the North Node. Maybe we are bringing more attention/appreciation/fun to an old relationship/partnership/contract. Maybe we are revising old commitments. Does this still work for you? For who you are now? Keep an eye on that opportunistic sextile to the Gemini North Node - speak up, talk it out, make a plan, dive into the details, stay flexible and open. Whatever this is - something coming or going - it should flow, we won't have to push.

TUESDAY - Mercury @ 23 degrees Gemini squares Neptune, retrograde in Pisces, Venus @ 12 degrees Leo, opposes Saturn

 

Mercury, finishing up her/his back-and-forth through his own sign of Gemini, reaches his final exact square to imaginative/illusive Neptune. Neptune is retrograde, the tide is out, the rocks at our feet are just rocks at our feet now (as opposed to the HUGE and colorful creatures they appear under water). Their first square was back on May 22nd. Now, the confusion/delusion clears. Now we know what to say/think/choose. Our questions are answered, even if the answers might be a little/or a lot disappointing. No more waffling around with procrastinated choices waiting for clearer skies. The skies are clear. Time to decide.

And yes, I know I have said 'the skies have cleared' before, because they did, a bit at a time, but after today, the SKIES ARE REALLY CLEAR. Like, no clouds in sight kind of clear. If we can't see, our eyes are closed. Tightly scrunched like mine some days, I would suspect.

Happening as Venus opposes Saturn (also retrograde) reinforces the reality check. We might see what we can't have. We might feel old or unappreciated. Oppositions are like Full Moons. They bring culmination points, endings, results. This will likely be more pronounced for people with mid-degree fixed sign planets or points or people with natal Venus/Saturn aspects.

WEDNESDAY - Venus @ 12 degrees Leo trines Chiron in Aries

 

Love is healing. Loving ourselves is healing. Time with children is healing. Beauty is healing. Peace/balance is healing. Generosity is healing. Courage is healing. Following our heart/standing in our heart space/on our own center stage (the one that sits empty when we hang out in the audience) is HEALING.  This is how we take care of ourselves/be ourselves/stand up for ourselves. This is a good time to offer a healing touch to someone else.

THURSDAY - Venus @ 14 degrees Leo, squares Uranus retrograde, Mercury @ 25 degrees Gemini inconjuncts Pluto in Capricorn

Unexpected relationship/finance/self-esteem situations. Break-ups. Breakthroughs. This is tension/frustration/disruptive. We want freedom, but the opposition to Saturn is reminding us that freedom isn't free. Watch your wallet. 

Mars walked his story last week, now Venus has done her job - showing us where we stand with our relationships, our finances, our values and self-esteem. Next week they meet up and start a BRAND NEW STORY! We are pressured to create something new - even within the confines of old relationships/limits/commitments - and it's going to be AMAZING. 

 

Although it won't be what we thought we wanted/what we thought it would be! Remember we are doing something again, but differently. SURPRISE!

At the same time Mercury is inconjunct a retrograde Pluto. This is a rock and a hard place. An adjustment needed and even then no one is going to be totally happy with the outcome. Also keep in mind, Pluto in Cappy (power/authority) is probably not going to do any adjusting, although he is retrograde, so doing some re-vising, re-viewing, which is kind of adjusting I guess. Mercury (our thinking, words, ideas, plans) is going to have to do all the adjusting! This is Gemini/Capricorn. Gemini can't stand that 'nose to the grindstone' kind of thing and Cappy is like "here is the grindstone - be glad you have a damn grindstone, other people just have a grind pebble!". If we hit a stop sign/road block, we are going to need to shift/change - something Mercury in Gemini is perfectly capable of doing. And this is Mercury's last aspect in his home sign - one final adjustment/tweak in our words/idea/plans before he/she (as us) is outta here.

 

FRIDAY - The Cancer Moon meets the Cancer Sun at 18 degrees giving us this month's New Moon. This is a FRESH START with a home/family situation and our focus turns HERE for the next couple weeks. Expect a BIG post.

 

SUNDAY - Now Mercury moves into Cancer where he/she will hang his hat until July 27th. We will be feeling what people are saying now. Our own words will be impacting other people emotionally, too.

 

For the next couple weeks we will be thinking/talking/writing/dealing with Cancerian issues more often - home, family, real estate, renovation, home business, ancestry, the past, mothers, country, safety, security. As well as our personal Cancer natal house theme. We could be more nostalgic.

With Mercury in Cancer we might sometimes need to step back and ask ourselves - "am I feeling the actual situation or am I feeling my thinking about the situation?". 

With Mercury in Cancer words come from the gut. Words are taken personally. They can be soothing or they can be painful.
 

Since Cancer rules both the mother and the baby, Mercury (communication, ideas, thoughts) in Cancer could be a good time to talk (Mercury) about what we need (Cancer), probably not in some whiny/overly needy way though :) 

(Trump has his natal Mercury in Cancer and prior to his meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un early in his term, said "I just, my touch, my feel, that's what, that's what I do" when asked about his preparation and how he would know if Kim was serious. His infamous verbal word salads aside - this feeling the words is pretty much how Mercury in Cancer communicates.)

 

First up for Mercury will be a beneficial trine to Jupiter on Monday, July 12th (here's that old gold, we were wondering where we put it!).  Then mid-month Mercury will inconjunct Saturn and square Chiron and finally trine Neptune and oppose Pluto toward the end of the month. When he gets into Leo on July 27th, he will immediately inconjunct Jupiter - not so cushy as his dealings with Jupiter from Cancer on the 12th and then proceed to do everything Venus is doing this week and Mars did last week. And we'll have the Sun in Leo by then doing the same dance (sextile North Node, oppose Saturn, trine Chiron and square Uranus). Thank goodness we will have Venus in Virgo by then bringing us some soothing trines if we can just get ourselves organized!

xo all

artwork by the talented Aaron Griffin Art

Today's Astrology Forecast | Thursday, July 1st, 2021 - the risk to be uncomfortable, what our heart wants now, reality checks, knowing how much ground to give

 

 

The Moon is in Aries now - we are nourished/nurtured by action, physical movement, taking the initiative, time spent alone, time spent with men, passion, anger. She trines Venus in fiery Leo at 7:22AM EDT (we might get a preview of the upcoming Mars/Venus new cycle) then goes on to square the Sun at 5:10PM EDT and finally sextile a retrograde Saturn at 9:15PM EDT.

 

The square to the Sun is this month's  Last Quarter Square - Aries/Cancer. Aries squares can make us antsy/add pressure to take action, get something moving. The Sun in Cancer is focused on security/home/family - making things safe. This is tension/frustration between the new/the initiative/the action and the comforting/familiar. 

 

(the key to working with Aries/Cancer and I am a Moon in Cancer married to an Aries Moon, so trust me on this one, is to thoroughly engage/initiate/challenge and THEN thoroughly absorb/empathize/connect with the other person's position - some ground must be given, but all ground cannot be given)

Keep in mind the Aries Moon is answering to Aries ruler Mars, who moves into his exact opposition to a retrograde Saturn today. Our movements/passions meet opposition/limits/rules - a reality check. With Saturn retrograde there are old rules/responsibilities/commitments that we are reminded of now. This isn't about giving up and this isn't about trying to power through regardless (which won't work) - Saturn and Mars are old friends/can work well together, but will require our efforts be practical, paced, focused on the future. 

Mars is in Leo commanding (demanding?) attention/appreciation. Needing to take actions we are passionate about. That are heartfelt/make us proud. The Moon in Aries will have us feeling all the ways this is and isn't happening. 

The thing that makes this different than other Mars/Saturn oppositions (reality checks) is we have a square to Uranus - exact this weekend - so any limits/restrictions will feel doubly oppressive. These are fixed signs so if not mastered something might break before it bends. We don't want to toss babies out with bathwater, but needed changes are probably not going to be stopped. What commitments/responsibilities/goals need to be adjusted? What does out heart want now? How can we have more freedom within our relationships, within our work, within our lives? And on the flipside, where do we need to be more responsible/committed for these new energies, that will ultimately be more liberating, to take root?

 

Seed more in the weekly HERE

xo all

artwork by the talented MartenArt