New Moons and Full Moons always work together to reveal a choice point that allows action. A flash of an idea and the literal creation of it. The inspiration and then the plan. They, like all oppositions, are different yet complimentary- like two sides of the coin. Other celestial positions certainly enhance the meaning, like extra spice in a recipe. The more flavor, the more memorable. And currently, we are living in some spicy times.
Specific themes have prevailed the last year and into this one. Some that come to mind are power, freedom, truth, innovation, and value. You certainly don’t need to be an astrologer to realize this. You just need to be paying attention to reality. Of course, the planetary cycles have been echoing these themes as well. The times are asking us to dive into a fundamental understanding of these forces, try them on, and trace the edges of what they actually mean. Hopefully, this journey shocks us a bit, grows us, humbles us, inspires us, and challenges us. Because in the realm of intentional verbing, we often discover the truth only by stumbling upon the error. In other words, these principles might be best described by first discerning what they are not. Freedom is best defined by realizing what it isn’t. We could say the same for truth, innovation, power, and value.
When truth is a lie, it isn’t true. When freedom is selfish, it isn’t free. When evolution is blocked by traditionalism, it isn’t change. When power is rooted in hubris, it isn’t true power. When value is grounded in inadequacy, it behaves more like greed. The accurate definitions of these words are only expressed when channeled through the best of us. And our definitions are vitally important because they, quite literally, reveal our choices and those determine our actions. And all of that determines our reality.
So here we find ourselves in a cosmic soup of intense and zesty learning. Goddess of discord herself Eris, sits with the Sun in Aries, opposing the Moon in Libra. This configuration also makes a T-square with Pluto. None of these themes are new. We have been living them for the last couple of years. The volume, though, has been increased—a lot. As we get to the very last degrees of Pluto’s sojourn in Capricorn, we are getting all the homework crammed in before the end of class. This kind of setup makes us feel pulled in a lot of directions. The stakes are high. The intensity is palpable. We must make real choices associated with the themes thus stated (look at the house position of this T-square for more specifics). All in all, it can feel a bit overwhelming and exhausting.
Consequences are often not subtle.
This is where astrology can be most helpful because when things are dark, it can offer some light. It can suggest the remedy. The most optimum choice point forward.
Enter Libra. Libra is represented by the scales. The scales of justice, to be exact. Balance and harmony are two words associated with the sign. While Aries suggests where we need to assert our individuation, Libra reminds us we also need to learn to play nice with others. It is diplomacy.Understanding. Cooperation. Necessary discernment. Healthy communication (which involves more listening than speaking). But that’s not all.
We must also highlight Cancer (the empty leg of the T-square) as another intentional solution. Cancer is our emotional center- our force of feeling. It is our innate connection to others via family, tribe, or world. It also allows us to heal. It is how we nurture and take care of one another. It is our empathy.
Balance, diplomacy, empathy, patience, discernment, and compassion are all required for healthy communication. And healthy communication is meant to bring us closer together rather than further apart because it offers an expanded perspective of any topic. It is the remedy to toxic tribalism, propaganda, discord, and dangerous polarity. On the other hand, unhealthy communication divides, segregates, and violates.
The Sabian symbol for this Full Moon is “An aeroplane hovering overhead.” A fitting image. Libra is an air sign meaning it does rely on objectivity, intellect, and reason. To do that well means we must lift away, like an airplane, from our own bias and presuppositions to witness the whole more clearly. Transcendence, as a tool, is not meant to bypass what is but to deepen our awareness of reality (especially what we don’t want to see). Serenity as a practice is not meant to acquiesce but to decide with more clarity. Nonattachment is not about avoiding but deciphering which action to take. Pausing is not about denial but allowing the space to respond, not react. Asking questions is beautiful when it enables us to cease our judgments, rise above the fray, and learn. Yet, it is destructive when the intent is to condemn, blame, or insinuate a chosen narrative rather than genuinely understand. “Doing our own research” is a vital thing but only if we can do it without our presuppositions getting in the way. Otherwise, we only find evidence to strengthen our own bias.
Scales are meant to measure. They are meant to assess, evaluate, and determine. Perhaps the highest form of intelligence is not what we know or even how we know it. It isn’t test scores or social media likes. True intelligence is how we discern truth from fiction, right from wrong, and accurate from false.
True intelligence is not about what we know but the actual process of discovery. Intelligence is revealed by knowing what to do when we don’t know. It forces us to constantly challenge our presuppositions and biases (which means we must first understand what they are). It reminds us opinions are not facts. Both are important, but dysfunctional things happen when we confuse the two. It reminds us intent matters. Sources matter. We can be an expert on certain things, but not on everything. So, we must pick our experts wisely (qualifications, training, intent, references, past/present behavior, and funding sources). Likewise, we must choose our sources wisely (fact-check everything, study conflicting viewpoints, understand algorithms and echo chambers).
Because information can be both a freeing and dangerous thing. Libra reminds us it is our job to weigh it wisely.
“To think incisively and to think for one’s self is very difficult. We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half-truths, prejudices, and propaganda. At this point, I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction. The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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This New Moon occurs @ 26° Libra.
Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash