NATURAL RHYTHMS CONSULTING

The Sun, representing the fire of creativity,  is the Invincible Spirit. A piece of the  Sun is held within each person, thereby interweaving life freedom with purpose and  destiny. So great is this universal wonder that it must come in small doses, distributed as it travels around the 360 degrees of the Zodiac over the course of a year.  The Sun's position symbolizes the active presence of the Divine.  At this New Moon, the Sun is at 14 Cancer 23.  The Sun is aligned with the Moon and they are joined by Venus. This is a month when deep feelings predominate the landscape.

The Moon is the Receiver, reflecting the whole universe.  She catches the  emotional attachments  and patterns developed  in response to the world. The Moon is paired with Saturn, as they rule opposite signs. The Moon receives and moves through her angular relationship with the Sun over the course of the month, reflecting the Sun's invincible spirit through her silver light.   The Moon delights in shape-shifting, and  in the repetitive ebb and flow from night to day and  from New to Full in predictable sequence.   We see this dance every month, beginning at the New Moon, timed for the Moon's alignment with the Sun, where Soul is connected with Spirit.  The current New Moon, standing with the Sun as described above, is at 14 Cancer 23.  A question to consider: Are you aware of what  you are  feeling, or are you anaesthetizing? The Sabian Symbol for this degree reads as follows: Merry and sluggish people are resting after a huge feast.

THE NODAL AXIS
The transiting Lunar Nodes, represented by the dragon's head and tail, travel backwards through the Zodiac and function in polarity.  The Mean Node positions (vs. True Nodes) are viewed in Rx motion on the wheel.  Rudhyar described the nodal line as a fateful, destined space.  The North Node indicates that which one is trying to achieve in life; the South Node suggests things of the past, such as ancestral/inherited material.  The Nodal Axis has shifted into the Aries-Libra polarity:  self vs. other, assertion vs. compromise; war vs. peace are the themes to balance.  At this New Moon, North Node is Rx at 10 Aries 58; South Node is at 10 Libra 58. 

 Mercury is the messenger of practical, clever, coordinated thinking. He gathers the details, processes, and distributes information, and communicates solutions.  Mercury is  paired with Jupiter, as they rule opposite signs.  Mercury has 3-4 Retrograde (Rx) cycles every year, each lasting approximately 3 weeks, and each offering a period of reflection, recalibration, revision, and resolution, as Mercury and the Sun exchange the message of a particular degree of the Zodiac. Mercury aims to make connections and move on.  Clever, agile, and appreciative of humor,  Mercury will bring wisdom to the conversation with light and good will. At this New Moon,  Mercury is D at 5 Leo 42.  Mercury is in its fall here, and performance suffers.  The next Rx period is August 5-Aug. 28.

Venus is the social healer, representing peace, harmony, and beauty.  She strives to cultivate grace, and to realize ideals through refinement, relationships, and resources.  She is paired with Mars, as they  rule opposite signs.  The cycle of Venus cycle is complex and mysterious, beginning while Retrograde as an Evening Star, moving through conjunctions with the Sun, and shifting from Evening Star to Morning Star, and back. This cycle recalibrates Venus' relationship to the Sun. On June 4, as a D morning star, Venus moved into the exterior conjunction with the Sun.  At this New Moon, in the heart of the Sun, Venus is at 22 Cancer 57.  Soon,  she will jump ahead zodiacally, then disappear for a 5 week period of rest and darkness.  

Mars represents courage and the strength to meet any challenge.  He is focused on action, motivation, and drive.  He is the  warrior with energy that can pierce and penetrate in swift motion.  At this New Moon, Mars is D at 19 Taurus 30, and in Detriment, as the deliberate nature of Taurus holds Mars back.  Moving towards a conjunction with Uranus (July 15),  nerves will be tested. Staying grounded and moving with intention is a good strategy this month.

Ceres (discovered January 1, 1801 at 23 Taurus 23 Rx), operates on the principle of nurturance.   Associated with the archetype of symbiotic child and mother, she represents creation, need for support, and sustenance for physical body.  Ceres  has a 4.60 year orbital period, and is currently transiting Rx at 14 Capricorn 28. 

Pallas (discovered March 28, 1802 at 29 Virgo 57 Rx) is associated with the archetype of the daughter, envisioning and creating mental progeny and  nurturing  ideas that can be transformed into socially useful reality.  Pallas has a 4.62 year orbital period and is currently transiting Rx at 19 Scorpio 07. 

Juno (discovered September 1, 1804 at 2 Aries 29 Rx) is associated with the archetype of the wife, using relational renewal and regeneration to grow the capacity to commit to an outer union with another.  Juno has a 4.36 year orbital period, and is currently transiting at 19 Virgo 07.

Vesta (discovered March 29, 1807 at 29 Virgo 05 Rx), is associated with the archetype of sister.  She is self-contained, and stands in  union with the self, satisfying the need for personal commitment to work or an ideal. Vesta has a 3.63 orbital period, and is currently transiting at 6 Leo 58. 

Jupiter represents wisdom-filled thinking.  Jupiter  is the wise guru, encouraging growth that expands the world view. Jupiter has the big picture, and functions best as a problem solver, planner, project manager.  Jupiter has the vision and wants to take the leaps needed to create something big and wonderful. Jupiter is Direct at 9 Gemini 16.  Ideas abound and may have to be reigned in. 

Saturn operates on the principle of structure, commitment, form, responsibility, authority, and consolidation.  He sets limitations and boundaries, while offering a karmic payback if necessary. Saturn relates to time, records, the destiny of earth experience, and often presents challenges. Saturn has turned Rx and is now at 19 Pisces 23 at this New Moon.  In Pisces, Saturn offers a reminder to take responsibility.  No one's coming to rescue, fix, or save the day. And simultaneously, no persecution or victimization is allowed. Saturn's reminders of limits and boundaries can be found everywhere, and even in the most unexpected places.   Saturn has been riding with Neptune in Pisces.  This is the time to strengthen at many levels, as  every 36 years, Saturn and Neptune form a conjunction, which underscores weakness, failure, or loss of ambition, and necessitates a strong restructuring of elements of the imagination. The last conjunction was November 13, 1989 at 10 + Capricorn.  The next one is February 20, 2026 at 0 Aries 45.  

Discovered on Nov. 1, 1977, at 3 Taurus 08 Rx, Chiron is a minor planet/comet/dwarf planet located between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus.  Sometimes referred to as the key to the soul, or  the wounded healer, Chiron  represents the audacious attempts to push forward and to heal, despite the wounds.  It forms a bridge between the Chaldean limits of Saturn and the transpersonal realm of Uranus.  Chiron encourages processing and integration.  Rumi said: "The wound is the place where the Light enters you." Chiron has a 50 year orbit and is currently at 23 Aries 20.  (The US, with a 20 Aries 08 Chiron position, is reverberating with this energy, as well as that of the Pluto return.)

Where the inner planets represent aspects of personality development, the outer planets push toward the transpersonal, providing a container for deeper development of consciousness.  The twists and turns of these bodies facilitate human evolution, sometimes disturbing peace of mind.  Uranus, with its focus on intuitive consciousness, disrupts while aiming to awaken.  It is associated with quick, unexpected change that brings freedom.  With its 84 year orbit, Uranus entered the sign of Taurus in March, 2019, and will remain there for 7 years, clarifying security, practicality, resources, and values.  Uranus, full of surprises, provides the energy to break tradition.  Technology, one domain of Uranus, continues to amaze.  But here, it presents a paradox.  As it becomes more practical, we grow more attached, challenging freedom.  At this New Moon, Uranus is Direct at 25 Taurus 56.  Uranus will turn Rx in the beginning of September. 

Nebulous Neptune, with its focus on spiritual consciousness, aims to dissolve, blend, merge.  It can veil and it can push the veil away.  It deceives or dissolves the deceptive factors so that gems of spiritual truths can surface.  Spirituality involves the intrapersonal, the interpersonal, and the transpersonal, and Neptune excels at presenting the surreal dreamlike kaleidoscope of shifting reality to put us in touch with these realms.  At this New Moon, Neptune has turned Rx and stands at 29 Pisces 55, the most intense of the anaretic degrees.  With the fixed star Scheat, the daring free-thinker, Neptune is riding the wings of Pegasus!  Neptune, of deep imaginings, will be positioned close to the Lunar Eclipse of September 17.  What missions are possible, Sibyl?

Unequivocal Pluto, with a focus on psychological consciousness, aims to challenge Saturn's redundant patterns. Transformation begins at the center of deep emotional reactions.  Pluto brings to light things from the deepest recesses of the  unconscious. Small but mighty, Pluto has been steamrolling the reality we once knew.  Transiting Pluto made three contacts with the US Pluto (27 Capricorn 32 Rx) in 2022, which gives a good example of  how these things work:  1.) February 20:  Russia attacked Ukraine;  2.) July 11: worldwide economic stress; 3.) December 28, 2022: the need for an ending.  But the ending is still far off, with the Rx natal placement, coupled with the late degree.  A brief relief was felt when Pluto moved into Aquarius in March, 2023, but with the Rx turn back into Capricorn in June, 2023, quickly hope was put to rest. Pluto has not completed the sojourn.   Pluto turned Direct at 27 Capricorn 53 on October 10, 2023 to begin final  passage through the last three degrees of Capricorn, approaching Aquarius once again. Just prior, on October 7,  the world stage focus shifted to Israel and the issue of displacement on many levels,  with much collateral damage. (The Oct. 14 2023 solar eclipse was at   21 LI 08.  Cooperation vs. War.)  Pluto reached forward into Aquarius on January 20, 2024 and relief was felt again, only to be met with deeper conflict.  Pluto retrograded back one final time on May 1, 2024, to sit at the last degree of Capricorn in September-October, 2024.  Last degrees portend extreme outcomes, often of a destructive nature, for karmic completion.  Capricorn's anaretic 29 degree is one of collecting, as in a debt.  On October 12, 2024, Pluto turns Direct again and moves finally and solidly into Aquarius on November 19, 2024.  At that time, the US presidential election will have taken place.  At this New Moon, Pluto is Rx at 1 Aquarius 16.