Every
month there is a New Moon that occurs somewhere
in your chart. The New Moon is the time
when the invisible moon moves in front of
the sun, sometimes blacking out the sun's
light to create a solar eclipse. The
New Moon is a powerful time of fertility and
renewal in the astrological House that it
falls in. Check your chart! Every
circle has 360 degrees. Since the circle
of the Zodiac is divided into 12 Signs, each
one has 30 degrees. The New Moon occurs
in a Sign when both the Sun and Moon transit
though it. Every month the New Moon
is in the same Sign for everyone on Earth.
However, depending on your unique chart structure,
the New Moon will occur in a different astrological
House. The Houses symbolize the fields
of life experience and activity.
When
Luna and Sol pull on the Earth from the same
side, the way is opened for purging and renewal
as galactic forces are able to penetrate the
atmosphere especially at night. Listen
closely during the three nights before and
after the New Moon. You can hear the
galaxy breathing! There is something
special happening as the galactic stream of
energy penetrates the night side of the Earth.
The exact syzygy or conjunction of the Sun
and Moon is a time of vision-questing.
For three and a half days before and after
the New Moon ask yourself what kind of new
beginnings you want to initiate in the field
of life experience that hosts the New Moon.
The
three and a half day period before the New
Moon is called the Balsamic Phase and it symbolizes
the natural breakdown and release of old structures
to make way for the renewal that penetrates
your life under the New Moon. It is
a very sacred, spiritual time when you can
even feel the Earth releasing. Spend
some time soaking up the silence in deep meditation,
rest, reflection, artistic creativity, or
helping to alleviate suffering on the planet.
In this way you will be prepared to embrace
the shift in energy after the New Moon.
The same advice goes for the two and a half
days that the Moon transits through your 12th
House.
On
the actual day of the exact New Moon conjunction
focus on what you want to renew during the
emerging lunar month. Imagine that you've
been given a spiritual seed that is very special,
almost magical, and reflect on how you want
to allow this seed to take root in your life
and bring fulfillment. Start out working
with your thoughts and emotions to invite
this wondrous opportunity into your life.
Devise a strategy!
The
ancients did not have common knowledge of
the exact degrees of the New Moon like we
do with our computers. They simply recognized
that the moon disappeared for three days or
so and that it was a time of going within
and overcoming fears by returning to the source
of life in the flow of eternal wisdom.
When the actual moon reappeared as the crescent
they were overjoyed. As far as they
were concerned, the Eternal One had decided
to grant life another month! Many enlightened
myths reflect this truth of symbolic death
and rebirth, from Jonas in the belly of the
Whale to Christ rising on the 3rd day.
This new jolt of inspiration and the feelings
of renewal stimulated much communal activity.
In time, people discovered that the day after
the exact conjunction was the best time to
sow the seeds for the next cycle and to bring
the energy of renewal into the physical dimension.
When the crescent reappeared it was a time
of high action, celebration, and vitality!
"Sound the Ram's horn at the New Moon,
and when the moon is full, on the day of our
feast."
Psalms 81:3
"At
feast and New Moon festivals, sound your trumpets
over your offerings."
Numbers 10:10
"To
everything there is a season. God has
made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the hearts of
people; yet they cannot fathom what he has
done from beginning to end."
Ecclesiastes
3:1, 3:11
Why
does the Hebrew Bible admonish to blow the
Ram's horn under the New Moon? Because
a New Moon is a time of new beginnings just
like the archetype of Aries the Ram that gives
rebirth to the world each equinox. Aries
symbolizes the pioneer, leader, adventurer,
hero, and warrior. Every New Moon contains
a major dose of Arian fire calling us to seize
the moment and live with purpose and passion.
Why
does the above quote from the Old Testament
also say to blow the horn on the Full Moon?
Because the Full Moon and New Moon are intricately
connected. Most folks think that the
fulfillment of the New Moon potential happens
two weeks later under the Full Moon.
However, the Full Moon following the New Moon
occurs in a different House in your astrological
chart! The actual flowering of the New
Moon occurs 6 months later when
the sun has reached the opposite side of the
chart and the Full Moon falls in the same
house as the New Moon did. The
Full Moon is a time of vision, illumination,
adjustment, relationship, and awareness, and
the flowering of seeds planted under the new
moon. If you planted the New Moon seed
in the same house six months ago, then you'll
feel great under the Full Moon and you'll
receive a vision. If not, then you'll
probably be agitated like most people who
aren't in rhythm with this natural cycle of
sowing and reaping. The Full Moon
acts like a report card to help you get back
on track with your progress. Ask how
can I renew my commitment to the seed vision
I planted 6 months ago in the house that contains
the full moon?
The
New Moon in a particular House doesn't reach
illumination until six months later when the
Full Moon occurs in the same House.
I had to repeat that just so you get it straight!
Don't start something under the New Moon and
hope for completion of the project two weeks
later. Plan for six months. Eternity
likes to move slowly. It's computer
speed is zero. You have to slow down
to connect with eternity. During that
six months you should water the seed by nourishing
your longing to grow and learn. Tend
the garden that you've planted. If you
pull the weeds from the garden of your soul
and work toward the illumination of the Full
Moon, you'll be one happy moon-gazer 6 months
down the road.
By
the 8th month after your new moon planting
you'll begin feasting on the harvest of your
endeavors. This is the time of
the Disseminating Phase, exactly 45 days after
the Full Moon, or basically the New Moon that
follows the Full Moon in any lunation cycle.
So you plant the seed under the New Moon,
then you get your report card under the Full
Moon, and then you get to feast on the ripe
fruit under the Disseminating Phase about
6 weeks after the Full Moon. If you
forgot to water your garden of visions, then
you'll have to wait till next year when the
cycle begins again. Each journey around
the sun grants us one chance in each house
for new beginnings and activities. Make
use of them!
The
best thing you can do is to keep a Lunation
Journal where you devote twelve sections to
the New and Full Moon cycles that happen each
year. That way you can write about what
you want to create in your life and watch
how it all unfolds, remembering that weeds
build character! Challenges make you
stronger. As you become more advanced
you can start tracking the Waxing and Waning
Quarter Moons as well. The key is to
become acquainted with the magic of the unfolding
rhythm and learn to harness it in your life.
Start
simple. The first step is to find out
where the next New Moon is happening.
What Sign is it in? Where does it fall
in your chart? That will tell
you the archetypal vibration involved.
Use the character images of the archetype.
If it's a New Moon in Aries imagine a warrior
setting out to face a new and dangerous challenge
in the field of life where the New Moon falls
in your chart. If it's a New Moon in
Capricorn, imagine an organized manager starting
a new business venture in the House where
the New Moon falls in your chart. Imagination
is the key to conversing with the archetypes.
Use it boldly! Once you get in synch
with this Lunation Cycle you'll be amazed
at how it guides you each year repeating the
same pattern over and over.
Where
are you bringing renewal into your life this
month? What House does the New Moon
fall in? Always remember that if the
New Moon is within five degrees of the cusp
of the next House then both fields of life
experience are being infused with new life.
