This is truly a New Moon of the dark moon of the great goddess within! It is shining a light on the darkest corners of the psyche, and enticing us to mentally dance our way out of madness and back into the wholeness of ourselves, before we were conditioned to think in terms of our limitations.

To quote my latest post on my Mercury Retrograde Redemption page on Facebook:

“With Mercury in Cancer Retrograde our subconscious & feelings are extra influenced by past memories, family dynamics and any related insecurities. We have collectively been cast into an ocean of emotion, forced to become aware of the rawness of both our inner and outer states. This is our chance to become more compassionate with those who have disappointed or hurt us in some way, as well as with our own shortcomings. If we can be fully present and authentic in the heat of the moment as it arises, neither ignoring or wallowing in our deep emotions we can make major breakthroughs that can set us free on many levels. The choice is ours to sink or swim…”

The Moon is at 16 degrees of Cancer, and along with Mercury forms a grand trine with Chiron in Pisces and the South Node in Scorpio. Right beside this continues another grand trine that has been active since June, between Saturn in Scorpio, Neptune in Pisces, Jupiter and the deeply mysterious Black Moon Lilith in Cancer. We have certainly been swimming in a Cancerian sea of mysteries these past couple of weeks. The Black Moon Lilith is seen as the “dark side of the Moon”, and is regarded as hypothetical second moon of the Earth…

The goddess archetype of Lilith operates similarly to that of the demonized aspect of Eve in the Garden of Eden myth. She is seductive, powerful, and is known to have the ability to draw us into a “black hole”, should we bite into the forbidden apple. Being so close to Jupiter in Cancer we’ve been put in touch with deep family ties, to both connect and reconnect with our Earth, spirit, and off-planet ancestry and memories of origin. Also the presence of Jupiter has increased the desire nature of this goddess force within us, so that we can no longer ignore the truth within our hearts, the call of the wilds, or the voice of Spirit that speaks loud and clear.

Lilith represents the reemerging goddess within our culture and consciousness and so the Black Moon Lilith has come to be a symbol for feminists of both genders. With her occupying the most feminine sign of the zodiac ruled by the Moon itself we are sensitized to the power, wisdom, creativity and sexuality that both stirs desire and elicits fear in the masses.

The plane crash from Korea at the SFO airport on July 6^th coincided with Saturn’s stationing Direct, activating the grand trine with Neptune, Jupiter, Black Moon Lilith and Mercury Retrograde in Cancer. I can see how these planets relative to travel and expansion could have taken an off turn or landing, since their current formation is wildly unpredictable. In addition the screech of Saturn’s brakes over the past couple of days have stopped many in their tracks, both physically and emotionally.

The approaching opposition of Jupiter with Pluto builds in July and reaches a peak in August. What this opposition might be bringing to the fore is a growing awareness not only of who we are in any given situation or location but what we are known for on a large scale. We are pushed toward reclaiming access to the resources to better ourselves and our planet. Our approach to this makes all the difference in the mapping of either failure or success. When we fret and obsess, or act in miserly ways, the abundance of the Universe seems to evade us. When we see the bigger picture and are willing to give the best of ourselves to the best of the causes near and dear to our hearts, we expand in our perceptions, opportunities and ability to receive. We literally widen, as a container may be opened or widened to fit more inside of it. When we tap into the abundance of this Universe, we become as wells that never run dry, constantly filling up as we continue to nourish those around us. Over time this becomes second nature, almost effortless, although in the beginning it requires quite a bit of concentrated effort to set into motion.

Mercury’s closeness with this New Moon may bring a heightening of moods and memories, accentuated by this planet’s current Retrograde motion. We would do well to remember that whatever we focus on now is what will follow us into tomorrow. This is a great time to rekindle some project or goal that has been on the back-burner for awhile.

An exact trine between Venus and Uranus add enough physical stimulation that will feed the flames of passion, electricity and eccentricity in exchanges with others. Uranus, however forms a square with the New Moon so watch out for heated arguments and possible unexpected resistance to plans. Pluto’s involvement also suggests that reflection and especially inner work can be especially potent at this time.

The Sabian symbol for the New Moon 16-17 degrees of Cancer is:

“The Unfoldment Of Multilevel Potentialities Issuing From An Original Germ”

This symbol is about the urge to actualize one’s birth potential. What are you waiting for?