The new moon began last night, July 15th, at 7:24 pm here in Saskatoon. New moons signify the beginning of a fresh 28-day cycle, so take some time to clean your house, wrap up any old tasks if you haven’t already, and enjoy some quiet time to set some new goals or intentions.

During the new moon phase Luna’s light is absent, so symbolically speaking, any seed, idea, or dream can be planted in this rich, dark void of possibility. The Moon merging with the Sun from an earthly vantage point is a brief joining of the unconscious and conscious, a moment to simultaneously open up and choose. Some of your ideas will take root and come to fruition at the full moon in two weeks time and others will rot, feeding the soil for the future instead.

Even though it’s summer and the two bright benefics, Jupiter and Venus, are shining in the regal, expressive, and celebratory constellation of Leo, other planetary influences are urging us to confront some heavier and dirtier truths.

Right now, Sol, Luna, Mercury, and Mars are all residing in the emotional, protective, and intuitive waters of Cancer. Mercury and Mars are sharing the same degree, quite close to the bright, flashing dog-star Sirius. The pair of personal planets (Mercury and Mars) alongside the pair of lights (Sun and Moon) evokes an image of a young group of sensitive and feisty teens sitting together on one end of a teeter-totter, listening to one another share stories of vulnerability and frustration. Two lovers slip into dreamy giggles, caressing each other’s skin as their friends passionately analyze the woes of the world.

On the other side of the teeter-totter sits relentless Pluto, drawing the artsy teens into a stark and weighty dialogue concerning the crumbling social structures and power-hungry authority figures scrambling to glue a cracking paradigm back together.  

Sidenote: It is fascinating that the NASA spacecraft, New Horizons, successfully zoomed past Pluto for its first time, revealing stunning photos and video of the mysterious, icy dwarf planet. The fact that this new moon shines light on Pluto in an astrological and factual sense when Pluto is so prominent in the new moon chart is a perfect picture of astrology’s potency.

Are the teens going to blame Pluto's heaviness as they fly up away from the ground? Will they answer his riddle satisfactorily and change positions, lifting Pluto up into the sky? Will they all get struck by Uranian lightening, obliterating the teeter-totter into splinters of wood and effectively destroying this attempt at analogy?

We aren’t ready to go forward into the new, the old is cracking but still exerts its influence, and crisis is afoot!

Prepare to separate from something this lunation. Expect sudden diversions from your path. Ready yourself to feel all the feelings: make art, write something, share your fears from your heart, and express your needs as directly as possible.

***Blog art by David Lozeau***