Happening at 15 degrees of Scorpio, this New Moon lands right in the middle of the Sun’s annual dip into the scorpion’s sign, pulling us all, if only for a moment, into the undercurrents of our lives. For some, this may feel like drowning. For others, a momentary swim into the deep end of the pool, treading water, affirming that you must stay afloat. Either way, it is Scorpio’s demand that we move away from the shallow end, where sign posts warn: no diving. But dive we must. And safer in the depth that Scorpio contains than to bump your head up against the shallows of your life, the things that don’t budge, the patterns that don’t work. Such is the pain of a life unexamined. And so the Sun and Moon join, like buddy detectives, to give us a chance to dig into those things that dig into us, cast away the thorny bits, and intend to begin again with a new sense of profundity about ourselves. Scorpio’s briny waters can irritate wounds, but so can they locate and force us to acknowledge them, to heal them. And what once were wounds become places where light can enter.
You’re lost at sea, then I’ll command your boat to me again.
The New Moon will be trining Neptune at 13 degrees of Pisces, acting as a sort of light house, a star in the distance that we can hitch our wagons to. Neptune is a healing salve here, reminding us of universal love and compassion, the tools we need to come into acceptance of ourselves, our stories and of others. The command is to let wishful thinking become wishful knowing, a conviction that all that is tended to here, the dark and ugly, can be transmuted into something bigger and more beautiful that can serve the unfolding of your life. This is the alchemy of Neptunian water--base metals, rough and penetrating (Scorpio) can become smoothed into gold. But with Mercury squaring Neptune from 8 degrees of Sagittarius, this dreaminess can easily become a dream, the delusions that fuel our demons, and the fantasies that keep us from attending to what is. By all means, see life through a softer lens. Just don’t layer the filters up so high that you lose track of what is real. Go forth practicing your practical magic.
Catch a wave and take in the sweetness.
Mars in Aquarius, ruler of this New Moon, will be squaring ever-expansive and hopeful Jupiter, now in his final stretch at 29 degrees of Scorpio. Mars catalyzes what it touches, and with Jupiter in the picture, this is the galvanization of optimism, courage and enthusiasm. (And oh what is to come when Jupiter returns home the following day!). The great benefic has been traveling the murky waters of Scorpio since 2017, ensuring an ultimate warmth and camaraderie around matters hidden or held deeply entrenched. Let Jupiter be a beacon of hope, the inflation into a depleted life jacket. Any turbulent time can be reframed by asking and considering what there is to be learned. Wisdom is also a gift of Jupiter—knowing better, doing better, feeling better. In the middle of whatever bad may be happening, no matter how tempting it may be to let yourself be overcome with overwhelm, a gaseous and gregarious Jupiter rides the waves, always afloat, reminding us: this, too, can be good.
The darkness, the deepness, all the things that make me who I am.
A sextile from the New Moon to Pluto at 19 degrees of Capricorn may feel like a rip tide. Just when you thought you’d gone deep enough, here Pluto comes to pull you deeper. Sextiles operate a bit softer, but nothing is ever subtle with Pluto around. While this won’t capsize you, it will demand you batten down your emotional hatches. Pluto in Capricorn breaks down structures that are not strong enough to weather storms, and Moon in Scorpio, its detriment, can be sensitive to the Plutonian intensity. The call here is for personal power and resurgence. The waters that threaten to drown you can become the tears called forth for catharsis, and the sweat from battles never conceded. In the end, all can be transcended. The symbiosis of a sextile is between two elements that feed one another. Here, water feeds earth, and earth grounds water. Whether you feel you’re at rock bottom, or just between a rock and a hard place, learn to soften it by leaning into your emotions this New Moon, knowing that the Pluto promise is that they will soon be transformed into new life and seen in a new light.
Oh, you thought we were done talking about Venus Retrograde? Though not the ruler of this lunation like she was for our prior two, Venus is still very much around and worth a quick mention. On this New Moon, Venus will be opposite a newly regressed retrograde Uranus in Aries from 26 degrees of Libra. Matters of love reign, literally. Venus in Libra is dignified, out from soupy Scorpio and ascended back to her throne. This is a lighter Venus as retrograde themes come to an end. Uranus is still the shock factor, so always expect the unexpected, and here, in your relationships. But leave room in your heart for the pleasant surprises as well. This retrograde season isn’t going to end as darkly as it may have begun, and that alone is surprise enough for those beaten and battered. Uranus may threaten the Libran balance Venus strives for, but balance can always be achieved when you consider what deserves to be on your scales.
Don’t look too far, right where you are, that’s where I am.
New Moons are primo times for setting intentions or writing down goals. But in the dark waters of Scorpio, and hidden in the night sky, leaving behind a palpable absence, this inky New Moon may instead be a great opportunity to just be still in whatever currents are within you. Knowing bright new horizons are on the way and that the cosmic dance of planets in and out of signs, backwards and forward, will soon dazzle us all, is even more of an invitation to just be. The gift of this New Moon doesn’t have to be future-oriented, something you’ll later get or seize or understand. Rather, it can be something to be enjoyed in the present. For Scorpio, the depth of discomfort you hold now, then becomes the depth of joy you can hold later. So hold on.
Italicized lyrics by Lana Del Rey, “Mariners Apartment Complex”