Greetings,
Today the Moon is in her darkest face before she is blocked out by the light of the Sun. The earth is at maximum low tide, and as earthians, we are there with her.
At the time of the full moon, Mercury and Mars will be together in the sky — the astrological term for that is conjunction. They will both be standing precisely 180 degrees apart from Pluto in Capricorn. This is called an opposition.
The dark of the Moon is the first theme I’d like to explore today, and the second is the nature of the opposition, along with some of the more lush symbolic meanings of each of these ideas. As I will illustrate, both ideas are linked at this time in a beautiful way.
A meditation on the dark of the moon:
The Moon is waning until it’s new. It gradually loses light, increasingly showing us her darker faces until she completely disappears. This is associated with the dark mother Hekate. Hekate is strongest when the moon is darkening, because that is when the time is ripe for going into the underworld. Imagine that when you close your eyes, that darkness there is the underworld. How much easier it is to visualize in your mind’s eye, when your eyes are closed, versus when they are open. These visions, actively created by you, are powerful forces for transformation, especially when they are engaged consistently and with emotional thrust. The dark of the moon, when Hecate is strongest, is when there is a guide leading the way for inner work.
Another wonderful and concurrent theme unfolding in the planetary weather is deeply instinctual opposition happening between Mercury and Mars conjunct in Cancer, opposite Pluto retrograde in Capricorn. For me, this particularly special instance of planetary choreography is a reassuring sign that the Universe is nothing less than divinely orchestrated.
First, the opposition aspect. Imagine being tasked with entering a room with another person. You and the other person are to stand at opposite sides of the room, and look into each other’s eyes, maintaining eye contact without yielding.
How. Freakin. Tense.
That’s the nature of the opposition. Now imagine that you and the other guy need to sort out a negotiation on equable terms, because it’s central to both of you performing at the highest (or perhaps **most efficient**, to do away with hierarchical value statements….) level possible.
The opposition aspect is particularly prone to projection. This is when we see in the other party our own disowned (seemingly unpalatable) qualities. With Pluto and Mars in the mix, there is a danger of demonizing these qualities, making them bad or wrong, thereby uplifting ourselves because we could never Be Like That.
So with Mercury-Mars in Cancer opposite Pluto we want to find the still point in the center. We want to arrive at a resolution by finding what is common between us, and initiating (cardinal opposition) compromise that makes the best use of the strengths of both parties. We want to see how the other person’s qualities that grate on us, feel dangerous to us, feel confrontational, prompt us to examine darker lurkings of our own minds, these qualities want to be seen, emotionally coddled (coddle them!!), nourished with attention so that the business of acting on personal instincts that are actually quite powerful can carry on.
The story of this new Moon. Traveling to the depths (remember you have a guide) and choosing to begin making peace with what is found in the dark.
Be well.
With love,
Ichrak
