New Moon in Cancer and the Yoga of Restraint

The most recent New Moon in Cancer took place on July 20 at 28 degrees, 27 minutes of tropical Cancer.  Directly across from it in the sky is stern and serious Saturn, treading backwards from 28 Capricorn to 25 Capricorn.

The Moon-Sun opposite Saturn configuration is about regiment, or an initiation of realignment, to set something straight, or to make something clear. Saturn can also represent walls, obstacles, the word no, or the invitation to make a door elsewhere where a wall has shown up on the path that was initially being walked.

Saturn can bring about fateful events that we may or may not naturally want to cooperate with.

Restraint is a Saturn word. This new moon is about the yoga of restraint. If we restrain ourselves from our usual routines, our usual thinking patterns, the usual responses to life, the usual perceptions of what is happening, and leave a space of openness. Then what fills that space? What fills that space if we are not eager to fill it ourselves? And if we sanctify our space with cleanliness, with sweet soft music, with mantra, beautiful scents, divine images,  inviting the higher intelligences, then what comes?

In yoga asana we engage the bandhas to encourage the pranic energy  to move through particular subtle energetic channels. And our energy is likewise guided and refined when we exercise restraint. And that impacts the projection of our reality that emanates from our inner energy signature.

This New Moon is also kicking off a season where restraint is the better path to take. Until March 2021, Saturn and Mars will be in a square by sign. Saturn will be in the superior position over Mars the entire time, and higher Saturnian modes of being and understanding are the ones that eventually give us more momentum. So, things like thinking long term rather than short term, preferencing restraint over impulse, preferencing organization at a higher level than one off enjoyments, choosing to refine the energy system, or the overall scheme by which decisions are made.

There is a nice form of reception between Saturn and Mars while they’re in Capricorn and Aries respectively, so even though there may be an extended period of performing action under pressure, there is also some grace or some help available as well, and as always. Grace is always available, reception or no.

So for this New Moon cycle, auspicious as it happens during the sacred Sravana Masam, the month in some Hindu traditions that is about praising the Goddess Laxmi, whose association with external wealth is only a beautiful front for what she’s really about.

As this new Moon seed moment during Sravana Masam occurs during the two week waxing phase of the Moon, I invite you to join me on a journaling journey to bring more reflection and personal insight into our lives. At each quarter of the Moon, observe the unfolding of its narrative in your life for the duration of the lunar cycle.

For the New Moon moment, ask:

What are the life situations unfolding in my life right now?

Do I see a parallel between the astrological symbolism and the events unfolding in my life, or my experience of them?

What is my inner guidance showing me about how to show up?

And for each pivot moment in the lunar cycle, create a sacred space for yourself to open into a reflection, noticing the narrative woven throughout. Or, just notice what is without any agenda of what should be. The dates for each quarter of the Moon are below.

July 20: New Moon