By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis | Lunations


New Moon in Scorpio -- November 9, 2007, 23:03 UT. Chart by Solar Fire.
THE NEW MOON is in Scorpio conjunct Juno, the third asteroid ever discovered. With Venus newly arrived in Libra we are swimming in deep waters of relationships, which is another way of saying understanding the way people interact and the agreements they make with one another.

But Juno is more than generically about 'relationships'; she is about our attitudes toward others, the presumptions we make, the ways we keep score in relationships and the privileges we afford ourselves and others to use jealousy as a way of life. However, in the simplest context, such as in a natal chart, she can stand in for the original concept we were taught about who our partner should be.

The Sun and the Moon are in the dark and potent sign of Scorpio, the astrological sign that is associated with mysteries of life, death, transformation and sexuality. In the Northern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and shorter, and the darkness arrives early. At the New Moon the Moon is totally invisible, not reflecting any light from the Sun. At present we are exploring the darkness, facing the unknown, not really able to see what is happening. This can feel very frightening. We have to rely on our instincts and subjective awareness to get through this phase. Astrology teaches us that everything is cyclical and this is just one phase before entering another -- there is eternal shift between day and night, light and shadow. Our fear is really fear of change.

The New Moon squares Neptune, which may increase the feeling of not being able to see clearly, or not being able to trust our intuition. On the other hand, Neptune is associated with intuition and imagination, so this may be very helpful and heighten our instincts. The Sun and the Moon form a water trine with Mars in Cancer and Uranus in Pisces, which also may be helpful in allowing our emotions to flow.

The Sun and the Moon are conjunct Juno. The Roman goddess Juno was queen of the gods and the jealous wife of Jupiter. By most accounts we think of Jupiter as unfaithful; we do not normally think of him as alive. If you were the king of the gods, you would probably want to have sex with all the other goddesses and nymphs, wouldn't you? But it's interesting that there seems to be no female equivalent, surely not in the form of Jupiter's wife.

She was a goddess of marriage and she could also throw lightning bolts like Jupiter; she was decidedly less benevolent, at times acting out her petty jealousies or wrath arbitrarily. The Greek goddess Hera, who had approximately the same temperament, was always honored and bowed to, lest she seek jealous revenge.

Juno symbolizes marriage, partnership dynamics, woman's role as a wife, fidelity and jealousy. She will also reveal shades of commitment, the feelings about commitment, and (in a natal chart) the original pattern we were imprinted with in childhood of what our partner would or should be like. This can change, particularly as we go through relationships. With Juno square Neptune, we may be questioning commitment unconsciously, or confused about its dynamics or meaning. We may in some way be feeling unfree, but experiencing it as chaos or loss of clarity.

Possessiveness and learning how to let go arise as central themes of this lunation. Throwing the lightning bolts may not be the best and the only way to deal with the situations we are facing. Feeling through the confusion would be better advised.

An exact conjunction of two asteroids, Vesta and Lilith in Capricorn is adding its own spice to the mixture. Among other things, these two asteroids are also talking about woman's role in a relationship and about woman's deeper idea of herself. Lilith can also represent the crisis that "being the real me" brings into the lives of both women and men, particularly when it happens to women. Women in particular are trained to conceal their real identity as a way of life and of survival, particularly where sexual desire is concerned. For women, the price for admitting to sexual desire is apparently much higher than it is for men. When considering Lilith as the real woman inside the woman, this is an essential dimension to consider.

Vesta adds the theme of sublimating sexual desire -- or of using it in service of something outside oneself. She can manifest either as celibacy or as the capacity to bestow sexual favors for the purpose of healing or growth; the choice is up to each of us.

The conjunction of Vesta and Lilith is opposing Mars in Cancer. This is a picture of some interesting confrontations between the part of men that is more feminine, insecure, nurturing or needy; and the part of women that is hot at the core and focused on the intention of being known and available as inherently sexual.

Venus, the ruler of Libra, has just ingressed one of its home signs (Taurus is the other) the day before the New Moon. We want harmony and fair play in our relationships. Venus at 1+ degrees Libra squares Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio. Anything in very early Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn falls under the Aries Point phenomenon -- the 'personal is political' theme. In spite of the present darkness someone or something is having a vast public impact.

Mercury is now in direct motion but still in Libra, traveling through the last degrees of the sign within a few days, and ingressing into Scorpio on Nov. 11. Sometimes the last degrees of a sign prove difficult or demanding.

The New Moon's opposition to asteroid Ceres in Taurus is reflecting lunar-like light to our consciousness and ensuring us that our nourishment needs will be met. An opposition is an aspect of awareness and astrologically Ceres has a lot in common with the Moon. In myth Ceres's daughter Proserpina (Persephone) was abducted into the underworld by Pluto. In her desperation Ceres stopped the growth of fruits and vegetables. Proserpina was freed, but she had to spend a part of each year in the underworld with Pluto; for the other part, she was able to return to living with her mother on Earth. Of course, Proserpina was happy with Pluto down in the underworld; it is we who may grieve her temporary loss.

Taurus is a spring sign and Ceres in Taurus symbolizes the phase when the daughter returns to her mother and nature starts blossoming again. It is a time for sowing seeds for a new cycle, as is any New Moon time. Ceres can represent not only the nurturing we receive, but also how we function as nurturers in our relationships. She reminds us to lend a hand to fellow beings who may need a guide.

The New Moon is opposite not just Ceres but also Sedna. This is repeating the theme that we get our needs met and we are taken care of. When the Inuit goddess Sedna is happy she releases her bounty of the sea.

Sabian Symbol by Marc Edmund Jones for this New Moon degree is: "A woods rich in autumn coloring. This is a symbol of nature's high ministry of service to every function and purpose of individual living, and of the varying manifestations of a reality supported and brought to its genuine fruitage by the eternal and illimitable resources on every hand. There is here an exaltation of every ideal potentiality, dramatized in the form of inevitable and universal consummations of order and beauty. Life achieves its ultimate promise in a personal excellence, which may be found compounded a thousand-fold. The keyword is fulfillment."


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