by Silvianne K. Delmars | July 3, 2024 |
Anchoring in New Forms to Support a New Earth Evolution
On Friday, July 5, the mysterious New Moon at 14 Cancer 23 (exact at 3:57 pm PDT) stands opposite to the halfway mark between the alpha and omega points of last month’s Solstice Full Moon at the very beginning of Capricorn, and the upcoming Full Moon in the very last degree of that earthy, can-and-will-do zodiac sign. This is a New Moon point saturated with the promise of powerful assistance as we find the courage to heal the wounds of the past and move into a whole new cycle. The co-creation energies of a radically new way of being over the next few months and years are beckoning us forward. How will we choose?
Venus is also in watery Cancer not too far away from the New Moon, still hidden from our sight by the light of the Sun. Now in the final days of her passage through the transformational depths, she readies herself to emerge once again into the light, deeply informed by all of her experiences over the last several months.
This is a precarious passage, a time to seek quiet counsel with the inner realms, and to hold close the seeds of our new beginnings, nurturing them carefully before exposing them haphazardly to harsh outside forces. Perhaps our most potent task at this liminal moment between dark to light, is to allow ourselves to just be, as our new selves take root in the richly composted remains of our old, outworn selves.
Messenger Mercury is acting as way-shower to Venus in this New Moon moment, emerging before her in the evening sky in the sovereign sign of Leo. With Vesta only a degree or two away, we are reminded of the importance of dedicating ourselves to our own creative spark, and of our innate right and joyous responsibility to make life what we wish it to be with spontaneous exuberance in each moment.
Meanwhile, the great transformer Pluto is providing the counterbalance to all the energies pulling us towards new growth. Going back over the very first degrees of expansive Aquarius, it forces us to see what’s hidden behind the curtain. Are we fostering an authentic expansion of consciousness, seeking out truly new ways of looking at the world, grounded in radical self-love and our own unique vision? Or are we choosing to let ourselves be swept along by the vision of others because it’s the easier path? Pluto forces us to go to the depths to ensure that the changes we are seeding now will nurture our deepest selves.
Ceres Capricorn Overstory
In yet another one of those inexplicable synchronicities that seem to proliferate as we head into the very heart of the Turning of the Ages, the dwarf planet Ceres is beginning her brand new 15-month synodic cycle on this very same day, just one hour after the New Moon. Like Mars, Ceres begins her cycle when she is retrograde, rising opposite to the Sun (anachronal rise). At 5:04 pm PDT, she will be at 14 Capricorn 25, with the Sun directly opposite, just a few minutes past the exact New Moon degree. Ceres has a 23-year cycle, meaning it will be many, many years before the 19-year Moon cycle and her 23-year cycle will come together again in a similar way.
For me, this points us to a radical exploration of the meaning of nurturing, beyond the false assumptions of our deeply wounded culture, fueled by the power of this Cancer New Moon. Ceres in our charts indicates what it takes for us to feel nurtured and gives us clues about the way we nurture others. Ceres in Capricorn, the Overstory for this current cycle, invokes the archetype of the elder, the grandmother, the wise crone. It feels nurtured by creating supportive structures, and longs to ‘feed’ others by building and fostering the framework for a healthy culture. A shadow expression can be feeling that we must be valued for our ability to perform as a prerequisite to being loved. As always, we seek a healthy balance point between the two extremes.
It’s important to note that this New Moon and launch of a new incarnation for Ceres are both happening together in the energies of an extreme out-of-bounds, different than usual, follow-your-own-lead Moon. We are definitely not talking about using Capricorn wisdom to shore up old, dilapidated structures so they can hang on for a few more years. We are being asked to plumb the depths, to inquire into what really nurtures our souls and our world, roll up our sleeves, and get to work building something entirely new, undaunted by the enormity of the task.
Chandra Symbol
The Chandra symbol for Capricorn 15, the degree of Ceres as she stands on the threshold of her journey to reactivate the nurturing power of the archetypal wise elder, is
“A woman wearing a necklace of skulls.”
John Sandbach, the originator of the Chandra symbols, has this to say:
“If only focused on seeking power and denying those fears inside which need to be released this degree will merely perpetuate old karmas until the cycle is worn out. On the other hand, if it can rise above such ego impulses it has a tremendous ability to deeply heal and clear its own being as well as catalyze others to do the same.
The woman wearing the necklace of skulls is the goddess Kali, a dark angel who helps us to befriend all the hidden and lost pieces of ourselves. Until her tests are met, we cannot fully attune to the sacred hierarchies…
The challenge of this degree is to find the right use of its inborn ability to lead – a way that serves the will of the highest, as well as to fuse compassion and forgiveness with its innate potency.”
The other three Asteroid Goddesses
If you are not yet convinced of the intensity of the spotlight shining down from above, demanding that we unflinchingly examine the very essence of the nurturing principle, as we re-evaluate, re-envision, and re-define all aspects of the Sacred Feminine at this critical juncture in history, there is one more synchronicity to be revealed. The very next day after the New Moon, July 6, all of the other three asteroid Goddesses – Pallas, Juno, and Vesta – show up in exact dynamic aspects to Mars, Saturn, and Mercury respectively.
The distorted, split off parts of the deep feminine, contorted into grotesque caricatures of their true selves by the pressures of trying to salvage their innate gifts in the midst of dominator culture, are begging us to rethink our perspectives, personally and collectively. It is time to restore them to their true value and allow for their natural, multi-faceted expression, in both men and women.
Let’s take for an example just the first aspect, as Mars in Taurus stands off against Pallas Athene in Scorpio (at 19 degrees, 49 minutes of their respective signs). In its truest expression, the Sacred Masculine in Taurus longs to be in intimate encounter with the Sacred Feminine, sharing the depths of sensual pleasure, and reveling in the unbridled experience of bringing spirit fully down into juicy, embodied incarnation for the sheer joy of it. He is here to experience, demonstrate, and share with others the sacred spiritual essence of receiving.
As we all know, this is not a version of the masculine that is supported in any way by the dominant culture. It isn’t considered ‘manly’ to stop and smell the roses. As a result, the unhealthy expression can too often show up in the form of addicted receivership or a shallow glorification of surface beauty that stands in the way of true intimacy.
Pallas Athene, mistress of pattern recognition, was renowned for her creative intelligence. In her shadow aspect, forced to choose in a patriarchal system between intelligence and natural feminine expression, she became the “father’s daughter.” Holding on to creative wisdom at the cost of her femininity, like Athena in the later stories, who was born from the head of Zeus without even the need of an earthly mother.
Showing up at this potent New Moon / Ceres cycle activation in Scorpio, in opposition to Mars in Taurus, Pallas longs to wield the healing potential of her penetrating intelligence and ability to see to the heart of things, in the service of authentic sensual expression. If she becomes caught up in a watered down, inauthentic version of herself in an attempt to please the internal patriarchal voice, her true gifts may be lost.
On the other hand, if she shows up in her authentic power, but the Taurus masculine shies away, choosing to experience her offered gift as an unwanted challenge to the ease or safety of living on the surface of things, the chance is equally lost.
Ideally, Taurus will choose to embrace the healing magic of the Scorpio resonant polarity, as the Sacred Masculine welcomes Pallas’ potent strength to help him find the courage to live his truth as a sensual lover of beauty and pleasure despite all the forces telling him he is wrong. Allowing for this unfolding of his capacity for pleasure will become a healing gift not only for himself, but for all of us.
Saturn in Pisces opposite to Juno in Virgo, and Mercury conjunct Vesta in Leo offer equally transformative gifts at this now seed point that will continue to unfold not just for this coming month but well into 2025 and beyond.
Whispers of Distant Stars
The power of this Cancer New Moon, so magically aligned with the Ceres synodic cycle, and the other asteroid goddesses, beckons from the depths of a moonless night. If we can surrender to the potential of this potent dark, perhaps we will be able to tune our inner ear to the whispers of distant stars, brought closer to our consciousness by the velvet darkness.
These faint starry murmurings invoke a deep longing to explore the ruins of an existence we can scarcely remember, imbued with echoes of our forgotten capacity for connectedness and belonging. Our soul seeks to follow this call back to a time before the ancient fall – before we so rashly relinquished our innate, unmistakable knowing of our irrevocable connection with the Sacred, and tumbled headlong into the madness that now passes for reality in a seemingly broken world.
It is time to step beyond the confines of our arid existence, to follow these faintest of murmurings, to believe in the validity of our inner promptings, no matter how faint and insubstantial they may seem in the rational light of day. Time to trust once again the wisdom and power of the inner darkness as we follow its clues, step by step, into a never-before-experienced reality, where every being is free to unfold in joy, and beauty, and wisdom as we co-create a new world.