New Moon in Libra opposes Mars retrograde in Aries, T-squared Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn; Venus in Virgo opposes Neptune in Pisces; Mercury retrograde in Scorpio opposes Uranus in Taurus
New Moon in Libra October 16, 1:30 pm MST
There is a LOT happening in the skies at this lunation and this whole week (and month… and year, let’s be real). But September-November is an especially hot spot, and we’re right in the thick of it.
All other aspects aside, the new moon in Libra is an excellent time to set intentions, not just for the next month, but also for the next six months (until the full moon in Libra in March 2021). And in spite of all of this crazy tension and friction from all the squares and oppositions, I really want us to hold this focus and seed our visions for the future.
For ourselves, for our creative goals, for our relationships—both interpersonal and as a society.
Libra is the sign of balance, the sign of the equinox where night and day reach equal length, the sign of the scales, where, in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the weight of one’s heart was weighed against the lightness of a feather to determine whether a soul would enter the afterlife.
Libra asks us to remember and center fairness, equity, and justice—and also asks us to lighten our own hearts through joy, pleasure, beauty, and, above all, connection to others. Libra is the sign of relationship.
Oppositions and Squares (and Tension, oh my)!
The sun and moon together (as they always are at a new moon) stand across the sky from retrograde Mars in Aries, pitting who we want to be and what we’d do if there were no one else to consider, against who we want and need to be in our partnerships and relationships—romantic, business, family.
This lunation is part of a t-square—like a big T written across the cosmos—bringing tension and traffic jams, literal and metaphorical. It sits in tense relationship (square) to Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn, piled up in Capricorn and speaking to structures and systems (in your life, in your nation and government, in your world)--and those planets are in turn squaring Mars (hence the t-square between Libra, Aries and Capricorn).
The Libra/Aries axis is the realm of the individual vs the relationship, with Aries representing that early consciousness when the child begins to recognize/perceive itself as separate from others, as an ego, an individual, a self—whose needs and desires are paramount and primary—and trump everyone and everything else (pun intended). Libra represents a maturing consciousness who recognizes the necessity and importance of relationship and of the needs and desires of others (sometimes to a fault).
Neither of these energies is better or worse—what’s important is the balance and integration of both.
Too much Libra energy and we become people-pleasing peacekeepers, to the detriment of our own well-being. But too much Aries and we become narcissistic tyrants, unable to consider others.
An opposition on this axis can have us feeling torn between our own goals and ambitions and the needs and requirements of the relationships in our lives.
The lesson in this push-pull friction is to remember and integrate the knowledge that our connections to others are what ultimately feed and sustain us, and enable us to pursue our dreams.
And that the personal drives of Aries help us retain a strong sense of self purpose within partnerships, preventing us from dissolving into the soup of relationship. Aries also helps us set and maintain the boundaries we need to feel respected and appreciated in connection with others.
We must embody the Libran wisdom: It’s all about the balance.
Reciprocity in Relationship
In my own writing and teaching, I think and talk a lot about thinking of and treating our creative projects as if we are in relationship with them—about the reciprocity of creativity.
This is a week rife with conflict, yes, but also with loads of energy for getting things done—sometimes slowly, but also with the wisdom of sustained effort (that Saturn square).
Channel this heat into setting intentions for the next six months on both what you want to accomplish, build, and break through—and how you want to create improve and rebuild the relationships in your life. Centering the balance between what we want to do, and who we want to do it with.
Whether those relationships are romantic partnerships, business or creative collaborations, family dynamics, or the relationships we have with our own creative process and projects.
Creative Writing Prompts + Ritual—Creative Relationship
The last lunation was a full moon in Aries (opposite the sun in Libra), and we focused on working with and through some of the more shadowy aspects of Aries and Mars (retrograde in Aries until November 13).
This moon, with the sun and moon in Libra (still opposing Mars in Aries, of course), I feel called to focus on more of the Libra energy and helping it find balance and strength amidst all the tension and tightness of the t-square.
Ritual + Journal Writing Prompt
- Gather rose quartz and rose incense or essential oil (precious to Venus, ruler of Libra). Light your incense or diffuser.
- Write in response to the following questions:
1. Where do you want your creative projects to be in six months? What projects would you most like to build in the next six months?
2. What do you want your relationships to look like in six months? What relationships would you most like to build/find/reinvigorate in the next six months?
3. How can you better be in relationship to your current creative projects and/or other relationships? What gifts and service can you offer? And what reciprocity would like to receive in exchange?
- Write these ideals into one sentence that best captures the essence of your major creative & relationship desires (you may need to write it in several sentences at first, but see if you can whittle it into a single sentence or phrase that carries the intention). Write it in the present tense as if it has already happened.
- Write this sentence on a pink or green notecard or paper, and/or write it with pink or green ink.
- Meditate for 6 minutes on your own heartbeat, really focusing on the energy emanating from and resonating within your own heart space.
- Open your eyes and read the phrase on your paper aloud.
- Put this piece of paper somewhere where you’ll see it occasionally, but not necessarily all the time. Tuck it into your purse, tape it under a book on your bedside table, hang it inside a door you don’t use every day.
- Put a note on your calendar to bring this piece of paper back out at the full moon in Libra on March 28, 2021. On that date, freewrite on how you feel and relate to the phrase then/now (as the future, March 2021 you).
Creative Writing Prompt—Justice in Another Dimension
Freewrite on the following questions to deeper your understanding of your characters and their world:
- What does the idea of justice mean in your world/to your character? Does it differ amongst different groups/tribes/factions/families? Has it changed for your character over time, over the course of their lives, in response to specific experiences?
- What does the idea of individualism mean in your world and/or to one or more of your characters? Does it have a positive or negative connotation or both? What specific events or stories/histories shape the way your character relates to this word/idea?
- What kind of relationships can/do exist in your world and amongst your characters? What are families or tribes (or some other unit) structured like? What are romantic and sexual relationship possibilities and norms? What other types of relationship and relationship structures do your characters engage in or practice?
- What does reciprocity mean in your world and to your characters?
Photo by Aperture Vintage on Unsplash
Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash