Life, Love and a New Moon in Libra
By
Sarah Varcas
The second of three conjunctions between Uranus and Eris in Aries occurs on 25th September, with its impact reverberating through the coming months. Requiring deep reflection before action, this alliance of the wild child (Uranus) and the radical feminine (Eris), now both retrograde, demands careful handling and integrity so sharp it draws blood if we dare push too hard against it. We may be beset with all kinds of desires, passions, certainties and non-negotiables at the moment. Ice cold clarity is in the air. We are seeing, perhaps for the first time, the truth of our lives, of the false selves we have worked so hard to sustain, and the real Self neglected in the wings. We may be filled with inspiration as our potential is revealed, or horror as we recognise the consequences of past choices shaped by fear we mistook for truth.
Perhaps it will come as some comfort to know we are not alone in this unrelenting place. Perhaps not. Maybe it would be easier if it were only us and we could write it off as a brief moment of passing madness. But it isn’t. Deep within the human psyche is arising an unavoidable knowing that life and how we live it must change, in a big way and forever. Both personally and collectively it is becoming ever clearer that we simply cannot continue on without taking account of a now obvious fact, once obscured: that who we are today is primarily born of past choices. Choices which felt right at the time, but whose unanticipated consequences now demand the unacceptable sacrifice of our most vibrant and authentic self.
The Uranus/Eris conjunction is opposed by Black Moon Lilith who reminds us it is often within relationship that we discover who we truly are. Who we choose to surround ourselves with is an important consideration right now. Every connection we foster and person we share our energy with becomes a part of us, an imprint that fertilises our future selves. Finding true family, forging connections that reflect our deepest selves, honouring the divine spark at the heart of all who cross our path no matter who they are: these are powerful practices on our collective and personal journey. We are creating a new world together, not having one foisted upon us. We do that in community and alone, in hope and in fear, in faith and in doubt. Attending to how we share our energy and with whom, who we listen to, how we communicate and the alliances we forge will reveal important truths about the condition of our own heart and its impact on the world around us.
Pluto’s direct station in Capricorn on 26th September assists us in this place of deep enquiry and radical change. In an earth sign it manifests great material power, facilitating shifts we may otherwise struggle to manifest. If our life seems to be in need of a complete overhaul, Pluto is a powerful ally. Together with Mercury and the North Node in Virgo, it now encourages a flight into truth, discarding habitual avoidance mechanisms previously used to maintain the status quo. If difficult conversations need to be had and we didn’t use the recent Mercury retrograde to have them, the end of September still affords opportunities to do so. Articulating unexpressed thoughts and feelings can be both healing and liberating now, even though they may whip up a few storms as they go. Sometimes a storm really is needed to freshen the air for a new day to dawn….
Mars’s journey through Capricorn (27th September to 9th November) grounds frenetic energy and helps us realise some of our more practical goals. Forthright and pragmatic, committed and unswerving, it demands that we ‘just get on with stuff and stop pussy-footing around it!’. It offers a great opportunity to get down to brass tacks and deal with unfinished business before we can manifest our bolder hopes and dreams. As ruler of Aries, Mars has an interest in the current conjunction of Uranus and Eris, eager that we get as much from it as we can. Whilst we may well want to escape life’s demands by retreating into detachment or despair, self-satisfaction or self-pity, doing so would set a damaging precedent of avoidance just when the seeds of courage and determination must be sown. Mars in Capricorn reminds us that only by engaging fully with this realm can we truly know ourselves in any other, and sets the scene for some hardcore earth-bound activity in the weeks to come!
The New Moon in Libra at 12:13 a.m. UT on 1st October is a good time to begin again in recent situations of discord and conflict. Just because we have clashed with others doesn’t mean we’re bound to be forever at war. It may be that we have far more in common than we know! Human nature is cyclical, moving in ebbs and flows of togetherness and understanding, strife, separation and discord, then back to connection again. This is true of our relationship with ourselves as much as with each other! Nothing remains the same. There is no stasis, even in death. So any notion that nothing can change – least of all us or them, this or that – simply cannot be trusted, especially now! Change is the only constant, a dependable refuge until we know without doubt the sacred essence which feeds us from a different place. In an alliance with Neptune and Venus, this New Moon both spiritualises and grounds our relationships. It enables a more compassionate heart and courageous spirit, manifest in a willingness to say the hard stuff whilst holding a space of love and acceptance. Only then can we realistically decide where, being these people at this time, life will take us next.
But if unavoidable separations are on the cards come October, don’t resist them. We know in our heart when an ending has arrived, no matter how much we may fight this truth. Try, if possible, to relax a little into it, embracing the space of ‘only me’ where ‘we’ used to be. Whilst this New Moon speaks of love, it is a greater, more enduring kind: love of the Self as it really is, not the false self we create to get by. Love of the divine which flows through us as truth, that burns from within when denied. No one person can give or take away this unbounded love for it is none of ours to own and yet all of ours to share. This coming month we must do so widely, drink it in deeply and weave it through the very heart of this fantastically tumultuous life.
Sarah Varcas