Friday, July 21, 2017

Rebel Moon - New Moon July 2017


 "You see, war is not the answer / For only love can conquer hate." - Marvin Gaye, What's Going On


July's New Moon enters at O° Leo, and we all pretty much know what the sign of Leo is famous for - creative, passionate, generous, warm-hearted, cheerful, humorous, and brave. Leo can also be arrogant, stubborn, self-centered, lazy, inflexible, and loud. Because this Moon phase is primarily influenced by Mars, we get to mix Leo's brashness with Mars' war-like, aggressive traits. Mars, the God of War, is the ruler of Aries. In astrology, Mars is the planet of energy, action, and desire. It is the survival instinct, and can be thought of as the “leftover” animal nature of man. Mars is the push that gets us out of bed in the morning, our drive and desire nature, and our active energy. When we are “acting out” our Mars, we are assertive, directed, forthright, and adventurous. On the negative side, we can be impulsive, rash, impatient, aggressive, and forceful. The combination of these two aspects of this New Moon cannot be ignored or glossed over - it's going to be messy! This is a new moon about energy, action, sex, sports, anger and war. A secondary influence comes from the planet Uranus. A tense aspect to this planet of change and excitement makes Mars more explosive, unpredictable, violent and dangerous.

With the upheaval going on right now on our American political stage, the influence of this New Moon has been given a spotlight. Whatever your age or political affiliation, I'll bet you've never experienced anything remotely like it, and I think that we'll be able to say that about this Moon phase after the fact. Our friends at Astrology King put it like this: "The July 2017 new moon will test your patience. The annoying little things that people do will be more irritating than usual. You will have to take extra care not to upset already angry and mean people. There will be an increased danger of assassinations, revolutions, military assaults and war." Uh oh, grab a seat and pass the popcorn!

Mars square Uranus gives a strong urge to break free from restriction and rebel against authority. A tendency to act rashly without regard for the consequences can lead to disruption and even violence in your life. Awareness of this dynamic energy can instead lead to inventive and creative breakthroughs and a reinvigorated personal life. One thing that will get us all through this weird phase, and it's your creativity! As dire as the astrological predictions sound, this is a great time for artists to battle pent up negative emotions by immersing themselves in their talents. Whatever it is you do, now's the time to get doing - paint, sculpt, dance, sing, and dance the troubles away. Hard work can be used as another outlet. If you have a home or office that needs deep cleaning, now's your chance!

The July 23 new moon influence lasts for four weeks up to the August 21 Solar Eclipse. The best time for making a fresh start and for beginning new projects is during the first two weeks of this new moon cycle. This waxing phase of the Moon lasts from July 23 to the August 7 partial lunar eclipse. We'll talk about the eclipses in another blog post, but remember, whatever this New Moon stirs is likely to be only half the picture as more energy is going to be revealed in August.