Libra New Moon Solar Eclipse, Monday October 3, 2005 3:28 AM PST

At New Moons we always find a new birth. New Moon in Libra is the birth of Venus- she is the Venus of Botticelli, the moment that divine beauty entered the world. We are relating, dialoguing, creating art, and blazing paths for new levels of intimacy in the world. In the great work, Venus arrives fully born, on a shell-chariot fresh from Mediterranean breezes on a spring day. She is inhumanly flawless and so was her birth- no labor pains, messy blood and bodily fluids. How is it so? With Libra we’re bedazzled with perfection, the gold gilded ornamentation, the perfect female figure, the blessings of the fates and rose petals falling all around us, filling our senses with rich scent. Libra says: we exist for one another’s mutual enjoyment. The rosy scent covers any fishy half shell stench, and so the full story. Under the spell of the Libran ideal, charming enchantment replaces messy humanness; glossy family photos substitute for personal history. With the sweetest of smiles, she insists that ‘what you see is what you get’. But we soon learn that what she wants you to see is what you get.

Her birth tells a different story. The planet Saturn castrated his father, the self-absorbed and unrelateable Uranus for his inability to love his children’s flawed humanity- and throws his genitals into the sea. Beauty, grace and truth (Venus) is born. The phallus conceives an ideal birth, clean and pristine, with none of the violence of human childbirth. This ‘perfect’ birth was motherless and motivated by vengeance. Is it true that the brightest beauty born in the darkest corner of the heart? That place where we’re raw as the earth and unshapely, uncomely completely different from the ‘finished product’ we present to others. Libra presents the good, but she was born from the bad and the ugly. In her ability to create softness, ease, giving, consideration of others before self we see her birthright: rising above raw messiness into pure grace. Loveless and unrelated conceived a gift for love and relationship. When our heart is on lockdown and we see no way out, we ask for a miracle by relinquishing our personal will to Venus, saying: only grace can save us now.

Libra is an angel, a miracle love child. History precedes her, as the ancient astrologers have said: ‘She has the face of an angel, the heart of Mars. We know this legacy ourselves. In our search for love we too have been a violent cast-off into a stormy sea, left to toss and spin in the waters of our own and another’s emotionality. Bobbing in the waves, drifting, unguided, eventually we learned to rise above with a graceful objectivity. In our Mars heart, we have experienced brutality from another, the separation of hands from heart. We have been the recipient of brutal crimes against self, those things we have said or done which have perpetuated the pain of personal history (story). As reward for our tour of duty, we’ve been entrusted with the sacred task of protecting our heart territory. Object lesson: love born of grace is stronger than any obstacle to our loving. With the love of the Divine, there’s nothing to protect and in this knowing we are completely disarmed.

We all want love, as a species it’s our highest goal- to fall in love, live in love. But with this new moon, we also know that what we really want is what we want. And that what I want needs to be what you want, too. We remember that what we truly want what is best for the other (and spiritually we know this desire is grander than the small ‘I’) but our insistence for integrity and equality is strong. To be strong together we must truly be able to stand alone.

With Libra, there are dark corners of the heart, places we hide because we want to be loved and showing these risks the loss of idealization. So Libra constructs all kinds of ruses. Hiding under the guise of ‘what’s good for you is good for me’ is often just plain hiding. So also is coating some aspect of yourself with a powdery sugar as your partner eats arsenic poison. This eclipse energy amps us with the powerful urge to move quickly, breaking down or breaking through more deeply into relationship with a partner or endeavor. This requires more than sugar coated diplomacy about your needs vs. mine. There’s tons of energy to bust through blockages. When we’re breaking apart old habits, remember we are toggling with deep sensitivities. Libra is the warrior-relator in each of us. With sun in Libra, we invite the other in for a closer look. In the spirit of good-hearted sparring we enlist the sword of understanding to uncloak the masks that keep us separate.

New Moon Day 10/03 New Moon Solar Eclipse in Libra. Solar eclipses reveal by concealing, like a flickering light to a dim room. With Venus opposing Mars in mutual reception, va-va-voom. These two love to play like lovers, but there’s something to work out. Mars retrograde* stirs up trouble and here is the chance to lose one’s head in a fit of irritation or passion. It’s just that the relatedness principle and ego don’t merge, we’re feeling prickly, easily irritated by something ‘wrong’. 9/20- 10/11 Mars has virtually slowed to a stop on the fixed star Algol, the severed head. Like Perseus slaying Medusa, what needs to be slayed by wisdom & put to rest? Remember, what is true will survive. Conciliatory efforts show promise as long as you inquire a little deeper into the issues, ye be healed in about 3 days time. Communication is like deep sea diving, who knows what you’ll see down there unless you try? A good day for signing contracts and making commitments based on bottom lines.

10/04-5 Moon in Libra, then Scorpio this evening. Our mind wraps itself around the Rubik’s cube puzzle we’ve been patiently working on for the past week and a half, these problems may just be plain irritating, stubborn. We have tenacity and luckily Mercury, the mind, joins the planet of teachers, gurus on 10/05 allowing us to tap into some universal wisdom or a change of perspective. Open to your inner and outer guru to discover a new angle. Obstacles in relationship melt in the light of new information, communication-and the eclipse energy finally delivers opportunity for heart-healing. You will have to step up for the ground to rise up to meet you, so take the first step, feel the path to freedom from the past clear as Chiron moves forward.

10/6-8 Uranus trine Pallas evaluates exactly what needs to change and with a snap of her fingers, poof! Eyes are opened. All week, communication over action is favored. Moon in Scorpio can keep us holding onto a position, but where we release we find peace. 10/7 Moon into Sagittarius and Sun trining Neptune gives us easy access to inspiration and compassionate connection. We’re in communicado, but with the pent up energy of Mars we can appear defensive or unintentionally insensitive. Compassion goes a long when conversations and exchanges bring up wounding, so carefully attend to the ‘how’ of what you say. Presence works wonders.

Venus moves into Sagittarius today till 11/05. Shared affection is easier to express, much less loaded this month. Venus in Sag is the logical consequence of a too security conscious Scorpio. Let your inhibitions down-actually, with Sag, there were never any to begin with. We love generously, with an aesthetic for the finer things in life. ‘More, more, more’, we’re even a little hedonistic with Jupiter now in mutual reception. The sign Venus occupies is a surefire way to feed the heart. After last month’s bumps, we can nurture our bruised Venus hearts with anything that expands our perspective-travel, spirituality, philosophy, and teachers. Bring these into your relationships for a win-win.

10/8 Mercury into Scorpio (till 10/30) says communication will be a lot clearer if we are ‘no bull’. We won’t pull any punches, or get punched out, if we keep in integrity while being both honest and direct. Decisive speech will give you an A+ in exceptional communication skills.

10/9-10 Moon moves into serious Capricorn for a first quarter square on 10/10. Moon in Capricorn reflects the importance of responsibility and building a well-laid plan for relationship, continuing the Sun in Libra theme of this moon cycle. Whether you see them as obstacles or mutual obligations, these are the bricks for a workable structure. Energy is high later in the evening.

10/11-12 Moon in Aquarius breaks up the seriousness of Capricorn. If someone is holding on too rigidly, they learn to do it differently. Follow the moon as she brings sweetness to the afternoon. After sleeping off any lingering aches, the morning of 10/12 is dreamy. Look for inspired clues into your life path this afternoon. Evening brings hints of deeper knowing, even if slightly edgy.

10/13-14 Watery revelations! What we don’t understand logically, intuition answers, Mercury in Scorpio trine Uranus and Moon in Pisces. As the paradigm of material reality crumbles rigidity like a hurricane, we’d do well to listen to the message of Mother Nature. She says: ‘learn to listen & perceive differently’. A sign of the times: logic fails at least 50% of the time. When stuck for an answer, the ancients looked for omen, divination, intuition, God. The obvious solution still seems to compromise? There’s always a 3rd alternative. 10/14 gives our relationships a kick in the pants. What needs changing has been obvious and now its time for action, Venus square Uranus is ready to get the show on the road. We’re talking commitment or get outta here as Venus joins with Ceres, Sun sextile Juno. In partnership it’s about nurturing one another’s needs, holding what’s precious in the sacred container of relationship.

10/15-16 Moon moves into Aries in the backdrop of this hectic day. Watch out for flare-ups when we can easily react with anger to criticism or inflexible attitudes. As we’re both high-intensity and serious minded, we can get wrapped up in a project that requires focus- perhaps the best way to use this day. Saturn square Mercury brings up negative thinking, perhaps old patterns which need to be purged. Yet a sextile from the Sun to Pluto gives us the energy to tackle all of it-& Aries moon knows how to ‘get ovah it!’ Don’t underestimate the ability of an Aries moon to ‘keep on movin-‘.

10/16 Venus trine Saturn is a lady in touch with her passions, knowing what she wants & no qualms about speaking her piece. We realize that self-exploration and self-expression makes us feel more secure and confident. This is always a great planetary combination for putting that piece of art you’ve been thinking about into form (not necessarily creating it). Write it down, commit it to the canvas. Jupiter square Chiron wants to heal, as woundology may interrupt our good times or vice versa. Mercury in Scorpio on Pallas is the Princess of Swords. A final divination session -what logic fails, tarot curtails: mental fitness keeps you clear and on purpose. http://www.angelpaths.com/swords/swordsprs.html

Worth mention: on a larger backdrop, through the past month we’ve been dealing with the energies of quincunxes- Saturn/Uranus and Pluto/Mars. The latter has almost run its course, but the former continues. We’ve been between a rock and a hard spot, aspects that seem without resolve, that place in our life where we simultaneously throw in the towel ‘I give up!’ while still working an angle. This dissipates by month’s end. Saturn continues to close in on opposition to Neptune until 11/22 when it backs off (retrogrades). Career plans, recognition, foundations, authority (materiality) are dissolving into new paradigms, by being washed away with a hurricane or transcendentalized into a stronger spiritual base. A much longer and broader social shift, this continues through 2007.

*Mars Retrograde (the forecast that’s worth repeating) 10/01-12/09. Venus opposes Mars the day Mars goes retrograde in Taurus. He will appear to move backwards thru 12/09, which means we’re off center in some area of our life and balance will somewhat return by 12/09. (But not off the hook yet, because the job won’t finish until he completely re-traces his steps by 02/06/06.) Imagine a face off between the goddess of ‘we belong together’ and the god of ‘where’s the I in we?’ How will this play out as Mars makes his long journey? It’s probably not to Venus’ taste. We feel our sensibilities, and preferences challenged. Add fuel to the fire, Mars stations on the fixed star, Algol, a star that has a reputation for being nasty. Like the Perseus & Medusa myth after which it was named, this is the star of beheadings. Mars is keenly intellectual, so we lose an ability to be clearheaded somewhere in our lives largely because someone or something needs a good look in the mirror of Athena’s shield of self reflective wisdom. Old resentments flare, what you’ve been sitting on- you already know what that is!- is about to blow its top. Yet we feel more introspective during retrograde, so imagine a kettle on the back burner, simmering, simmering. Eventually it blows or burns, right? So use this time to reflect on how you will handle this situation before it handles you. We’re also thinking about money and resources during this period, cars and maintenance, self-defense and accumulating security. The rule of retrograde is anything ‘re-‘ re-evaluate, re-pair, re-work. Use this time wisely and you’ll be singing ‘-after that dreaded beheading I tied that sucker back on with a string, I guess I’m pretty different now, considering’. (Ani diFranco)