Chart for New Moon in Libra

Getting To Love

Libra represents harmony, love, relationship and balance—implying that something is (or might go) out of balance and needs to be adjusted. This New Moon in Libra activates the Saturn-Uranus square with Jupiter in a stressful Arrowhead aspect pattern. Add Mercury retrograde conjunct Venus to the mix, and you'll need to stay alert to keep up with this intense lunar cycle!

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Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
~ Rumi

NEW MOON in LIBRA

Ottawa, Canada and
Washington DC, USA:

Sep. 25, 2022, 5:54 PM EDT

London, UK:

Sep. 25, 2022, 10:54 PM BST

Sydney, AU:

Sep. 26, 2022, 7:54 AM AEST

 

Let's start with Venus, the planetary ruler of our Libra New Moon. Venus and Libra are about finding balance, peace, beauty and love in all things. They tend to carry our connection to art, music, pleasure, grace and a sunny outlook on life. Whatever sign and house your natal Venus is in, that's where and how you connect most easily with Venus' upbeat energy of joy and enjoyment.

Venus is currently in Virgo where she is in Fall – the sign opposite to where she is Exalted (Pisces). Virgo is not a sign that easily helps her—or us—bring out Venus' lustrous grace and beauty, smooth elegance, and easy-going nature. Virgo wants perfection, preferably down to the last detail which means staying with the task and fiddling until everything is finished, flawless and complete.

Venus' nature by comparison is more interested in applying her attention to the overall experience and impression of the finished product. So, rather than driving herself crazy sharpening every Virgoan pencil in the box to hypodermic-needle-precision, Venus in Virgo is more likely to make sure the full range of pencils, pens and brushes of all different colours and media are included in the collection.

For example, to improve things in the Venus areas of love, money or purchases, it's probably more helpful to aim for appreciation and gratitude rather than technical excellence, and even better, to avoid letting "the perfect be the enemy of the good," as the saying goes.

chefWhere Venus and Virgo can work well together is in activities and situations where both excellence and aesthetics are required. For example, a chef who needs both the right ingredients and a pleasing texture or colour – cooked to perfection and artfully presented.

Where Venus and Virgo may clash is where Virgo's demand for precision is so strict that it leaves Venus with nothing to do but follow Virgo's orders, which just wastes her lovely creative talents. Or where Venus is so insistent on staying within the bounds of balance and harmony that Virgo is blocked from being able to fine-tune the situation for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Mercury Rx conjunct Venus in Virgo

Dear diary, what a day it's been,
Dear diary, it's been just like a dream.
Woke up too late. Wasn't where I should've been.
For goodness sake what's happening to me.
~ Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues), Dear Diary

Mercury Retrograde 2022Mercury retrograde is upon us! Mercury dances in reverse from Sep. 9 to Oct. 2, within the greater shadow period from Aug. 20 to Oct. 17. He began his Retrograde Rumba in Libra and has now Moonwalked back into his own sign of persnickety Virgo (Sep. 23 to Oct. 10). In rhythm with Mercury's retrograde condition, we may feel a bit more nitpicky than usual or perhaps feel that life is demanding more detailed attention from us than usual.

Libra New Moon - Mercury cnj VenusMercury and Venus are conjunct (exact on Sep. 26 at 26:47 Virgo). These two are especially important players in the chart's storyline. Venus rules the Libra New Moon and Mercury rules Venus (being in Mercury's sign of Virgo). In fact, other than Saturn in Aquarius and Neptune in Pisces being in their own signs, Mercury is the Final Dispositor in the chart.

In other words, if we follow every planet's sign ruler, and that planet's sign ruler, every planet traces back to Mercury in his own sign of Virgo. That makes Mercury and his retrograde status even more significant, since this casts an aura over almost the whole chart. Whatever else is going on in the chart, the path through it is likely to be atypically awkward, unusual, twisted or unexpected.

Mercury and Venus are also conjunct the Sun and Moon, all within about 7°. Being a dissociate conjunction (in this case, split between two signs: Virgo and Libra) makes this multiple conjunction more complex and harder to bring its diverse energies into alignment. So, there's lots of warm, beautifying, peace-loving Libra energy, but with a cooler Virgo edge that wants pragmatic substance beneath Libra's surface. While the New Moon in Libra sings of the potential for love and beauty, Venus in Virgo points out that there's a lot of work that must be done before that can happen.

Chart HandleThese 4 planets are far away from all others in the chart. (Obviously the Sun and Moon aren't planets, but it's more convenient to use the term for all chart bodies.) The Sun, Moon, Mercury and Venus cluster acts kind of like a braided Handle of a Bucket or Fan chart distribution pattern. In other words, everything in the chart hangs on those 4 planets. To "get a handle on" the rest of the chart, you need to pick it up by that 4-part multiple conjunction. Otherwise, the rest of the chart could become inert or tippy and difficult to work with.

All of this underscores the considerable impact and significance carried by Mercury and his retrograde status. As typical of Mercury retrograde, this could throw frustrating obstacles and detours into our path. But on a psychological level it is a time of reprocessing and reintegrating ideas, perceptions, events and experiences. And on a more spiritual level, it invites us into a frame of mind where we see beyond the surface of things to a more transcendent view of the greater purpose and meaning within those experiences and ideas.

As you encounter the apparent inconveniences, irritations and inconsistencies, it can be helpful to remember these broader implications as you move through the stressful yet teachable moments of this New Moon cycle.

Jupiter Opposition

I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.
~ Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Photo of Jupiter by NASA Hubble Telescope 2019All eyes are currently on Jupiter who gleams brilliantly in the midnight sky. Jupiter shines brightest when opposite the Sun, which happens once a year, but this year Jupiter is apparently closer to us than he's been in 70 or 59 years, depending on which website you read.

Either way, do make a point of getting outside to see it! Even in a light-saturated city, Jupiter is impossible to miss between when it rises and sets (weather willing).

Jupiter is also a shining beacon on the metaphorical horizon, from the viewpoint of the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Venus fellowship. If these four planets form a composite handle to the chart, then its counter-balance point is Jupiter who opposes them all. This gives the New Moon a strong Jupiter-oriented focus for the entire lunar cycle.

Jupiter seeks a higher vision and understanding of that which seems ordinary or lacklustre. Is that all there is? What does it all mean? Where can one find events and experiences that are meaningful? And how does one embrace and integrate the best of that meaning?

Jupiter takes in the Big Picture. Rather than focusing on what's in front of you, the Jupiter part of you looks for a greater context or further information through which to understand a deeper meaning. So for instance, clouds on the horizon might look like majestic mountains and inspire in you a sense of greater possibilities.

Jupiter is also about morality and examining what is "right," not so much in terms of correctness and effectiveness, but on a philosophical or spiritual level. With Jupiter currently in Aries, we are challenged to discover what is moral or virtuous within a context of autonomy, independence and the raw expression of life force, from the will to survive to anger and aggression.

Jupiter opposite Sun Moon Mercury VenusThe New Moon in Libra opposing Jupiter therefore becomes a search for fairness and equitable balance in the differing priorities between You and Me, between Us and Me, and in the justification between the ends and the means. With Mercury and Venus in Virgo opposing Jupiter, our quest may also include a study of how changing one or two components of a situation can alter the overall result and therefore how to fine-tune a situation toward the preferred end.

Jupiter's influence is likely to come into sharp focus around Sep. 26th when the Sun reaches the exact opposition to Jupiter, and around Oct. 1st when Venus is exactly opposite Jupiter. Mercury's opposition to Jupiter already happened on Sep. 18th when Mercury made the 2nd of 3 passes during his retrograde cycle (Sep. 2, Sep. 18, Oct. 12).

The Dance at the Equator by Declination

As wave is driven by wave
And each, pursued, pursues the wave ahead,
So time flies on and follows, flies, and follows,
Always, forever and new. What was before
Is left behind; what never was is now;
And every passing moment is renewed.
~ Ovid, Metamorphoses

With so many planets in or near the Aries-Libra axis, there are currently 5, count 'em FIVE planets near the equator by declination. (Six if we count Neptune, currently at 03:35 South, but won't reach 0° until 2026-2027.) That's about half the chart!

Planets near equator by declinationIn declination, a planet is a certain number of degrees North or South of the Celestial Equator (the plane of Earth's equator extended out into space), and at the equator a planet is at zero degrees of declination. For instance, the Sun crosses the equator twice a year, which we know as the Equinox (literally "equal night" or "even night"). In 2022 this was March 20 and September 22 (North American Eastern time).

When a planet crosses the equator (moving north to south or vice versa) there tends to be some kind of reset effect. You've come back to zero – now what? There are choices and decisions to be made about what to do next. It's a brand new day. Naturally, the effects of an outer planet (Mars and beyond) crossing the equator is likely to have a greater effect since it doesn't happen very often – in most cases, around when the planet moves into Aries or Libra.

On a personal level (e.g. when a progressed planet in your chart crosses the equator) it can be a time when your life takes on a new direction, or you might double-down on your current direction with renewed commitment. On a societal level, transiting planets that cross the equator (particularly slow-moving planets) can signify a crossroads where the collective begins to move in a different direction in things to do with that planet.

When we're talking about the faster planets by transit (Moon, Sun, Mercury and Venus), the effect is relatively minor and fleeting. However, when there's a buildup of fast-moving planets around the equator, and especially when a slower planet is also there (Jupiter in this case), it's a much bigger deal. The lunar cycle launched by the New Moon in Libra is one of those times.

There are 5 planets crisscrossing back and forth over the equator in a brief 10-day period (Sep. 22 to Oct. 1), and there are two more instances (Moon and Mercury direct) within a total period of about 3 weeks. That's a lot of reset!

The planet with the biggest reset button right now is Jupiter who crosses the equator 3 times over 9 months: May 25, 2022, Sep. 26, 2022, and Jan. 13, 2023. Jupiter shares the spotlight in the chart anyway, due to his tight opposition to the New Moon and the Mercury-Venus conjunction. And his role is given a whole new dimension with him making the exact crossing the day after the New Moon. In other words, Jupiter is exactly at the precise reset point for the New moon in Libra.

This table shows when these 5 planets cross the equator in September and October:

EQUATOR 0°DATEN/SSIGN dd:mm
Sun 0° Sep. 22 N > S Libra 00:00
Moon 0° Sep. 26 N > S Libra 07:09
Jupiter 0° Sep. 26 S > N Aries 03:44
Mercury Rx 0° Sep. 27 S > N Virgo 26:19
Venus 0° Oct. 01 N > S Libra 03:15
Moon 0° Oct. 09 N > S Aries 07:10
Mercury D 0° Oct. 14 S > N Libra 04:32

Declination graph - planets at 0 degrees - September October 2022
Declination Graph of Planets Crossing Equator - September October 2022

 

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus Mini-Square

Anger is a soul-sucking lifetime companion, but it’s also a great catalyst for two of the grittiest, truest forms of love – justice and equity.
~ Brene Brown, Doubling Down On Love

Mini-Square aspect pattern - Jupiter Saturn UranusAs mentioned in my last update (Full Moon in Pisces) there is a slow-moving aspect pattern right now that I call a Mini-Square. It is a longer-term influence, remaining in orb for about 2 months from August 26 to October 26. This figure is composed of Jupiter in a semisquare aspect (45°) to the Saturn-Uranus square (90°).

All of these aspects are members of the Square family (dividing the circle by 2, 4 or 8), so this figure signifies considerable stress, struggle, contradiction and disagreement. There is a need for change, adjustment, and problem-solving but the effect can seem like a game of whack-a-mole where one solution just begets more problems.

Since Jupiter represents royalty, it's significant that this figure coincides with the death of Queen Elizabeth II whose passing means a change of royal ascendancy in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. This is also reflected by Jupiter's long-term reset from crossing over 0° declination (mentioned above).

With the Queen's death has come many questions, starting with what style of leadership King Charles III will have. Times of change often see old unresolved issues come up – kind of like, "Well, as long as we're moving the furniture around, we've been wanting to repaint the walls and recover the couch..." So, unsurprisingly, there are many countries, cultures, and controversies that are resurfacing with the idea that these old issues might be dealt with to the greater satisfaction of all concerned.

Jupiter represents our ideals, what we hope for, what we believe in, and what we aspire to. Jupiter also shows the challenges and opportunities that facilitate our navigation to a (hopefully) better world. In this case, the Mini-Square pattern seems to ask questions, like: What was so bad about the old way so that change has become necessary or desired? (Jupiter ssq Saturn) What's so great about the proposed new way that is worth all the subsequent disruption, upset and aggravation? (Jupiter ssq Uranus)

Jupiter has a special role to play as the apex of the Mini-Square. In this role, Jupiter aims to step in as a mediator between Saturn and Uranus who have been fighting a battle since 2020 between the old and the new, between order and change, between stability and (r)evolution.

To get from conflict to resolution, or from discord to peace, we need to ask questions, challenge our assumptions, rethink what we think we know, and listen to all sides of the argument. We also need to be clear about what we want, what our goals are, and what success would look like. And we need to accept that there may be no easy or satisfying answers that comes out of this process, but that change can potentially be made to improve the situation.

Aiming Your Intention

Wishing for peace is of little value on its own. The desire for peace must motivate how we respond to others and be reflected in all our thoughts and actions. Peace requires engagement.
~ Carolyn Weatherson (Maha Pura Yoga studio)

Thor's Hammer aspect patternThe Mini-Square is part of a larger aspect pattern often called an Arrowhead. The Sun and Moon have a sesquiquadrate aspect (135°) to both Saturn and Uranus. This forms a 3-point triangle that goes by several names, most commonly called Thor's Hammer or God's Fist since it packs quite a punch!

When someone who's feeling that kind of intensity gets a "bee in their bonnet" (as Mom used to say), you're wise to get out of their way. It's great for motivation and getting moving, but it's usually better to do it in a controlled, harnessed, Saturn kind of way than in a wilful Mars kind of way. And with this level of potency, that may not come easily.

kite flyingThe Mini-Square aligns with Thor's Hammer, turning it into a Kite figure called an Arrowhead. The "spine" of the Kite is Jupiter in opposition to the Sun-Moon conjunction, which puts them in a position of steering and aiming all that energy. Again the quest for love, be it interpersonal love or universal love, becomes the pivotal theme.

One way a Kite aspect pattern works is that the "tail" of the kite becomes the key to the configuration. A physical kite's tail is the anchor that keeps it stable and holds the energy within the rest of the figure. The "tail" planet here is the one at the long end of the figure – in this case, the Sun and Moon that form the New Moon.

Arrowhead aspect pattern September 2022On the other hand, this pattern can also be seen like a bow-and-arrow or a crossbow (as described by astrologer Jamie Partridge), where the energy builds at the long-end planet (Sun and Moon) and is released through the opposing planet (Jupiter). Whichever way you envision the energy flow, it's a very powerful figure!

So, in this Arrowhead pattern we see a tremendous urgency to find a resolution for the Saturn-Uranus contradiction (old vs new, order vs change, etc). At its best Jupiter opposite the Sun and Moon wants to offer insight, knowledge and wisdom – or could react with nothing but blame, judgment and condemnation at worst.

Since this figure is made from conflict-oriented square-type aspects, it may be hard to find a calm centre in the storm where you can become receptive to the better side of this opposition. There's a risk that the more you try to move into that centre, the more it intensifies your experience of the storm. On the other hand, Libra with her love of balance and Venus in detailed Virgo could increase your ability to make fine-tuned adjustments. This can help you find that calm balance point more effectively without swinging wildly between extremes.

Sabian Symbol

Sabian Symbol for Libra 03 - Dawn of a new daySabian Symbol for Libra 03: Dawn of a new day (reveals) everything changed.

This Sabian Symbol seems custom made for this New Moon chart, with so many factors indicating a time of reset, renewal, revision and review. This Symbol degree comes quickly after the Libra Equinox which is a time of change between seasons, when we let go of summer (North) or winter (South). It is a time to make changes that will ready us for the winter (North) or summer (South). This new day could foretell a beautiful day or inclement weather on the horizon. Whatever lies ahead, it will be different. Your job now is to read the sky and do what needs to be done to prepare yourself and make the most of what is coming.

Getting To Love

Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.
~ Bertrand Russell

The New Moon in Libra beckons us to find our way to love, peace and harmony. And Jupiter in such strong focus aims to inspire us to find new ways to embrace justice, wisdom, compassion and faith.

In today's world, that's a tall order. It seems like everything around us is mired in discord, from disagreement and contradiction to combativeness and hatred. We are bombarded from all sides with nonstop political game-playing, proclamations of injustice, war between countries and cultures, outbreaks of violence, or disputes about how to balance the needs of the planet with the needs of its human inhabitants. Cynicism is a risk when the discord feels heavier and stronger than our ability to lift it out of despair.

Love Is The Answer. Since time immemorial, we have been taught this. We've heard it in centuries of song, poetry, books and sermons. It's expressed in paintings, sculpture, music and dance. We may experience it in our personal relationships, or demonstrate it through actions of generosity, compassion, empathy, understanding and open-heartedness.

But love is hard. We tend to associate love with feelings and emotions of bliss or ease, but Libra is an Air sign (not a Water sign). It operates largely as a mental construct. In Libra, love is a choice. And in Jupiter's realm, love goes beyond interpersonal bonds and reaches out to a level of Universal Love that radiates from, through and within All That Is.

How do we get from cynicism to love? That's the question, isn't it?

It's tempting to think we can easily dismiss discord, injustice, abuses, violence and threats to our survival with the graceful wave of a hand. It sounds naïve to say, "Just love each other. Just choose love." And in the end, it may come down to something that simple – let go of your grievance and just embrace love. But getting to that point – getting to a place where we can be at peace amid the turmoil around us – that's the hard part.

This New Moon cycle poses this challenge. The Sun and Moon in Libra say, "Come to love and find peace and fulfilment." Jupiter says, "Embrace universal love and see the world through the lens of something greater than yourself."

Yet, Venus ruling the New Moon from Virgo says, "That's all fine and nice, but there's hard work to be done first if that's what you're aiming for. You're going to have to get out of your visionary imagination and make it work on the level of practical mechanics and concrete details." And Mercury retrograde says, "Getting there isn't going to be a straight line. It will take awareness, repetition, dedication, detours, problem-solving, and a willingness to see things from a new perspective."

Jupiter advises, "In the end, the way to let go and leave negativity behind is to grow beyond it, bigger than it, and better than it. Just letting go of something leaves a vacuum, so it's important to move toward something better that can fill the void, or at least have faith that something better will move into it."

And the Libra New Moon says, "Love means adjusting the balance between what works and what isn't working. And rebalancing isn't easy. There must be give and take. You have to let go with one hand and pick up with the other. You need to reject on one side and accept on the other. Even if it's what you want, it still involves change, which involves an adjustment period as you accustom yourself to the unfamiliar."

The next update will be for the Full Moon in Aries on October 9, 2022. Until then, stay safe. Stay sane. Stay awesome. The world still needs you. ❤️

This is the time of the worlds colliding
This is the time of kingdoms falling
This is the time of the worlds dividing
Time to heed your call
Send your love into the future
~ Sting, Send Your Love

 

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