The New Moon in Virgo occurs at 3:04 (UT time) on the 29th August 2011.
The New Moon is conjunct Venus and centaur Elatus, opposite Neptune and quinxunx Uranus-Lilith. The New Moon forms a Grand trine with Pluto and Jupiter.
The Sabian Symbol is: –
A Merry-Go-Round
I was obsessed with books as a child (nothing much changes!) and books about horses were my favourite. The Discontented Pony was one story I read over and over.
Merrylegs the pony lived on a farm and was unhappy with his lot. One day a fair came to town and upon seeing the Merry-Go-Round, Merrylegs decided he had found his life’s calling. Enthralled with the glamour of the beautiful horses on the roundabout, he ran away from his home and friends and sought to join the fair.
But when Merry-legs tried to talk to the horses, they didn’t talk back. Waiting for their answer, he fell asleep, awaking only to find himself tied up and listening to the humans talking about putting him to work pulling a cart. Dismayed, Merry-Legs fell back into a deep sleep and dreamed of being a Merry-Go-Round horse. As first it was wonderful; spinning around, listening to the laughter of the children – faster and faster. But then Merrylegs began to feel a little sick, then very sick, then so sick he woke up! Merrylegs decided he didn’t want to be a Merry-Go-Round horse after all and at the first chance, escaped the fair and ran back to his friends at the farm.
As I recall this story, I look back to the chart and the sensation of spinning remains. The Grand Trine seems to speed up energy. Jupiter bigs it up, Pluto intensifies. Trines are traditionally seen as ‘positive’ aspects but they can also hasten the flow of energy and give it a free rein.
The New Moon is conjunct Venus and opposite Neptune. Much like the discontented pony, this aspect can suggest that we can easily fall under the spell of someone or something that can ‘take us away from all this’. The quincunx to Uranus and Lilith may tempt us on a wild goose chase.
The New Moon is also conjunct centaur Elatus. Whilst his name means ‘fir tree’, I cannot ignore the Latin link to the concept of ‘elation’. During this New Moon there is the temptation to be drawn to dizzying heights, entranced by the promise of something beautiful and above the mundanities of ordinary life. The problem with this is that at some point the shine wears off, reality slaps us in the face and everything seems dull and ordinary again.
The trick with this New Moon seems to be about accepting the ups and downs of life whilst maintaining a sense of balance. Being in touch with your body (Virgo) and staying true to your values (New Moon conjunct Venus) may help to ground the energy. The grass isn’t necessarily greener over there. It might just be that right now, you are standing in the shade.
As I write this, hurricane Irene has begun to batter the East Coast of America. The spinning vortex of storm clouds seen from above is a forbidding echo of the energy of this chart. I hope for all my friends in the States that Irene spares them.
The name Irene paradoxically means peace which is connected to the planet Neptune. Peace comes when we choose to remain centred regardless of what happens around us. Peace comes when we rise above our petty differences.
The Merry-Go-Round image can indicate it is time to go with the flow, to take opportunities where they come, to ride life’s highs and lows. But the danger is allowing yourself to simply be blown by the wind, caught up in a hurricane of chaos.
Setting the New Moon chart for London and Manchester, I note that the New Moon is in the 1st house with Neptune-Chiron in the 7th. The fairground feel is currently singing through both cities as Manchester hosts Gay Pride/Love Manchester events over the bank holiday weekend whilst London parties with the Notting Hill Carnival. In the wake of the riots, this New Moon offers the potential to accept each other’s differences, recognise that we are all spinning together on one planet and we have a duty to simply love one another. Put to positive use, the New Moon Grand Trine can emphasise the power of the people and our ability to change our understanding of other cultures and beliefs. Partying together, we can look into each other’s eyes and know there beats the soul of another. We are all dancers on the Earth.
Merry-go-round by cbransto on Flickr
Happy New Moon, Leah. xxx
Thanks Neeti – and to you!