A First Quarter of Stubborn Fixity and Sudden advancement

The First Quarter Moon of Friday evening / Saturday early morning, February 3rd or 4th, is a strong one. This takes place in the middle or power degrees of the fixed signs of Aquarius and Taurus, indicating that internal forces are locked in conflict or dispute, and that something needs to give. The symbolism is also there for implying that matters are in motion. This is indicated by the extreme volatility of trickster Uranus opposite Jupiter being once again highlighted in this current configuration. In fact, Jupiter is stationing within a few days time, further enhancing this aspect of sudden insight, and of adapting to changing conditions with brilliant ideas to work strange new compromises. What we have here is thus both a supremely stuck situation and, on the other hand, the ability to seek unusual methods of getting your way, along with the capability to yield gracefully when you cannot.

Adding to the fixity of this configuration is the presence of Saturn, aspected by Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Eris. Saturn tends to dig in his heels and fight change in whatever form it comes; preferring to thoroughly vet the situation before committing his energy to it. With so much radical change on the horizon, echoed in the ongoing Jupiter-Uranus and Uranus- Eris connections, this is not at all a static situation, as Saturn, and this stubborn quarter Moon, seem to be on the losing end of holding off what might be perceived as a touch of chaos. So what happens when competing astrological factors are pulling in opposite directions? The result can be creative, a third way that rises above the seeming contradictions, such as testing the ropes and the conditions as thoroughly as you can and then launching out into the great unknown. Of course there are less happy outcomes, when one important part of yourself, or of the society at large, feels neglected and unheard. Resentment ensues. The way around these difficulties is to remain, while staying true to your bottom-line convictions, as open as you can to all possibilities.

Indeed, conflict is a theme of this First Quarter phase itself. Dane Rudhyar likened it to a “crisis in action,” where an intended line of activity meets with the frustration of unexpected obstacles that you must therefore make accommodation for. The truth of any human situation is never simple, and in these fractious times we need to be inventive to find our way through.

The potential divergence between different sides of a proposed line of action or belief also extends to interpersonal relationships. Venus is now in Aries, the sign that Mars rules, as is Mars, and only a few degrees separate them. Over the course of the next weeks and months, Venus will never catch up, because turning retrograde on March 4th. That following month will therefore be one in which we question the motivation behind relationship, and attempt to better understand each other across the “great divide” of the relationship dyad. As Venus slows down, the gap between Venus and Mars increases, until Venus retrogrades and Mars enters Taurus, putting these two personal planets in mutual reception. In the meantime we are in a time of attempting to make things happen in a creative way on all fronts, including that of close interpersonal connection.

The Sabian Symbols for this First Quarter Moon may be enlightening. They are, for the Sun, in the 16th degree of Aquarius, “A big-business man at his desk.” This, of course, reminds us of the conservative side of the push-pull equation. Marc Edmund Jones remarks upon, “personal stability through organizational powers,” and declares that the status of such an individual is successful as long as they “remain undisturbed throughout the ramifying vicissitudes” of daily life. In other words, in spite of everything, be true to yourself and your vision. For the Moon, in the 16th degree of Taurus, we find the somewhat mysterious symbol, “An old man attempting vainly to reveal the mysteries.” Jones has, “ awakening to transient inadequacy and a stirring to the effort which of itself is a promise of fulfillment.” There are inherent difficulties in every move to go to depth and to universal principles, but the effort is never wasted. When we are on the right course as we can feel it in our hearts, and setbacks arise, we must simply keep on keeping on. Truth will ultimately prevail. There is some comfort in recognizing that there is literally nothing else that it makes any sense for us to do.

A First Quarter of Stubborn Fixity and Sudden advancement

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Chart for the First Quarter Moon on February 3, 2017

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