A Last Quarter Moon of Surprise, Reorientation, and Reassessment

Sunday’s Last Quarter Moon in Aries is of great interest in part because of the nature of this lunar phase. Seminal twentieth century astrologer Dane Rudhyar referred to this section of the lunation cycle as a “crisis in consciousness,” meaning that everything that has come before this moment in time, relative to the beginning of the cycle, has so informed our viewpoint that we are seeing our issues from an entirely new perspective. Then, too, the outer planets are all invoked, particularly Uranus. The Moon is conjunct both Eris and Uranus, only a few degrees away from the latter powerfully intuitive planetary energy, so that surprising revelations are more than likely, and indeed could involve a deepening of our understanding of what is most important to us as we reassess what we are actually up to at this stage. Mars is also in nearly perfect square with Uranus in this timing, so that we can expect the events of our lives to take some unusual and sudden turnings, which may serve to further enlighten us as to what we truly value. We gain at this time when we pay the closest possible attention to everything that happens to us and watch for hidden patterns. With the inner knowing supplied by the intuitive nature of this configuration we have more information available to us than there seems to be from the surface events that unfold. Everything can have a second and a third meaning when we can suspend our customary belief on hard-and-fast logic to supply all the answers.

We have, all in all, a quite unusual configuration of Mars in this configuration. Mars is square Uranus by less than a degree, and forming, while being trine Chiron as well, and in close forming sesquiquadrate to numinous Neptune, himself bolstered by Jupiter. Over an intense weekend, surprising and otherworldly dealings become the norm. Therefore, as we pay extra attention to the events of our lives we will want to be alert to their spiritual aspect, and to remember that things are not always what they seem. We are feeling into the masculine and the aggressive parts of ourselves, and seeking the true meaning and the most valuable function performed by this important part of our personalities.

Mercury too in this Last Quarter Moon is in close aspect to an outer planet, namely Pluto. Mercury makes a forming inconjunct or quincunx aspect to Pluto within 1 degree. This strengthens an already powerful presence of Pluto based on the context of this Cancer lunation cycle, with Sun and Moon in aspect to Pluto even now, so that we might expect to be looking more closely into the deep-seated changes that we are going through. We also might want to ask ourselves philosophical questions at this time, such as how do we know what we know, and what is true knowledge anyway. We will want to better understand the process that we are in the midst of and what factor in our lives is disappearing or irrevocably changing. We will also want to see this in the context of strong Eris, feminine warrior energy for soul intention. We could profit from asking ourselves whether what we are currently engaged in is taking us closer to alignment with our most important goals for ourselves, long-term. This is based on values we hold deep inside ourselves that might be only now more fully emerging into the light of consciousness.

The Sabian Symbols for this Last Quarter configuration, and the commentary by Marc Edmund Jones, might prove enlightening once more in this regard. They are, for the Sun in the 25th degree of Cancer, “A dark shadow or mantle thrown suddenly over the right shoulder.” Jones relates this to mystical turnings, and remarks on, “the irrevocability of man’s obligation to the reality of which he is a part, with the emphasis on capacities of … stewardship on the more personal or spiritual side… a release of inner potentialities.” For the Moon, in the same degree of Aries, we find, “A double promise.” Jones relates this to seeking the inner or symbolic meaning, and states, “This is a symbol of man’s stark resourcefulness on the side of everyday experience. For each potentiality that life may offer there are alternatives of equal value [when he or she is able to recognize these as] symbolical or literal… inwardly or outwardly… [so that] everything in a given situation may be brought to the fullest cooperation with everything else.” Indeed it is up to us, as we go, to make every effort to bring the intuitive and the spiritual factors within us fully to bear, so that we can make the most of each circumstance in which we find ourselves.

A Last Quarter Moon of Surprise, Reorientation, and Reassessment

What is in store for you in the next few months?

Chart for the Last Quarter Moon on July 16, 2017

Get Your Free Birth Chart!

November 2024