A First Quarter Moon of Relational Transformation

The First Quarter Moon can tend to be a challenging phase of the lunar cycle. It is when the symbolic ‘seeds’ that were planted at the New Moon are now young plants trying to sprout their first leaves. It is a time each month when we are asked to exert our will and put in the effort required to bring the latent energies of the New Moon into manifest form. This particular First Quarter Moon in Aquarius follows the recent Libra New Moon, a configuration that rules the entire thirty-day cycle. This New Moon was notable by the fact that, by a very close opposition, it activated unpredictable Uranus. In light of this, it is important that we recognize the trickster influence throughout the entirety of this lunar cycle, as events continue to surprise us, and to provide unanticipated enlightenment. As the pot gets stirred, and even shaken up, we can expect the unexpected and also look for new openings allowing genius, brilliance, and innovation to emerge.

There is indeed cause for optimism, in spite of difficult times, because the Sun in this quarter moon configuration is closely conjunct expansive Jupiter. This First Quarter Moon is also intensely colored by a forming square aspect between relationally oriented Venus in her home sign of Libra, symbolizing as well beauty and aesthetics, and a deeply transformative Pluto in Capricorn. Mercury, parallel to the Moon, also connects with Pluto. Venus in her own sign is well-placed, so perhaps she will not be quite so jarred by this challenging square to the lord of the underworld. Even so, we might see the effects of this configuration playing out somewhat dramatically in our relational realms. Tension, resentment, and unaddressed conflicts will not likely lie dormant! Communication between partners will tend to be deep and wide-ranging. Skeletons may come tumbling out of their closets, and any elephants in the room will likely reveal themselves – also a theme echoed by Jupiter’s recent movement into Scorpio. The Moon is making a close trine to an irritable Mars, also in Libra, where he is at his detriment. There could thus appear exacerbated tendencies of reactivity and defensiveness when confronted.

So what are we to make of this set of configurations? We can look to the more conscious expressions of the planetary archetype, and of ourselves. When we are confronted by difficulties in relationship, it is absolutely natural and par for the course to become triggered into a fight or flight response. The question becomes, how do we treat ourselves and others when we enter that state? Do we fly off the handle? Shut down and push people away? Collapse into victim hood? Maybe… but after visiting that place of shame, blame, guilt, etc.– what lies beyond that? Saturn and Chiron, The Wounded Healer, are also staking their claim in the sky right now, making a nearly perfect square with each other, so that it is possible that authority issues will surface. These two important archetypes in combination can also make our inner wounds more concretely experienced, with the potential for building something from them necessary for our continued development. They are asking you to utilize any tension or triggering circumstance to pick yourself up, re-parent your hurt inner child, and work toward a level of self-mastery where although you might visit victim hood, you yet do not act or live out from that place. We are in general being asked to reflect deeply on how we can take greater responsibility for ourselves, and to own that we may be unconsciously contributing to the perpetuation of a dysfunctional dynamic.

Venus asks us to tend to all of this with love, gentleness and recognition of our own and others’ inherent worth and value. Mars asks us to channel our vital life force into picking ourselves up out of incapacity into warrior-ship. Pluto asks us to let go of what no longer serves us, evolving toward harmonic and coherent consciousness.

The Sabian Symbols for the Sun and Moon are fertile ground for reflection. For the Sun at 4 degrees plus of Scorpio we have “A massive, rocky shore.” This degree speaks to the dependence of man on the external to sustain himself, and the dynamic of centering the individual self in relationship to the world. For the Moon at 4 degrees plus of Aquarius we have “A council of ancestors,” for which the keyword is “antecedence.” This degree speaks to natural order, the passing on of ideals and values from one generation to the next, and the refinement in that process with the potential of absolute integrity at heart. When pairing these symbols what is brought to mind is both the vulnerability and value of interdependence. No one is an island, because we are all deeply interdependent on one another for our safety, survival, and propagation, and yet without individual integrity the stability of these relationships comes into jeopardy. May we each find healing, along with greater integrity and wholeness, as we learn to better relate to ourselves, to each other, and to the natural order of the Cosmos.

With many blessings,
Leslie Benson

A First Quarter Moon of Relational Transformation

TimePassages Standard Edition

Chart for the First Quarter Moon on October 27, 2017

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December 2024