A First Quarter Moon of Painful Circumstances and Sudden Illumination

This dramatic First Quarter Moon, taking place early on Wednesday June 20th, at 29 plus degrees of Virgo, with the Sun in the same degree of Gemini, makes for an interesting lunation. The Sun and Moon make close aspects to trickster Uranus and square and oppose Chiron, the Wounded Healer, located in the third degree of Aries. This involves a tight T-square to the Sun, from Moon and Chiron, or with a wider orb invoked, a grand cross that includes the presence of Saturn, in early Capricorn, opposite the Sun. Additionally, Venus is opposite Mars and their opposition is aligned with the nodal axis. What does all this focus on Chiron signify? Especially in the context of strong Mars and Venus, the implication is that interpersonal relationships will be the proving grounds for our inner wounding to reveal itself in terms of misunderstandings, arrogant assumption of control, or reactivity that can release pent-up anger that is ready, like the Hawaiian volcano, to explode. Even when less noticeably reactive, hurt feelings can fester and magnify to the point where they cause fault-lines within a normally smoothly functioning connection. That is, until and unless you are able to take the high road in all your dealings with others around you, and particularly with close partners. The recipe is to take a moment before action, to reflect on the underlying motivation for hurt or angry responses, casting your memory back to the incident from early childhood that may have been the originating trauma. We benefit when we can take responsibility for our own complexes and recognize feelings that emanate from the lost and suffering child within us. If we can simply witness what is really going on inside, or with an important Other, then we are well on our way to relaxing into a meditative stance regarding triggered and triggering behavior.

The presence of Uranus in close aspect to the Sun and Moon in this configuration can be seen as helping us to come to a new perspective on what is going on, once it is that we can open to the process of deep intuition that is one of the prime attributes of this astrological archetype. There is the potential for sudden enlightenment, and yet also the potential for unusual actions of various kinds in response to situations. This can be beneficial, freeing us from the well-worn ruts of habitual behavior, and yet also challenging, as we struggle to understand what a friend or intimate partner might be up to. The sobering presence of a powerfully placed Saturn might serve in some instances to calm things down, or else to impose restrictions on innovation, keeping us locked up in dysfunctional behavior. We benefit from becoming aware of this push-pull for freedom and change versus staying the course, without making waves, that is also characteristic in the current news headlines. The polarization and wounding to the social fabric that is part and parcel of the current zeitgeist is unlikely to be relieved anytime soon, or without major effort.

There is a modicum of good vibration that will help us, as a culture and individually, to rise above the current chaos and to see the bigger picture; and this is represented in the astrology of the June 20th configuration by the grand trine in Water signs, short-lived, but very close in aspect, of Mercury, Neptune, and Jupiter. This can presage unclear communications, but also the tendency to bring heart and compassion to the rescue of more distressing emotions. If we can remember our essentially spiritual nature, making conscious the underlying understanding that, indeed, “we are all one,” then we have a good chance of making it through to the further waves and even stormy seas that continue to come down over the course of an intense summer.

A look at the Sabian Symbols for this First Quarter Moon might prove helpful in this regard. For the Moon, in the final degree of Virgo, we find, “A false call unheard, in attention to immediate service.” We can imagine that this deafness to outside influence calls for an extreme focus on one’s true inner objectives. Marc Edmund Jones, who published these symbols in the early 1920’s, references, “high personal competency in everyday problem solving,” and, “exceptionally gratifying self-fulfillment through the development of genuine integrity.” For the Sun, in the same degree of Gemini, we find, “Bathing beauties.” This symbol represents in a metaphorical way the achievements of earthly existence, the care of the physical as well as of the soul. Jones has, “A person becomes him-, or her-, self as he or she is able to stand radiant among the total… a special capacity for bringing familiar desires and interests to an enduring representation of worthiness.” Indeed, we win when we can improve our focus and our self-perfection to the point where we truly shine with all the intelligence and grace that we have had within our nature all along, once it is that we can recognize that we have only to act upon it.

A First Quarter Moon of Painful Circumstances and Sudden Illumination

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Chart for the First Quarter Moon on June 20, 2018

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December 2024