A Last Quarter Moon of Facing Shadow and Embracing Courageous Love


Posted on December 18, 2019 by Henry Seltzer of ASTROGRAPH.COM
 

On December 18th, the Moon wanes into the Last Quarter Phase, coming to her exact square aspect with the Sun at 8:57 pm PST, near midnight on the east coast and later still in Europe. With the Moon occupying the 27th degree of Virgo, we can find expressed in this configuration the themes of refinement and purification that this sign represents, as well as corresponding themes of shedding and release that are represented by the Last Quarter Moon phase. As 2019 draws to a close, this day and the few days surrounding this point in time mark an important juncture. We are finishing up the last complete lunar cycle of the decade, and also the last before heading into the eclipse season that begins just one week later on, taking place on December 25th with a Solar Eclipse in the early degrees of Capricorn. A further Lunar Eclipse will take place in Cancer on January 10th, 2020. Consider that this window before the Solar Eclipse represents an incredibly valuable time to take stock of your priorities, prune extraneous branches from the symbolic tree of your life, and make use of a high degree of discernment regarding who and what you are. You will want to consider as well what you are welcoming into your awareness and reality in this climactic timing, and of what you are ready to start letting go.

At the time of the Last Quarter Moon, also, the Moon makes a close trine with Venus in Capricorn, signaling a sobering inventory of what is of foundational value in our hearts, life and world. It may become clear to us in an organic way what it is that is meant to stay with us, and where it has come time to say goodbye. With Venus and the Moon so involved, allow your heart and somatic experience to be your guide. Issues may come up around money, and the systems you utilize (or lack) around your finances, your home, and your belongings. Relationship also comes into the forefront. Once again, you win when you remember to lean into the wisdom of your body — if something around any of these themes brings a lot of stress, remember the power of simply pausing, taking some full breaths, and centering into the pleasurable qualities of your felt experience. With Pluto and Saturn still closely involved with each other, and nearing their exact conjunction on January 12th, we have been and are undergoing quite a lot of clearing and cleaning out. Our foundations are being tested, and anywhere that doesn’t hold may be seen as crumbling away to make room for the new structure that is ready to be put in its place — one that is likely more sustainable, more currently true, and that fits beautifully with the Truth of who we are individually and collectively. This process can be a lot to digest, and so it also may be wise to lean into what you know to be grounding, centering, and uplifting to your spirit.

Another potent and important aspect of this lunation is Black Moon Lilith, occupying late Pisces in a nearly exact opposition to the Moon, and therefore making with the Moon a T-square to the Sun. Lilith can be seen as representing that within each of us which has been repressed and cast out — as well as the process of recovering those pieces of ourselves that can be woven back into a more integral whole. As each of us is shoring up the foundation of our principles and beliefs, the call to bring presence and love to the shadow aspect of ourselves is powerfully available to us now, serving us in our conscious evolution. We must recognize as well that it’s natural that we might push away, silence, and attempt to reject the places inside of us that are afraid, sad, or angry; it is after all only human to try to avoid suffering. Yet when we encounter with loving kindness and acceptance these dark places deep inside, we may find that they have simply gotten confused and are yearning to come home to the essence of who they (and we) really are. When we can sit with our own pain, without judging, without trying to mask it or push it away, we offer a safe haven for these lost parts of ourselves. And as we come to awareness and make a safer center within ourselves, we increase our capacity to be a safe place in relationship to others around us as well.

As we wind down 2019 and embrace the coming of a new decade, there is much in the world and in ourselves that is quite intense, pushing the edges of the capacity of our bodies to hold on. We must fully inhabit the highest truth of our spirit, the planet, and the entire human race. The pitfalls are many, and yet the potential is vast. May we each have the courage and kindness to face our shadows, and the heart vision to weave ourselves and all Earthly beings into a more loving and sustainable world.