The New Moon in Cancer takes place bright and early July 4, 2016, 7:00 AM on the dot here in the Eastern US. In addition to being a New Moon for all of us – seeding a new cycle in the Cancer house of your chart – it also happens to land on the Solar Return of the United States of America. Its energies are therefore tied to the future of the country, making it extra important for those of us who are Americans.
The New Moon chart cast for Washington, DC features a late-degree Cancer Ascendant, with the Moon (the ruler of the chart) hidden away in the Twelfth House, alongside the Sun, Venus, and Mercury. All of these planets are in Cancer, all are conjunct, and all gathered together in the Twelfth. There is no air in the chart, making words difficult to find while the excess of water makes feelings very fluid and prominent.
The Twelfth House represents the past, the Underworld, and the unconscious. It contains the lost, un-integrated facets of our psyche. The Twelfth House is where we sabotage ourselves; it is also the realm of healing, mercy, reunion, and self-knowledge.
The minor asteroids Proserpina and Eurydike both hold prominent places in this New Moon chart, calling to mind the Greco-Roman myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. On the couple’s wedding day, Eurydice (or Eurydike) was bitten by a snake and died. Her grief-struck husband Orpheus, the greatest musician in the world, decided to pursue her to the land of the dead. His songs were so beautiful that they made the goddess Persephone (or Proserpina) weep – and she persuaded Pluto, her husband, to release Eurydice’s spirit and offer her another chance at life. The only condition was that, as Orpheus traveled back up to the land of the living (accompanied by Mercury in his role as psychopomp), Eurydice would walk behind him: Orpheus must not look back at her until they reached the light. After traveling a long, long way in this manner, Orpheus couldn’t take it a moment longer – he looked back Eurydice, whereupon Mercury swept her away and she was lost to Orpheus forever.
One way of reading this story has to with the eternal dialectic of reflection and action. The Underworld is self-reflection: it’s about facing our demons, exploring deep emotions, experiencing love and art, or working to repair the fractured psyche. With four personal planets in a Water sign in the Twelfth House, we’re tempted right now to invest all our energy in thinking and feeling. Tendencies to depression and anxiety are heightened. We may develop gerbil-brain or analysis paralysis.
This phase of the journey, however, calls for forward-moving action. Mars just went direct, after all! It’s time to go! If we turn back now, we risk losing everything. If we keep moving forward, of course we can’t be totally sure that we’re heading in the right direction – but. nevertheless, that’s just what we’re called on to do. In the words of Robert Frost: “The best way out is always through.” In the words of Winston Churchill: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
The New Moon at 12 degrees Cancer forms a tight trine to Neptune and the South Node at 11 and 14 Pisces. For almost an entire year, since last August, you have been working behind the scenes, laying the foundations for your dream. Now it’s time to raise the barn; it’s time to push it through into reality. You’re assisted by a Cardinal Grand Cross, a call to action – as well Mars in a hard aspect to Eris, which makes the status quo helpfully uncomfortable.
So, full steam ahead, everybody. Trust the process. Keep on keeping on. Listen to Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” on repeat.
