La Luna is always there yet she doesn't always seem to be? Whether you see her or not is very much dependent on where in the lunar cycle we are, aside from the weather obviously! At the time of a new moon, the sky is plunged into darkness by the 'apparent' absence of the Moon. For astrologers, this is the beginning of a new lunar cycle; the Moon is in the same constellation/zodiac sign as the Sun. On March 2nd, we had the Pisces New Moon and the Sun currently being in the sign of Pisces also hosted the Moon cosily at the same degree. When the Sun and the Moon are exactly conjunct...'holding hands' then we get a new moon. Astronomers call this the dark phase of the Moon as there is no light at all but for astrologers we refer to the dark phase of the Moon being those moments before this new cycle, in fact 3 days before the new cycle begins. When the Moon moved into Pisces this week, she moved into the same elliptical longitude with the Sun and so is invisible to the naked eye. So what does this mean? Think about how you have felt this week? Can you recall how your energy levels were? What about your emotional temperament? When we feel lack lustre it can also be because the 'absence' of light makes us want to retreat. For me, I often feel this drawing inwards towards the end of the lunar cycle; it's the urge to want to be introspective (and to give yourself permission to do this!). I often feel a sense of mystery and optimism when the Moon is new because it is a time to set new intentions or it can be just that 'out breath' that things are changing even if my energy levels are still pretty low!
For us ladies we can relate the lunar cycle to our menstrual cycle. So your menstrual cycle might not be in actual sync with the Moon's cycle but think when you are pre-menstrual, menstruating and when you are not! The wanting to retreat, the change in your emotions is essentially a reflection of what is occurring at the time prior to and at the time of a new moon cycle. Fear not, we can all feel this...men are certainly not excluded from the moonbeams! Just the other day I overheard a guy in the gym when I was doing my rehab exercises saying how he was so tired. Naturally my ears pricked up and I told him that we were in the final moments of this lunar cycle and (by the time we would have finished our program of exercises) we would be into a new lunar rhythm. The coach in the gym blurted out 'How do you know when it's a new moon or a full moon?' To this response, I tried to, unsuccessfully, stop my jaw from dropping. Luckily the other guy looked at him and said 'How do you not know?' We then started laughing saying that looking to the sky was an obvious clue! The gym coach looked perplexed...'Who looks at the sky and sees the Moon?' Again, both jaw dropping comments that both myself and the other gym goer said 'How can you ignore it?' This started a great conversation about the rhythm of the Moon and how we can use her cycle within our everyday rhythm of life.
In the days following this new cycle, we start to see the slither of light appearing as the crescent moon...often I think this is my favourite part of the cycle because this perfect sickle is showing us potential for grow. Let's be honest, each part of the lunar cycle is my favourite- I literally am blown away by her beauty every night that I am blessed to see her.
Do you ever stop to look at the Moon? Acknowledge this beautiful luminary or are you always looking down? My advice...look up*
*I hereby take no responsibility for any accidents caused!*