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There are a many notable ways that cultures across the world have historically engaged with the phases of the Moon. For those of us in the United States, one place astrology is hiding right under our noses is in the Farmers Almanac. Not only that, but the Farmers Almanac lists the best days throughout the year for different activities according to the phases of the Moon! In this article I would like to take a different approach and focus solely on the New Moon and Full Moon phases. We will look at the Moon’s journey over the course of its broader cycle and how this process gradually unfolds.
As I’m writing this the Moon is currently at 12 degrees Cancer approaching the Full Moon at 16 degrees. This is the peak of a Lunar cycle that began in late June 2022, 6 months prior during the New Moon in Cancer. Although many sources online would suggest the timeline to see the results of a new cycle to be somewhere between 2-4 weeks I would argue that it actually takes around 6 months.
Let’s look at the example given earlier with the Cancer Full Moon. That cycle began 6 months prior when the Moon transited Cancer and made a conjunction to the Sun in Cancer. Think back to late June-early July 2022, are there any repeating themes or resolution of moments from that time period? Is there a sense of parallel between what was going on in your life at that time, and now? I would venture to guess that in some way, there is a connection between those points in time. This is because of the connection of this broader Lunar cycle.
The image below depicts the New and Full Moons for the 2023 year. You can see that there are cycles ending (Full Moons) and beginning (New Moons) throughout the year and each month. I see this as a nod to the fact that change is inevitable in the best possible way, beginnings unfold into endings which unfold into new beginnings and the cycle continues. According to the Lunar cycle, we see these cycles unfold over 6 months from the point of the New Moon in any sign to the point of the Full Moon in the same sign. So, this Full Moon today may be the conclusion to a cycle that began six months ago. The New Moon that occurred just a few weeks prior was the beginning of a New cycle which will continue to evolve over the next 6 months.
The phases that intrigue me the most for 2023 (bolded) are the two Aries New Moon’s. One on March 20th at the early degrees of Aries out of range of the nodes, and one on April 20th at 29 degrees of Aries within range of the nodes aka a Solar Eclipse. This Solar Eclipse is in a way acting as a preview to the upcoming transit of the nodes through Aries/Libra. If you look a little closer you’ll notice that out of the four eclipses we will experience in 2023 there is a pattern. The two Solar (New Moon) Eclipses are occurring along the Aries/Libra axis and the two Lunar (Full Moon) Eclipses are occurring across the Taurus/Scorpio axis.
The nodes are associated with concepts like increase v decrease, material v spiritual, greed v generosity, selfish v selfless, and present time v past time. The New Moon is the beginning of a cycle, and even in the case of a Solar Eclipse and its interaction with the nodes, there is a preview to a beginning that will continue to unfold over the course of late 2023 and 2024. Not only that, but the Solar eclipse in Libra will be conjunct the South Node allowing us to embrace a new cycle that allows us to make informed decisions based off past experiences. On the other hand, the Full Moon is associated with the ending of a cycle, release, and things “coming to light”. This also applies during Lunar eclipses when the Sun and Moon are aligned with the nodal axis. So, while the Solar eclipses are previewing new cycles the Lunar eclipses are offering definitive conclusions and truth coming to light about situations that have occurred since early January 2022 and mid-May 2022. As we approach these eclipses in Late April and May 2023 we should keep those time periods in mind and heart to reflect on.
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