A Last Quarter Moon of Emotional Belonging

Last Quarter MoonLeslie Benson – The Last Quarter Moon, exact on Monday, October 21 at 5:39 am Pacific Time, occurs in the cardinal water sign of Cancer at 27º plus. The Moon in its own sign of Cancer now means, for everyone, that emotion and intuition is heightened, while concerns for security and comfort come to the fore.

The Last Quarter Moon phase itself brings an awareness of the waning light in our monthly cycle, a factor that is true at this time of the year for our current seasonal cycle as well, as we wind down autumn head into winter here in the Northern Hemisphere. This autumn timing represents the turning point in the growing cycle where the excitement and jubilance of the harvest is beginning to settle, and the practicality of preparing for winter sets in.

The trees show us the way of letting go of that which is no longer needed by shedding their leaves, returning them to the soil as mulch and nutrients, in order to nurture and grow the future seeds. So, too, may we humans shed that which is no longer needed, as we venture through another turn of the cycle.

If we are attuned to natural cycles, and natural law, we will find ourselves honing our intention and awareness to create fertile ground in our own evolutionary turning.

The chart of this Last Quarter Moon in late Cancer gives us insight into the themes and nature of this present timing – and reminds us to also return our awareness to the most recent Libra New Moon that began the current lunation cycle (on September 28th), to recall that this entire cycle is colored by the sign of Libra- asking us to contemplate and grow in the realms of relationship and human connection.

With the Moon in its home sign of Cancer, now, this lunar phase allows us insight into our emotionality and defense mechanisms, and may ask us to let go of unconscious patterns around relating, which could also translate to letting go of certain relationships or at least aspects of them that are no longer truly serving us.

There is grief in letting go – be that of a behavior pattern, an identity, a person, a location, a belief system – and this Moon invites us to slow down and give ourselves the gift of space, time, and support needed to truly allow ourselves to grieve and process our emotions.

It is important, also, to presence the zodiacal movement of Mercury, now, as it occupies a loose trine aspect to the Moon’s position. More importantly, perhaps, Mercury is slowing in its apparent motion, and will station retrograde on October 31st at 8:42 am Pacific.

The degree of its station is 27º Scorpio, which is an exact trine to this Last Quarter Moon. We may take this to mean that that which is energetically being shed around this lunar phase can prepare and clear space for us to move through the retrograde period with more presence and intentionality. This also creates room for the opportunity to make choices from new awareness arising as a result of having done the necessary work required to shift our unconscious patterns.

This Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio invites us into the space of our own internal depth, potency, shadow work, and exploring the nuances of what arises in that fashion through intimacy. Mercury Retrograde provides a time of slowing down, allowing for more space to pause, reflect, take stock, hone intentions and course correct as needed.

The Sabian Symbols for this lunar phase are also interesting. For the Moon at the 28th degree of Cancer we find: “A modern Pocahontas,” which Marc Edmund Jones describes as “a symbol of effective cooperation between various phases of human culture.”

Perhaps we can translate this in our even more modern context to surmise that there is a great turning of the wheel in terms of societal and cultural structures of belief. As the old falls away and something new emerges, perhaps we can aspire to glean the value of that which was already is in place, while simultaneously turning our attention toward new potentials for ourselves and our world.

In other words, it is actually not as simple as “out with the old and in with the new” – rather, there is a connective awareness needed to tend the process of evolution, and to develop our capacity to be in relationship with not only what and who we agree with in moving forward, but taking time to consider what wisdom can be salvaged from ancient or established cultures whose values and beliefs may be aligned with the forward movement of collective and planetary good.

For the Sun, the symbol for 28th degree of Libra is “A man in the midst of brightening influences, which has also been rendered as “A man becoming aware of spiritual forces surrounding and assisting him.” This, basically, tunes our awareness to the concept of placing faith and trust in a mysterious force far greater than ourselves.

It is through these times of challenge that we need not only the strength of our inner authority, but the awareness of the vast interconnectedness of all beings and things. We are not separate from, but intrinsically a part of the web of life, and it is through that interconnectivity that there is tremendous energetic support and Universal Love available to us. May we each continue to awaken to the remembrance of our true belongingness to the family of Life, and to the truth of Love itself.

SF Source Astrograph Oct 2019

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