New Moon in Cancer: July 9, 2021
Note: A much longer version of this article is already up on Patreon, which gives a full introduction to manifesting with the Moon, and would be an excellent place to start if you’re just joining the Guided Learning Community! Check it out! And happy New Moon!
The New Moon takes place at 18º01' of Cancer on July 9, 2021 @ 21:16 EDT, July 10, 2021 @ 01:16 UT.
2021's New Moon in Cancer is an extremely important one because it's the first time we're really able to get back into "active" manifestation again after some mighty Eclipses and an intense Mercury Retrograde Cycle. This means we can really utilize this New Moon to make wishes for the first time in well-over a moonth.
The New Moon is the energetic valley of the Lunar Cycle. If you think about the energy of the Moon as a wave, this is the trough.
This is because, as you can see in the image above, the Moon is completely dark, covered by Earth's shadow. When the Moon is dark, the night sky is dark, there's no light-giving source, and our energy comes from light.
The New Moon has always been an important time for planting seeds, which doesn't take much effort, just a little bit of attention, intention, nourishment, and care.
Generally speaking, the New Moon is an exciting time but that excitement comes at a lower frequency. If your energy feels a bit lessened, that's totally normal!
What is a New Moon? Moon Conjunction Sun. A time to set intentions for the next lunar cycle.
The New Moon happens when the Moon moves into exact conjunction with the Sun.
Astronomically, this means that the Sun's light cannot reflect off of the Moon, because it's essentially "blocked" by it, hence why it appears dark to us here on Earth.
Astrologically, this means that the Moon, which moves faster than the Sun through the zodiac, passes over the same degree as the Sun. Thus, they are 0º away, conjunction.
Conjunctions represent the starting point of all planetary cycles in transit.
What does that mean? We first explored that in "beginner" form here, but the scoop is that there is a relatively consistent cycle of aspects that happens between two planets based on their intertwining orbits through the zodiac at different speeds. This includes the Lunar Cycle, our personal Planetary Return Cycles, and more.
To go WAY deeper, make sure to join the Guided Learning Community on Patreon!
The rest of this section of the article is exclusively available there, and it goes into the aspect cycle that is the KEY point of astrology, what “Manifesting” means, why conjunctions are associated with intention-setting in astrology, what culture has to do with all of this, and so much more. If you want to get into Manifesting with the Moon, this is where you should start!
This New Moon in Cancer
It's finally time to consciously manifest again! This is putting into action everything that we've learned above.
It's so perfectly aligned with this exact Cancer Lunation because we've just finished an extremely intense round of Eclipses in Gemini-Sagittarius that correlated with a Mercury Retrograde at home in Gemini, whose cycle was deeply embedded with the Eclipses.
What all of that means is that the Cosmos has been doing a lot of subconscious manifestation on our behalf, which can often give us less agency, at least intellectually, when it comes to manifesting.
Use this Cancer New Moon to set some pure intentions from your emotional core. This is channeling the merged energy of the Moon and the Sun in the Moon's sign of Cancer.
Manifesting works best when we do it from our emotions. This is what the Moon in Cancer, and the Moon in general, is all about. Imagine how you're going to feel once your wish is fulfilled rather than imagining something too specific. Get into the flow!
The Cancer Lunar Cycle is all about making sure that we're nurturing our emotional needs as much as we're nurturing those of others. Wherever this falls on your chart is the house that represents the area of life you need to pay the most attention to.
We've forgotten how intertwined our emotions are with our bodies, and we've forgotten how intertwined our bodies are with the motions of the Moon. The Moon represents Matter, which is contradicted to the Sun representing Spirit. Matter is our bodies, hence, our emotions. It is all connected.
Let's re-member together! The word re-member is so perfect because we are literally re-membering our bodies/emotions with our spirits/egos and using this amazing space to set our intentions for the next lunar cycle!
So, to be clear, the idea is that we’re setting intentions that are aligned with the way this New Moon is interacting with our chart.
For example, if you are a Cancer Rising, this is a very important Lunation for you because it is your 1st house, so you should be setting intentions for the next 12 months of how you want to be developing yourself, continuing on your cosmic path, how you want to feel in/about your body, identity, and other first house topics.
But, if you're a Virgo Rising, this is your 11th house, it has more to do with the ways you're enacting Cancerian energies in the realm of your friends/networks, community, etc. If your MC is in your 11th and around the 18º, it is sextiled by this New Moon, which is really supportive and could definitely be used to manifest an authentic friendship, a safe community space, a new opportunity from somewhere unexpected, etc.
If you want to learn more about what to do for each lunation based on which house it's in, you can always order a 12-Moonth Lunar Planner and Guide to Manifestation from me or book a Moonology™ Consultation.
The specific "flavor" of each Lunation comes from the aspects.
This New Moon isn't really making any tight aspects, but because the Luminaries are involved, we allow for a "wider orb," which means that we consider things within 10-15º of the degree of the New Moon (Moon Conjunct Sun), which is 18º01'. Also, sign-based aspects can always be included!
This New Moon, meaning the Sun and the Moon together, is separating from a sextile with Uranus, who is at a slightly earlier degree in Taurus. Cancer and Taurus have a sextile relationship because they are two signs/60º away and share a yin polarity, but not an element or a modality. Sextiles are easy, harmonious, and supportive. The energy between the planets flows naturally and dynamically.
Uranus in Taurus is currently stirring up a long time period of somewhat "different" or "odd" behavior to what is usually your "ordinary world" in whatever house Taurus is in your chart.
For example, if you have an Aquarius Ascendant, this is your 4th house, and you're probably having some atypical happenings related to your home and private life. Perhaps you're just doing things differently than you used to, or perhaps you've been uprooted and there are challenges with growing roots.
If you've been reading all of the "if you have an X Ascendant" quips, you'll probably notice that some of it may resonate with you if you've got that energy currently activated or usually prominent in your chart. So, if you've got Moon in Cancer or Mercury in Virgo or if you're in the midst of your Saturn Return, this may resonate with you. These three examples were chosen specifically for this reason--because they're particularly reflective of what's going on with the larger transits.
This has all been extremely activated and bombarded by the transits lately, namely the square to Saturn that defines 2021-2022 and their activation in T-Square by all of the inner planets transiting Leo (namely, Mars and Venus).
The sextile came in to give us a little boost and a reminder to practice self-care amidst all of the chaos. Channeling the cooling waters is the way Cancer mitigates the heat of the summer moonths.
Because the New Moon is "separating" from this sextile, it means the Sun and Moon are moving away from the point at which they formed an exact 60º angle to Uranus. This energy is dissipating, but it's still with us.
On the other hand, the New Moon, meaning the Moon and then the Sun, are applying to (approaching) aspects to Neptune and Pluto. All of this is intertwined with the Uranus sextile and being released through that point. It's kind of like the more supportive version of a T-Square. We've still got to release the oppositional tension between Pluto in Capricorn and the Sun-Moon in Cancer, but we've got some easy ways to do that through the help of Neptune in Pisces and Uranus in Taurus.
The applying component can really help us inform our intentions because it means "what's coming." We've got some tug-of-war on the Cancer-Capricorn axis that will require us to channel the emotional realm of the water signs in order to "resolve" it.
Suggestion: If you've got trouble with listening to your emotions or to the emotions of others, or if you're working on your emotional development in any way, use this lunation to set an intention to connect to the water element!
You can use the information about the general transit aspects of this New Moon, plus where this is happening in your chart (i.e., what house), plus if there are any major activations happening for you to inform your intentions and/or wishes at this New Moon!
How to Make New Moon Wishes: An Exemplary New Moon Ceremony
The creator of Moonology, Yasmin Boland, provides a step-by-step guide to how New Moon wishes work in her book, Moonology, which is one of the three top books on the "Reading List" for this learning community, the other two being Postcolonial Astrology (Alice Sparkly Kat) and Hellenistic Astrology (Chris Brennan).
Yasmin's suggestions are near perfect, as she has been doing this for decades and has really honed her approach, but I did make a few modifications to make it clearer, more practical, and more inclusive. Below, I've shared these modifications of her suggestions as well as some explanation, but you can see the originals in her "New Moon Wishing Guide."
You can follow the steps below in your New Moon Wishing Ceremony, which can be done either as a personal ritual or you can do it together with a group. Whatever you do, the more energy you put into making your wishes, the more likely your wishes will come true. This is why making a ceremony out of it is so important!
THE NEW MOON WISHING CEREMONY STEPS ARE EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ON PATREON. SIGN UP TODAY!
Happy New Moon to all of you!
Always remember to FOLLOW YOUR BLISS!
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