New Moon in Libra: Stuck in the Middle with You

Yes, I am thinking of that song. “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to my right, here I am … stuck in the middle with you.”

And here we are at the New Moon in Libra, happening this year with Sun and Moon at 15 Libra, in the middle.

This New Moon arrives tonight just before midnight in my time zone (EDT).

We generally look to the Libra New Moon as a time of balance, peace, and beauty. Those qualities are still present, thank heavens, but you will not be surprised to hear there is much more going on.

The sign of Libra is ruled by Venus, who therefore rules this New Moon. Venus remains at 10 Scorpio, where she has been for days, and is now retrograde.

There’s much to explore during this transit. Images of a journey through a dark wood, the descent of the goddess Inanna into the underworld, of Persephone kidnapped by Hades and taken against her will, all point to the path we’re beginning.

Venus governs relationships of all kinds, finances, and our values. Scorpio is the Shadow, what is taboo, psychic and occult things, death, and transformation. These two combined open up some very deep territory for review.

Venus turned retrograde on October 5. This New Moon is a first stop, an inflection point. This New Moon is a time for checking in with ourselves. Are we ready for this journey? Are we in balance within ourselves?

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When I think of Libra––the sign of my Sun, Mercury, Neptune, and Juno and Pallas Athena––I think of a Navajo blessingway prayer, part of which goes like this:

In beauty I walk
With beauty before me I walk
With beauty behind me I walk
With beauty above me I walk
With beauty around me I walk
It has become beauty again

This beauty has nothing to do with prettiness or artifice. This is Libran beauty which is harmonious, peaceful, and balanced in all ways.

At this New Moon we are urged to find those places of peace and beauty within and without us. We are invited to stop, breathe, recenter, and prepare.

Let your New Moon wishes include plans for self care and supportive communities. Set intentions to rededicate yourself to important core values. Wish for your heart to be open to beauty in the unexpected and the difficult.

We embark on our dark journey. The New Moon is conjunct Ceres, who is the goddess Demeter, and squares Pluto, who is Hades. Venus herself represents Inanna, the ancient goddess who disappears and reappears, both morning and evening star, each in turn.

What does this motif represent, the goddess who goes underground? In the story of Inanna, she goes by her own choice to visit her sister Erishkigal, queen of the underworld. On the way down, she must pass through seven gates. At each gate, she must give up something: a badge of office, a valuable necklace, her clothing, until she arrives naked on her sister’s threshold.

We note here that ancient astrology knew seven planets: Sun and Moon, and Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

Since ancient times, astrologers have also tracked the position and influence of the stars, identifying especially great stars, ones that were bright and seemed to portend events on the Earth.

Of course some astrologers work with fixed stars today, notably Bernadette Brady, but in earlier eras they were vital as markers of destiny.

Which I mention because this New Moon at15 Libra sits at the entrance of an ancient threshold. The area of sky between 15 Libra and 15 Scorpio is known as the Via Combusta, the Burning Way. This is, you will note, the exact territory Venus is in now and will traverse during her retrograde.

Medieval astrologers saw this as a bad place, a difficult one, something to be avoided. Except we none of us can choose our birth charts. Difficult stars are located here, and the Sun and Moon are in detriment, in signs where they lack power. Dark forces have power in the Via Combusta.

But wait … Dark powers are those associated with earth, with physicality, with the body … with women. The medieval period was steeped in a patriarchy even more fixed and less gentle than our own.

So we might consider what the Via Combusta might offer to women and to men who follow the old ways of earth-based traditions.

In the story of Persephone we were taught, she is a beautiful and innocent young girl taken forcibly from her mother’s care as she played in the fields. There are remnants, though, of an older story in which Persephone was always queen of the underworld and ruled there first and by right, not as a kidnapped bride of Hades. She is like Erishkigal.

Mythology too has been influenced by patriarchy.

Both Inanna and Persephone do need rescue. Inanna, knowing her sister, arranged for helpers to come find her if she did not return on time. Persephone relied on her mother, who was a fierce and tireless champion.

On this Venus retrograde journey, make sure you know who your allies are before you embark. Who will support you? Who will help you?

Venus at 10 Scorpio squares Mars at 9 Aquarius and Lilith at 7 Aquarius. You could read this aspect pattern as one pointing to women’s anger. Deep anger (Scorpio) about relationships (Venus) and also concerned with our highest values (Venus and also Aquarius), in an arena in which we are called to action (Mars).

This Mars-Venus square also points to entrenched positions that neither side wants to give up. The word “implacable” comes to mind. There is plenty to debate, but these days around the New Moon are not the best for initiating serious discussions. They might become fixed arguments.

The possibility for the unexpected is still with us. Uranus sits at the first degree of Taurus. Mercury is opposing Uranus from the last degrees of Libra, bringing the two Venus-ruled signs face to face.

These two, Mercury and Uranus, are squaring the Nodes of the Moon, which points to the possibility that something unusual or unexpected will disrupt our path.

The boon that Mercury brings is the opportunity to see what’s happening. We may not anticipate whatever Uranus throws in our way, but with Mercury’s help, we can see it, name it, and maybe figure out what to do about it.

The New Moon does make a hopeful quintile to the North Node of the Moon, the point of the future. Quintiles, one fifth of the circle, are creative aspects.

The promise here is that the insight that emerges during our journey will help us, that as we face our deepest fears, unlooked for blessings come to light.

If you work with any occult or magical or psychic practices, this is an excellent New Moon to set intentions for deepening your skills and learning new ones, or for applying your skills in new ways.

The same is true for any profession or practice that involves Venus and Scorpio: Therapists, especially those working with depth psychology and similar areas, hospice workers and death doulas, anyone working with and advocating for those who have experienced the darker aspects of sexuality like assault or exploitation.

Whether or not these are part of your profession, you are welcome to set intentions for those who do work in these fields to have the support they need to continue.

What are your personal goals for the Venus retrograde? This is an excellent time for ancestor work, clearing away the remnants of past relationships and unhealthy patterns, and working with fears and anxieties. Any or all of these can become wishes and intentions for this New Moon as we make our final preparations to step onto a burning path to some very deep self knowledge.

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I use Unsplash for most photo illustrations. All astrological charts are my own. The images in this post include the title, adapted from the photo of cave by Meor Mohamad, the photo of stairs on fire by Ricardo Gomez Angel, the angry woman by Christian Bisbo Johnsen, and the photo of the woman in the storm by Thomas Young.