Crescent Moon in Libra: Promises

We’re in an interesting place as we enter the Crescent Moon phase Sunday morning.

The Moon in mid Libra asks us to look at commitments. What have we bound ourselves to? Are we honoring our agreements? Are the promises we made good for us, too?

Saturn rules this middle decan of Libra, and is exalted in this sign. We might wonder what dour Saturn is doing in the sign of arts and diplomacy. Yet art is all about form and structure. And what good is negotiation if someone bargains in bad faith, with no intention to keep their commitments?

The Moon is a semisquare from the Sun, now close to the end of Leo. This last decan of Leo considers questions of commitment too: I’ve reached the top. How do I stay here? Will my alliances hold? Can I keep my place?

The Moon sextiles Venus, now reaching the nadir of her descent.

Let’s turn back to the story of Inanna. She has lost all the regalia of her power and glory. She is naked in the dark, apparently dead, at the hand of her sister.

But Inanna did not go blindly into the depths. She had a backup plan. She asked her close friend and servant to go for help if she (Inanna) did not return as planned. Can she count on Ninshubur to follow through?

Inanna is Venus in Leo. Let’s view Ninshubur as the Moon in Libra, traveling to the gods, seeking help for Inanna by pleading her case. Can she convince someone to help?

Predictably, she gets some cold shoulders. Inanna should have known better, some of the gods say. Dead is dead. Finally, Inanna’s father Enki realizes he has to help. Inanna represents all the fertility of the Earth. Without her, the world is doomed.

Notice that Venus squares Jupiter in Taurus, the sign most concerned about fertility and longevity. Although the Greeks linked Enki with Poseidon (because of their rulerships of water), I find Enki to be a much more Jupiterian figure.

Enki sends help. Ninshubur has kept her promise to her friend, queen, and goddess.

Things will change. Mars is past and Mercury is close to trines with Uranus. But the Mercury connection is interesting because Mercury has already entered their shadow period and will turn retrograde before reaching Uranus.

At this Crescent Moon, help is on its way, but we (like Inanna) don’t know this yet.

We are all grappling with what the Venus retrograde is dredging up from our depths. Perhaps our relationships and creative efforts are affirmed. We’re refreshed and renewed, which is fabulous. But many of us struggle as we confront old patterns we now recognize as problematic and overdue for change.

Light is returning in the night sky. We can see the Moon again. We might have a glimmer of where things can move, but we’re not there yet.

The thing is to remember our promises, especially the ones to ourselves.