The Last Quarter Moon (24°21’ Virgo) draws us back to the underworld. The Moon is conjunct Ceres as both trine Pluto and oppose Neptune and Jupiter. The Sun creates a mutable T-square with the Moon and Ceres on one side, and Neptune and Jupiter on the other.
We’re in the presence of Demeter and Hades, Zeus and Poseidon. Their ancient tales of innocence and loss may well have deeper layers in which an underworld queen reclaims what was her own before the gods of the Hellenistic Greeks took precedence.
And what if we see Neptune through the lens of ocean goddesses worldwide, reclaiming the powers of deep water as feminine and yin archetypes. We’re in the realm of Jung’s anima, the experience of the soul deep within our own psyches.
In talking of the planets this way, I am interested less in traditional gender assignments, and more in a redistribution of power. What if power is not automatically linked to traditional ideas of masculinity? What if the faces of power are as varied as our own?
What if we, each of us, need to make a journey into the dark to find and claim the power that is uniquely and only ours?
Such a journey is a rite of passage. This phrase was used to describe indigenous ceremonies in which those preparing to enter a new role had to face the loss of their old one. Children took on adult roles. Apprentices became adepts. But first, the protections of youth and inexperience had to be set aside.
Ceres, the Roman name for Demeter, is poised at 29° Virgo, the anaretic (final) degree. This nurturing goddess is acutely aware that decay and loss are part of life.
The Last Quarter Moon is a time for action. Our task is to prepare for transition. This year’s eclipses separated us from our old selves and dropped us into a new place. The Sagittarian Sun lights the way on this journey. Old ways of thinking and relating no longer fit.
We reorient to a new version of who we are. It’s time to open our minds to new perspectives.
The title image is an original Midjourney render.