It's New Moon
The sun is in alignment with the moon for a night again in their 28/9 day cycle. This time around, their conjunction is joined by Neptune, making it within orb of a triple alignment. And this is a tight one, with Neptune no more than 6 minutes of distance from the Sun and Moon as they align, and there are thirty minutes in every degree, with 360 degrees in the circle. Something like “six milli-degrees of separation”, occurring at 16 degrees of Pisces in the Tropical zodiac. And traditionally this is the Pisces new moon in March, while ironically Neptune the ruler of Pisces, is in its own sign, so Neptune gains more power archetypally.
Astrology ancient and modern
Astrologers have been studying the stars for centuries, from the Vedas, Egyptians and Sumerians, all the way through the Middle Eastern Arabs to the Medieval Europeans, learning from each other and giving their own names to the same constellations or stars, and sometimes sharing names over time. Just as alchemy went from a Latin, Arabic and Greek Mystery Tradition, so astrology also grew in mythic and legendary proportions. In the twentieth century great psychologists like Carl Jung took the ancient Greek myths around astrology and showed a way in which we can see each planet or sign as a sub-personality of our selves. Within all of us can be seen the masculine, feminine, heart and mind, yin and yang, and even more like the kind elder, wise old man/woman, magician, king and queen, stern taskmaster, shadow, victim, rescuer, healer, all of these types can be found in each of us to varying degrees. The most well-loved might be the “inner child”.
Jung and dreams
Jung also discovered that through remembering our dreams we can hear the expression of the various sub-personality types within ourselves. It’s a liberal concept and when incorporated with astrology it really gives one a template with which to interpret secrets or decode information or memories or feelings buried in our unconscious or dream mind. We might consider it the opposite hemisphere of the brain. Either way, the planets of the zodiac act as archetypes or personifications of states of mind that we all access at different times.
Greek gods as archetypes
The archetype of Neptune, the god of the oceans with his trident in Greek legend is aka Poseidon. He was ruler of the underwater, while his brother Hades or Pluto was god of the Underworld. I wonder what the difference is? It could be that the Neptune theme, particularly in Pisces now, would be associated with the transcendent. There are different expressions to the concept of transcendent and according to our makeup we may all express the Neptune archetype within ourselves differently from others. The primary quality of transcendence will run throughout the behavior associated with this theme.
Translating symbols of transcendence
For example for some the Neptune theme in their lives plays itself out in "otherworldlyness", perhaps a lower octave of transcendence. Some take to drugs or alcohol to take them to another level of consciousness. Older cultures and even priests or shamans have done the same in sacred ceremonial circumstances. And they have been able to attain communion with the transcendent in whatever guise it appeared to them. So Neptune facilitates tapping into heightened states of consciousness, whether through plant medicines, or yoga or breath techniques or meditation or dream recall, Neptune symbolizes this quality as god of the undersea realm. Now aligned with the sun and moon tonight, it is said to facilitate heightened states of inspiration, intuition, and besides that also compassion.
Compassion
It comes form a "dissolving of boundaries" type of experience that make hard ego masks dissolve and allow more empathy, putting oneself in the shoes of others, or compassion as taught by those masters of transcendence – Buddha and Jesus. Curiously these two personalities embody the qualities of the healer, savior, martyr, ego-transcending figure very aligned to the Neptune theme in astrology. Neptune is known symbolically to facilitate religion, mysticism, metaphysics, or even just dream recall. Certainly compassion leads to selflessness and lower ego requirements, a willingness to extend oneself for the other, realizing we gain so much through giving, or we feel ourselves to be part of something larger than our limited ego awareness, like a group, party, cause, religion, whatever it is.
Examples in life
Now "Pay it forward" is another fine idea that is taking root in our culture, along with things like the free airdrop or even for example the free cell phone every two years on your contract. The sharing economy has even sprouted concepts like AirBnB, Uber, etc. These manifestations of a dissolved boundary go a long way to helping our generation to find community when our family and home village life is no longer what it was – a communal experience. Now we are isolated in apartments in cities in micro family units at best, or half families. And we seldom see our neighbor or know who lives in our block. This alienation behind walls can tend to block us from a sense of humanity or society or even just community, something larger than ourselves.
Pisces and porous boundaries
The current new moon theme with the alignment of Neptune in Pisces should symbolically facilitate for the next month a mood of transcendence or the otherworldly or escapist, all of these levels of expression may arise. And at best also compassion or ego-transcendence. Online fundraiser sights are a new system of facilitating charity or compassion. The veil of reality may become thin in places during the coming lunar cycle, the boundaries may be porous, which means taking time alone if you need to recharge, or it means empathy and charity are facilitated. These practices soften the heart.
Hemispheres of the brain
Creative inspiration for the arts, especially the visuals and music, should be on the cards, all in the other hemisphere of the brain remember. Intuition, a sense of knowing, is all found there, along with unity consciousness, a feeling of oneness with all humanity. It’s all there in a book by Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD, called “My Stroke of Insight”. She was a brain scientist who had a major stroke in one hemisphere of the brain and was able to observe what it was like to only live in her intuitive right hemisphere. Her book tells her story, I recommend it. You learn about who you really are in your mind and brain through her experience. And she tapped into a state of permanent transcendence or unity with all life for a while. That is a Neptune theme coming through quite strongly.
It all starts on the astral or dream plane
So take the opportunity during this new lunar cycle now to dream big dreams, dive deeper into the mysteries of your own states of consciousness and what they can access for you, tap into the psychic power locked away in unexpressed sub-personality types within you. Hear them speak to you in your dreams, record your dreams on paper or tablet. I sometimes use a voice recorder on my phone when I wake up with a profound dream. All these, including shamanic ceremonies, religious prayer or meditation are practices to tap into the transcendent nature within yourself.
Fixed star Archenar and asteroid Vesta
Added to this same planetary alignment now on the new moon is the alignment with the fixed star Archenar, a name meaning the “mouth of the river”, based on its position in the constellation Eriadnus that looks like a river. Aligned with that is the asteroid Vesta, named after the female keeper of the sacred fire. She was not so much "virgin" (Vestal virgins that tended the sacred flame in the temple) as untamed by any controller. This archetype may also feature strongly this month, obviously more externally in women, but either way, is suggests meeting the feminine keeper of the inner sacred fire of consciousness or self-knowing. It brings with it a sense of dedication to a cause, a purpose or intent which is somewhat transcendent, or larger than the ego. Perhaps this manifests as one's inner muse. Let’s take time to listen in to her inspiration.
Mercury Retrograde conjunct Chiron
Finally Mercury has just gone retrograde yesterday, the day before the new moon event. It suggests a time when the mind does better on inner objects of attention. It can facilitate bringing the attention inward, or introspection. Sometimes it is known to require redoing or rethinking things, going back to edit, so to speak. Those who have read my earlier post on Mercury retrograde in December may remember my bitcoin theory. I noticed in previous Mercury retrogrades during the bear market the tendency for bitcoin price drop during the three week phase. Let’s see what manifests. Mercury, the messenger of the gods, now closely conjunct with Chiron, the wounded healer, as it begins its retrograde with a day of standstill in the heavens, may facilitate healing words, which makes a bonus. Mercury will be retrograde for about three weeks, so use the time to go back and finish off or tie up lose ends, or use pacifying healing words to patch up an argument, for example.
The LN Trust Chain Torch
If the price of bitcoin drops pick up a few satoshis on the dip and while we’re at it let’s all applaud the “lightning torch” or “LN Trust Chain”. This is a perfect example of "paying it forward", or more precisely transcending boundaries and greed by passing an amount of bitcoin from person to person while each adding an extra 10 000 satoshis along the way. This endeavor is showcasing the newest breakthrough in bitcoin ease-of-use and low cost of moving money anywhere globally, called the Lightning Network. Random people in the bitcoin and finance industry are being spontaneously chosen to accept the torch or gift of bitcoins and then nominate the next person in the chain. The torch has been going on for some weeks now, and is growing in value, yet still it has become a symbol of something larger than just one person’s greed or ego, it is the symbol of something transcendent, a cause, a tech that can liberate the masses from banker oppression and debt, namely bitcoin. It even got passed from an Iranian to an Israeli across borders, without a hitch, showing bitcoin’s transcendent quality and ability to unite old enemies and heal old wounds.
In conclusion
All these themes are playing themselves out now for the coming lunar month as seen from an astrological point of view. The current new lunar month is a powerful time to harness the potentials mentioned above, whether on a concrete or a metaphysical l level, while avoiding falling victim to lower expressions of the current trend, like escapism or victimization by society, by others or by one’s own weakened mind and senses, by the illusory allures of whatever fantasmagoria keeps you locked in the mental matrix of your own making.
https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoins-lightning-torch-has-blazed-through-37-countries-so-far
https://astrologyking.com/new-moon-march-2019/
pic: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/people-are-buying-bitcoin-because-their-horoscope-said-so-2018-05-17
https://www.universallifetools.com/2019/03/new-moon-in-pisces-march-6-7-2019/