Libran Moon Eclipses Libran Mercury: Silent Compliments, Visual Expression

Moon has just eclipsed a retrograding Mercury in Libra, stretching us to be aware of our tensile strength, the point at which we don't want to be stretched anymore. That nice conversation we long for may have too much airy pressure on all sides. Looking for a way out of the tension, a pleasant press of an equalizing button would be nice, but this button just got temporarily eclipsed by the moon. Our need for emotional harmony may have just increased and there we were with tape over our mouths. The creative act can release built-up steam, move energy, keep us far from rage and bring us much closer to our own hearts.

New Moon in Libra: Elegance and Symmetry

Tomorrow morning the Moon will pass from Virgo to Libra. The last aspect the Moon makes before it leaves Virgo is a square to Pluto, suggesting we let go of control in our relationships. Do we wish to dominate? Are we passive aggressive and get pissed off when our partners initiate any kind of personal action? If we feel tension in our lives, what are we suppressing? If I am not perfect will my partner love me? Can I let my partner fry eggs without watching his every move? This square can be a last gasp of letting go of the fear of being ridiculed for "mistakes".

The new moon in Libra wants harmony, equality, fairness, elegance, symmetry and manners. It's a good idea to pummel the punching bag tonight in the dark of the moon. Get it out now so the politeness is real. We can strengthen tolerance for ourselves and those with whom we relate by reflecting on The Four Agreements from the book by don Miguel Ruiz :

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret

Tonight in the dark of the moon we can look into our own shadows and contemplate the agreements so that in the morning when the Moon is new in Libra, we let down the facade. While Moon stays in Libra until the end of September, we can make sure to schedule time to enjoy art, beauty love and manners with people important to us.

Ceres, Chiron and Feminine Wisdom

News headlines around the world have recently been covering a crisis around food safety in China: to date, 54,000 babies have been sickened with compromised dairy products.

As reported to the Associated Press, one mother of a sick baby said: "I fed my baby powdered milk because ads said it was more nutritious than breast milk. We trusted that the government would provide adequate tests to ensure food quality."

Tomorrow, the opposition of Ceres to Chiron will be exact. Ceres is the goddess of food and agriculture. In astrology, we look to Ceres around food and nurturing issues. If we read the Greek myth about Ceres, there is also a theme involving heartbreak and despair around a mother losing her daughter Persephone to the underworld. In this case the underworld is represented by a one-party political system and greedy business able to adjust regulations in a kind of fearful secrecy. It is unknown how long exactly, but some un-named dairy farmers have reported that it has been an open secret that milk has been "adulterated".

Ceres is currently in Leo directly opposing the North Node and Chiron in Aquarius. The nasty secret of the tainted milk is now out in the open, a scandalous and greedy public wound (Chiron) around nurturing (Ceres) for all to see (Aquarius).

PHOTO: KEN HAMMOND, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Saturn-Uranus Oppostion: Balancing Relationship

T'is the lovely season of Libra. Sun, Mercury, Mars and on Monday also the Moon will be in the sign of Libra. Venus, Libra's ruler, has taken a pretty dive into Scorpio. We are dancing in two's and feeling a bond and as we do Juno squares Uranus exact on Saturday. We may be talking to our friends and family about space (Uranus) in committed relationships (Juno).

I talked to a dear friend yesterday and the topic was being in love -- just loving everything about their lover and knowing that if they said "I love you", or "Will you be my boyfriend", that the whole energy of the relationship could possibly take a nose dive. My friend said as it is now, she can dream that one day they can have a committed, long distant relationship, but giving it a name now could disturb the natural flow, and she wasn't interested in risk that loss.

Another friend told me she decided she never has enough time to miss her husband, he leaves the house at 8 and comes back at 6. "How could I miss him?" She said he complains that she is on the computer too much. he thinks she uses the computer (Uranus) to escape (Pisces) the relationship (Juno). She probably does. Another friend, born in 1980 and coming up on his Saturn return, told me, that the heart of the matter is, he wishes they were at a place in their reltionship, that they were building something together, and that is more of a Saturn issue. In his relationship, he has chosen a Uranian behaving partner to play out his Saturn Return.

This weekend, Juno is receiving pressure from the Saturn-Uranus opposition. Juno is in Sagittarius at 20°, Uranus is in Pisces at 20° and Saturn is at 15° Virgo. The opposition is not exact, but it is cooking.

As we do have a stellium in Libra, and Venus is the ruler, it is an interesting time, especially considering the Saturn-Uranus opposition, to remember where Venus came from.

According to mythology, Saturn castrated his father, Uranus, because he had a habit of eating his children for fear they would take his power. Uranus testicles fell into the sea, they foamed and from the depths of the sea emerged Venus.

During the New Moon in Libra on Monday we can weigh our relationships on the libran scales of partnership. Remember the state of bliss with which babies can come into the world and how their consciousness is love. We can look toward the highest energies of Saturn (exalted in Libra) and Uranus (exalted in Scorpio) as tuning planets if we feel a longing for balance. Chances are, with the North Node and Chiron in Aquarius may be nudging us toward some untraditional Uranian ways which may ultimately be our path toward greatest stability if we can breath into Saturn and let go of our fears.

Venus in Scorpio and the Unknown

Venus enters Scorpio tonight at 10:58 pm in Hamburg. Four hours later, Mercury stations retrograde at 22° Libra and holds a trine to Neptune which is ours for the asking all week. The Moon wanes to the yearly New Moon in Libra on September 29, which is Monday next week.

I sometimes think of Scorpio as waiting to play its hand until a win is guaranteed. This can put some pressure on Venus who likes to attract and have things easy. Poetry and art (Mercury trine Neptune) can be our doors to the upcoming New Moon at 5° Libra. A longing for intimacy can make a conversation seem like a jumping off a cliff, extreme and dramatic like Scorpio. But we can remember it's just a conversation, and most likely, there is no cliff.

This photograph of the cliff comes from Nathalie at The Sydney Daily Snap.