I was about seven years old when I made my initial foray
into the world of business. Intrigued by an advertisement
in my Archie comic book, I sent off for packets of seeds that
the ad strongly suggested could be parlayed into significant
wealth. In due time, the seeds arrived, in packets decorated
with beautiful sketches of the lush flowers and vegetables
that these seeds would someday become. Enthused, I immediately
began trying to sell them to friends and family; who could
resist, I figured?
But in my youthful enthusiasm, I had overlooked one important
point: I lived in a farm community, and seeds were not exactly
in short supply. So, my career in horticultural commerce was
short-lived. The seed of the idea - sell an appealing, inexpensive
product to lots of people - was a fine one. But the soil and
growing conditions were not hospitable, and so the "seed"
of my youthful entrepreneurialism withered without bearing
fruit.
Any gardening book will tell you how to produce the best
results with a given seed - what kind of soil to plant it
in, how much light and water it needs. But there is no guarantee
that what is planted and nourished in a particular way will
flower as expected. Even nature cannot make solid predictions
that a plant will end up looking like the picture on the seed
packet. As scholar Edith Hamilton once put it, "The seed
never explains the flower." Two gardeners plant seeds
from the same zucchini, and tend them with care; one ends
up with a garden full of green, the other with a shriveled
vine. What made the difference? Neither can say.
And then there are those mysterious plants that flourish
despite harsh conditions. My husband tells the story of a
rose bush that once flourished on his property. He didn't
want a rose bush; he understood them to be "high maintenance,"
needing lots of water, food, and attention that he didn't
have time to give. So he systematically deprived the shrub
of all water and ran over it repeatedly with a lawn mower.
It responded by growing stronger and healthier, producing
beautiful, fragrant flowers. Some ideas, like hardy plants,
have the strength of the zeitgeist on their side. In the words
of Victor Hugo, "An invasion of armies can be resisted,
but not an idea whose time has come."
As in gardening, making predictions based on beginnings
is what astrology is all about. The whole system, from charts
of people to charts of countries, marriages, business ventures,
buying a car - is based on moments of beginning. Astrology
works, we reason, because moments in time, like seeds, contain
the prescription for what they will become. But even gardeners
and farmers, with a wisdom borne of years negotiating with
nature, acknowledge that at some point, all the planning and
care and preparation in the world won't ensure the outcome
of their crops. Nature and life have a way of surprising us;
but the lore of both gardening and astrology can serve as
guides to supervise our humble efforts to undertake new beginnings.
The New Moon Seed
Each month, the New Moon's longitudinal point falls in one
of twelve houses of your chart. Think of this point as a seed
that wants to be planted, an idea for a new venture, the picture
on your seed packet. The house of your chart where the New
Moon falls describes the "soil" you have available
for planting. Is it sandy, rocky, heavy or light? How can
you make the soil ready to receive the seed of a new beginning
and give it the best chance to grow? And is this the right
moment to plant this particular seed - or might your yield
be increased if you planted during a different month?
At each New Moon, a new seed is given to you with instructions
to plant it in a particular area of your chart. Two weeks
later, in the light of the Full Moon, the decision to plant
this seed is reevaluated. How is it faring in the place where
it's planted - does it need more light, more air, more water?
This quick, Full-Moon glance over your shoulder will help
you evaluate whether you're on the right track, and whether
you need to adjust or change your direction. But you won't
know for sure whether your planting has been successful until
six months from now, when the New Moon falls in the opposite
house of your chart. Then, from the other side of the garden,
you can get a good view of the first buds of new growth.
New Moon in the First House
When the New Moon energizes the first house of your chart,
you will not lack enthusiasm for new undertakings. But like
my seed packet adventure, begun with a child's naïve
enthusiasm, your latest scheme may prove less than fully developed
when viewed in the light of the full moon. You have much work
to do this month simply plowing your soil, which is still
a bit hard from winter's frost. New seeds planted this month
won't take root easily unless they are especially hardy. But
like my husband's scrappy rosebush, you are ready for the
bite of the plow's blade; and whether it is a change of job,
appearance, or address, this is probably the best month all
year to undertake a radical new beginning in your life.
New Moon in the Second House
If you spent all your energy last month in one furious sprint,
you may have to overcome considerable inertia now. But if
you can, whatever you begin this month will have real staying
power - so as much as possible, avoid filling your days with
joyless obligations. Plant seeds of enjoyment, filling your
days with people and activities that give you pleasure. In
the light of the Full Moon, consider whether you are planting
enough to cushion you against life's inevitable lean times.
You may have fewer options for growth when the New Moon falls
in your eighth house, six months from now. So plant a few
extra seeds - more friends, a job with more money - as a cosmic
insurance policy.
New Moon in the Third House
So many ideas interest you now; how to commit to just one?
Don't: rather, scatter your seeds like wildflowers, and leave
pollination to the birds and bees. Your job this month is
to explore as many new ideas you can. Talk to people, read
books, get in your car and drive; you need a crazy quilt of
ideas, opinions, and scenery this month. At the Full Moon,
others may urge you to commit to a single idea, but your garden
is not really ready for careful planting. Later you will need
to do some weeding, but don't worry about that now. There
will be plenty of time, when the New Moon falls in your ninth
house, to choose a favorite from among the many ideas and
seedlings that you germinated this month.
New Moon in the Fourth House
It is time to irrigate your garden, and you must dig deep
in search of water. Perhaps the hidden wellspring that nourishes
you is conviction, or creativity, or kindness; almost certainly
it includes sensitivity to your environment. What are the
things you notice that nobody else seems to? Your particular
sensitivity to the world is what you will carry into the fifth
house next month and turn into art. So this month, tap into
those inner reserves and drink at the well. Meditate. Sleep.
Chant. Get centered. The emotional authenticity you cultivate
this month will carry forward, six months from now, into the
tenth house world at large.
New Moon in the Fifth House
This month, you begin to parlay your fourth house nourishment
into a creative act. But the fifth house act of creation requires
some element of courage and risk. Fifth house soil is the
sand on the beach, damp from the waves of the fourth house
and perfect for forming into sandcastles. At the full moon,
a crowd gathers to look at your handiwork. Some are dazzled,
and spur you on to even greater heights. Others are indifferent;
why, they wonder, would you spend so much time and effort
building something that a wave will wash away tomorrow? But
their opinions, which will prove valuable when the New Moon
falls in your eleventh house, are not as important just now
as the joy you invested in building that sandcastle.
New Moon in the Sixth House
Building sandcastles may be creatively fulfilling, but of
what practical use are they? Even as a creative act, the medium
is too temporal to be of long-term inspiration. With the New
Moon in your sixth house, your creative efforts are pressed
into the service of some higher good, urging you toward a
practical use for your creativity. No seed can flourish in
sixth house soil unless it serves humanity or the planet.
Perhaps the skills you used to build sandcastles can be used
to help build houses for people with low incomes. Or, you
could take underprivileged kids to the beach to build sandcastles
of their own. If you find a way to make your art useful, if
you can combine work and love, then in six months, with the
New Moon in your twelfth house, you will have found nirvana.
New Moon in the Seventh House
Standing in a gown, in front of an altar and a group of
loved ones, the bride fulfills the promise of the New Moon
in the seventh house: she begins a new life with another person.
Life, death, parenthood, marriage - these are common transitions
that mark you as significantly changed, initiates in a sorority
or fraternity previously closed to you. As the New Moon falls
in your seventh house, you join one of these groups, sowing
the seed of a new way of relating with the world. What you
learned about yourself with the New Moon in your first house
is parlayed now into a better understanding of who you are
in relation to others. Through careful companion planting
- making room in your life for others - you become stronger.
New Moon in the Eighth House
Eighth house soil has been heaped with compost, and when
the New Moon falls in this house you must turn that compost
into the soil. It's unpleasant work, because the smell of
the fertilizer is not enjoyable. But it is necessary work,
to turn what has died and decayed into food for something
yet to come. With the New Moon in your eighth house, you are
planting seeds of investment in the future. It takes faith
to spend time turning your compost heap when others around
you are scattering seeds or enjoying the fruits of their harvest.
Your faith is in the invisible, the vision waiting to be fulfilled.
Your faith is that the uncomfortable work of this month will
contribute to a bountiful return, when the New Moon next falls
in your second house.
New Moon in the Ninth House
Weed through what you have sown in the past nine months,
and choose just one kind of plant you can commit to. It may
not be the tallest flower, or the juiciest tomato - but whatever
you choose will have the best chance to succeed, because it
has the full measure of your enthusiasm behind it. This is
the month to begin actively believing in something. Six months
ago, when the New Moon fell in your third house, you had a
lot of interesting ideas; which of them still sounds interesting
to you today? It's time to take a leap of faith toward the
path with heart. sow the seeds of hope this New Moon, and
at the full moon you will find even more ideas to fuel your
enthusiasm.
New Moon in the Tenth House
When the New Moon is in the tenth house, it is time to take
authority over your life. Last month you took a risk and hitched
your star to some person, idea, belief, or course of action;
this month, you are called to stand up for that idea. Your
level of success will depend on your ability to draw from
the well that you dug when the New Moon was in your fourth
house, and present yourself as a voice of credibility and
integrity. It is one of the hardest months for sowing seeds,
because the tenth house craves what is already fully-grown.
But if this month you are not yet in a position to be the
boss, sow the seed of ambition to someday hold that honor.
New Moon in the Eleventh House
A few years ago I was reunited with a friend from high school.
She is an artist now, and the first time I visited her home,
I was overwhelmed by the ravishing color and whimsy of her
décor. Over the years I have borrowed shamelessly from
her treasure trove of ideas, painting my living room in bold
colors and hanging my windows with valances of fairy lights.
Of course, I've brought my own ideas and preferences, but
my friend provided the inspiration. The eleventh is a house
of friends, of politics and groups, of joining together with
like-minded people. When the New Moon is here, borrow seeds
of inspiration from these friendly souls. They will round
out your garden of ideas - especially the seeds of creativity
sown when the New Moon fell in your fifth house - in unexpected
and delightful ways.
New Moon in the Twelfth House
A couple of years ago, a friend gave us a shy little plant
in a small, blue, enamel pot: a moonflower, which only blooms
at night. When the New Moon is in your twelfth house, plant
seeds that bloom in private, in the dark. They can be seeds
of spiritual awakening, whose flowers only bloom when you
meditate. They might be seeds that you plant and tend for
others as a loving gift, behind the scenes, without seeking
honor for doing so. This month, you are a quiet farmer in
a secret garden, behind high walls covered in morning glories
and hibiscus. This is no time for practical planting of roots
and vegetables; instead, sow moonflower seeds of beauty and
inspiration.
At each New Moon, we feel the urge to begin something new.
But just as in gardening, New Moon beginnings have an element
of brave guesswork and trust about them. It is worth remembering
that the New Moon is a dark time; wander around outdoors on
the night of a New Moon, and you'd better bring a flashlight
with you. Otherwise, the light of the Full Moon might reveal
that you've traveled quite far afield of your original destination.
Fortunately, astrology can be just the flashlight you need,
shedding light on the symbolism of the New Moon as it germinates
seeds of change in your chart, and in your life.
List of 2009 New Moons
Dates given correspond to Eastern
Time Zone
January 26, 2009, 6.30 Aquarius (Solar Eclipse)
February 24, 2009, 6.35 Pisces
March 26, 2009, 6.08 Aries
April 24, 2009, 5.04 Taurus
May 24, 2009, 3.28 Gemini
June 22, 2009, 1.30 Cancer
July 21, 2009, 29.27 Cancer (Solar Eclipse)
August 20, 2009, 27.32 Leo
September 18, 2009, 25.59 Virgo
October 17, 2009, 24.59 Libra
November 16, 2009, 24.34 Scorpio
December 16, 2009, 24.40 Sagittarius
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