The Cosmic Story is on simmer now that the first big square between Uranus and Pluto has taken place. Watch for internal changes inside yourself and within our collective institutions. Cancer deals with the emotional body and this new moon is a great time to actually feel what it is you want out of life.

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The Cosmic Story:Cancer New Moon, July 19, 2012: Values to Live By

Preface to Leaves of Grass (excerpt) -- Walt Whitman

Love the earth and sun and the animals,
despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others,
hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,
have patience and indulgence toward the people,
take off your hat to nothing known or unknown,
or to any man or number of men,
go freely with powerful uneducated persons,
and with the young, and with the mothers or families,
re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book,
and dismiss whatever insults your own soul;
and your very flesh shall be a great poem....

The Sign of Cancer

The zodiac sign of Cancer is the Cosmic Womb, Mother of all, the place of gestation and inner growth.   The constellation of Cancer is a nursery of galaxies. The creativity of Cancer is not limited to physical birth, however; the seeds Cancer gestates are creative seeds, the forms diverse and individual.   Cancer is associated with the waters of life, and its creativity lies in all aspects of life -- biological, artistic, imaginative, practical, and mystical.   Cancer is our creative matrix: Cancer contains the powers of creation and destruction, life and death.  

The power of Cancer lies in the Moon, in its ability to give form and shape to the seeds of life.   While the Sun symbolizes Consciousness, the Moon symbolizes the Unconscious, both our unconscious behavior patterns as well as the magical cauldron of the Collective Unconscious.   The Moon's light comes and goes, imaging the lunar consciousness of Feminine Spirit's mystery and potential.   The Moon's energy is related to our emotions, our intuitions and our need to nurture.   Like the tenacious Crab (watch out for her claws!), which is the symbol for Cancer, we tend to form strong emotional attachments to the things we create.  

Cancer can give rise to positive mother-love, the much-needed bond a child or a project needs to thrive; giving support to the child's development, talents and goals.     But like the playful, shifting moonlight, pure light can turn to darkness if we hold on too long.   The mother needs to let go at the right time for her child to mature, or the child gets stuck in the negative Mother complex -- the dark, devouring Mother who is never satisfied.   The Moon teaches us the rhythms of attachment and release, of ebb and flow.   The waters of the Earth, and of our bodies, dance to the rhythm of the Moon.

Cancer New Moon

We know that a new Moon begins a new cycle of energy each month.   Every year, the Cancer new Moon offers us an opportunity to renew our emotional body.   And since the Moon is the ruler of Cancer, it makes this new Moon renewal doubly important.   When we understand our unconscious motivations, we can work with our feelings and choose our actions.   When we continue to ignore our emotions and instincts, our old behaviors deaden us, the inner "well' runs dry and we're stuck going round and round the same place, the same issues, the same feelings.   When we don't acknowledge and take care of our emotional body, it's not as easy to activate new energy each month.   In the first instance, we are being empowered by the positive mother-complex.   In the second, we are caught in the negative-mother complex.   This new Moon wants us to embody our feelings and learn to work with them.   Then on the following new Moons we can get on to new business.

Cancer is an action-oriented water sign, picking up not only on our own feelings, but the feelings of people around us.   Cancer pushes us to do something about those feelings, helping us stay creative, fluid and mobile, adapting to the situation.    Cancer symbolizes the Mother, and it is Mom who nurtures our original emotional body.    Moms have to go with the flow and be attuned to our child's needs and emotions, and when a person has strong Cancer influences in their chart, they too develop the "mom antenna' that lets them know exactly what's going on beneath the surface.    The trick with Cancer is to know when to do something about it and when to hold back and give silent support.

When we accept the "positive mother' we actually like ourselves and our values, especially if they contribute to the whole community.   We don't compare ourselves to some cultural stereotype of who we should be, and we certainly don't give more value to other people's opinions than to our own original thoughts and ideas.   

We learn about who we are by what we value -- truth, honesty, integrity, beauty, grace, kindness, compassion.   Walt Whitman's advice is pertinent now, as we work on the desperately needed transitions our society has to make.   Each of us, working together, can create a new way of living on our great Mother, the Earth.   But we have to have values that we're willing to stand up for.   Cancer urges us believe in ourselves, trust ourselves and work to create a better life for all of us.

The Sabian symbol for the Sun and Moon at 27* Cancer is:   A violent storm in a canyon filled with expensive homes.     This symbol refers to a confrontation between our social norms and Nature.     This kind of intense energy can destroy superficial, materialistic world-views which are out of alignment with Nature.     And it reminds us that as we face the karmic crisis of a depleted environment and a soul-less society, we have to change our values - or rather, begin to live by those values we say we believe in.     Our expensive houses and comfortable way of life will do us no good unless we work with Nature, and our own human nature, not against her.

This Cancer new Moon is challenged by Saturn in Libra, asking us to take others into consideration when we decide what we need and what we value.   Which relationships are nurturing to you?   Which relationships aren't?   This Cancer new Moon is a great time to meditate and be alone with yourself.   First learn to mother yourself, because that's how we learn to know what we need.   Once we understand our own emotional needs, we can tune into others without projecting our needs onto them.   And like a great mom, we can actually listen to their emotional bodies and understand just what kind of help and support they need.  

Other Astrological Influences

Venus at 16* Gemini: A woman activist in an emotional speech dramatizing her cause.   This symbol speaks to the passion we feel about any deep experience of life.   We naturally want to share it.    On this new Moon, Venus has moved back to the degree where she visibly joined the Sun on June 5^th.   Her energy will help us discover what it is we love and value. What we're passionate about.   Passion wants to be shared.  

Venus, Jupiter, Uranus and Mercury play together, generating interesting and innovative ideas to plant and nurture.   Both Uranus and Mercury just went retrograde, taking you deep within for answers.   Those new ideas will help us deal creatively with the Uranus/Pluto square.  

Mars steps in to become part of the Pluto/Uranus square at the new Moon.   These three strong energies are clashing and so they can represent that "violent storm' in the new Moon's sabian symbol.   It's a good time to be aware of what's going on around you.

The Sabian symbol for Mars at 9*Libra is: Three "old masters' hanging on a wall of a special room in an art gallery.   This symbol refers to' the need to return to the source during a confused search for new value in a chaotic society.' (Dane Rudhyar: An Astrological Mandala)   This symbol speaks to the need to identity oneself with one's archetypal essence -- which Uranus in Aries is also trying to wake us up to.   We need to go back to the patterns of life which our culture has ignored to our detriment.   So step into your archetypal "master' and learn to act as if you're the hero/ine of your own life.

Uranus is still at 9*Aries: A crystal gazer.   And Pluto is at 8*Capricorn: An angel carrying a harp.   All good indications that we can proceed in a positive manner, despite the intensity of energies being generated.   But for a positive outcome to any situation, you need to be aware of your feelings, your instincts and your values.

Mars in Libra seeks balance, but with Pluto in Capricorn challenging it and Uranus in Aries activating it, we all need to remember to breathe.    Mars and Pluto have similar energies; both deal with will, power and passion (again!).   Mars deals with more personal desires while Pluto speaks to evolutionary imperatives.   Both can be ruthless and domineering, while Uranus can add the spark that sets the fire.   So watch what you say and do and become a peaceful warrior with everyone you meet.   Thankfully, Mars and Venus are in a good relationship, so think (both planets are in air signs) positive thoughts in the midst of stress and act on those peaceful, passionate beliefs with all the charm and graciousness you can muster.

Stay cool and have a great summer!

Cathy

Working Together -- David Whyte

We shape our self / to fit this world /and by the world /are shaped again.
The visible /and the invisible /working together /in common cause, /to produce the miraculous.
I am thinking/of the way /the intangible air /passed at speed /round a shaped wing /easily holds our weight.
So may we,/ in this life /trust to those elements /we have yet to see /or imagine, and look for the true /shape of our own self /by forming it well /to the great /intangibles about us.

Authors Website: http://www.cathypagano.com

Authors Bio:

Cathy Pagano is a spiritual advisor and Jungian psychotherapist, storyteller, author and teacher.

She is the author of a book on the return of the Goddess, "Wisdom's Daughters: How Women Can Change the World".

Cathy trained at the C. G. Jung Institut-Zurich in dream interpretation, has an M.A. in Counseling Psychology in Feminine Spirituality, and is a certified Life Coach.

As an astrologer and storyteller, she weaves the Cosmic Stories written in the stars. From The Bard's Grove, she writes about emerging archetypal themes in movies and books.

Cathy works with the tools of the imagination - dreams, alchemy, myths, astrology, symbolic language, storytelling, ritual - to awaken the Soul's wisdom.



I believe that Americans are called to a higher consciousness at this point in our history. We are called on to live up to our ideals and create the country our forefathers imagined. Inner consciousness needs to be acted upon for social justice.



Cathy believes that our writers and artists must take up our responsibility to create art that inspires, teaches and heals our humanity.



Cathy writes about political, psychological/spiritual, and cultural issues.