Marriage of Head and Heart: September 2019s New Moon in Libra

On Saturday, September 28th, at 2:26 PM EST, we will have a New Moon at 5'20 degrees of the sign of Libra. Here's what to expect.

What is a New Moon?

A new moon represents the beginning of the lunar cycle when the moon is conjunct the sun and invisible to the human eye. New moons are a good time for fresh starts and new beginnings. It is a good time to start a new project or make a radical change. It's also a good time to find clarity on what you want, and release what no longer serves you. The effects of a new moon generally last for about two weeks, up until the next full moon.

With the New Moon in Libra, we can expect new beginnings related to social justice, our relationships, our sense of balance and inner harmony, and our one-on-one interactions with others in general.

It may be helpful to think back to what was going on in your life during the Full Moon in Pisces on September 14th or the Full Moon in Libra six months ago, for certain themes may be repeating themselves.

Whatever intentions you set now should come to fruition by the time of the Full Moon in Aries on October 13th.

Those with any personal planets or angles between 0 to 10 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) will most especially be affected by this New Moon.

New Moon in Libra

Libra, the sign of the scales, is a cardinal air sign ruled by Venus and exalted by Saturn. Perhaps due to it's association with the seventh house, popular astrology holds Libra to be the sign of marriage, or the sign of relationships.

Recently, I got into a discussion with astrologer Stephen Lewis of Fated Crossings, who made a post on Facebook questioning this association, saying that statistically, Libra Sun women were more prone to divorce than anything else. As cardinal signs, Libras are prone to taking a lot of initiative into starting relationships, but unless fixed signs were also prominent in the native's chart, these relationships were likely to dissolve just as quickly.

I disagreed. Libras are air signs, not undercover water signs, and it's true that we can be sort of breezy, free-spirited souls, prone to flirtations and not so prone to making long-lasting decisions, but that's not the point. It's not so much that Libra is seen as the sign of commitment or undying love. Libra is seen as a symbol of marriage because it's the sign of balance, representing the merging or unification of opposing forces. It's a sign of integration and unity. It's the sign of relationship and the search for common ground, and I don't mean "relationship," in the doe-eyed romantic sense. Your relationship with your parents is a "relationship," your relationship with your friends is a "relationship," your relationship with your boss, coworker, or client is a "relationship," even your relationship with your worst enemy is a "relationship," (in addition to marriage, the seventh house also rules open enemies). Libra is about the search for common ground, and similarities between self and other. Libra is all about how other people relate to each other and the world around them in any shape or form. I see Libra's association with marriage as more figurative than literal. A Libra Sun native is just as likely to be "married" to their work or to their spirituality as they are to get hitched.

If anything, the fact that these women were prone to divorce shows that they were prone to multiple marriages, in an endless search for their "other half," the one who might balance them out, which to me reflects the common perception of the sign more than anything else. Libra is seen as the sign of marriage and not of divorce because Libra is a harmonizing influence; most Libran-influenced individuals are more likely to want to stay on good terms with even their ex-partners. I see the multiple marriages of Libras as necessarily a "failure," more that we are loving creatures who want to experience the best love has to offer and whose love is not necessarily limited to one person. While finding our forever one and only might still be the ideal, it's no doubt that the more relationships you have, the more you'll learn, about yourself, about what it is you want, about what makes a relationship work, as well as human psychology in general, and that to me is a success. That, to me, is what the sign of Libra is all about. Libra is all about learning how to best relate to others.

Venus is the planet of love, as well as the planet of beauty, and perhaps this does give Libra a more emotional or aesthetically-driven outlook than Gemini or Aquarius, but ultimately, Libra is still an air sign, driven by intellect and concerned primarily with ideas. Perhaps due to it's Saturnian influence, Libran-influenced individuals strive for objectivity. But people don't realize that "harsh" and "cold" influence of Saturn has just as much of an influence on relationships as Venus does. Venus determines attraction but it's Saturn that decides whether the relationships initiated by Libra are truly meant to last. Saturn is the planet of responsibility and what is responsibility, but the ability to respond? Without the ability to respond to our partner and take responsibility for our actions in a partnership, the love and attraction triggered by Venus will quickly fade. It's a Libra's lesson to learn how to strike the right balance to make relationships work, the right balance between attraction and responsibility, the right balance of consideration for others and consideration for yourself, the right balance of empathy and honesty, the right balance of fairness and justice - two sides of the same coin. It is my opinion that Libra strikes the balance between head and heart. The union between subjectivity and objectivity. The marriage of emotion and intellect.

The New Moon in Libra itself has no major aspects. However, it will be accompanied by a sextile between Venus, Libra’s ruling planet, and Jupiter in its own ruling sign of Sagittarius. When the two benefic planets come together, in their own domiciles, it is a very positive, joyous influence overall. This aspect gives us an overall boost of happiness and optimism, that helps us get into the right frame of mind to manifest the intentions we set.

However, the sextile between Jupiter at 17'52 degrees Sagittarius and Venus at 17'38 degrees Libra will most especially benefit matters of love, relationships, and beauty, all things under Venus's domain. This aspect helps us strike all the right balances to make our relationships work. It is a time for new beginnings in love. New romances are likely, and likely to last. Any problems in your relationship will likely be smoothed over. Dates involving adventure and exciting are most strongly recommended for this New Moon, and our romantic lives benefit from us enjoying the moment(s) with our partner to the fullest, whatever that may entail.

Venus will be separating from a square to Saturn (which just went direct) at 13'59 degrees of it's own ruling sign, Capricorn. This aspect, which will be at it's peak on the 24th and the 25th, brings obstacles to our love life. Events that force us to take responsibility. Many of us are being forced to give up on what we wanted, as we're having to confront the reality that it was all an illusion. With this in mind, the New Moon in Libra at the end of the week, and the simultaneously occurring Venus-Jupiter sextile, provides us with a silver lining, a light at the end of the tunnel. Jupiter's sextile to Venus brings wish fulfillment. Our dreams of true love and romance will come true, and those of us who have lost all hope, will have it renewed by something new; something different from and even better than what we thought.

A personal side note, with the New Moon in my sign, transiting Neptune's trine to my natal Venus at 16'48 degrees Scorpio will go exact the same moment as this New Moon. Meanwhile, Jupiter is about to cross over my Descendant/seventh house cusp at 20 degrees Sagittarius in just a few days. These transits are supposed to bring good luck, even spirituality and magic, to my love life; a soulmate, a twin flame, a wish come true, but instead all I've gotten this month are stalkers and obsessive attention from men I'm not interested in, men I've already said "no," to a thousand times. I'm hoping that this New Moon in Libra will change all that, bringing me the love I've been hoping for and that I know I deserve.